Jasper
There was something to be said about the rigid discipline his upbringing had forced upon him. His face held the impassive control that was his signature, his posture keeping true to the strict elegance drummed into him from birth. Even his stillness gave nothing away.
Inside he was a seething mass of rage. A volcano about to erupt at the merest hint of a disturbance. His veins boiled, his muscles tensing despite the relaxed air he portrayed.
None of the people in the room with him was fooled.
The scent of their fear was like a call that lured him to violence, enticed him. It was like nectar to a long-starved god. An offering so sublime he wanted nothing more than to bask in it, to give in to their supplication.
"One thing to keep in mind doctor," he drawled at the female he'd met earlier. "Is never to show fear in the presence of a predator."
She'd found out that he was a shifter after he'd lost control on his mother for causing Cressida's panic attack. He wasn't just talking to her though. Even the shifters in the room were reeking of fear when they should know better.
The female winced, the scent of her fear becoming more pronounced and the other shifters became restless. Their eyes took on the sheen that showed that they were a hair's breadth from losing control.
"I..I'm sorry..." she stammered then her sixth sense seemed to kick in and she froze. Her gaze widened as she took in the males she was with. She swallowed hard and took a half step back. A mistake when in the presence of their dangerous race. Her fearful gaze sought his in that instinctive plea for protection.
"Leave me," he commanded of the shifters, his gaze holding the doctor's captive.
Needing to calm himself Jasper had only tolerated their company to give him time before he confronted his mother. Now he felt obligated to ease the woman before she lost her mind to the shocks she'd just been dealt. His mate still needed her care after all.
"Please sit doctor," he invited her and like someone in a fear trance, she stumbled into the chair that was before him.
Jasper had taken over the hospital director's office to deal with things but all the time he was just waiting for his mate to wake up. He hated that she'd had to be sedated, could still picture the terror that had been on her face. Was that what she'd felt when Sophia had attacked her?
All he wanted was to protect her. Yet it seemed even his mother was hell-bent to be against him.
Any other time he would've been considerate of the woman's needs but he couldn't muster the patience for it. His words to the doctor were therefore rather blunt. "You're an intelligent woman." he started off. "So I'm sure you have reasoned that it will not be in your best interest to reveal the existence of shifters."
"Yes," she agreed as she shifted in her chair slightly.
"Our people are generally wealthy," he continued. "We fund political players and some of us hold high-ranking positions so we will ensure your reputation is ruined should you think to expose us."
Once more her eyes widened and she swallowed hard. Jasper could hear the drumming of her heart and the scent of her fear was overwhelming. Yet she remained outwardly calm. "I understand."
"Good," he gave her a slight nod. "Everyone I have talked with tells me you're an exceptional doctor so I'd hate to have to destroy your livelihood." He met her eyes with an adamant look in his. "As distasteful as I find it, I will not hesitate to ensure you are never entrusted with any form of healthcare should you cross us. I am responsible for thousands of lives and their care is my first priority."
"Of course your highness." she agreed again.
"Now you have two options," he stated. "You can either go back to your regular job and know that you will have someone monitoring you until we are certain you will not talk. Or you can move here and work at this hospital knowing it's staffed mostly by shifters."
Her fear drenched the room, so much that his cat wanted to attack her. His teeth ached with a need to sink into the vulnerable frantic beat he could see pulsing at her neck. The fear registered her as prey to his primal side so that it took all his will not to attack.
"Can I think about it?" The slight tremor in her voice showed that she didn't find either of her options palatable.
Jasper didn't care. His people were more important than the life of one human. He wouldn't hesitate to ruin hers if she proved to be a threat. "That is reasonable." he agreed in a tone that was a clear dismissal.
The doctor stood up and then gave him a slight bow before rushing out of the office as if she was being chased. He sat back and looked at the door she'd just left through whilst his mind was milling over all that had happened.
His mate had been healing at a faster rate than the serum should have allowed. If it hadn't been impossible for a human to be changed into a shifter Jasper might have been tempted to believe Sophia's attack had changed her. But he knew better.
Which begged the question of why she was healing so fast.
The door opened without anyone having knocked and his look turned into a glare. He sighed when he saw who it was. he shouldn't have been surprised. His mother for all her insistence on good manners had a habit of disregarding them at times.
"What were you thinking?" he demanded of her.
She held her head at a regal angle, the look she had that made people around her feel beneath her. "I was thinking that I had a right to know my grandson," she stated, no apology in her tone.
The anger that had been simmering within him almost choked him. He could feel his cat clawing to get out. Heat filled his eyes as his sight narrowed in on her. "Mother," he growled, "I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to make sure you never meet my son."
His mother recoiled from that as if he'd just slapped her. "What?"
"You have done enough damage in their lives. I will not give you more chances to hurt them."
She moved forward to take the seat the doctor had just vacated and sat down. "He is my only grandson, Jasper, you can't keep him away from me."
"I will do everything in my power," he stated again through clenched teeth. "You have shown me that you don't care about the woman I love and have little disregard for the fact that I want to protect him."
"From what?" she demanded. "Our family?"
Jasper sat back. "Can you blame me? Because of you his mother and I are not together. Now you want him to be exposed to people who will never let him live it down. People who will use it to undermine him."
"Do you think you can keep his identity secret? Now that the council knows that Cressida is your mate they will investigate her and it won't be long until they realise her son is also yours. One look at him and the truth will be clear."
"That's not your concern," he told her.
Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, her regal expression crumbling. "You're punishing me aren't you?" she whispered the question.
His hard gaze took her in without changing. "I have better things to do."
"I'm sorry Jasper, I shouldn't have enacted the blood oath without talking to you. But you had agreed to it."
His jaw ached from where he was grinding his teeth but his voice came out even when he replied to her. "I agreed to a binding in which I would be a willing participant, not one done behind my back."
"I'm sorry Jasper," she said once more in a broken tone. "I wish I could undo it but we no longer can."
He stood up and made his way from around the desk. "If you will excuse me mother, I have a mate to check up on."
The last thing he wanted was to talk about something that tore at his being every time the thought about it. The last person he'd ever talk about it to was his mother.
Her hand closed around his wrist as he was about to pass by her. "Jasper please, he's our only grandson."
"He's my only son and his welfare is all that matters to me. He's not going to grow up surrounded by the vipers in our world." He looked his mother in the eye. "When the time comes he will be the king of Leonneria, otherwise until he's ready to meet you it's not going to happen."
Pulling from her he walked away, his mind already on seeing his mate again, being with her for the first time since that night five years ago.
Copyright© Tafadzwa Josephine Kashiri.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This is the literary property of Tafadzwa Kashiri and is not licensed for unauthorized reuse, reprint, photocopying or any other mechanical/electronic reproduction.