BK 4 - Chapter 56 - Connecting The Dots
Everyone in the room turned towards Cat in shock, but she looked the most stunned. Jade couldn't believe it; how was she related to her Aunt Cat?
"How is this possible?" She asked Morgan.
"From what I can tell, you may be the great-granddaughter of Cat's sibling. Do you have any siblings, Cat?" Morgan asked her.
"Leo was technically my half-brother by blood. I believe that he could have other children out there." Cat looked at Kitty, who was also looking at Jade in surprise.
"He was the man who got my mom pregnant," Kitty said. Leo had raped her mom. She assumed he did the same thing to Jade's great-grandmother.
"Can someone draw me a map of this family tree because I think it's getting too many branches?" Ace asked Jayce. Most of the time, his lion annoyed him, but in this instance, he was right. Jayce was also losing track of who was connected to who.
"Why didn't your results show I was related to Aunty Kitty?" Jade asked. She felt somewhat better knowing she was related by blood to two of the most powerful women in their family, but how did she become a vampire?
"I think I can answer that. They took my blood when I was attacked by Caleb. Your Aunt Kitty's blood was never drawn, so it wouldn't be in any databases. Even when she was shot, we took care of her at home." Cat walked over and put her arms around Jade. Everyone looked at the two of them and, for the first time, realized how similar they were. Jade was a couple of inches taller than Cat but had the same glossy black hair and facial features.
"You couldn't find anything on my birth parents?" Jade asked Morgan.
"No, not yet. I wanted to see if your family in law enforcement may be able to help. I'm just a lab tech." Morgan looked toward Trey, who was nodding while pulling out his phone.
"Let me see what I can find out." He said, already making a call. Cat smiled as he walked out of the room. One thing that was important to both of them was family, and they would do anything for their family.
"Are you okay?" Cat asked Jade, feeling her anxiousness and trying to ease some of it.
"I think so. I'm just confused. How did I get all the way to Rio as a baby, and how did I become a vampire? I'm ecstatic to be related to you and Aunt Kitty by blood. At the same time, I already dread finding out the answer to how that happened," Jade answered honestly. If she was related to Cat, why couldn't it be from the caladrius side of her family?
"Oh, sweetheart, something beautiful can come out of something evil. Look at your Aunt Kitty. She's his daughter and has no part of him. What he did to your relative was most likely by force, but everything that happened afterward led you to our family. You are the shining light that emerged from the dark forest. Giving love, laughter, and joy to my two dearest friends, Thatcher and Janel." Cat kissed Jade's head and hugged her again. Jade had never felt happier to be part of this family. Even though she didn't have all the answers, she had found a piece of herself that had always been right in front of her.
"I have a few people trying to trace anyone connected to Leo. It may take a while, but hopefully, we'll be able to get you some answers from at least the human side of things." Trey said, putting his arms around both Jade and Cat. He never told anyone, but Jade had always been his favorite niece because he saw so much of Cat in her. Janel and Thatcher joined them.
"This just shows you that we were meant to find you that day and bring you to your rightful family," Janel said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. Jade hugged her parents. No matter what happened, she knew she was who she was because of her family. They raised her, and everything good in her was because of them.
Lisa had tears running down her face, watching Jade. Even though Jade had said she didn't care about where she had come from, Lisa understood what it was like to get answers. She looked at the information for her siblings in her hand and wondered what they would think about her reaching out to them. They were all older than her. Lisa looked at their names: Eric, Noah, and Carmen. She was going to try to see if she could find anything about them online, but she changed her mind. Lisa pulled out her phone and sent them all the same text message.
*Hello. My name is Lisa, and I just learned we may share the same birth father. If you're interested in meeting me, please respond. Thank you.*
Lisa bit her lip as she sent the three separate messages. She would leave it up to them to reach out if they wanted to. She did wonder why she was the only one who was taken to Rio, but the others were left alone. She looked down when her phone buzzed. Noah had responded to her, saying he would like to meet up with her. Then Eric and Carmen responded, saying the same thing. Lisa looked at Jayce with a smile.
"They want to meet me." She said softly. Melanie and Saxon heard her and walked over.
"Who wants to meet you?" Melanie asked.
"My half brothers and sister. I texted them, and they all responded. I'm going to see if we can set up something for the day after tomorrow. Will you both come with us? They may have questions I can't answer." Lisa asked her parents.
"Of course we will," Melanie said, kissing her daughter's head. Lisa and Alex would always be her little cubs, no matter how old they got.
Lisa asked her half-siblings if they could meet the day after tomorrow and suggested a restaurant. They all still lived in Northern California and responded that they could. She sat back with a sigh. Everything was finally coming together.
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The next day, everyone was getting prepared for Jade's party. Even though it was last minute, they didn't skimp on the details. Jade was ecstatic because she would finally mark Bill and make him hers forever. He walked around with a secretive smile on his face all day, and when she kept asking him about it, he just said that she would find out later.
Everyone pitched in and bought Jade a new car. She said she was faster running on her own, but Lisa reminded her when she went to college, she would need a car. Jade loved it anyway, especially since it was a convertible.
Trey, Aiden, and Thatcher manned the barbeque. Morgan was going to help, but he stayed in the house with Adelma. She was having a lot of pain and sickness from the venom spreading through her body.
"So, are you finally going to let Bill have his way with you?" Lisa asked Jade quietly so no one could hear her other than their mates. Jade punched her in the arm while Bill's face turned bright red.
"Do you have to ask that? Besides, what makes you think he'll be having his way with me? Maybe I'm going to have my way with him." Jade and Lisa started howling with laughter while Bill got even redder, and Jayce leaned over to whisper to him.
"Don't let them get to you. I've learned in the short time around this family that the women run the show, and we're just here to do what they want." He said. Bill chucked as Lisa turned to Jayce.
"See, Jade, I've got him trained already." Lisa kissed Jayce on the cheek. Bill suddenly stood up, and Jade looked at him with concern at how anxious he was acting.
"Is everything okay?" She asked, hoping her teasing wasn't getting to him.
"Uh, everything's fine. I just need to do something." As shy as Bill was, Jade had never seen him so nervous. He looked like he was going to pass out. When he knelt in front of her, Jade thought he was going to be sick. He smiled at her as she got ready to get down next to him.
"Jade, I know this is sudden, and we've only just met. However, I love you more than I ever thought I would love anyone. Today, you will mark me and make me a vampire, allowing me to join this incredible family. I have something I want to ask you first." Everyone stopped to listen. Thatcher and Janel smiled from ear to ear as they watched their daughter's face. "Will you marry me?"
