Sunset Beach Condos

(Taking place after the bar, but before the rendezvous)

Asher was deeply concerned for a number of reasons. One, Jasper had never asked her to walk him home before, and two, the look of agony on his face signalled something she wasn’t yet aware of. Although she had no doubt she would’ve had a great time with Neriah, this was a situation she knew required her attention.

He obviously wasn’t okay, but Asher didn’t know why. He was obviously mad, which was the next reason she had said yes to walking with him. She had been too often the witness of violence confrontations, and if Red was lurking about, that was the last thing anyone needed. As she walked and thought, she started forming an idea, especially with that man she had seen. But she also thought it could be a result of the tricky blood magic too. However, it wasn’t until Jasper called a number that she never would’ve thought he even knew that Asher started realizing what was happening.

The potion, she thought with alarm as she looked at Jasper. When he started showing signs of pain, Asher stayed with him for comfort. But when agony screamed in his chest, she wrapped around him to support him as she got to the first apartment she found, which happened to be hers. They lived next door to each other, so it didn’t truly matter, but keeping him contained was important for the moment too. A vampire in agony could be as destructive as anything else. “Jasper? Talk to me. What’s going on?”

Something about that man in the bar was just off. Jasper had been in a good mood. True, the ring irritated him, but he would have bounced back in seconds. It was that guy. Something didn't feel right. He didn't feel right. Asher might not be happy with him for breaking up her potential hook up, but Jasper didn't think he should be alone.

Outside the bar he called the one man he detested the most, but it would be the one guy that would get it - Red. Red and he were in this together and what one endured, they both endured. Jasper hung up with Red and took Asher by the hand. "I need to get out of here." He would drag Asher if he had to. Red would be there soon.

Jasper didn't head for the condos. He actually wanted to go to the marina. But something happened that changed his plan. It must have been about the time Sadie and Allhallows touched for the first time. Something caused his heart to shutter. For a vampire, feeling an internal organ move at all was bizarre. He turned to Asher with confusion on his face, "What the bloody hell was that?" He didn't know quite how to explain. "My heart just...it just...just...bloody moved."

About the time Sadie admitted out loud that Allhallows was her mate, Jasper's legs went out from under him. It was the equivalent of someone squeezing his heart. He fell almost on top of Asher and started trembling. With fear and pleading on his face he asked, "Am I gonna die?

Asher dragged him to her apartment. He did his best to help her, but she did most of the work. Something was happening inside him that should not be happening. He was dead. A vampire. His organs hadn't moved in centuries. Now, it felt like his heart was beating with the rhythm of someone else. Not only did it feel like it was beating, but also physically breaking in two.

Asher comforted him, his head in her lap as he looked into her dark eyes. "My heart is...shit. I don't know." He grabbed her hand and pulled it onto his chest, over his heart. Vampires could not cry but the expression on his face showed her he would be if he could, "Asher..."

Jasper didn’t have to drag Asher. His urgency and the way he fell apart told her what she needed to know, except she was equally as confused when he said his heart had moved. This was what had caused Asher to initially move to him, but she did have to use magic to catch him when he fell, because as magically powerful as she was, she did still only have the strength and size of an adult woman. When he asked her if he was going to die, she firmly shook her head. “You’re not going to die.”

In the apartment, all she could do was comfort him. With his head in her lap, she brushed the hair away from his eyes as he tried to make sense of what was happening. The clues were too obvious now. His heart….meant Sadie’s heart. Which meant Red’s heart. That scared Asher beyond belief, but she didn’t let it show as Jasper grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest. The witch blinked several times as she felt his heart beating. Actually beating. “You’re not going to die, I promise. I’m right here.” As best as she could, Asher tried to put a protective shield against the pain, but until the potion was broken, the agony would likely continue. “This is that potion. I think….i think it might be breaking.”

As the torment of Sadie’s mate would continue, Asher counted the beats. It was crazy to feel his heart beating, but what was equally as worrying was that she could not find Red in her mind, she couldn’t reach him at all, but through Jasper’s heart, she could feel him. As the caster of the spell, Asher couldn’t even begin to imagine the agony he would’ve been in. Looking down at Jasper, she looked into his eyes, seeing his pain, and brushed her fingers over his face again. “I’m gonna get you through this. It’s gonna be okay. Just keep talking to me.”

