The Heir (28 page)

"The Lykaon heir?"

Kate looked at her with unhidden disgust and
shook her head. "No wonder he worked so fast. You're naivety made
you such an easy target. You are the Lykaon heir. If you don't
believe me," She pointed at her hand. "That ring you are wearing is
proof enough. Look at the encryption inside."

Positive that it was all a misunderstanding,
Jessica took off the ring and looked at the inside.

What she found had her reeling back in shock
and she had to work hard not to show it.

Encrypted inside the ring were two words
"Lykao's Heir" she'd didn't know why she'd missed the encryption
when she gotten the ring from her mom but she remembered what her
mom had told her about it.

Over five hundred years old. An heirloom
passed down to the eldest child. From generation to generation.

Followed by those words; Jessica also
remembered what Nick had told her about the Lykaon heir.

The belief that being bitten by a werewolf
will make you one, that's a myth. We are born, not created or
infected. Only one person has the power to create a werewolf, the
Lykaon heir. It is a gift-power- passed down from generation to
generation.

From first child to first child

No matter who the Lykaon mates with, be it
human or shifter, the Lykaons first child is always one hundred
percent werewolf. When I say that the heir carries the blood of the
Arcadian King, I mean that it’s an exact copy of his blood. Male or
female, the Lykaons child is the Heir to one of, if not, the oldest
royal dynasty in the world. Our last ruler had one child." He'd
told her. "But the council doesn't know where the Lykaon Heir
is."

"Nick only wanted you for the power." Kate
continued, taking joy from Jessica’s ill-concealed shock. "Why do
you think he chased after you so tirelessly? Because he had to
claim you before anyone else discovered your existence." Kate
glared at her. "If it wasn't for you, Nick would be my mate. But
you haven't won, he is going to discard you after you give him an
heir and come back to me."

Jessica felt something breaking inside of her
but she refused to show any weakness in front of Kate. She didn't
want to believe it but it all made sense. Looking back Jessica
realized that Nick had never really professed his love, only his
desire to mate with her and Jessica now understood why.

With cold fingers, Jessica reached behind her
neck and unclasped the necklace that Nick had given her, and with
the necklace dangling from her fingers, she stretched her hand out
towards Kate and told her flatly. "Nick is all yours and so is
this."

Kate eyed her for a second then smirked when
she realized she'd been triumphant. Standing in front of Jessica
she stretched her hand out, palm up. “You’re doing the right thing
for all of us." She told her without bothering to hide the malice
in her voice.

Jessica didn't seem to hear her. "This is
yours." She repeated stoically then added, "and so is this."

Jessica brought her free hand back and
punched her square in the nose. It happened so fast, Kate was
unable to do anything to stop the punch. The force of it sent her
flying back and slamming against the wall.

Jessica's eyes grew wide in surprise of her
own strength, she was sure that everyone had heard the impact.
"That's for being such a vindictive bitch." She spat at her then
added as a second thought, "and it's not a compliment."

Out in the hall, Sarah had to bite her lips
to keep herself from laughing out loud. She wished she could have
seen the look on Kate’s face. She’d been dying to do the very thing
that Jessica had just done for a very long time. Unfortunately
Sarah’s hands were tied. One wrong move on her part, one foot out
of line and they would destroy her world.

"You’re going to pay for that!" She heard
Kate snarl.

The snarl had Sarah’s back snapping straight
in apprehension. Kate was going to shift. She was going to shift
and attack The Heir, Jessica, Nick's mate. Between the two, in a
human form battle Sarah had no doubt that Jessica would be the
victor. But Jessica had yet to shift, she may be strong in human
form but Sarah didn't know if she could hold her own against a wolf
with Kate’s fighting experience.

Sarah knew that she couldn't risk it.

She had to intervene.

But she would have to do it without stepping
out of line. It was a tight rope she would have to walk but she
couldn't sit back and hope that Nick's mate was not killed.

