Reclaiming Her Heart

Chapter 24 - Change of Plans

Jadea

The first two days went well.

Adam led beautifully. He helped me get into a routine, especially for my tasks. On both days, all of them were finished by noon. Which gave me the rest of the day to run perimeter, exercise or do what I would like. I did run the perimeter on both days, but I kept it to a few hours. Adam kept his promise and allowed me that time for myself, other than the occasional brush of my mind to ensure I was okay and not pushing myself too hard. We spoke about safer topics. I asked about Aidan and Anika. Adam delved into his children's antics. He kept it light and fun.

When we sat down for dinner on the second evening, Adam started our first pre-scene conversation. "What do you remember about the attack?" he asked.

"Not much. I was shot point-blank as I was on stage. And then everything was black."

He nodded, not filling in any gaps. "What is the first thing you remember after the attack?"

"I woke up in some type of operation room. It was blinding and disorienting. I had been restrained and I panicked." I was thankful he had waited to start asking the questions until I was close to being finished with my plate. I stared at the few bites left, my stomach turning sour.

"I should have thought this through a little more," he admitted, realizing his mistake. "You don't have to finish it, baby girl. This was my fault. I will plan better next time."

I nodded, pushing the plate away before continuing. "That was when I first met Silas. He was there, overseeing everything. I knew something was wrong, and that's when he told me I had been shot by you, after you rejected me, and Silas had been there to magically save the day. At first, I didn't believe what he told me. My last memories were of hunting Valdis, right after losing the Walkers. He showed me pictures of us together, and I couldn't deny the love that fairly oozed off of them. Then, I was afraid you had forcefully taken my pack. I demanded an audience with Garret to verify they were safe and Silas told me there was nothing I could do in the state I was in, and then all went black again."

Adam reached across the table and took my hand in reassurance. He could feel the darkness closing in around my mind and heart as I spoke these events aloud.

"They erased every trace of you," I whispered, forced to face that hard realization again. "They even removed the tattoo." My hand absently moved over my shoulder, hating how Silas tried destroying every single happiness I'd ever had.

When I tried to continue on, I couldn't. It wasn't due to an inability to tell Adam what transpired. Rather, it was my own past I was getting hung up on. There was something tickling the back of my mind, some piece of a bigger puzzle that just wanted to be known.

"What is it, Jadea?" Adam asked, feeling the shift.

I licked my lips, giving myself a moment before answering, "Hans is haunting the recesses of my mind right now. I don't know why. But, there's something... Maybe something that connects Hans and Silas? Something that may help connect the dots as to why Silas suddenly showed up now?"

I knew it was a bit of a stretch. My Uncle Silas rarely visited when I was a pup in Hans's pack. There were only two times I could remember seeing him in my young life, before being abandoned and left to my own devices.

"My memories of Hans and my time with him are splotchy. I know I have repressed memories. Memories I remembered during our time a few years ago. But... that pathway has been lost again. I feel like there's some hidden message or hint in those memories. And, if I'm being honest, those fears and hurts from Hans are weighing heavily on me right now, even though they are the oldest memories I have. Can we, perhaps, start there instead of with Silas?" I asked tentatively, not sure how Adam would take to this change.

He nodded. "I'm following your lead, baby girl."

The tension bled out from my shoulders. Good. I was worried if I didn't get this out of the way, it would hinder our efforts moving forward.

Plus, this could provide a good blueprint for my mind, to not only see how his methods worked, but to give me the tools so I could set myself up for success in doing the groundwork to help coax out other memories as we progressed.

I shifted the conversation to Hans, and what I remembered about my time with him. I told him about my brothers: Harley and Benji. How Benji and I were close. Harley was the oldest. My parents hated how I possessed a manipulative gene. Initially, I believed that was why they had a hysterectomy performed on me, though I wasn't so sure now if that was the true reason. I remembered how Hans would always hunt me down and punish me for the slightest inconvenience or mistake. Hell! There were times I just breathed in his direction and got into trouble.

"I remember a ceremony that Pappy Elam held on my father's property. There were many different alphas and other immortal creatures there. Hans wanted me to stay hidden, to stay out of the way. He locked me up in one of the basement rooms, however I snuck out of the window, and was caught by Pappy. He praised me, and made me the center of attention that night... Which was the night he performed some type of demonic ceremony." It was like the one Keb and Silas performed, I correlated in my mind. "Some weeks passed after the ceremony, Harley, Benji and I got on our father's last nerve and were told we had to hunt to feed ourselves. I remember Harley and I coming up with a plan, where I would use my manipulative powers to calm the deer and force its compliance as Harley and Benji killed it. Allowing their smaller and not as coordinated bodies to effectively finish the hunt, otherwise it would escape. However, right as I was about to use my powers on the deer, my father yelled my name furiously. As if he knew I was going to use my powers..."

There were so many gaping holes, it was frustrating.

Adam's hand on mine drew my attention back to him. "It will come back to you, Jadea," he assured me confidently. "Don't try to force it."

No. That never worked, I mused.

That night, sleep was hard to come by. I kept tossing and turning, my brain not shutting off. My restlessness was not lost on Adam and, around midnight, he knocked on my door. When I told him to come in, he leaned against the door frame with arms crossed, studying me. He was dressed only in some soft, cotton sleep pants. His chest delectably bare. His hair a bit tousled and, I noticed, he'd trimmed his beard very short. It accentuated his chiseled jawline. It looked good on him. I had to wonder how it would feel dragging across my naked body...

Those sharp blue eyes of his turned molten, as if he'd caught onto my dirty thoughts.

Whoops.

I blushed, not used to being caught in such a fantasy.

"Since we are both having a hard time sleeping," he started evenly, "I was wondering if you would like to just go ahead and start the scene?"