His heart was beating! An organ that had laid dormant in his chest cavity for nearly three hundred years and it was now beating! Beating a broken and disturbing beat. Jasper, being a vampire, could only contribute to the beating of his dead heart as his life is coming to an end. Perhaps that was the side effect of the portion, when it broke the one’s involved died? He had never gotten the details. He had never gotten close enough to Red to ask.

He sought comfort in Asher’s words, though. She was the practitioner amongst them and surely, she wouldn’t be telling him he was going to make it through this if he was on the edge of death. He clung to her as he looked up from where his head lay in her lap. If his body was able to produce tears, they would be streaming down his face. He was never good with pain when he was a human. Apparently, that was an attribute the followed him into the vampire world. Granted, his tolerance was higher now. Which must mean this was some truly horrific pain.

“What can the beating for a long dead heart mean other than death?” He was scared.

Asher knew that Jasper was confused. Her hand laid on his chest, counting the broken beat. She didn’t know Jasper when he was alive, but the agony in his face told her he was scared beyond belief. She also realized in that moment that Sadie had never told him the details. Asher drew a small breath, but looked into Jasper’s eyes.

“Jasper, listen to me, sweetheart. I know it feels like you’re dying, but you’re not. You’re not. This is the result of that potion that got shared with you. This isn’t just your beat, it’s Red’s too. It hurts right now because I think the spell is breaking.” At least, she was almost sure. She hadn’t totally gotten the chance to figure out who the guy in the bar was, but given how immediate it was for Jasper when it started only had Asher guessing who that might’ve been, and what was happening.

“If I’m right, then the potion, the spell, will break. And right now, it hurts like hell because of the bond it’s simulating. But it will not kill you.” She had refused to put that aspect in the potion, knowing better than that. “And, I need you to hear and trust me on this one.” Her hand reached for his, holding it tightly as her other hand lightly continued to run across his face in that same comforting movement, small waves of magic entering him to keep him calm. “You will survive. Hell or high water, you will survive. I’ll make sure of it.”

It may have been odd to care about her bosses number one enemy, and she was sure she would pay for it when Red found out, but Asher recognized that Jasper had been drug into this without any real control. “You just have to bare with me a little longer. You can do this, Jasper. I promise. I’m right here.”

The calming magic she put into him did cause him to relax enough that he was enduring the pain better. The pressure of her hand on his chest and the squeeze of her other hand made him believe she was telling him the truth. Though, one aspect of her statement almost made him laugh. “I’m feeling Red’s heart beat?” That was disturbing to him. The beat of his enemy’s heart was in his chest. “Why now? Now that the spell is breaking, why am I feeling them? Shouldn’t I have felt them all along?” He really didn’t care the logistics of it, he really just wanted to hear Asher’s voice right now.

The calmness he felt lasted several hours. He was getting used to the feeling of a beating heart. And, from time to time, he would look down at his hands to make sure he wasn’t shriveling up with age. If Asher wanted to move, that was just too bad for her. She had a terrified vampire in her lap, and he wasn’t moving until this ordeal was over. That was his intention, at least.

But the calm was shattered like a stone being thrown through glass. Out of nowhere his heart started to race with uncontrolled fury, pain, and murder. Asher, her hand still on his chest, must have felt the pattern of the beat change. Jasper’s head rocked backwards as his mouth opened and his eyes squinted shut. He turned his head into Asher’s stomach and muffled the scream against her. “Something has happened.” He panted through muffled yells.

“You have been. It’s why you’re drawn to her. It’s, in part, why you hate him. It’s the why of it all. But for the first time, the two of you are on the same emotional level. You might know he’s a little high and mighty that way. Acts like he doesn’t have any, you know.” Asher told him, but she was mostly just talking to talk, just to keep him focused on something.

Asher managed to keep the flow pretty strong, and she was even able to keep the pain down, and through those hours, she just talked, about anything that kept him grounded and focused, at least until something profound happened. All of sudden, Jasper’s heart physically moved under her hand, with such a jolt that she almost lost control of the vampire. The hand that was on his chest went to cradle his head as he turned his face to her stomach, her other hand still gripping his. For half a second, she was worried that rage would take over Jasper too, but she found she had to trust the situation, and trust he wouldn’t want to decide to know what an ancient witch and her blood tasted like.

