Chapter 5

THAD

Jadelynn’s declaration of her feelings for me really made me happy. I waited patiently for her because I knew that she needed time, and she was worth every moment of that wait. She put up a strong front up for everyone else, but she was not completely hardened to the bitchy rumors and sneers from those who were threatened by her. Jadelynn was the shield for everyone else, but she refused to let anyone shield her but me. I would never push her past her limits and respected her decision to pause things last year. It sucked, but I respected her wishes because I always would.

Until today, she was unaware that I knew about the crap that Pauline fed her. I had not made a move sooner because I was not sure how Jadelynn would react. We were extremely close, but I feared that she would never see me the way that I saw her. I would rather be in her life as her best friend than not in it at all. I could not lose her from my life.

Jadelynn was fucking gorgeous inside and out. Her heart was pure gold, and she fought tooth and nail for the sake of others. She was my best friend and someone I desired with every ounce of myself. If she ever allowed me to worship her body, I would do it morning, noon, and night. She was my dream girl and the only one I could ever envision myself being with. Jadelynn was it for me. It was her or nobody. Not a single person would understand that, but it was how I have felt for years.

She alone had my interest. Nobody could ever compare to her, and it pissed me off that people still tried even though they failed to capture my interest. Take, for example, what happened at the Diner. They clearly saw us together. We were holding hands even. They were completely disrespectful towards her by implying that she was beneath my attention. No, they were.

She had been surprised that I knew about Brian. Of course, I did. I always looked out for my girl. It was the day after he was denied that I heard about it. He had tried to deny that Pauline ever told him to do anything. I was not an idiot. Pauline was a vindictive bitch. Come to find out, Pauline offered Brian a threesome with her and another chick of his choosing if he succeeded. I warned him that I would quit the team with no notice if he disrespected Jadelynn again. He knew that it was not a threat because it was damn sure a promise. Everyone knew that I did not play when it came to her.

What followed her declaration chilled me to the bone. Someone found her the day my family left. There was no choice in the matter because they had something of true importance that they needed to disclose to me about Jadelynn. I was all on board after those words left their lips because I would do anything for her. Always had and always would.

I had not expected what they were going to tell me was that our family members were called Guardians. Our lineage was tasked with ensuring that people of interest were protected and kept safe. Hence, the name Guardian. What had our family been tasked with protecting? Yes, you would be correct. Jadelynn. It had apparently been a complete coincidence that their family moved to town. Guardians sensed their charges when they were near them. My parents sensed Jadelynn the day that we met.

It was one reason why they got close to Jadelynn’s parents and ensured that Jadelynn and I hung out. They knew that she would become my charge once I turned of age because they were drawn to her, but it was just an echo of it. They noticed that she and I were drawn together immediately, and that was what clued them into the fact that I was meant to be her Guardian in the future.

They informed me of all this the day after we left which was my seventeenth birthday. Guardians were initiated and inducted once they turned seventeen. That was why I had to be gone all summer instead of being with my girl. They had me undergo some significant training and education to understand my duties as her Guardian. It was something that I took very seriously and always would. There was no greater honor than to be chosen to protect her.

We were like bodyguards for very special supernaturals. Yes, both of our families were considered supernaturals. That was hard for me to wrap my head around at first because one day you thought you were a mere human and that the supernatural world was fictional, but the next day you found out that you were part of it yourself. It was a mind-fuck for sure, but I pushed that aside and got down to business because I swore to be the best Guardian that I could be for her.

My parents had been on the vague side of things regarding Jadelynn and said they would tell me when the time was right. Well, I was choosing this to be the right time now.

“What’s the emergency?” Mom asked as she came rushing into the kitchen followed by Dad.

I walked Jadelynn home twenty minutes ago even though I never wanted to let her out of my sight again. I told her that I would check in with her later and reminded her to reach out to me if she felt it again any time day or night. She looked reassured that I believed her. I would always believe her even if I knew nothing about her specific special circumstances.

“I need to know about Jadelynn’s heritage,” I said pointblank. No use in beating around the bush or sugarcoating shit.

Dad ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He nodded to Mom to tell her that it was time to come clean. Final-fucking-ly.

“Just like our lineage is important, so is hers. We didn’t know the connection at first until we got to know her parents better. It becomes easier to understand our charge’s importance and circumstances the longer that we are in their vicinity. Do you remember what the Elders were telling you about the Dreamworld and the two branches of lineages?” Dad asked.