"Whoa! Someone needs a wax!" She heard
Jessica exclaim tauntingly.

Knowing that if she was going to step in the
time was now, Sarah schooled her features into a look of disdain as
she prepared herself to meet her brother’s mate for the first
time.

"I'm surprised you know what that is." She
heard herself say.

Stepping into the room she walked up to
Jessica and deliberately placed herself in front of her; taking
Kate’s attention away from Jessica.

The first thing that caught Sarah’s attention
were her eyes, they were electrifying. Eyes a clear blue like the
color of the tropical ocean. And in one of those eyes she found the
birthmark that declared her the Heir.

"Who are you?" Jessica asked her.

"I am Sarah, Nick's sister." She answered
coldly when in reality she wanted to hug her and welcome her warmly
into the family.

This wasn't how she'd hope to meet her new
sister in law for the first time but she comforted herself with the
knowledge that one day, hopefully soon, she would be able to make
up for what she was about to do.

"What's going on in here?" Sarah whirled
around to look at Matt standing by the door. "What are you two
doing here?"

Before Sarah could answer Jessica spoke up as
she made her way past him and out the door. "They were just filling
me in on the truth."

Matt watched her go before turning to look at
Sarah. The look of contempt in his eyes had her backing away. He'd
never looked at her with so much hate before and she stiffened her
spine, preparing for the worst.

Kate caught the silent bypass and she smiled
triumphantly to herself. She'd just killed two birds with one
stone. She'd managed to not only cause trouble for Nick but Sarah
also. "My work here is done." She told no one in particular. "I
think I will leave you two alone." She told them as she sidled past
Matt.

He didn’t try to hold her back; all of his
attention was focused on Sarah. This time she'd gone too far. He
couldn't believe she'd just done that to her own brother. He'd
always hoped that one day she would go back to being the Sarah of
old but now he realized how hopeless it all really was.

"He is your brother." He stated in a low
defeated tone.

Sarah stared at him blankly. She had nothing
to say. She couldn't say anything.

She wished she could, with every fiber of her
being she wished she could defend herself. She wished she could
tell him everything. She wished she could tell him the truth but
she couldn't.

She couldn't risk it. I'm doing the right
thing, she told herself. It was painful and lonely but it was all
worth it. One day she'd be able to tell him the truth. One day they
would be able to be happy.

But that day was not today. Today Kate was
out in the hall listening to every word. Today Sarah would keep on
playing the charade. To do otherwise could mean his death.

"You aren't going to say anything?" Matt
asked, cutting into her thoughts.

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and
said in a snobby tone, "I have nothing to say. You already know how
I feel about all this."

Look into my eyes! She wanted to scream. Look
at the pain I feel!

But she didn’t say anything and Matt didn't
look.

He shook his head and ran his hand through
his hair in frustration. "I am done." He told her flatly and his
words had her going cold. "I can't do it anymore. I thought you
would change. I thought my love could be enough but it's not." He
laughed mirthlessly. "I never pictured myself thanking you for not
letting me mark you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You should know you did it enough to
me."

Sarah could have sworn she felt her blood
turning into ice. Felt the cold crystals forming in her lungs
robbing her of her breath. The look in his eyes, she'd never seen
it there before.

"What are you trying to say?"

Matt looked at her with indifference in his
eyes. "I am rejecting you as my mate."

She felt the ice slowly creep towards her
heart. "You can't," she told him in a panic. She'd never thought
that this would happen. She thought she would have more time. In
her mind she had created a whole different outcome.

Not this.

Never this.

Biting back her panic, she said, "We are
soul-"

"I've heard that if you haven’t marked your
soul mate that you can mate with someone else." Matt spoke over
her. Sarah felt the floor disappear from under her. "You don't mean
it." She whispered.

