13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

-Alison-

I settled back against Jared, and he continued to caress me, refraining from touching me intimately despite my lack of pants. I ate, finally satisfying my body's needs, and it felt absolutely fantastic. When I couldn't take another bite, Jared let me rest against him, soothing me with his soft breathing and the rise and fall of his chest. It was incredibly calming.

"Are you not hungry?" I murmured, my eyes closed, drifting between states of half-asleep and fully awake.

"I will eat a little later," he whispered against my hair, planting a kiss on top of my head.

I accepted his response, not wanting him to move either, but questions still lingered in my mind.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

"It was Astrid who did. She was able to use old connections to locate you," he explained.

"You say it as if you didn't want her to."

"Maybe a part of me wished I had been the one to find you, to deal with the bastard before bringing you back. But I knew I needed Astrid," he admitted.

"Tell me everything."

"Not now, Alison. Just rest a little," he urged.

"No, please, I want to know what happened after I was taken," I implored, though I was still drifting between consciousness and sleep.

Jared took a deep breath, seeming to struggle with what to reveal.

"Astrid informed me they had caught wind of the party and wanted to end your father and his friends there," he revealed.

"My mom… I think she knew it all," I confessed, and Jared groaned.

"Anyway," he continued, bypassing my comment as there wasn't much to be done about it now. They were all gone. "I was delayed because they purposely held me back to buy themselves some time. I thought I was merely being given a few final assignments, but Astrid finally revealed to me on the way out that they… that they had already taken you. I needed to see it for myself, so I drove there, and…"

I opened my eyes, gazing at the drawn curtain ahead. "Did anyone… make it out?" I whispered.

"No."

"I see," I breathed, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes.

"That's enough. We can talk about it later," he murmured, kissing me again.

"No, continue," I urged.

"Alison…"

"I thought you were going to call me ‘mine'?" I teased, hearing him chuckle softly.

"I really think we should wait to talk about this," he insisted.

"No, continue," I pressed.

"Well, I called Vince, and of course, he made it obvious to me that all of this was a lesson for both me and you."

"He said that?"

"No, he didn't need to speak a word. He merely confirmed to me that he had taken care of it, and then he hung up. I went to his house and checked it out. It was all empty, and he had left a lock of your hair for me on his desk, making his intentions obvious—I was now the one in power."

"He... handed it all to you?" I whispered, incredulous.

"Yes, but I didn't want it. I never wanted it. Still, I went to see Astrid, and we struck a deal," Jared revealed.

"A deal?" I echoed, disbelief coloring my tone.

"Yes, I told her that either she helped me get you back and I'd hand her all the power, or I'd spend all my free time making her life a living hell. You can probably guess which option appealed to her more," he explained, and I nodded against him.

"What about her father, her cousins?" I probed further.

"Noah and Michael..." Jared trailed off, his demeanor tensing in an odd way.

"What?" I pressed.

"Well, we don't have to worry about them anymore," he declared, and though I understood the implication, I felt relief rather than sadness.

"Good," I responded, sensing the smile on his lips. "Finn?"

"No, I haven't dealt with him yet, but I will. Together with Astrid, we will take down the old wolf and the cousin, and then..."

I realized why Jared had fallen silent, and I turned to look at him, but his gaze was fixed on a spot across the room.

"Jared?" I called, and he slowly turned to me, offering a small smile before reaching out to caress my cheek.

"It's all going to be okay, Alison," he reassured me. "I'll take care of it."

"What about Vince?" I inquired, noticing the pain in his eyes.

Jared sighed, his gaze lowering. "I'm not just going to let him get away with this."

"You're not? But he's practically your father," I pointed out.

Jared's expression darkened. "And it seems all my parents are meant to fail me."

"Jared..." I whispered, feeling the weight of his pain as he grappled with the realization that he couldn't rely on any adult figure in his life. I shifted closer to him, reaching out to place my hand over his heart, where my initials rested. He took a shaky breath as I caressed the spot.

"I can't let this go," he said, more to himself than to me.

"What's your plan then?" I asked.

"It can only end one way now," he explained.

"What way is that?"

"You know what way," he whispered, and I sighed, understanding. I would never shed a tear for what Vince had put me through, but I felt for Jared. He had always been so alone, and now, because of me, he was losing his stability.