Deciding that was not the issue of the moment, she held onto Jasper as she felt something hit the air that was so violent, she could taste it. She looked out her window and saw the sea reacting violently, and although she couldn’t see anyone standing there, she knew these signs. “He knows.” She said aloud. She knew Jasper had called him, but she also knew it was easy for Red to dismiss Jasper. But this was different, and all they could do was hold on through the storm. “Jesus, I hope he doesn’t kill them.” Although this sounded like a statement, this was actually a prayer, and several more silent ones followed as she prayed for the souls of her friends.

Unable to currently do anything, as the rains started, her grip on Jasper tightened, letting him scream out his pain in the soundproof room. She had never seen a vampire react like this before, and wasn’t entirely sure what she could do besides try to siphon the pain out of him. Not until it was over at least. “Let it out. Whatever you’re feeling, tell me.” Even if that meant in screams and snarls.

He thought about biting Asher. He thought about sinking his teeth into her and seeing if powerful blood would help staunch the pain that was making him feel like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. But, even through the pain, he thought better of it. Biting Asher would bring about her wrath and, right now, she was his anker. Though her blood was tempting.

He listened to Asher speak, telling him about Red and how the two men were on the same emotional level for once. Her voice soothed him mentally, but with Red’s anguish and fury running through Jasper’s body, there was no calm. He looked up at Asher and said, “You need to leave me and go find Red.” Jasper winced, his eyes squeezing. “If I am feeling like this…” His back arched, like he was trying to keep his heart in his chest. “Ah!” He gritted his teeth and tried to breath out of his nose. “If I feel like this, he might be about to explode. And I don’t want to feel that.” Jasper just wanted out of this mess. It wasn’t something he was ever supposed to be a part of, yet here he was.


(Sorry. Short & Sweet. It is hard to not be repetitive.)

There was really nothing Asher could do. Despite creating the potion, she was not the one in control of it. All she could do was offer comfort and explanations, while holding him so he couldn’t feel like he was alone. Her hand stayed anchored on his chest as she tried to calm it, but Red’s anguish was incredible. Like searingly hot at times.

Asher’s hands held his head while he tried to speak, but she couldn’t help but agree. “I know. And God himself only knows what he’ll do.” That was the part that worried Asher the most. Looking across the room, she magicked one of the couch pillows to her, and very gently placed it under Jasper’s head so she could stand. Before she did, she looked at him. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Try to hold on, Jasper. You’re strong enough, I promise.”

With that, and a little more encouragement, Asher swept a hand over herself, and went to try to find, and help the others in this situation.

Sometime later, Jasper still lay on the floor truly wondering if Asher knew what she was talking about because his heart only seemed to be hurting worse and worse. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an invisible wave of energy passed through his body and took the pain from his chest. He breathed easily for the first time in hours. He placed his hands on his chest. His heart had quieted; it was no longer beating. He raised his head from the pillow Asher had placed under him before leaving to see what she could do to help this mess.

He sat up and his head was clear. It was like he had been living under a fog for the last two centuries. He blinked and studied Asher’s apartment, testing out his eyesight like he was a freshly turned vampire. He rose from the floor and walked to the window. The sea was still ferocious from Red’s reaction and Jasper couldn’t blame him – that shit hurt. He turned to the door as he wondered about Sadie. How had she faired through this experience? Had she felt what they had felt? He didn’t know but he did care.

He wasn’t sure what to do now. Where should he go? Who should he look for? If the potion was broken, was it Sadie who broke it or Red? Was Red dead? Is that why it broke? He decided to stay put for now. This is where Asher and probably Sadie knew where to find him. And, if Red was still alive, he wouldn’t want to run into him at the moment. Red might have something worse than a tar and feathering in store for him.

Sadie headed back down to the second floor of the condos towards Asher's apartment. Her mind was working through everything that happened from the bar opening to leaving Fitzpatrick's penthouse. She was worried about her newfound mate, concerned about Red's pain and the storm that was trouncing around outside.

She was thinking about the pain she had felt before the potion broke and knew Jasper had to have felt that as well. She felt a wave of guilt course through her as she reached the condo. She took a deep breath to clear her head and knocked lightly to let Jasper know someone was coming in. She turned the door knob and walked into Asher's apartment.

As she closed the door behind her, she walked towards the living area and saw Jasper standing near the window. "Hey, Fearless Pirate. How are you feeling? Are you okay?" She smiled softly at him and was unsure where to start but knew she had to tell him the truth. All of it. So, she started from the beginning, like how she did with Asher. "The man at the bar this evening was the first time I have ever seen or met him." She recanted every detail from the office, to the beach, and even to the penthouse where she broke the potion. Leaving nothing out. She finished with... "I want to start first with apologizing how you were treated at the bar earlier. And more importantly, for my adolescent selfish act that left you no choice of your own when I bound you to me for centuries from the potion. I am truly sorry, Jasper."

