Chapter Twelve

Cassie

I struggle to sit up as Jeremiah parks his car in front of the Kaye estate. He sees me struggling in the rearview mirror.

"Don't. I'll come get you," he says gently.

The look in his eyes begs for my compliance. I am impatient to get inside. But I back down and wait for him.

I cannot wait to see my Mom. I want to look her in the eyes and ask her the one question that has been bugging me.

Is it true?

I want her to tell me it was a mistake. To tell me they got it wrong. I need her to say something that will not make her the villain.

Because there is no way my mom could have been giving me pills that were making me sick. There is no way.

Ever since Jeremiah and Eric confirmed what Leila told me, my mind has been caught between disbelief and anger—disbelief that she could have done it and anger that she did.

As I get closer to home, my anger slowly slinks back, giving way to disbelief.

Jeremiah climbs out of the car and then comes over to open the door of the backseat to get me. Something about the way he does it makes me blush. Why is he suddenly treating me like we're in a Disney movie?

Eric smiles at me through the rearview mirror. "Let him recuse you, princess," he teases me as if he has read my thoughts.

I roll my eyes at him. I know he's trying to ease the tension.

Jeremiah opens the door and a fresh breeze from outside rushes into the car, and chills my bare feet. I had taken off my shoes so I could lie down in the back seat. He notices my bare feet and rubs them before helping me put my shoes on.

His touch is electrical, immediately sending warmth through my body. He swoops me out with ease, holding me tight to his body as my hands go around his neck. He shuts the door behind us, passes through the gate, and begins the walk down to my house.

Jeremiah has been acting differently since he got to the hospital. He has been more protective of me to the point of being paranoid. In the hospital, he was all over me, getting me water, feeling for my temperature, and keeping me warm. As we walked to his car from the hospital building, he kept watching his back and our surroundings like he expected someone to slip out from a hidden place and jump us. As we walk to the house, he does the same thing.

I had asked him earlier if everything was okay. His reply was a nod and a smile. So, I kept quiet.

As I hug his firm frame, I sense his heart beating faster than it should. His breathing is deep and focused. Concerned, I try to look at his face, but I can only see his neck. His veins are bulging like he is straining himself.

Is he in pain?

I rub his chest to get his attention. It is something I have never done to him. But I do it with ease, without second-guessing. He growls at my touch and looks down at me. His eyes looked fired up.

"Yes?" he says to me. His voice is so soothing I want him to keep speaking.

Instead, I softly ask, "Are you okay, Jeremiah? What's wrong?"

He chuckles, and I feel it reverberating through me.

"You are leaking pheromones darling," he says.

"What?" I can't make sense of that.

"Yeah. Your scent is strong. It's overpowering."

That's weird.

"I have never had my pheromones be so strong before," I point out.

"Yeah. I know. They used to be very faint. Not anymore. I can sense them clearly, and they're getting to my head." He growls the last part.

My middle tingles with in excitement. I feel my wetness flooding as my cheeks go red. Jeremiah growls and sniffs my hair.

My pheromones are causing us to lose our minds. I can bear its effect, as I'm the source. But I am not pleased that Jeremiah is straining himself because of me. Even though his reactions excite me.

"I am sorry," I mutter to him.

"Don't be silly. You have nothing to be sorry about," he says. "We just need to get you inside quickly. You being outside will attract attention." He holds me tighter, but not enough to suffocate me, as he increases his pace.

"But there is nobody here," I counter.

"Still," comes his brief reply.

I keep quiet and go with the flow.

We are still walking down the path to my house, and I peek over Jeremiah's shoulder to see Eric. He is following behind us, his face stoic, with my backpack hanging off his left shoulder.

I wave weakly at him. He sees it and waves back. His expression lightens up a bit.

That's more like it , I think, and I lay my head back on Jeremiah's chest.

I inhale his scent. It intoxicates me and increases my wetness.

What am I going to do with myself?

"I love your scent. I used to sense it before, but it's stronger now," I mutter into his chest.

I frown when he doesn't say anything. Maybe he didn't hear me.

We get to my house, and he immediately knocks on the door.

My heart jumps at the sound. I am closer to finding out the truth, and it scares me. I don't know what I will do if my mother is really at fault. If it is not a mistake on her part. If she has been intentionally feeding me poison.

"What do I smell like to you?" Jeremiah asks slowly, dragging me out of my near-panic.

So, he heard me after all. "Coffee. You smell like coffee," I reply.

He smiles down at me. "Good. I hope you like coffee," he says.

Before I can reply to that, the door opens and my mom appears.

She sees me immediately in Jeremiah's arms and gushes. "Cassie, oh my baby! I have been worried sick!" she cries, happy and relieved to see me as if she has been expecting the worst. "Oh my God! I'm so glad you are okay."

She reaches to touch me, but I flinch away.

Jeremiah notices and steps back.

I watch as sadness immediately spreads across my mom's facial features. For a minute, I feel bad, but I remember the pain she has made me go through all this time and steel my resolve.