I nodded my head and thought back to what the Elders told me this summer. They knew about Jadelynn and ensured to teach me what they knew regarding her circumstances.

The Dreamworld was where our subconscious went while we slept. The place of dreams was a legitimate place – well, plane of existence. It was not just the imaginative creations within our minds. It was created a very long time ago by five extremely powerful individuals dubbed The Five. The lineage from The Five were called Keepers because they were the keepers of the Dreamworld. They were tasked to ensure its prosperity. Keepers held a sliver of The Five’s essence and magic which got passed down through the generations. The second lineage was that of the Seekers. They were the right-hands to the Keepers. They held a special power inside of them which amplified the Keeper’s powers. It was a bond of sorts. It took both parts to balance it.

“Jadelynn is born of both lineages. As far as anyone knows, it is the first time it ever happened. There are no other recorded cases. Sure, the pairings have children all the time, but they do not retain both parts. This created a true merge of power for her. She is a Keeper who can amplify her own power. That was why her family went through great lengths to hide their identity. Both lineages are taught to keep their identity a secret because of the danger it poses if the wrong people were to know. Their Elders are the ones who introduce Keepers and Seekers for pairings. We doubt they even realized who each other truly was before conceiving her. It was four months before her birth that they disappeared, and their trail ran cold the first time. That must have been when they suspected something was different with her. They moved to Louisiana for a few years before their trail ran cold again,” Mom said.

That was all very hard to wrap my head around. There was no way that Jadelynn knew any of this. She would have understood that there was danger that followed her, and she would have spoken up about what she had been experiencing sooner. Should I tell her?

“Son, you can’t tell her. It’s written all over your face. Her kind are initiated at eighteen instead of seventeen for us. If you tell her before her birthday, there will be no way of knowing if her parents will just up and disappear. We can’t let that happen. We have to protect her. You will always be her Guardian, so we can’t do anything that will spook them before her birthday,” Dad said.

I slammed my hand down on the counter in frustration. This was ridiculous. How could I protect her if I could not even tell her what the fucking problem was?

“Well, she informed me today that she started feeling like she was being watched since the day we left for the summer. She got a call to reschedule her entrance interview to a different location and person tomorrow morning. Jae said that she felt off and apprehensive after the phone call and it was the same way she felt like she was being watched. That was when she opened up about all the times that she felt that way. The most recent was Monday on her way to school which made the seventeenth time.”

They exchanged a startled look that did not sit well with me. I felt like I was already failing in with this Guardian bit. My heart constricted with that thought. I was terrified with the fear of something happening to her. I could not allow that to happen.

Jadelynn was incredibly stubborn and hated admitting anything that she deemed as weakness. For her to be so startled by those feelings that she shared them meant that she was seriously worried and freaked out. I saw it on her face and heard it in her voice. She was scared, and she was never scared.

“She can’t go to that interview. Her kind are hardwired with a strong intuition. The fact that she is feeling that before her birthday and so frequently can’t mean anything good,” Mom said.

Yeah, that caused more constriction. I trusted their opinion on this because they understood Jadelynn’s parents better than I did. They also understood charges better than I did. They have had seven different charges over the years of all types of supernaturals. Shifters, Witches, and Fae. This whole Keeper/Seeker thing was the first for them.

“She will never accept that without an explanation,” I reminded her.

We all knew how stubborn my girl was. She certainly got it from both her parents. It was frustrating, but it also made her passionate. Her passion made her irresistible in most cases. In this case, however, it just worried me.

We decided to just warn her that I had been feeling the same types of things as well. Better to be safe than sorry. She was not happy about it, but she did listen to me when I told her to give the school a call herself to verify the information. The school said that there must have been some confusion because the information was not accurate. Thankfully, she believed it from their mouths.

She expressed to me how much it meant that I was in her corner with this all. She told me that she felt like she had been going insane with it all. I reminded her that she always had me in her corner no matter what and even if she did not want it. She was stuck with me.

Jadelynn and I were back into our same routine sans the awkwardness of the other day. It was great to have her back again like before. I loved being able to press my lips against her skin, taste her kisses, and hold her body close to mine. We never had any issues with physical affection, but there was a difference between best friend Thad’s affections and boyfriend Thad’s affections. Plus, I loved testing out ways that would cause her to become flustered because her blush and responses made her even more gorgeous.

I was looking forward to date night. We had gone on a couple of dates before, so I was looking forward to this one being even better because I felt that we were at a better place than last year because we both knew what we wanted from this relationship. I just wanted her in any way that she would give herself to me. My girl was my world.