The Heir Read online

  Jessica wanted to laugh but she couldn't. She knew that if she did, it would lead to crying. And she felt that once she started crying she would never stop. She'd never felt such pain before. She couldn't even compare it to what she had felt growing up feeling unwanted by her real parents.

  Jessica took another deep breath, trying to control the anguish that she felt spreading through her body and fought to get out of Nicks embrace.

  She stomped on his foot and with enough force to surprise him and he dropped his arms. "You no longer have the right to touch me," she told him without an ounce of emotion in her voice.

  Nick fisted his hands and looked at her, his face set in taut lines. "I'm not letting you go."

  "You don't have a choice," she told him coldly. Without waiting for a response she turned to look at Axel and Christian. "You once pledged your loyalty to me. Was that a lie too?" She asked them in the same flat tone.

  They shook their heads.

  "Prove it," she demanded. "Prove it this one time and after that I release you from your pledge. I want to go. Hold him back don't let him stop me. If my friendship ever meant anything to you, keep him away from me." She looked at them, allowed them to see the torment in her eyes."I want to go home."

  They didn't say anything. They relaxed their stances and allowed her to walk past them and when Nick took a step towards her, they blocked his way. It would take the two of them to hold Nick back. It would hurt, they knew it would but they owed it to Jessica. The pain they had glimpsed in her eyes speared them right through to their hearts. They'd never imagined that their actions would hurt her so much.

  "Get out of my way," Nick snarled.

  "Let her go," Axel murmured.

  Axel and Christian didn’t miss the desperation in their Alpha’s eyes but the pain in Jessica’s had undone them. They would help her get the space she needed and when they were both calm, they could talk.

  "Never!" Nick growled, taking a deep breath he began to channel all of his power.

  Axel and Christian braced themselves for what they knew was coming.

  Jessica also felt the ripple of power. Felt the charge of energy in the air and it was the last straw. Jessica felt the rigid control she had over her emotions break.

  "You can have it all!" She screamed. "You wanted my inheritance so bad now you have it! It’s yours; you deserve it after such a stellar performance! It’s all yours just stay away from me! Stay away from me!" She shrieked.

  The force from her words, her emotions, charged the atmosphere around them. Nicks power ripples were nothing compared to hers. It was like a light breeze being compared to a category five hurricane.

  A power the likes no one had felt or seen in almost twenty years.

  But Jessica was unaware of the power she was releasing. She was only aware of the screaming agony tearing her apart.

  "I hate you nick! I hate you with everything in me!"

  With those words a gust of power flew out of her, slamming all three men to the ground.

  Jessica didn't wait to see if they were OK. She didn’t stop and wonder how she did what she’d just done. She turned and fled, ran as fast as she could into the woods where she knew it would be easy to lose them.

  She would run until her lungs collapsed and it didn't hurt to breath. She would run until she could no longer feel her heart breaking and every beat didn't hurt. She would run until her legs gave out, until her mind couldn’t think any more, until everything inside of her went numb.

  Her newly released wolf felt her pain and it did the only thing it could do to protect her. It took over.

  Suddenly Jessica felt like her body had gone up in flames. Everything hurt, she felt as if she was been stabbed by a thousand needles. Jessica bent over in pain and that's when she noticed it. That’s when she saw the grey fur sprouting out of her.

  Horror struck and unable to look away, she watched as her body shifted from human to wolf. Her feet and hands became paws. Her fingernails became claws and she felt her teeth grow longer. She couldn't stay upright any longer and she fell to the ground even as her nose elongated and her sight shifted.

  Suddenly scent became stronger and even though she was seeing it all in black and white, it all seemed clearer somehow, sharper.

  Jessica took in the forests' scent through her elongated nose and one scent stood out from the others.

  Nicks

  Like a splash of cold water Jessica came crashing back to earth and once again began to run. She didn't care where she went, she just ran. Ran away from it all, from him, from the pain and from the lies.

  “Jessica!!”

  She heard her named being screamed but she didn’t stop.

  She kept on running.

  Hours later, spent, she made her way to her parents’ home. Shivering from the night cold, her clothing in tatters, she knocked on the front door.

  She was tired and hurting; physically and emotionally.

  Warily her mom opened the door and Jessica flung herself into her arms. Noticing the remains of her clothing Lauren led her upstairs to her old room without asking the questions that were burning the tip of her tongue.

  Without a sound, on autopilot, Jessica dressed herself and slipped into bed.

  Lauren tucked her in, concern clear in her eyes and only then did Jessica open the dam that held back the flood of her emotions. She flew into her mom’s arms and cried until she could cry no more, until her eyes could produce no more tears.

  "Jessica what happened?" Her mom asked once Jessica had calmed down and her tears had stopped.

  Jessica told her, and the heart wrenching tears began all over again.

  Lauren was speechless.

  "Get me out of here mom!" Jessica pleaded between heart wracking sobs. "I don't want to be here! Please mom, please get me out of here, take me away, and make this pain go away! Make my heart stop hurting." Jessica pressed her palm against her chest. "It feels like my chest is going to explode or cave in. Now I know why they call it heart break, ‘cause it really does feel like your heart is braking. Make it go away mom! Make the pain stop...please!" She begged with tears running down her face.

