Chapter 40: FORTY

J A D E

No. No, no, no, no, no.

My blood ran cold. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic, wild drumbeat against the cage of my bones. Here. He was here. In my diner. In my town. In my new life.

I flew through the swinging doors of the kitchen, the world narrowing to a single, horrifying point. Markov. His face, etched with a desperate hope, was burned into my vision. The clean, earthy scent of him, a scent I had tried so hard to forget, clung to the air, a ghost of a life I'd abandoned. That I’d almost forgotten.

"Jade, wait!"

His voice, rough with emotion, followed me. I didn't look back. I couldn’t. I burst out the back door into the alley, the humid city air thick in my lungs. I needed to run. To disappear.

A hand caught my arm, spinning me around. I came face to face with him, his presence was suffocating, pulling me under. He looked… different. Tired. The sharp lines of his face were harsher, etched with a strain I had never seen. There were dark circles under his eyes, and a desperation in them that stole the breath from my lungs.

"Let go of me," I seethed, yanking my arm. His grip was iron.

"I can't," he breathed, his eyes scanning my face as if trying to memorize every line. "Jade, I'm not going to hurt you. I swear."

He pulled me into a hug, and I forcefully inhaled his scent. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to relax in his arms, the memory of his embrace a warm blanket on a cold winter's night. But then, I remembered. I remembered everything. The lies. The monster. The betrayal.

"No," I choked out, pushing him away with all my might. He stumbled back, surprise and pain flashing in his eyes. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to come here and act like everything is okay. You lost that right."

"I know," he said, his voice raw. "I know I did. And I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough!" I screamed, my anger boiling over. "Sorry doesn't change what you are! Sorry doesn't fix what you did! What, did you think you could just waltz back into my life after what happened and everything would be fine?You’re a monster, Markov! A fucking monster! You killed my parents, you liar!"

I slapped him hard across the face, the sound echoing in the narrow alley. The sting in my palm was a satisfying, if brief, balm to my rage.

He didn't even flinch. He just stood there, his head turned, the red imprint of my hand on his cheek. He slowly turned back to face me, and what I saw in his eyes made me take a step back. It wasn't anger. It wasn't malice. It was a deep, soulcrushing agony that mirrored my own.

"I know," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I know I'm a monster. But I need you to listen to me. I wasn’t born this way, I didn’t choose to be a monster, I didn’t choose to kill your parents. All the killing is from a curse, Jade. And the same witch who cursed me is after you. She’s here. She found you."

I scoffed, my arms crossed over my chest. "Oh, here we go again with the witch story. Nice try, Markov. But I'm not falling for it again. I'm not that stupid little wolf you saved anymore. I'm not falling for your tricks."

"It's not a trick!" he insisted, his voice rising with frustration. "Her name is Saffra. She's the one who cursed me. She's the one who has been pulling the strings all along. She wants you, Jade. She wants your power. She knows who you are."

"What power?" I shot back, my voice laced with sarcasm. "The power to serve coffee and take orders? I'm a waitress, Markov. I'm a nobody. There's nothing special about me."

"That's not true," he said, his eyes pleading with me to believe him. "There's something more to you. Saffra saw it. That's why the curse chose you. That's why you're the only one who can break it. Only true love can break the curse, and she doesn’t want me to have that. She wants me ti live with this curse for the rest of my life. But you were the answer, Jade. You were the only one."

His words hung in the air between us, a heavy, suffocating blanket of absurdity. True love? It sounded like a line from a cheesy romance novel. It sounded like a desperate, last ditch effort to manipulate me.

"You're delusional," I said, shaking my head. "You're making this up. All of it."

"I'm not," he said, his voice firm. "I know you don't have any reason to believe me. I know I've lied to you. But I'm not lying about this. This is real. And you're in danger. More danger than you can imagine."

Just then, the back door of the diner creaked open. "Jade? Is everything okay out here?" Amy's head poked out, her eyes wide with concern. She looked from me to Markov, her friendly expression replaced with a cautious frown. I had completely forgotten I was on shift.

"Everything's fine, Amy," I said, my voice a little too bright, a little too forced. "I was just taking a break."