I have every right to be angry.

"Let's go inside," Jeremiah orders.

My mom moves away from the door, giving us space to pass. Eric comes in last and shuts the door.

Jeremiah sets me down and helps me to sit on the couch in the living room. Then he goes to stand by my side like a guard.

Eric flops down on the couch beside me.

He is close enough to touch me, and I can feel his warmth.

The guys are protecting me against my mother.

It is a painful realization, but I don't feel safe around my mom anymore, and they know it.

My mom was still standing by the door, but now she inches over to me, in an attempt to try again.

"Don't come near me," I spit at her, stopping her movement.

"Cassie!" she cries.

"No, Mom! I want to know the truth. I've heard many things today that make me question everything I have ever known about myself. And everything I know is what you've told me. But there is too much proof that you've lied to me. So, I want you to tell me what's going on," I demand.

The anger in my voice can't be controlled. It seems like my disbelief is letting my anger dominate now.

My Mom is tearing up uncontrollably, but all I can see is red.

Eric stretches out and tugs at Jeremiah's sleeve.

Jeremiah ignores him. He seems reluctant to take his eyes off me or even leave. He is ferociously snorting, like an angry animal.

Frowning, Eric passes him a bottle. He collects it without shifting his gaze.

I quickly recognize it as a blocker bottle. The normal blockers… The type I've seen people take during their heats and ruts. The kind I've never needed since I was so sick. Although now I realize it's because I was on those pills.

"I think you are reacting to Cassie… you're going a bit feral," Eric points out to Jeremiah.

His voice is gruff when he replies, "It's okay. I don't need blockers yet. I'm still in control."

Eric doesn't look convinced.

Jeremiah takes a deep breath. "You are right. Let's leave so they can talk alone. We don't need to be here for this."

Jeremiah squats down and tenderly holds my hands. His eyes are passionate as he speaks. "Call me if anything comes up, okay?"

I nod. "Yes, I will do that."

My reply pleases him. He stands up and moves back to my side.

Eric's presence fills my vision as he appears in front of me. He smiles at me sweetly and bends to hug me.

Jeremiah pulls at his shirt, making him let go of me.

I watch as they stalk out the door and leave without turning back. I suddenly miss them.

I am home alone with my mom. It used to be the best thing and the safest place to be. But now, it is different.

I slowly turn around to face my mom, who is beginning to feel like a stranger.

Am I safe?

I stand up, walk to the counter where we eat, and sit where I usually do. I gesture for her to take a seat, too.

I remember just yesterday when we sat here discussing my health. I had complained about how weak I was… how I despised myself for being a shiftless wolf. She had consoled me and called me her special baby.

Everything that I complained about was my mom's fault. Yet, she patronized me and kept encouraging me to take the very thing that was harming me.

Anger boils inside of me. It is hot and I need to release it.

I eye my mom, who is still tearing up. But I'm too upset to care.

"You! You have been the one giving me those pills. Why?" I growl at her.

She sobs and wipes her tears. "Cassie, baby, first of all, I want to say I'm sorry."

I am unmoved. I scowl at her as she fidgets under my angry gaze.

"I'm going to need a whole lot more than that. Tell me what's going on," I probe.

"I made a mistake," she mutters.

She sniffs and starts to explain. "I was a young maid. I had just joined the Kaye family's staff, and Mr. Kaye was still the young, handsome Augustus Kaye. There were talks of his marriage, as he was to be betrothed to a woman from another powerful family… but he was never one to adhere to those rules."

I frown as she tells the story, but don't interrupt.

Where the fuck is this going?

Why is she talking about Mr. Kaye?

My mom smiles. "At the time, Augustus was much different. To put it lightly, he was a playboy. Back then, some of the maids had whispered to me that any attention I got from him I should ignore because he was just promiscuous. He was a fool who just went after anything in a skirt, and I happened to be somewhat pretty, so I got his attention."

I don't know what to think about that. Mom is very pretty. But that doesn't matter right now.

"I was young, na?ve, a fool. Instead of heeding the warnings, I allowed myself to be swept off my feet. He whispered sweet nothings to me and filled my head with grandiose ideas and delusions. Made me believe that a romantic relationship between a maid and her master could be more than an affair." She runs her hand through her hair.

Oh no!

I don't like the way this story is going.

"You see, he was recently married at the time. He had married the lady who was brought for him. I served at their wedding ceremony, and it hurt me to see it because we had been having an affair. I tried to ignore my feelings because he didn't appear to be interested or serious with the lady he was marrying." She laughs sadly.

My mouth drops open in shock.

My mom had an affair with a married man. With Mr. Kaye!

If I had heard it from someone else, I wouldn't believe it. But she is the one telling me, reliving it even.

She pauses and pours herself a glass of water from the glass jug on the counter. I watch as she gulps it all down.