  Her pleas broke Laurens heart and she readily agreed.

  She would do everything in her power to keep her away from Nick.

  She would take her away.

  Help her escape.

  Chapter 23

  "Another dead end."

  The phrase kept flickering through Nick's mind like a neon sign as he knocked on the Robertson's door. He'd heard the same thing over and over again and every time it left him feeling deader inside.

  "Stop asking them, as Alpha you shouldn't lower yourself anymore, there's no point." Matt had tried to reason with him as he'd headed out the door earlier that day.

  Matt' attempt to get him to see reason were unnecessary; Nick knew there was no point. Knew it was a lost cause to keep asking them about Jessica. There was no point, but he couldn't keep himself from doing otherwise.

  Her scent still lingered here, that’s why he kept coming back. Like an addict needing a fix.

  With that disturbing but truthful thought, he knocked on the door again and waited a couple minutes in silence. Like before, there was no answer. And just like before he raised his hand to knock once again.

  Over the months it had become a routine. He would knock, wait a minute or two then knock some more. He did it again and again until whoever was home grew tired of the noise and finally opened the door. There was no point in trying to hide; with his heightened senses he knew when someone was home and the conversation and the length that ensued when the door was finally opened depended on who it was that answered his call.

  His knuckles had barely graced the wood when the door swung open and took a step back.

  "Hey Dani." He shoved his hands into his pockets and tried to smile by his attempt fell short and it looked more like a grimace.

  In reality he had forgotten what it was like to smile. Since Jessica’s disappear
ance he had forgotten about the brighter things in life all together. Without her his world had become dark and cold. In the beginning, he had thought of her as his prey, he'd thought himself smart and cunning but he was an amateur compared to her.

  It was she who had snuck up on him without him being the wiser. She crept up on him and the next thing he knew she had become his world. Now that she was gone...he felt as if he was lost in space with nothing holding him down.

  Nothing.

  Nick swallowed back the vile that crept up with that thought. He couldn't bear the agony, couldn't bear to think that this was what the rest of his life would be like without Jessica. That was what kept him coming back. His need for Jessica had made him do what no one else ever could.

  It had made him, a proud alpha, get down on his knees and beg.

  "Hey Nick, what a surprise seeing you here." Dani commented sarcastically, pulling him back from his self-created abyss. She walked around him and towards her car, her car keys dangling from her fingers and continued over her shoulder. "Wish I could chat today but I've got things to do and no one else is home today."

  Nick sighed heavily; he was tired of being brushed off.

  He was tired of being treated like the plague.

  Using his shifters speed, he rushed past her and a second later, stood blocking her car door. A startled Dani stumbled back a step with her hand over her mouth to cover her gasp. She was trying to keep him from noticing her terror but the erratic beating of her heart had already clued him in on her fear of him.

  It was that and the scent of chlorine suddenly bombarding his senses.

  Nick hung his head in immediate remorse. He regretted scaring her but he was tired of being brushed off. He had endured it for months, knew it was part of his penitence but his patience was wearing thin. He didn't know how much longer he could go on like this nor did he want to find out.

  He took a couple of deep breaths then raised his head to look at her with his hands out of his pockets, open, palm out in front of him to show her that he meant her no harm. Dani's heartbeat slowed down but the wary look did not leave her eyes nor did her body relax.

  "I'm late Nick, I have to go." She explained nervously.

  "Please tell me where she is." Nick pleaded, his voice sounding hoarse and thick even to himself.

  Dani looked at him for a second, with what he thought was pity in her eyes, and shook her head. It happened so fast that it left Nick thinking that he'd only imagined it. That his mind was playing tricks on him. Making him think he saw the things he wanted to see.

  "I can't," She moved her hands in a helpless motion. "Jessica wants nothing to do with you."

  Her words confirmed his belief; his mind was playing tricks on him. For a second his spirits had lifted thinking that he was finally getting through to one of them. But it had all been wishful thinking on his part.

  "Please," he begged. "I have to see her. I have to talk to her. Make her understand." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration of his inability to express himself correctly. He hated that he couldn't find the right words to persuade any of the Robertson’s into giving him the information he wanted. "Please tell me where she is." He pleaded once again in a soft voice filled with dejection.

  Dani didn't believe his act and hardened her heart against his haggard look. She knew from experience how good his kind was at lying and how little they truly cared. His false look of desolation was nothing compared to the pain she'd witnessed from Jessica.

  Dani empathized with Jessica's pain.

  She knew how it felt to be used. Knew how it felt to find out that the person you'd fallen in love with only thought about you as a means to an end. Dani knew all too well the debilitating pain of having to be around that person day in and day out. It was a pain she would do everything in her power to save Jessica from because she knew that unlike Christian, Nick wouldn't be letting Jessica go.

  Unlike Christian, Nick had a lot more to lose.