"Okay," she said, her eyes still on Markov. "But you have a table waiting. And your break was over five minutes ago."

"I'll be right in," I promised, my heart sinking. I couldn't leave her out here with him.

"Okay," she said, her eyes lingering on me for a moment longer before she disappeared back inside.

I turned back to Markov, my resolve hardening. "You need to leave. Now."

"I can't," he said, his voice a low growl. "Not until you agree to talk to me. To really talk to me. Not just yell and accuse. We need to find a safe place. And I need to tell you everything."

"There's nothing to talk about," I said, my voice firm. "I have a life now. A good life. And I don't want you to ruin it."

"I'm not trying to ruin it," he said, his frustration mounting. "I'm trying to save it!"

"Save it?" I scoffed. "You're the one who's trying to ruin it! You're the one who's a danger to me! Not some imaginary witch!"

"She's not imaginary!" he roared, his control finally snapping. The air around him crackled with a raw, untamed energy that made the hair on my arms stand on end. His eyes flashed, the brown turning a dangerous, luminous gold. The beast was right there, just beneath the surface, a snarling, desperate thing.

I took an involuntary step back, my heart hammering against my ribs. I had seen that look before. The night of the full moon. The night he had saved me from Alpha Dane’s men. The night I had seen the monster for the first time.

"See?" I whispered, my voice trembling with a fear that I thought I had buried. "This is what I'm talking about. This is the real you. The monster."

The gold in his eyes receded, replaced by a wave of anguish so profound it was almost tangible. He took a deep breath, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I'm so sorry. I'm trying... I'm trying so hard to control it."

"I can't do this," I said, shaking my head, my tears blurring my vision. "I can't. You have to go."

"Jade, please," he begged, his eyes pleading with me. "Just hear me out, please. I’m begging you. If not for me, for your own safety. She's dangerous. She's not like me. She's... pure evil."

"Go," I said, my voice cold and final. "Get out of here before I call the police."

He looked at me, his eyes searching my face for any sign of a crack in my resolve. He found none. He nodded, his head heavy with defeat.

"Okay," he said, his voice a defeated whisper. "I'll go. But I'm not giving up on you, Jade. I'm not giving up on us."

"There is no 'us'," I said, my voice cracking. "There never was. All we had was a pigment of my imagination. The kind of man I imagined you to be, the kind of man you pretended to be, the kind of man you could never be."

He flinched as if I had struck him again. He gave me one last, long look, a look that was filled with a pain so deep it took my breath away. Then, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowded street.

I stood there, in the alley, my body trembling, my mind a chaotic mess. I had won. I had sent him away. I had protected my new life.

So why did I feel like I had just made the biggest mistake of my life?

M A R K O V

Getting into my car, I slammed my fists against the steering wheel, the raw, guttural roar tearing from my throat. Pain exploded in my hands, a welcome distraction from the agony in my chest. She hated me. She truly, utterly hated me. And she didn't believe me. Not a single word.

I rested my forehead against the cool leather of the wheel, my breaths coming in ragged, painful gasps. She was so stubborn. So proud. She was digging her own grave, and she was handing Saffra the shovel.

I couldn't leave her. I couldn't just drive away and hope for the best. Saffra was out there. She was watching. Waiting.

I had to stay. I had to protect her, even if she hated me for it. Even if she never knew.

I started the car, but I didn't drive away. I pulled out onto the street and parked a block down, the engine idling, my eyes fixed on the back entrance of the diner. I would wait. I would watch. I would not let her out of my sight.

She didn’t understand the severity of the issue. The pure evil that Saffra was. She was a manipulative, sadistic witch, and her favorite pastime was tormenting me. Seeing me suffer brought her a twisted sort of joy. If she couldn't have my soul, she would settle for my mate's. She would make me watch, helpless, as she destroyed the one good thing in my life. And then she would destroy me.

I shuddered, the memory of Saffra's laughter a cold, sharp dagger in my mind. I had to stop her. I had to protect Jade. No matter the cost.

Else I’d live the rest of my life in regret, not being able to save the only woman I’ve ever truly loved. The only woman who made me feel human, when I was far from being one.