The Truth in Pain | Book Two of the In Pain Trilogy

Who Are You

Jasmine blinked in surprise. "You did a background check on me?"

"No, no!" he said quickly. "I didn't do anything like that. Let me start over. I'm the son of the Lyon pack alpha. Last night, those two men that attacked you were a part of my father's pack."

"I gathered that when you guys were talking," Jasmine said, her tone as dry as sandpaper. "Wait, Lyon pack? You mean Lute the Lycan's pack?"

"Yes, that's the one." Jasmine could have sworn his chest puffed out a bit.

"If you're the son of the alpha, why did they attack you?"

"They don't respect me. I'm still a pup and until I've proven myself, they'll always see me as that. But that's not important. The real question is why they attacked you. Have you ever heard of a woman named Lady Katherine Hellen?"

Jasmine shook her head.

"Lady Katherine Hellen," Rich went on. "Was born in 1920. She was the future king's cousin. When she was born, she had to be kept in the king's castle at all time because whenever she was near, supernaturals would go crazy. They couldn't control themselves around her and always tried to kill her. When Lady Katherine turned twenty she finally got fed up. She snuck out of the castle and went to find the woman that lived on the city's outskirts who was rumoured to have practiced witchcraft. She thought she might have an answer to her predicament."

"The woman told her the reason supernatural creatures lost their mind when she was near was because she was born with pure magic. A witch like her could not compare to the powers Lady Katherine possessed, was what she had said, and because of that power radiating off her, supernaturals lose control. All they want is the power. They become like possessed men and women. They think that ripping out the heart and eating it was the only way they could satiate themselves."

Jasmine sank onto the bed, absorbing his words. Beside her, she felt her mother squeeze her hand but she kept her eyes on Rich. She frowned, bemused. "So ...?"

"Lady Katherine died on her way back to the castle. The witch had given her a charm to walk with, but her powers were weak and she wasn't good at what she did. A vampire found her and tore her heart out. The vampire died after eating it."

"What's the moral of the story?"

Rich shook his head but it was Mason that spoke. "There is no moral. The woman died and there haven't been another borned with pure magic since then."

"Let me guess," Jasmine said. "You think I have pure magic."

"Bingo."

"Okay, you guys are crazy."

"No, we're not," said Rich. "What about last night? Didn't you see how crazy Felin got?"

"That's because I kept thwarting him," Jasmine said. She wanted to laugh but she had a feeling it would offend Rich if she did. He obviously believed every word.

"No," he insisted. "It was because somewhere during the fight you released your magic. I don't know how but-"

"When you know how, then you can come back to me." Jasmine rose to her feet with a clap. "Well, it was nice having you all but, I've got things to do."

"Hey, we're not lying!" Wendy spoke up. She stepped forward, eyes blazing. "You really do have pure magic, We're telling the truth."

"I'm very sure."

"Okay, how about when you flung those lycan men aside, huh?" Rich said. His eyes dared her to deny his words. "How do you explain that?"

Jasmine hesitated. "A vampire saved us. Simple. He moved so fast we didn't see him."

All three of them groaned. "Let's just take her," Wendy suggested. "She can't fight us."

"I'm still here, you know."

"I agree with Wendy," said Mason. "We can take her mother too. They won't be able to do anything."

"Plotting kidnapping right before me. Nice."

"We're not taking anyone," Rich said. "We're not criminals. We just have to get her to see that what we're saying is ..." He trailed off, sniffing the air. His eyes drifted over to Jasmine, his nose twitching.

There was a hum in the air. Jasmine didn't know what it was. She focused on Rich, who turned to her fully. His face contorted and then, one by one, so did the other two. They grabbed their nose again and the humming grew louder. Shocked, Jasmine saw it came from her mother. She wasn't humming, she was muttering, words flying from her mouth rapidly.

Rich, Wendy and Mason froze. The creases in their foreheads didn't move. Their arms were held upright, pinching their noses. They didn't even look like they were breathing. Only their eyes moved, shifting back and forth between Jasmine and her mother.

Jasmine didn't get any time to wonder what was happening. Her mother grabbed her hand, still muttering and pulled her out the room. The frozen supernaturals behind her followed her with terrified eyes.