  With that thought Dani took a deep breath and told him to move on. "Jessica is gone and she is not coming back." She continued with spark of cruelty she didn’t know she possessed. "She's creating a new life that doesn't involve you. You need to move on."

  Nick could smell a lie before he even heard it and everything Dani said smelt of truth. He looked down at the ground trying to hide the pain that her words inflicted. Every word she spoke drove a knife through his heart.

  She's creating a new life without you.

  The words engraved themselves in his soul, creating a new kind of torment in his mind.

  "I can't," he whispered without lifting his gaze from the ground; trying to breathe past the constriction in his throat.

  Dani steeled herself from the anguish that he so clearly transmitted, telling herself that it was all lies. Every look, every word was a lie.

  "Then I'm sorry for you." Dani looked pointedly at her wrist watch. "Sorry for cutting this short but I really must get going."

  Nick sighed in defeat and ran a hand down his face; once again his pleas had landed on deaf ears. "Fine, sorry for keeping you." He got out of her way and turned to go then stopped and turned back to her just as she was getting into her car. "Oh and Dani?"

  Dani paused halfway into her car to look back at him. "Yeah?"

  "I'm not giving up. I'm not moving on. I will find her, there's nowhere in this world where you guys can hide her that I will not look.'’ His eyes glittered with conviction as they connected with hers. "I know you guys flew her out of here, it’s just a matter of time until I reach the end of the trail."

  His words caused waves of shivers to surge through her body like an earthquake triggered tsunami wave surging inland. She knew he'd been determined before but his words and the force he spoke them with were something new.

  Dani nodded and turned away before he noticed her renewed apprehension. "Good luck with that; goodbye Nick."

  Nick watched her settle in her seat, cringed when she slammed the door, the noise left his sensitive ears ringing, and turned away when she turned on her car. He had known it would be a waste of time. It always was; and even though he already knew what to expect, he couldn't stay away.

  To stay away meant to go insane.

  Trying to convince Jessica’s' family to tell him where she had gone was all he could do. He couldn't go out looking for her like he wanted to. He was the Alpha and he couldn't leave the pack for long periods of time. Since Jessica's disappearance some members were weary and in need of the reassuring presence of their Alpha.

  Also, due to the chaos that Jessica’s disappearance had caused, there were some members who might see his absence as a chance to take control of the pack. A weak or absent Alpha didn't stay an Alpha for long. So he stayed, even though every breath he took hurt, even though every day was a nightmare that he couldn't escape, he stayed because they were his responsibility and he couldn't turn his back on them.

  For the first time, the weight of his responsibility was unbearable. Just once, he wished someone would tell him what to do. But there was no one, no one to empathize with him, no one. He was the Alpha; he alone was responsible for the lives of his people.

  Nick took a deep breath, trying to relieve the tightness in his chest and crossed the street to where Axel and Christian were leaning against the car waiting for him.

  Even though it was unnecessary since they'd heard and seen everything, they still looked at him expectantly and he shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and muttered a curse under his breath that they also clearly heard.

  Christian pushed himself away from the car and jogged past a dejected Nick.

  "Where are you going?" Axel asked him.

  "To give it a try."

  Nick shook his head, he knew it was going to be futile and told him so.

  Christian laughed but it didn't quite reach his eyes and not for the first time did Nick notice how tired he looked. The same could also be said about Axel. They'd taken Jessica’s' disappeara
nce personally and for the longest time Nick had also blamed them. It had been easier to blame them than admit that the entire fault rested squarely on his shoulders.

  If only he would have...

  Nick forced himself away from that thought for it only lead to insanity.

  "We are going to find her."

  Nick looked at Axel and allowed his control to slip, allowed for all his desperation and pain to show if only for a moment before masking it once again. "That was said four months ago." He told him hoarsely.

  "I'm sorry." Axel looked away. "I don't know what else to tell you.'

  Nick understood that Axel wasn't just apologizing for his lack of response and Nick shook his head. "The entire fault lies squarely on me. I should have-" Nick shook his head again and turned away. "I can't do this, and I have to get out here. I'll see you guys back at home."

  "Where are you going? I will go with you."

  Axel took a step forward but Nick stopped him. "I need to be on my own."

  "But-"

  "Alone." He laced the word with power as a reminder that he was still Alpha, as a warning that, even though he didn't look like it, he was still strong enough to rule; strong enough to defend himself. If he couldn't take care of himself, people would notice and how could he care for a pack if he couldn't care for himself?

  Axel understood that but he didn't like it, he nodded and reluctantly went back to leaning against the car. "Be careful."

  "Yeah, call me if Christian has any luck."

  Axel nodded and as Nick walked away he sent out a silent prayer asking for Christian’s success.

  Dani was rolling out of her driveway, looking over her left shoulder when there was suddenly a knock on her passenger side window. She stepped on the breaks and all of the composure she'd managed to regain after her confrontation with Nick went flying out the window.

  Her breath caught in her chest and a shiver of soul deep recognition raced through her body when she looked into Christians brown eyes.