Chapter Ten-Jed

After I found and lit a few candles, we cleaned the mess in silence, neither of us saying a word about what went down moments before. I was extremely irritated with the rate at which things were escalating and even more annoyed with Delilah's reaction to it.

She knew what this bond could do; how irrational it could make both mates become. She'd seen it first-hand when it happened with Tara and I so why did she take it so personally this time around?

I needed to get the hexblood on my side before she met my mother, she had to go along with my story otherwise there would be too much suspicion. My mother could never know about the island and what went on there, if she did there's no doubt she'd end up going there in an attempt to singlehandedly take down the Fae Queen which would not end well.

Once she was seated comfortably cross legged on the leather couch, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of red wine, two glasses and the leftover pizza in the oven.

I set everything out on the table and she watched my every move as I poured two glasses of wine and held one out to her.

It felt awkward and uncomfortable; usually women would do anything to be here with me like this, even the ones in the sanctuary, but she's different. She doesn't care about how powerful I am or even that I got her out of the hell she'd been living in forever, granted I tricked her into going along with us but in the end it will benefit both her and I, surely that much was obvious?

She took it slowly and sniffed it before looking at me and taking a long sip, filling her cheeks but not swallowing as her eyes widened for a moment. Her expression revealed just how much she disliked it, even before she leaned forward and spat it back into the glass.

I couldn't help but throw my head back and laugh loudly as she placed the glass onto the table and leaned back, "That's disgusting." She stated as she eyed the bottle of wine.

I smiled and stood up, suddenly very glad I got someone to replenish my supplies before our arrival. Whenever I did, I stocked Tara's favorite white champagne. She always said it was the sweetness that stood out most, and that it seemed like the bubbles would playfully dance on her tongue with each sip.

I popped the cork off and poured half a glassful; in case she hated it, and walked through to the living room, "Here," I told her, "I'm sure you'll like this."

She looked sceptical. Her beautiful mismatched eyes studied me closely as she reached for the glass and brought it to her lips, tasting only a tiny bit at first before looking up at me in surprise.

Without hesitation she swallowed the rest in one go, "Wow," she said, unable to hide her smile, "that's really good! Do you have any more?" She asked, her eyes darting towards the kitchen.

For the second time that night I found myself laughing out loud, "Sure," I told her as she leaned back and sat a little straighter, waiting for me to get the rest of the champagne, "I'll go get some more."

Once I'd placed the bottle in a bucket full of ice and Kenna had had three and a half glasses of champagne, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to speak about the meeting tomorrow evening and the role I needed her to play.

We'd spent most of the evening having conversations about the world outside the sanctuary. I'd patiently answered majority of her many questions about the human rulers and why people like us had to stay hidden.

She was dumbstruck that supernaturals were forced to fit, to live and behave as they did in order to remain safe around them. Each explanation made her eager to get out and explore, she said she wanted to witness it all first hand.

"Then the guard fell face-first into the man's drum of fermented fruit," I told her as I sipped on my wine, continuing to tell her a story I hadn't told in many years, "we made him drink until he was sick. He remained drunk as hell for three days straight, never touched alcohol again. It was the last time he ever referred to me as 'Kitty' I tell you that much."

Her light laughter filled the room as tears ran down her cheeks, she looked different when she was happy. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes bright as she wiped the tears with the back of her hand and tried to catch her breath, "That's hilarious. I wish I was there to see your face, 'here Kitty, Kitty'" she teased, placing her glass down and pulling her knees underneath her as she beckoned with her finger.

I raised an eyebrow in warning, pointing at her as I put my own glass down. A few bottles in and I was starting to feel a little more than relaxed, I could tell she was more comfortable around me too.

She jumped up and zoomed around the room before coming to a stop right behind me, "Catch me if you can," she whispered inches from my ear before giggling and running to the opposite side of the room, no doubt the champagne had gotten to her head.

I decided to play along as I stood slowly and allowed my eyes to flash gold, momentarily catching her off guard before she gave me a cheeky grin and stuck her tongue out at me.

"You asked for it." I said as I pounced and we raced around the room. Each time I got close she slipped from between my arms. She was a lot faster than most hexbloods, I wondered if she knew that. She looked over her shoulder as she ran into the spare room and had nowhere to go.

I blocked the exit by standing in the doorway, watching her in amusement as she giggled uncontrollably, spreading herself out on the bed. Her caramel hair had come loose while running and splayed messily out around her. It was a lot longer than I thought it was. She looked carefree, happy, beautiful.

She rolled over onto her stomach and nuzzled into the soft sheets, "Everything in this world either smells or tastes delicious," she said, looking back at me, "it's amazing!"

I grinned and shook my head slightly as she rolled to the side, stood up and walked up to me, "Even you," she said softly, looking up at me through her long, dark lashes.

"Even me?" I asked, trying to ignore the almost irresistible pull I had towards her. It's just the bond, it's not real, it's not real. but could it be?

She inhaled deeply, "Yes," she said softly as she closed her eyes, "You smell amazing; like a wild rain storm right after a scorching hot day."

My eyes travelled down to where she began biting her lower lip and I found myself giving into temptation as I placed a hand on her cheek and brushed my thumb along her full lips.

She looked up at me and I leaned down, brushing my lips gently against hers as I fought with everything in me not to shove her up against the wall and kiss her the way I craved to.

She stepped forward and placed one hand on my chest and the other on my waist as she teased my lower lip between her teeth for a moment before parting her lips, giving me permission.

I didn't hesitate as I pulled her closer to me and kissed her hard. The moment I did, I found myself pulled back into yet another memory.

Tara had her red hair neatly braided to the side as she stepped out of the black car parked in front of Agatha's children's home. I watched her from my window on the third floor as she spoke to the woman in the driver's seat before being greeted by Mom.

Both of Tara's parents died in what my mother called a very unfortunate attack , leaving Tara with no family besides her aunt who felt that Tara became too much to handle once the changes started happening.

Supernatural children of all kinds need guidance and education once their abilities begin to mature. Sadly some people just can't handle the chaos that comes with the learning process. That's when they brought the children to Mom.

Tara was only nine when it first happened, a lot younger than most and people were afraid of her outbursts. It usually happened when she was scared or angry; she'd lash out and throw children across fields, into the air and up onto the top of buildings.

Once she even left a boy with eight fingers after he called a four year old Samantha 'nothing but an unwanted Blackblood'. His mother was very upset and publicly confronted Agatha. The Council was involved and were even threatening to lock her up for endangering the safety of the local supernatural community. They were afraid she'd have another 'episode' and react by using her magic on a normal human kid.

Luckily I'd been hiding behind a tree when this happened and knew she didn't do it without cause. I had to prove she wasn't crazy so I came forward and spoke as a witness. I told them how the boy had pushed the little girl down and what he'd said to her, how I'd hidden and witnessed the entire event from afar.

Luckily for us there were hexbloods on the council who weren't very happy with the derogatory term he'd used to insult Samantha and agreed to have both the boy and I undergo compulsion to see who was being truthful.

The boy admitted to what he'd done and everyone agreed to the case being dropped and both children escaped with nothing more than a warning.

After the trial Tara walked up to me and hugged me tightly, placing a single kiss on my cheek as she took my hand and said, "Thank you." From that day on we were inseparable.