JADEAntonio looked very different from the last time I saw him. He looked calm as he walked towards me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my forehead and the top of my head.“I just heard about the hospital from your dad. I’m so sorry, baby.” He spoke softly, his arms becoming tighter around me.I tapped on his chest a few times so he would release me because I was feeling suffocated and the smell of hiccups cologne was going straight to my head and not in a good way. When he finally released me, it felt like a noose that had been tightened around my neck was finally loosened.“How are you feeling now? Is there anything I can do? Do you need anything?” I forced a smile and shook my head.“No, I’m fine. Much better now.” It was getting harder and harder to be close to him so I took a step back and sat on the loveseat. He took the couch, which was not very close to me but it still felt too close for some reason.What the hell is going on with me? I couldn’t understand all of these
ATLASWe were on our back to the hotel when I saw Jade’s drugs. And thinking she would need it, I told the river to turn around and head back so I could give it to her. I was only too happy to see her again before it was time for us to leave.Her younger sister was who I met with when I got there. She gave me a dirty glare before walking off and leaving me there. A maid appeared thankfully and she directed me on where Jade’s room was. When I got there, I was surprised when I heard yelling. I identified the voice immediately and all I could see was red.Not was only is he here, which I didn’t like even a bit, but he was yelling at Jade. The woman carrying my child. That black eye he said I gave him, I’ll give him a fucking real on now.I squeezed through the elevator even before it fully opened. The more ti saw him, bloodlust filled me as I pushed him away from her.“Why the fuck are you yelling at her?!” I screamed in his face. It was taking everything in me not to be beat him to a pu
JADEI tried sleeping after Atlas left, I did tell him I was going to sleep. But that was just an excuse to get him to go. So, why did my heart feel heavy when he actually left? Did I expect him to stay? No. I would have been upset if he’d stayed but then I wasn’t exactly happy that he left either.Maybe I’m just crazy. Most be the pregnancy hormones.Those were the thoughts keeping me up. This exact questions and others similar to it. Once in a while, Antonio would slip into the thoughts but I’ll get rid of them immediately.I tossed and turned, not finding the bed comfortable at all.How is it that I slept better in the hospital bed that was much smaller and not at all soft but now, in my comfortable bed, I couldn’t get even a minute of shut eye. This is horrible.Much later in the evening, I still haven’t gotten a moment of respite from all the thoughts, Ray came into the room. She myst have thought I was sleeping, with all the blinds down and lights off, so she slipped into the be
JADEI’ve been staring at the papers dad handed me for over an hour. I was seated on the couch because Ray is in my room and I didn’t want to wake her up.It seems like the answer to all my problems. Sign it and get rid of the marriage. It is what I wanted. It should be what I want. But it does’t feel right. And I may tell myself I’m hesitating because Atlas might use that as a way to get full custody but I know it is a lie. Deep down, I‘m not so sure I want this.Then again, this marriage, or excuse of one, that it is, has been like a noose around my throat. Suffocating me. Stopping me from breathing and fully moving on. And now, I have a chance to take it off and get rid of it. I’ll never be able to get rid of him. Not when his child, our child, is growing inside of me.Almost instinctively, my hands goes to my numb and I caress it. I’m not in the right frame of mind to think logically. I said as I stood up, locking the papers in the roosted where I kept my mum’s necklace.I’ll slee
ATLASMy phone vibrated with the notification of another call coming in. I didn’t want to pick, knowing what Andrew was going to say was important, then I saw it was Jade’s father.“Hey, let me call you back. Jade’s father is calling.” I tried to keep my voice calm so he wouldn’t worry but I was freaking out inside.Ford wouldn’t be calling me unless it was important. I answered the call and put it back to my ear.“Jade has been rushed to the hospital. She passed out and hit her head—“ I didn’t wait to listen to the rest of the things he said, I just got up and rushed out.Donald was standing outside, liking like he was about to come and get me. I saw the shocked look when he noticed how disheveled I looked.“Is everything okay alpha?”“We’re heading back to the hospital.” He nodded and got in step beside me. I felt the elevator would be too slow so I heard towards the stars and pretty much flew through all of it. The car was already waiting upfront when we got there and Donald took t
ATLASI sat on the only chair in the room, watching Jade as she slept, my heart heavy in my chest. She looked so fragile and weak, and her supple skin is pale now. There was no word to describe how she looked beside sick. That was just it.Was it really worth losing her life to have this child?I wanted her to be fine. I’ll always pick her first but I know she’ll never agree to remove the baby now. She would rather lose her life because she is selfless like that. So, I told the doctor not to infirm her about this. At least not yet. It would just add to her stress levels which I’m sure is not s good thing.I must have fallen asleep because the next time I focus on the bed, she is wide awake and watching me. I stretched and looked out the window, seeing how the sky was starting to get bright. It should still be early morning so I might have sept for an hour or two at most.Jade had a look in her eyes that I couldn’t place. But I didn’t let it deter me. I got up and walked to her side. S
