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"Husband," Rowan said. "I am her husband."
Everyone stood there dumbfounded, except for Rowan who was staring at Natasha, who stared back at him with a smirk on her face.
"Vegas?" Ody whispered to Maria, who elbowed him in his kidney.
Something in the way Natasha's eyes glinted told Jamie that she just heard what Ody said even though it was a whisper and that it was better to end this conversation right there and then.
"I don't see a ring." Natasha prodded, still amused by the turnout of the events.
"I gained weight." Jamie shrugged and grabbed Rowan's hand, dragging him away from there and back to the parking lot.
"Let go." He said, knowing very well that there was no use trying to fight her - she will always be stronger than him.
"You need to go." She pointed at the car. "Pack your stuff and go back to the war front."
"Why?" He took a step towards her, making her tilt her head up to face him. "What are you planning?"
"World domination." She said. "Because clearly, eradication of the were-community was a dumb idea."
Rowan clenched his jaws. The events of the past could not be forgotten even if he tried with everything he had gotten, but it made it even harder when the very killer of all those innocent people cracked jokes about it.
"Did you ever feel guilty about your sins?" He asked. "Don't you have any remorse?"
"If I didn't, then you all wouldn't be alive right now." Jamie's fingers curled into fists as she said it. It was true. Her guilt, her sadness, and her fear were what kept the killer in her cage.
"What?"
Jamie opened her mouth, perhaps to say the biggest truth of her life, but no words left her mouth because before she could, the two of them were thrown violently ten feet away by the force of an explosion.
You know how they say everything happens in slow motion when you are about to die? Jamie thought it was not true because all of it happened so quickly - one second she was glaring up at her mate and the next thing she knew her head had banged against some vehicle parked ten feet away, her ears ringing and her limbs burning.
"Thorn!"
Jamie gave up on her attempt to get up. She was in too much pain. She grunted as she gave it another try.
"Thorn..." Rowan was by her side.
"Jamie!!" Maria's voice rang in her ears from a distance. Damn it, that lady was going to lose her mind over this.
"Thorn, are you okay?"
Jamie glared up at him through her blurred vision. "Stop calling me that. I have a name. At least use it while I am dying."
"You are not dying." Rowan helped her sit up. Her vision was still blurry and everything hurt. "You just have a few burns and bruises."
Jamie groaned as she threw her hands around his neck. "Up." She said.
And despite the disrespect, Rowan actually found it amusing. He would love to hear his daughter say that to him one day.
Rowan wrapped his arms around Jamie's waist and pulled her up with him, helping her to her feet.
Her heart rate was picking up. This was not a good sign.
"I am not supposed to get burned or bruised, remember?" She stated before she passed out in his arms.
And suddenly it hit him as well. She was supposed to be f*****g invincible. How could she just get burned and bruised? The wetness in his hand made him take a look at it, only to see that it was covered in blood. She was bleeding as well.
"I have called 911." Kyle and Milo approached Rowan. Maria, Felix, and Ody kept their distance, trying to keep the other humans as away from him as possible too, because Rowan looked like he was ready to kill someone.
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"Shock?" Kyle asked.
Milo nodded. "Apparently humans go into shock if they get burned too much." He looked pointedly at Rowan.
"She was invincible until a moment before the explosion!" Rowan defended himself. He knew it because it was his hand that she had on a death hold.
"But you are the one who fed her the potion." Kyle pointed out. "Who knows what your wizard friend put in there!"
"My friend would do no such thing." Rowan stood up from the seat, towering over the eighteen-year-old. "If I was to throw baseless allegations then don't you think I should be suspecting the two of you first?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your father's job is to eradicate people like... my mate. She killed your mother. I would not be too surprised if you both decided to take revenge." He did not like how sensible he sounded to himself. What if these boys had actually done something?
He respected their father, Rebel Lawrence, more than he had respected any other warrior or Alpha in this world. And when, two years ago, Rebel told him to protect Jamie and not let the past haunt him despite the fact that this very wolf had killed his own wife and love of his life, Rowan knew that this man fought for the greater good.
And hence the man had all his respect. But that did not mean that he would blindly trust his two sons to do no bad. They were individuals with their thoughts and beliefs, and Jamie was the serial killer wolf who killed off their mother. They could do anything. Especially since these two appeared a bit unhinged as compared to the very composed Rebel.
Anything was possible.
"Yeah sure, eighteen-year-old werewolves managed to somehow convert a werewolf into a non-magical human. And it should really be them because it's not like there is any history of her consuming anything that is specifically used for the same purpose." Milo glared at the Alpha.
"I will make this very clear once and for all, Alpha Serge. In the Lawrence family, if you want someone dead, we first inform them of when we plan to kill them, and then kill them off in a fair fight. We do not attack from the back. And that is just not us." Kyle said.
Maria and Felix looked at each other. The three men were fighting amongst themselves and all three were completely riled up, glares plastered on their faces and fingers curled into fists.
"Oh come on, do you really need to complete this degree in Criminal Psychology to know that it was that Natasha girl who was behind this?" Ody spoke up, understanding that changing the topic was very much necessary right now, and finding the culprit even more so.
"And how exactly did she turn her into a human?" Milo turned to him.
Ody simply shrugged, silence filling the space as she thought for a moment about what could have gone down.
He snapped his fingers in excitement as he finally came to a conclusion about what could have happened.
"So she was fed the potion last week right?"
"Yes."
"Maybe it takes like a week to actually function? Maybe in the last week, she was slowly turning into a human and we just did not notice?" He was very impressed with himself.
"But ain't it magic? Why would it take time to act?" Felix asked.
"That, you will have to ask your friend, Alpha." He pointed excitedly at Rowan, only to panic and put his hand back down. "Respectfully, that is."
"And Milo and I will find out what this Natasha girl wants." Kyle cracked his knuckles as he said this, and the twins left the waiting room soon after.
"Is it just me or is it that these two are a bit too involved in Jamie's business?" Felix asked.
"They want something from her alright," Ody said, and he caught Rowan's attention with it.
What did those vermins want with her? Had their father asked them to keep an eye on her?
Rowan decided that all of it could wait.
What really mattered was for his mate to get out of this alive.
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