I clutched Jess against my chest as she sobbed into it. We had moved into my room so that she could lay down. Telling me that story took a lot out of both of us. Although I was calm and collected on the outside, the inside of me was a whole mess of emotions. My brother had gotten Jessica pregnant and didn't even know it. That bastard took their fate into his own revenge-ridden hands. I wanted to kill him, but that would be too merciful. He needed to suffer. Above all, Jessica was not going back to that house. Not while I had any say in it. I had promised not to say a word to anyone, but in order to save her, I may need to break that. I needed a plan.

Within an hour she had fallen asleep in my arms, and I was thankful. She had finally let me in. I had broken down some walls she had up. I slipped out from under her and left the room. With my phone in my hand, I paced across the waxed wood.

I decided that telling my father was our best option. If I told Tanner, he wouldn't believe me and demand to have her back. He searched for years for her, he wasn't going to let her go. I took a deep breath and dialed the number.

There was no reason for me to be nervous. My father and I had a great relationship, especially if you compare ours to his with Tanner. Mostly because I did things with my life. I had my multimillion-dollar publishing company. Tanner...has done nothing but fuck around and make us look bad.

After a few rings, I heard the familiar high-pitched voice of Carla, my dad's secretary. "Go for Christopher McClain, the voice of those who walk in the night. Carla speaking. How may I help you today?" Carla had worked for the McClain family for decades. She practically raised Tanner and me.

"Hi Carla, it's Finn. Can you get me to my dad? It's urgent. Tell him it's about Jessica. He should know who that is."

"Oh! Do you mean that human girl? Of course, give me just a minute. He is in the conference room."

There was a few moments of silence before my father's husky voice filled my ears. "Finnigan, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, dad. Everything is fine. I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think I've made a wonderful discovery. Jessica is more valuable than we ever could have imagined. I think she's a Pureblood."

"What? That's impossible! Are you sure? Purebloods are supposed to be extinct. How did you find this out?"

"When I drank from her I could hear her thoughts. Her blood is nothing I've ever tasted before either. Also, uh, she lost a lot of blood and recreated it in a matter of hours. She's the real thing. I swear." That's something I didn't think of. He's going to wonder why I beat the hell out of her. I don't want to have to try to explain that one...I had everything under control now anyway. He didn't need to worry.

There was a long pause while he spoke to someone in the room, "Is she behaving?"

"Yes. She's wonderful. This brings me to the main reason I called. I've taken quite a liking to her. I would like to buy her off of you. I think it is in our best interests if she stays with me from now on anyway."

"You know she belongs to your brother. That was his birthday present."

"Yes, I realize. But I know that he never buys anything directly. You are the legal owner. Think about it dad, she makes us even more powerful than we were before. Do you really trust her in the hands of Tanner and Jared?" I didn't want to go that far but I had to. If it meant she would be mine, I'd do anything.

My dad sighed, "You make good points. But maybe now that you've trained her properly, things will go smoother."

No. No. We both know that's bullshit. She could listen to them all she wanted, she wasn't the one going on benders and beating people to near death.

I had to tell him. It was my only option left. I'm sorry Jessica.

"Tanner's birthday party was not the worst thing those two have ever done to her."