JADEI kept thinking what atlas said, long after he left. My mind was still on it. He didn’t say where he was going but he kept getting calls and he assured me he would be back. I don’t know why I nodded and smiled. Totally forgetting I was supposed to be angry at him for everything. The butterflies on my stomach made me forget anything like that.Ray has been with me and she’s trying her hardest to distract me from everything. She thinks I’m distraught. And I don’t know how to hell her I can’t even tell what I’m feeling. But sad and confused definitely isn’t one of them. Maybe I needed to be beat housings something is clearly wrong with me mentally.“You’re sure you’re not feeling type of pain?” The doctor asked, a kind smile gracing her lips.“Yes, I’m good.” I repliedI was a bit lost seeing how the pain completely disappeared. If I didn’t know better, I would say my body liked being in the hospital. But overall, I thought the whole thing was weird. She didn’t prescribe any pill
ATLASJade didn’t look too happy about that. Not to mention her younger sister who was shooting daggers my way. Yes, their father didn’t know we were heading here and I would rather it remains that way for a while.“Atlas, you can’t just decide to ship me off to a different place without notifying me beforehand.” She had a frown on her face and though it gutted me, I knew why I was doing this.I would much rather she has that smile I kept seeing all through this morning. I know as soon as he knows what is actually going on, she wouldn’t mind.“I’m sorry about that.” I said earnestly, walking up to her and taking her hand. I make sure she is looking at me before I speak. “There was no time to tell you and…” I paused, letting a small knowing smile lift one side of my lips in a half smile. “i knew you would argue.”“So you intentionally didn’t tell me?” She deadpanned.“Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” I replied and she sighed, looking like she was tired of my antics but a
JADE“i needed to come see him.”“Why?” He collected the baby from me “I told you that there's no need to. Why do you feel the need to come here even after I told you not to?!”“Because it's not just your victory! It's not just your life that he was after! It's mine too! And it's Ray's too! So yes, I needed to come down here to get closure.”He needed to understand that this meant something to me too, just as it did him.“Closure? Is that why you put the baby at risk? How much more closure do you need?”What on earth was he talking about?“Risk? Incase you didn't notice, I was there with him! I was at risk too! I needed him to look me in the eye and tell me why he did what he did to my family.”“Or maybe it's because you're too hung up on the past and you just can't let go. Incase you havent noticed, you're so stuck in the past and you are obsessing over it. Move on!”Well, I'm glad he finally got to say what he wanted to. Now I know how he feels about me trying to find answers. I w
JADEI didn't think it was worth it at first. Going to see the man that had made me grow up without parents and without the concept of what a true family felt like.But after much thought, he needed to know that all his plans failed and I was going to rub it in his face..I'd gotten all three pieces of the stone together and wore it around my locket.It would hurt him so bad to see that in the end, I won.Iniko decided that that was the right moment to start crying and everytime I dropped him back in his cot, he cried even louder.“Young man, what is it that you want? You've been fed and burped and I just changed your diaper so there's no way you could have soiled it again -”I stopped and remembered what happened yesterday so I took a peak for myself. There was nothing im his diaper.“So what exactly do you want?”I wish babies could talk.I guess I didn't have any other choice than to take him with me then. Atlas would blow a fuse if he found out that I took his son to see Ford.Whe
ATLAS“By wasting any more time, we are not doing ourselves any good! Sixth Circle pack is vacant. We have their leader in our custody and I've taken down every opposition in our way, do you think it would be long before we get more interests?”Sometimes, having a cabinet infuriates me so much. It was like I was speaking to brick walls. I didn't see any reason why they couldn't just agree to me taking over the Sixth Circle.It would even be better for us because it would improve our army base, it would make our pack bigger and in general, it would be a plus for us.But they weren't seeing it that way. All they were seeing was the fact that Ford had committed something against the pack and they weren't going to take it.I mean, what better way to teach him a lesson by taking over his pack?“Alpha, we're not disputing the fact that you've gone a long way-”“But you're diminishing my efforts. What's the whole point of defeating him and taking him into custody when I can't even go ahead a
