Page 12 of Fated Protector

"Well, the wordrealis relative. Everything is real enough if you believe."

"I don't need a philosophy lesson, but thank you." I can't help the smile growing on my face. "Just tell me the basics."

"Well, I suppose it's like this. There are humans and everything they do. And then there's us. The others. People of all species who know about the magical world. Your aunt was part of that world, even though she was human."

But how?" I ask. "I lived with her for years, and not once did I see any of this."

"We have years of experience in hiding. Your aunt Sasha didn't know about it until she was a teenager. A vampire attacked her, and another hunter saved her life. She could have gone back and just lived the rest of her life the way it always was, but she was drawn to our world. Next thing you know, Sasha was a vampire hunter."

Sasha was a vampire hunter. That is a sentence I never thought I'd hear. Somehow though, the thought of Sasha as a badass warrior soothes a little bit of my grief.

Jack must sense my sadness because he says gently, "She was one of the best. But when her family needed her the most, she gave it up, opening her home to her sister and baby niece."

"She gave it up for me?" I say with alarm. Shame overwhelms me. If this was a life she loved, I took that away from her.

"None of that guilt now," he says firmly, pointing at me. "I see that look. Sasha was responsible for her own decisions. Besides, she didn't give it up completely. She bought that building and turned the front room into the normal bookstore you knew. Then she had some witches help build the other bookstore. And that's how she stayed in touch with our world. She had her normal customers, but she also hadothercustomers. She specialized in magical books, of course, but she also helped people find relics and other objects that were hard to get. She was practically the eBay of the magical world."

"I never knew," I whisper. As much as I appreciate Jack’s honesty, I wish Sasha was the one telling me all this. "And where do you come into this?"

He sighs and averts his eyes from mine. "Well, after her sister moved away and her niece went off to college, Sasha moved into the apartment above the bookstore. And one night, a punk teenager decided to break in and rob the place."

"I suppose that was you?"

He smiles a self-deprecating smile. "However, did you guess?"

"You kinda fit the former-punk-teenager stereotype."

"Yeah, that pretty much was me. I was a lousy burglar. She caught me immediately, but instead of turning me in, she hired me on to help with the more physical aspects of her job. At first, it was just grunt work, lifting boxes and packaging, moving shelves around for no reason, stuff like that. By the time I was eighteen, she had me doing deliveries within the city and even retrieving objects for her clients."

"She never mentioned you," I say. "I would've remembered."

"I am very memorable," he says with a wink. "But she was just protecting you, protecting me as well. Two different worlds, with no need to cross. Until now."

"If she gave up that life, though, why would someone want to kill her?"

He runs a hand through his dark hair. "I don't know. Maybe revenge. Maybe a bounty. But she wasn't involved in anything dangerous, not for the past few decades. It doesn't make sense to me." He gives me a furtive glance. "And vampires are at peace with the rest of the community. Vampires and werewolves are the two biggest species around here and, historically, their enemies. But about ten years back, they made a pact to keep things peaceful. It's worked so far. Whoever killed your aunt wanted it badly enough to go against the pact." He stands and places his bowl in the sink. “It’s getting late. We should get some sleep.”

“One more question,” I say. “What about you? Are you human?”

He freezes for a moment before turning to me with a half-grin. “I’m whatever you want me to be,cher.”

I groan at his flirtation attempt. “That doesn’t–”

“You can have the bed,” he interrupts me. “I’ll take the couch.”

“I’m not taking your bed!” I say, head whirling from his subject change. He dodges questions like a slippery snake from a trap. “I’ll take the couch.”

He shakes his head. “I’m sleeping on the couch no matter what. If you don’t take the bed, it’s just gonna sit empty.” He stretches, and his shirt rides up, revealing his sculpted abs. If I weren’t so tired, I’d stare at all that delicious skin, but instead, I yawn. Jack heads over to the couch and flops down on the cushions.

“Fine,” I say, throwing my hands up. “Goodnight, Jack.”

“Goodnight, princess.” He lays with his hands behind his head, eyes already closed. I go back to his tiny bedroom, close the door, and climb into the spare bed. Despite the rough neighborhood, the horrors of the day, and the uncertainty of tomorrow, I fall asleep immediately, knowing that Jack will keep me safe.

CHAPTER8

JACK

This damn woman makes me itchy.

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