She clears her throat and continues. "One night, I tried to go to him just as I usually did. Unfortunately for me, I met his wife… Cressida Kaye. She was furious. She dragged me by my hair and slapped me. Then, she warned me to stay away from her husband. She told me that he had had his fun being irresponsible, and it was time for him to stop being that way. She kicked me out of the house and fired me." Her voice is shaking now as if she can feel the pain all over again.

I am filled with disbelief. I am finding it hard to process what she is telling me. But I remain quiet.

My mom places her hands on the counter, and I can see that they are shaking. For a few seconds, my heart softens a bit toward her.

It must be really hard for her to tell me this.

But how does this relate to me?

She bows her head. "The days that followed were very dark. I thought it couldn't get worse, but things got darker when I realized that I was pregnant. At first, I was shocked, but I was happy because I thought something good could come out of it. I would have a child!" She looks up at me. Her eyes fill with happy tears.

I gasp, my mind refusing to accept the glaring truth.

She leans forward. "One day, I went to the store to get some groceries. I was grabbed and gagged. I passed out, only to wake up at the Kaye family's mansion to see Mrs. Kaye staring down at me." She pauses.

I gasp again, wondering what happened next.

"I had no idea, but after Mrs. Kaye kicked me out of the house, she had people watching me because of the possibility that I could be pregnant," she says.

A very calculating woman, I must admit.

"She told me she would be keeping me close. She said I'd keep working for them in the mansion where she'd be comfortably keeping an eye on me so that I wouldn't misbehave. To her, it was the only solution to her dilemma, seeing as I was past my third trimester. I was mostly just grateful that she didn't kill my child." She covers her mouth and nose with her left hand, fighting back tears.

I am transfixed in my seat as my mind processes everything.

I am Mr. Kaye's daughter… aren't I? I am a Kaye!

My mom goes on, "I'm sure Mrs. Kaye had no intention of killing my child because she thought you'd be a normal child. She was also pregnant herself, at the time. So perhaps that made her compassionate."

What does she mean by "normal child"?

Aren't I normal?

I am so confused. I want to ask her what she means, but all of a sudden, the door bursts open.

We both jump at this and turn to see what the commotion is all about.

Mr. Kaye steps into our living room, standing in a space he has never occupied in his life. This is my first time seeing the man up close. He looks furious, and his anger is directed at my shocked mom.

Leila stands behind him, looking as baffled as I am.

Mr. Kaye marches up to my mom and stops a breath short of her. "You kept my child away from me? How could you?" he growls. "And you drugged her with banned blockers!" He shouts this last part.

My mom looks so fragile close to him as he easily towers over her. I expected her to break down in tears like she did with me. Instead, she surprises us all when she starts yelling at him.

"You have no right to speak to me like you did nothing wrong! Where were you?" She is panting but looking him dead in the eyes.

"How the fuck could I have done anything when I had no idea?" he fires back.

"No! I tried to tell you!" She points at him. "I tried to tell you after I gave birth and was working at the mansion!" she screams.

This takes Mr. Kaye by surprise.

"When my Cassie was just a baby, I tried to get to you. I even sneaked into your room the way I used to when we were lovers to talk to you. But you were uninterested. You didn't even recognize my face." Her voice cracks.

"You asked me if I was a new maid who heard stories of your playboy ways and wanted a piece of you. You then told me you were done with your promiscuous behaviors. You rambled on about there being a time in a man's life when he has to stop being irresponsible and you said that had gotten to that time in your life. You said I should forget any ideas or offers I had for you! You said you weren't playing around with maids anymore, and I should leave quickly before your wife found me!" She had started poking at his chest when she was speaking. She put her hand down and swiped at her angry tears.

Mr. Kaye seems stunned. He doesn't stop her from poking him. His eyes are distant as if he is trying to remember.

I see Leila with her jaw hanging open in disbelief. Everything my mom is screaming is surprising to us both.

"You left the room without giving me a chance to talk. I was trying to leave quickly when Cressida blocked me. Your wife beat me up and punished me! She said she was going to stop giving me the pills for free, that I'd have to pay for it from my earnings. This is why I have had such little money to take care of myself and Cassie!" she finishes.

Wait! What? How is Mrs. Kaye connected to the blockers I have been taking?

Leila voices my thoughts, "What do you mean my mom made you pay for the pills? My mom gave you the pills in the first place?"

My mom turns to her. "Yes! Your mom did it!" she fires at her.

"What? No! She can't be responsible," Leila shoots back.

"Yes. Yes, she is." My mom is yelling at the top of her voice blocking out everyone else's words.

"I don't remember," Mr. Kaye is mumbling.

The noise, the accusations, the truth. The whole thing is getting to me. My mind is swirling so fast. It's overwhelming.

I can't take it!

My mom had an affair with Mr. Kaye and had me.

Mrs. Kaye was the scorned wife, and she instructed my mom to use banned blockers on me.

I'm dragging myself out of the house as they keep yelling and arguing. I run out the door, thinking of where to go as I can't stay here.

I need to be somewhere safe.

Jeremiah and Eric.