Prince of the night

Four

Chapter Four: A Taste of Vengeance**

With the setting sun continuing to spill through the window behind them, casting cool shadows across the forest, Jessica and Lucian finally reached the mansion. They had just defeated the rogue werewolf. Jessica's heart pounded like thunder, if there was any blood left for it; it was still pumping with adrenaline. It rushed through her veins, filled Jessica with pride to know that she had done it. She truly had done it. She had confronted the beast and come out on top. But riding along with the greatest swells of triumph, something else detonated below the surface: a rush for justice.

Lucian turned to look at Jessica with his golden eyes, as they entered the mansion, already concerned. "You performed magnificently today, Jessica," he encouraged in a warm voice; "however, I can sense that there is something that bugged you."

There was a moment when Jessica only stood with hesitation, not knowing how to express that storm of emotions brewing inside of her. 'Oh, I made a difference and I have done so much with my life in so little time and still, I have something that harasses me: the memory of all the cruelties done by my father, stepmother, and stepsister'. "Lucian, I am stronger now, but I can't forget what they did to me," she said at last, her voice laced with anger.

Lucian's expression darkened with protectiveness. He'd never allow anyone to harm his mate. They would pay for such actions. "They will," he assured her, his voice firm. "But vengeance isn't something to rush. You need to be fully ready before you face them.

Jessica's fists clenched as her resolve solidified. "I've lived in fear for too long. I don't want to wait anymore. I need to confront them, to show them I am not the weak girl they think I am.

Lucian looked at her for a moment as if searching for depth in her eyes. He could feel the fire inside this woman, the urge to get back her lost honor. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Alright. But you won't do this alone. We go together, and I am going to see to the point on how they know the consequence of their action".

A surge of gratitude washed over Jessica. She nodded, emboldened by Lucian behind her. "Thank you," she murmured. "I am prepared."

Lucian grinned, the line of his mouth holding a tilt of the dangerous. "Then let us show them what lies in store when they cross you, yes?

That night, Jessica and Lucian were standing just outside her father's estate gate. Within the frame of an already grand house a place Jessica had lived and suffered in it was but a dark silhouette against the night. Jessica's heart beat all over the place, half with anxiety and half with excitement. It was her moment, her chance to show up at the door of the people that had tried to break her.

Lucian stepped forward, a calming presence beside her. "Remember, Jessica, you hold the power now. They can't hurt you anymore."

With a deep breath, Jessica nodded and pushed open the gate. Together, they walked up the path to the front door. Her nerves buzzed as she reached out to knock, but before she could, the door swung open, revealing her father, Victor.

Victor was incredulous when he saw her standing there, but naturally that quickly turned to anger. "What the hell are you doing here?" he snarled at Dyan. "I thought I told you you're not welcome here".

Jessica remained unmoved. She looked at him, a new sort of strength beginning to pool from deep within her. "But I'm not the same person I was all those years ago, Father," she said firmly. "Mistake not mine is retribution," he said.

Victor twisted his face with disdain. "Take what? You are nothing but a disgrace, a burden I should have cast out long ago."

Before Jessica could say anything, though, before her voice could speak out, Lucian had moved forward, his position dominant. "You would do well to choose your words carefully," he said tightly, his tone dangerously calm. "Jessica is not alone, and she's not the girl you remember."

Victor's eyes flicked to Lucian, and for the first time, a flicker of fear crossed his face. "And who might you be, stranger?" he said flatly, trying to recover some of his authority.

Lucian's eyes were golden, ice-cold, and reasonably feral. "I'm the one who will make sure you pay for every moment of pain you've caused her."

Victor lost some of his smugness as his eyes darted to the door where Serena and Lydia burst into the room, their faces a hurricane of anger and confusion. "What's going on?" Serena demanded, looking straight at Jessica. "Why are you here?

Jessica felt the anger build up inside her. She wanted to scream, even to boil from the inside out. "I'm here to show you, Lydia," she continued harshly. "You didn't break me. I'm not your victim."

Lydia had the nerve to sneer as she took a further step toward Jessica. "You think you can just waltz back in here and act like you're something special? You're nothing, Jessica. You've always been nothing."

Her narrowed eyes flashed even deeper, and she felt the power inside her simmer, finally speaking out, "That's that you're wrong." The air around her crackled by now with energy, and she had raised her hand. Serena and Lydia were flinching, although briefly there was a shot of fear in their eyes.

But, as soon as she began to act on the power welling within her core, Lucian placed a hand on her shoulder and grounded her. "They're not worth it," he said too softly; "Let them see that you don't have to stoop to their level to show your strength.".

She took a breath deep enough for the energy to blur away. He was right. She didn't have to waste her power on them anymore. She won the moment she had it planned. "You'll never hurt me again," she said in a quiet voice, then added as if insisting on the note: "And if you ever try, you'll regret it.".

Victor, Serena and Lydia, surprised, looked at her. She was simply the proof before them of what somehow was happening this metamorphosis taking place. Jessica did not stay long enough for them to make any comment. She turned away, and along the path strode Lucian beside her till they were lost to their sight and to them actually really and absolutely, save in stark realisation overwhelming.

They were leaving the estate, an unbearable feeling washing over Jessica. She had faced her history now and would be going forward better and more vigorous than she had been. "Thank you," she whispered to Lucian as they went outside the great, iron gate. "For letting me see that I didn't have to want revenge to be strong.

Lucian grinned, the golden luster of his lukewarm eyes fixed upon her with such adoration. "So much stronger than you ever even realized, Jessica. That's only the beginning; so much you haven't fathomed yet, and I'm going to be there with you all the way.

Jessica's face lifted at him, crowding with thankful love. In her first life, she got free—free from fear, free from pain and was ready to embrace the future with a man who had shown her what living really means.

As they walked into the night, these two, side by side, Jessica felt that with Lucian by her side, everything was surmountable.