Her Forbidden Threeway

Scott raised his chin with a knowing expression. “Because he’s also in love with you.”

The air was coarse with tension, and for a moment, Reade couldn’t help herself. She stalked forward, hand outstretched for Jackson’s own, a look of sympathy on her face. She didn’t know how to tell him, how to let him know that she felt the same way. So much damage had been done already, she didn’t want to hurt him anymore. She didn’t want to hurt Scott. Was it truly worth it?

 “Save me the pity,” Jackson growled, sounding more like the beast than him, the man she knew, the man she also had feelings for. “I don’t need it.”

Jackson’s wrath was aimed towards her and Reade was startled. His anger, frustration, hurt and aggression all flew out in one sentence. One that would destroy their relationship.

“I know what you are, where you come from,” Jackson sneered.

Reade shook her head slowly, her eyes pleading him, the little windows to her soul—and what a mighty soul she had.

“What is he talking about?” Scott asked, still cradling the head of his barely conscious grandmother, the only parental figure in this hell he called a life. “What do you mean you know what she is?”

“She’s a hunter.” Jackson answered, satisfaction on his face. “Her grandfather was thee Morris Moore, the only living man to enslave and torture dragon shifters like us, brother. His son was Axel Moore, though after seeing what his father had done and become, he ran and changed his name. She’s from a long line of death, and she’s been playing us all along.”

Reade stepped forward before she swooped her hand back and smacked Jackson across the face, much to his surprise.

“You bas*ard!” She screamed, a sudden pair of burly hands on her shoulders, steering her away. “Never would I betray you two! I’ve been imprisoned for the past ten hours because I disobeyed my father.”

“It’s true,” Scott confirmed.

Jackson narrowed his eyes as he glanced between Scott touching Reade, to Reade’s anger, to his paralyzed grandmother. He pulled his brows inwards and sighed, it was evident he realized he had made a mess of an already messy situation.

“I won’t live in fear,” Jackson vowed, shaking his head. “I won’t not protect myself.”

“Neither will I, brother. But killing her won’t solve anything.”

Reade’s blood ran cold as she looked at the disgust on Jackson’s face. He was the epitome of hatred and it was aimed directly at her. He was someone else completely.

“Then I’ll have to aim elsewhere,” Jackson decided as he disappeared off in a sprint.

Scott pushed past Reade and ran from the store and into the middle of the street. Reade could see the slight panic on his face and it was then she realized that he was already gone.

“Jackson, where did you go?”

* * * *

“We’ll find him.” Scott promised as he cupped Reade’s cheek and kissed her lips. “Don’t worry, I promise you we will find him.”

Reade looked longingly into Scott’s eyes. The corner of her mouth turned upwards into a dim smile as she watched a different version of the man she had first met.

“You’ve been so accepting towards me.” She said, almost thankfully.

 “You deserve acceptance, Reade. You don’t know how close Jackson and I were the other night to almost death,” Scott said. “You could’ve picked any crystal, and your good instincts lead you to the most harmless of them all. The gold one.”

Reade sighed heavily and relaxed into Scott’s hold. She wanted to reverse time and be back in bed before the heaviness of the conversation settled into the air. Before they had finished what Scott wanted to continue.

“You’re a vital part in my life now. I see you as a companion and a partner in crime more than I do a damsel in distress. You can handle yourself.” Scott reassured, comforting her to the point of a smile.

“Thank you.” She whispered as she kissed him once on the lips, his warm and smoky breath her drug of choice.

Reade pulled away and stepped out of the car, waving Scott goodbye and watching him disappear into the distance. With her keys in one hand, and a bag of protective crystals (courtesy of the store) in the other, she entered the house with gritted teeth, waiting for the explosion of her father’s wrath.

There was a crash coming from the kitchen, and a loud groan.

Reade dropped the bag of gems and threw herself around the corner, finding Jackson huddled over her father, a knife in his hand.

“No!” She pleaded. “Stop it! Please!”

Jackson didn’t look up. He opened his mouth and exerted a breath of scorching heat onto Clyde’s face.

His skin went a shade of bright pink, blistering just barely.

She scrambled for the lamp resting on the table, launching it over and smacking it against Jackson’s temple. The light shattered, and Jackson remained fine, the slap earlier having done more damage.

“Get out of here, Reade.” Her father begged, trying to scramble from beneath Jackson to grab the blade from his pocket. “Go!”

“Don’t hurt him!” She then begged, undecided on who to protect, not knowing which choice would be the better. The dilemma was wasting too much time, and death was impending, knocking on the nearest door.

Reade scrambled to the floor for the crystals, their light radiating a sea of brightness in the small, quaint kitchen. Reade launched them into the air, and they burst brightly into an earthborn star.

It blinded her, and she was thrown back by its force, hitting the refrigerator with a groan.

Jackson had disappeared by the time the light had faded, and her father was regaining his breath on the floor, clutching his chest as if his heart was bound to fall out.

Reade scrambled over on her hands and knees, cradling his old face in her childlike hand. There was a single tear that slipped down her cheek and a look of sorry about her. She didn’t know where Jackson had disappeared to, but she knew she was the only one who could find him.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Scott, receiving nothing but his voicemail.

“It’s Reade.” She said. “Jackson was just here, he attacked my father. I don’t know what to do, Scott. Call me back within ten minutes or I’m going after him on my own.”

She shoved her phone back into her pocket, and grabbed a wet cloth from the sink, cooling the burns on her father’s face.

“When did you become so grown up?” He asked, watching her with almost awe.

Reade couldn’t answer the question, still reeling from the shift herself. Her mother’s death had been a jolt to her system, launching her from pigtails to funeral arrangements. This was nothing in comparison to that. This was a walk in the park.

“Dad.” She said, changing the topic. “Dad, I’m going to need your help.”

“What with?” Clyde answered, sounding tired, the image of exhaustion.

“I’m going to need you to grab me a few things. Most of your equipment is at the store, seeing as it was safer at the time. But I need you to get me something, anything that will paralyze a dragon for more than a day.”

Clyde smiled. “I have just the thing.”