JADERay and I weren't speaking for now.How could she hide something like that from me?“Where is she?”“I have no idea. All I know is that she ran away when we were little. She knew that he would come after her and she didn't want to put you in danger. So she ran away and left your nanny to take care of you. I don't know where she is.”How could she do this?“Before I lost my memory, did I know?”“No, you never knew.”I couldn't believe this. I lost my appetite for the rest of that day and I just stayed in Iniko's room because I couldn't even speak to anyone right now.I'd spent my life thinking my mother was dead only to hear that she was alive and she ran away because of that beast.“It’s not her fault, you know. Your mother ran away to protect you and Ray didn't tell you because she wanted to keep you safe. You have to forgive her.”I didn't blame her. It wasn't her fault things turned out like this. I was just hurt that I didn't know.Later that day, I took Iniko on a walk so h
JADEI was just realizing that this baby has Atlas's eyes and hair and everything!“This baby is rigged.”He turned around in shock.“What are you talking about?”“You did something to make the baby look like you.”He laughed and shook his head.“No, I didn't. It's just a coincidence.”“Coincidence? Look at this baby and look at you. It seems like I didn't even have anything to do with his birth.”“Don’t worry, you can have the second baby.”I scoffed.“You think I'm going to let you have another chance to have photocopies? Big joke.”Iniko was so small and he seemed so fragile.Ray brought my food and she took him while I ate.“I wish my grandmother was here to see him.”She gave me a sad smile.“Me too. She would be so proud of you.I'm proud of you.”I'm so happy my sister was here with me. She was the one who had been by my side throughout and if the child had been a girl, I would have named her after Raya.“Thank you for everything you did. If not for you, I don't know how I would
JADE“I'm going to need your blood as well. Atlas, I promise it won't hurt her. Just a little nick.”He nodded and she dragged the knife across my finger.“Place your finger over the stone and let the blood cover it entirely. Do not take your hand away from the fire.”It was a simple instruction but it seemed so intense.It was almost over. My legs were beginning to feel well and it was getting harder to quiet my screams.“What do we have here?”That voice. He was here.“What are you doing here?”All I had to do was keep my hand over the fire until the stone bled.Ray helped me stand up straight while Atlas and Andrew faced my uncle.“So this was why I came here. How did you do that? How did you call the other stones?”I eventually removed my hand from the fire since we had found them.“I always knew it was with one of you. That stupid old hag told me she couldn't find the other piece but I guess she gave it to you. “Why were all the worst things happening tonight?I was in labor and
JADEAtlas returned later that evening.I was right with what I'd thought.“What have you been up to?”I knew he knew I'd been eating because of the smirk on his face.“You know you don't have to hide from me when you eat right?”Oh, I did.“If you see how much I eat and the way I eat, I don't think you'd want to be married to me anymore.”He burst out laughing.“What makes you think I care about the way you eat? As long as you're healthy and our baby is fine, I don't care.”“But then, what if I get fat? I'll be so big that I won't be able to eat. I don't know why I eat so much.”This was actually a worry of mine. Normally, I ate but my appetite was not this big.“Blame it on the baby. I figure when you give birth, the cravings will stop and even though you do get fat, you're still my wife. It doesn't change anything.”I was really married to the best man ever, wasn't I?“You’re the best.”“I know. Ray says that we have to get there before midnight so that she can prepare everything.
JADEAt this point, I was realizing that the earlier we did things, the better.“I’ll arrange for the sacrifice to happen tomorrow. We need to move as fast as we can before he gets Intel that were here.”I didn't want to have to run with this big belly of mine.“What are you going to need?”“Don’t worry, I'll take care of it. Just bring the stone.”We went to bed that night because we were all completely exhausted.“Hey, are you okay?” Atlas asked when we were in bed.“Yes, I am. Why do you ask?”“You didn't cry when you found out that he killed your father. You didn't cry when you found out that she was not your grandmother. I'm worried.”Now that I think about it, it's true. But it was because I didn't feel like crying.“I don't know. Maybe my body just hasn't proceses it yet. Maybe its because I hate him so I'm not bothered that he's not my father and I never really knew my father so i can't cry for him. I've already mourned for my grandmother.”I just didn't feel the need to cry b
JADE“Jade, step away from that.”I walked back towards them and stared at the pile.“What kind of animal would do this?”I had no idea but I think I was beginning to understand why she wanted us to find this place.This place held secrets.I went back to the wall to look at the drawings and try to understand them.I used my fingers to trace them again and this time around, I heard the voice clearer.“Look at the bigger picture.”I stepped away from the wall so I could see the entire thing. There were more drawings to the side and when I walked up, I noticed that there was a sign at the bottom of it.That sign…looked all too familiar but I couldn't just place my finger.“Ray, come see this. I've seen this before but I don't know where it's from.”She crouched beside me and stared at it for a moment.“I know it's familiar but I don't know where it's from, either.”Andrew and Atlas joined us and just within seconds, they knew.“We know.”They shared a look and it made me scared.“Jade,