"Do you resent me?" I ventured.

"Resent you?" he repeated, his touch soothing as he continued to caress my cheek.

"It's because of me you want to end him now," I pointed out.

"I would gladly burn the world down to keep you. I wouldn't do that for Vince," he admitted.

I blinked, taken aback by his declaration. "What do you mean? Vince took care of you. I made your entire life miserable."

"I know. I hate you for it," he confessed.

"Then how could you want to be the last two people on earth with me? How could you want to kill Vince for me?" I asked, puzzled.

"I'm not killing Vince for you. I'm killing him because he betrayed me," Jared clarified. "He understood my obsession, noticed it before I did. He knew taking you would shatter our bond, yet he went behind my back. He can no longer be trusted, so I have to remove him."

"Oh," I murmured, unsure how to process it, but Jared's touch in my hair was gentle now.

"And about burning the world down... Alison, you are my stability. Despite the pain you caused, I could always count on that," he confessed.

"It doesn't sound healthy," I remarked.

"I don't care," he replied, giving me a small smile. "I'd rather be here in bed with you than anywhere else."

I drew back, his words unsettling me. Jared wasn't the type to be romantic. His declarations always carried a hint of threat or anger. While a part of me had yearned to hear such words from him, their sweetness now disturbed me.

"What?" he asked, noticing the shift in my expression.

"This isn't like you," I stated firmly.

"What isn't?"

"This! Saying something so... tender. You usually taunt me, remind me of my faults, exploit my pleasures. You're not one to verge on romance," I explained.

"I thought you liked romance," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Exactly! I do. Which means you shouldn't indulge in it," I whispered.

He chuckled softly, continuing to caress me, but I craved the other side of Jared—the intense, commanding, even cruel part of him. I seized his hand, surprising him.

"Be harsh with me," I demanded.

"Sorry?"

"Be cruel. Tell me you own me, that you want me in this bed because it's your decision," I urged.

"But I have decided that," he countered.

"Yes, but say it with the intention to hurt me," I ordered.

"Alison, I don't think that's what you need right now," he said softly.

"You shouldn't concern yourself with what I need," I shot back.

He rolled his eyes, clearly finding my behavior strange. Jared was my anchor, but not this softened version. I wanted the cruel side of him.

"Be mean," I insisted, gently slapping his chest.

"No," he refused.

"Be mean!"

"No!" he repeated.

"Jared, be mean!"

"If I follow your command, I wouldn't truly be myself, would I?" he countered, surprising me.

"Fine, then don't listen to me. But don't be this," I insisted.

"This?" he questioned.

"Soft."

"What?" His tone held offense.

"I said, don't be soft."

"Alison, I'm not soft."

"You are right now. Saying something as sweet as preferring to be in this bed over anywhere else. That's what a soft person would say," I retorted, seeing his eyes darken. I smirked, feeling a sense of familiarity returning. But it wasn't enough to provoke him.

"You've grown weak," I challenged.

A deep rumble escaped him as he grabbed my hair forcefully, pulling me closer. I gasped, feeling a surge of excitement. Suddenly, Jared had my full attention, just as I needed.

"Call me that again," he demanded.

"Weak?"

He nodded, his demeanor shifting like a predator closing in on its prey.

"Well, you are if you've fallen for your own bully," I taunted, feeling his grip tighten on me before his lips crashed down on mine. In that moment, I realized how much I needed it—his dominance, his control, erasing the fresh pain with his own heat. Despite the panic simmering within me, I didn't ask him to stop. Instead, I craved his touch, yearning to feel overpowered and dominated.

Jared's kiss was consuming, leaving me breathless as he pulled away, his eyes dark with desire.

"You say I'm weak for wanting to be in this bed with you, but you forget why I want to be here," he said, his words dripping with dark lust, reminding me of the power dynamics between us.

I chuckled softly before inching closer to him. "Right. I did forget. You're not weak at all. You still control me," I admitted.

Jared's smile was a satisfying one as we settled back down. Returning to familiar territory brought a sense of calm over me, soothing the turmoil within. I was relieved I hadn't pushed him too far, avoiding any further intimate acts. Both my body and mind needed time to recover, and I wasn't sure how long that would take.