Page 60 of Escaping Monsters

“I understand why you were willing to risk your life to protect Oliver Hunt,” Jasper said as if he read my mind. “I hope you don’t think that played any part in what happened to Chad.”

“Of course it did,” I whispered.

Jasper’s jaw clenched, and he shook his head slowly. “That part is entirely my fault, Teagan. You don’t get to share the blame for that one.”

“I stopped you from killing Oliver, and Oliver shot Chad in the head,” I said. “It seems pretty simple to me.”

“It wasn’t that simple. Chad is used to having public orgies in our living room. He’s overtly sexual, and I was afraid that his nature would scare you away. So, I pushed him into situations he shouldn’t have been put in and punished him for being himself.” Jasper sighed. “Chad was not the right person to guard you. I should have assigned Declan to the job. It had needled me at the time, but I wanted to show you that Chad wasn’t a threat to you.”

I nodded because even though Jasper wasn’t directly addressing what he had assumed, I immediately got his meaning. Jasper had assumed that Kane forced me to have sex with him. It was the obvious assumption, but Kane had wanted me to fulfill a different need in him.

“Kane killed seven wives before he found me. He felt a need to control every moment of their day. Any disobedience from his previous wives sent him into a rage, and he murdered them. Afterward, he felt so much remorse that he’d pledge to never marry again. But…” I paused to turn off the faucet and dip my fingers in the warm water. The heat did nothing to warm the chill that was running through me from my memories of the alpha who claimed to be my husband. “Kane is lonely. That’s too sweet a word for what he is. I guess the true words for what Kane is would be desperately alone. He wanted someone to come home to and tell about his day. He wanted someone to fill in his need for companionship. He wanted someone to understand him.”

“That’s why Kane used your omega powers to kill people?” Jasper said it like a statement of fact. “So you’d understand him better?”

“I’m the one who killed those people, Jasper,” I whispered.

“No, you’re not,” Jasper said, succinctly.

“Those people were my enemies. They were people I named. I held the knife that ended their lives.”

“And, if it was a choice between you living or your enemy surviving those nights, you would have chosen death. You showed all of us that. Oliver deserved to die. I’m guessing most of the people Kane killed from your past deserved to die. I think that they were likely human predators who preyed on the vulnerable, but even if they deserved to die, you weren’t the one who killed them. Kane killed them, and he forced you to be there for it.”

A warm tear trickled onto my cheek, and I wiped it away. “It can’t be that simple.”

Jasper closed the distance, and his hands wrapped around either side of my head. As soon as my second tear fell, he wiped it away with his thumb. “It is that simple. Kane tortured and abused you for his sick gratification, and he will never, ever get near you again. I didn’t understand before, but I do now, and what happened that night with Oliver will never happen again.”

“You did everything you could to protect me,” I said.

“No I didn’t, but that changes now. You are my mate, and I promise you that I will protect you from any threats that come, Teagan.” His lips came down on mine, and the chill lingering in my chest finally melted away. Jasper broke off his kiss, and whispered, “We’re going to protect you, Teagan.” His forehead pressed to mine. “Do you need help getting into the bath?”

I bit my lip and chuckled. “If you undress me right now, Jasper, I’d end up jumping your bones, and that wouldn’t be fair to Lucas.”

“So… you and I shouldn’t have sex if you’re about to go on a date with someone else?” Jasper asked with his brow furrowed.

I bit my lip and shook my head. “Better if we don’t.”

“I’ll remember that.” Jasper leaned in and inhaled deeply, and I got the feeling he was scenting me in all my sweaty glory. “The Queen of the Fae sent you that dress. Do you want to wear it tonight? Declan says the witches and demons fully examined the material and didn’t find any sort of enchantment on it.”

“I guess… it’s gorgeous. It feels a little weird accepting her gifts because we stood by and didn’t stop her from abducting Oliver Hunt.”

The demons had been the ones to inform the fae queen that there was a werewolf stray on the loose, and no one in Grayhaven would be whatsoever aggrieved if Oliver Hunt disappeared and was never seen from again.

Jasper and the other members of the Grayhaven pack simply didn’t stop the plot from unfolding. Their original plan was to kill Oliver Hunt, but Ace had argued that this was the solution I would have felt more at peace with. Ace told the demons that I planned to call the memory eater, and they gave the creature the command to take all of Oliver’s memories, not simply the traumatic ones. Oliver Hunt likely didn’t even know who or what he was now, and he didn’t remember who I was. Meaning, even if Oliver Hunt managed to escape the fae queen, he wasn’t the same level of threat he was two weeks ago.

“Go ahead and take your bath.” Jasper nodded. “I’ll leave your dress in our room.”

Twenty minutes later, when I reemerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I found the bedroom was empty. Someone had changed the sheets and made Jasper’s bed, and the gauzy fae dress lay over the comforter.

The gown smelled of flowers, and the deep blue silken material was petal-soft. I carefully pulled it up my body, expecting the dress to fall apart at any moment, but the material held strong as it molded around my curves. Ribbons tied up the back, held by a single bow at my neck. I slipped on my boots, as they were much nicer than my sneakers, and scrunched up my fading pink hair. I turned to the door, and for a moment, I lamented that I didn’t have so much as a tube of lipstick.

The thought almost made me laugh. A little over a month ago, I was on the run for my life and I’d have only bought makeup if it was part of a disguise. How much my life had changed in the course of such a short time.

Taking a steadying breath, I pushed the door open, only to find rose petals littering the floor of the living room in a path that headed down into the hallway. Declan stood to the side, hastily dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“You changed fast…” I said before biting my lip. When Declan only grinned at me, I asked, “Have you seen Lucas?”

Declan nodded his head at the line of rose petals. “You’re supposed to follow the crushed flower path. I’m just here in case you need any help walking.”