Chapter 27
Jade
Pancakes were usually my favorite. Especially when they were slathered in as much butter as I could get on them. Growing up in a vegan household made me appreciate the finer things in life.
AKA butter.
But today, I couldn’t stomach them. I couldn’t bring myself to eat one bite. I shoved my tray away from me and watched with sickening fascination as Lucas devoured twelve pancakes and three cinnamon rolls. I couldn’t keep the grin off of my face as he finished off his second glass of orange juice.
He stopped mid-sip. “What?”
“One would think you haven’t eaten in years,”
He set the glass down hard and the juice sloshed over the side of the rim. His eyes went cold as he shoved his, now, empty tray away from him. “Maybe I haven’t.”
I leaned forward on my crossed arms. “I wouldn’t know.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you want to know, Jade?”
“How long have you been Damian’s prisoner?”
He pursed his lips together. “That’s a complicated answer.”
I cocked an eyebrow. If we were going to continue on like this, I had to trust him. Yes, I know about his family somewhat but I didn’t know why he was here. He still knew too much about me. I needed a friend but I was too afraid of getting close to someone here. What would it do to me? It would destroy me if I allied with the wrong person.
He sighed before he leaned forward. “I fell in love with Damian five years ago,” My heart stopped. He grabbed our trays before he held a hand out to me. I placed my hand in his hesitantly then he yanked me from the table. He looped his arm through mine as we walked. “We met in a coven during a sacred holiday. I thought he was a gift from the gods. I thought he was everything I had been waiting for. But he didn’t love me. He was looking for witches to aid him in his cause. He brought me back to his hotel room and I thought it was finally going to be my night, the night that everything was going to change. He jabbed a needle into my neck after he got me down to my underwear. Later he admitted it was in case I transformed immediately. He didn’t know what would happen, I was his first witch changed wolf. I was the first of his experiments.”
The burning returned in the back of my eyes. I couldn’t breathe as he continued to speak.
“I thought he was the sun and the moon, turned out he was only a man. An evil man that couldn’t turn himself so he sought out to destroy others.” He chuckled but the sound was flat. “He held me captive and away from others for five years. When they threw you into my cell, I didn’t know what to make of it. I still don’t.”
“He’s kept real meals from you this entire time?”
Lucas nodded his head. “Yes, after I tried to rip his throat out when I realized what he had done to me.”
It took me a few minutes to realize Micah was at our door. Now that I knew who he was, he no longer wore a ski mask. His lips twitched a bit when my eyes met his. I narrowed my eyes at him. He had helped me but I wasn’t sure if I could trust him either. I pinched the bridge of my nose. All of this was making my head hurt. If I was going to beat Damian I had to be ten steps ahead but he was five years ahead of me, possibly more.
“Good morning, Micah,” I cocked my head to the side in a greeting.
“Damian is requesting your presence,” His voice didn’t sound entirely happy about it and Lucas stiffened beside me. I pulled my arm from his and Micah held out his elbow like a true gentleman. What was going on here? Somehow I had gone from the prisoner to the princess.
Damian was waiting for me in a lavish sitting room on the other side of this jail. I wasn’t entirely sure what to call it all yet but it certainly wasn’t a palace, even if Damian’s rooms suggested otherwise. He stood up from his chair and practically glided to me. I felt Micah’s hand tighten briefly, in warning, on my arm before he released me to the beast.
“I hope you have been enjoying all the extras lately.” Damian wrapped his fingers around mine and pulled me to a balcony that overlooked the mountains. There were two white rocking chairs to the left of us. He sat down in one before he motioned for me to sit in the other.
“Yes, the chocolate cake has been delicious,” I motioned down to my white shirt and jeans. “Having actual clothing is also a bonus. We no longer stick out like sore thumbs when we leave our room.”
Damian faced me with zero emotion on his face. I didn’t like that I couldn’t read him. What was he playing at? “Lucas told you about me.”
I kept the surprise off of my face at the change of topic all of a sudden. I didn’t know why I was surprised to begin with, he had eyes and ears everywhere. Of course he knew.
I nodded my head. “Yes, he did.”
Damian leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I would love to tell you that I’m not a monster. I would deny the claims if they weren’t true. But they are.”
I kept my eyes on the mountains while he spoke. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, I knew if I did this entire charade would come crumbling down around me. I had to remain stoic. I rubbed my hand over my mouth before I allowed myself to talk. Like the action would keep me from revealing all of my secrets.
“Why would you do that to him?” My voice broke. There was no denying the hurt in my voice. There was also no point in hiding it. But what I couldn’t do was attack him with my hands or my words. I had to be diplomatic about this.