"With every bone in my body." He told her.
For the first time he looked at her, really looked at her and threw
his head back and laughed. "Now you're acting like you care? It's
too late. Even if I can’t mate with anyone else, I won’t have you."
Matt looked down at her with contempt. "I'd rather die alone." He
turned to leave and paused at the threshold to add, "I would
suggest that you leave before Nick finds out about your involvement
in all of this. Goodbye Sarah."

Sarah watched him go. Her heart breaking with
every step he took. One thought kept flying through her mind.

This wasn’t and how it was supposed to
happen.

"That's what you get for interfering." Kate
told her smugly.

Sarah glared at her, she refused to give her
more ammunition than she already had to use against her. Wrapping
her pride like a cloak around her she pointed at the blood on
Kate’s shirt. "And that's what you get for... What did she call
you?" Sarah tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully, "oh that's
right, being a vindictive bitch."

Sarah moved around her to walk out of the
room but Kate wrapped her hand around her arm to stop her. "Where
do you think you're going?"

"Didn’t you hear Matt? He wants us out of
here." Sarah shrugged out of Kate’s hold. "Let’s go."

Kate laughed. "And miss all the fun? I don’t
think so. I still have work to do. But you've served your purpose
better then I'd hopped so you can go." Kate dismissed her and as
she walked away she heard Kate say with delight. "I'll give him
hugs and kisses for you."

Sarah’s steps didn't falter. She refused to
let Kate know how much her words hurt.

Without another word she left. She went away
to lick her wounds in private.

She made her way to the back yard, out to the
woods where she shifted with a natural ease and allowed her wolf to
take control. Her wolf only cared about natural instincts it didn't
care about broken hearts. And that’s what Sarah needed, to not
care.

Chapter 22

Jessica finally found Nick in his office and
barged in without knocking.

"Is it true?" she asked uncaring that he was
on the phone.

Nick turned to look at her with a smile that
vanished the moment he looked at her face.

"I have to let you go. I’ll call you back
tomorrow." Nick put the phone down, "what is?" He got up and walked
around his desk, tried to reach for her but Jessica stepped away.
"What’s wrong?"

Jessica raised the hand that held the ring up
to him. "Is this true? Am I the Heir?"

Her question was met with silence. It was
answer enough. Shaking her head she turned to leave but he grabbed
her wrist to hold her back.

"Who told you?"

"You’re jilted mate." She looked down with
disgust at the hand that held her wrist. "You both deserve each
other."

She pulled her hand away and turned to go.
She couldn’t stay here any longer. She was seconds away from
breaking down and she refused to do it in front of him. She’d given
him everything; she refused to give him her tears.

Jessica couldn’t believe how fast everything
had changed. Within seconds her world had come crashing down around
her.

Now all she had left was her pride.

And she would never let him know just how
much his deception hurt her.

"Let me explain. I was going to tell you
tonight." He told her desperately.

Jessica shook her head and kept on walking.
"Isn't that what everyone says after they've been caught in a
lie?"

She stormed out the front door and down the
steps. And when she remembered that she'd been driven here, she
ran. She would run home, she decided. It would give her time to
think. Give her time to figure out what she was going to do.

She was the heir. She was the heir to the
oldest dynasty, she thought in wonderment.

That brought her up short and wondered what
that meant, what it entailed. Jessica didn’t know, she had no clue
what she was supposed to do now

Nick knows, a soft voice reminded her. Nick
her mate.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't leave. They
were mates, which meant something. She wasn't seventeen anymore;
she couldn't run away every time she heard something she didn't
like. She would let him explain. She'd been looking for answers and
now that she'd found them she wasn't going to walk away.

She specially wasn't going to give that
horrible person the pleasure of seeing her run away.

With a new resolution Jessica turned around
and retraced her steps back to Nick’s house. She was a bit
surprised that he hadn't followed her. After chasing her so
persistently she never would have thought that he would just let
her go. It didn’t make sense to her and she was even more confused
when she didn't find him anywhere in the house.