She explained everything and sincerely apologized with all of her heart as she waited to see what he had to say. If he had to say anything at all. She would listen to every word, even if he was angry and needed to vent his frustration.

He was looking out of the window, watching the raging storm out over the ocean. He heard the knock and turned. When he saw Sadie he paused, not sure how she was going to approach him anymore. Nervously, very like one of the first times they had ever met, he scratched the back on his head and said, “I…ah…” But Sadie had a story to tell and it was Jasper’s place to listen.

He looked at her with the eyes of the vampire he had been before the potion, before the curse that had solidified his bond to Sadie, but also his bond to Red. In that moment he realized that maybe it was always Red’s emotions that he had been feeling. Maybe the reason he had felt somewhat resentful when Jasper and Sadie spent private time together was because Red was actually feeling resentful towards him. So many things started to make sense. He was angry all the time because Red was angry all the time. Talk about one hell of an epiphany.

With a confused look on his face he said, “I never stopped caring about you, Sadie. My emotions just got…clouded by Red’s. I followed you because he followed up. I fought over you because he fought over you.” A grin touched his lips. It was the first grin he had truly felt in centuries. “I’m me again, Sadie. I’m the man I was before the potion.” He almost sounded excited to be alive again.

Sadie couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she saw the genuine grin that was on Jasper's. She saw the man she had seen before the potion went awry and how he looked excited. "I knew you never stopped caring about me, Jasper. I just knew something changed in you, and now it makes complete sense as to what that was." She stepped closer towards him and was directly in front of the window. Standing next to him.

"I always wondered what happened to the mischievous pirate that I had learned so much from and all the trouble we got into. I am so glad to see your genuine smile. Not the forced one." She spoke genuinely and happy that he looked to be feeling freer than he had been. She looked out the window and then back towards him. "I was always looking for a way to break the potion without making him mad but also to free you. I wasn't sure if that's why you changed, but my gut told me it was. Who knew I would have a mate, and that was what was needed to break the spell." She chuckled softly and looked back at the storm that was wreaking havoc outside.

She was quiet for a minute, looking over at Jasper. She was extremely happy to see the man that she had grown to admire, care, and loved be himself again. Without a second thought, she turned her body towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She hugged him tightly with her head on his shoulder and emotionally said. "I have missed you so much, Jasper. So much." Then pulled her head back slightly and looked into his blue eyes with a genuine smile on her face. Truly happy that he was was back.

Jasper didn’t want words right now. He didn’t need them. Sadie was here and her arms were around his waist with her head on his shoulder. He remembered these hugs and how he used to wait for them. His arms encircled her and gave her a little squeeze. One of his hands lifted and rested on the back of her head lightly as he nuzzled against the top of her head and closed his eyes.

The hug was short, shorter than he would have liked, but he opened his eyes and looked into hers. He only smiled and moved to kiss her neck in that spot that always drove her wild. He was himself. He was freed from feeling the emotions of Red and, for the first time in ages, could do what he wanted. His arm tightened around her waist, “Like in the beginning.” His whispered against the skin of her neck as he began kissing down her throat to her shoulder.

When he put his arms around her waist and squeezed, she smiled against his shoulder. As he nuzzled the top of her head, she savored that familiar feeling she had not had with him in centuries. She closed her eyes and held him tighter as one of her hands ran along his back. When she pulled her head back, she hadn't been trying to cut the hug short. She wanted to look at the man she had missed dearly, but when he smiled at her. Showing his true smile, she melted and lost all train of thought as he seemed to have other ideas.

He started to kiss along her neck, to which she leaned her head to the side to give him better access. A small moan escaped her mouth when he whispered again her skin, and he continued his kisses. Fitzpatrick. She thought to herself, as she finally came from the haze that was Jasper and clarity hit her even more. Her thoughts were on the man that was on the thirteenth floor recuperating from Red's brutal attack. Though he hadn't been far from her mind since her newfound mate revealed himself, the emotions of that day made her mind a mess.

She removed her arms around his waist and put her hand on his chest. She lightly pushed against him to show he needed to stop. If he did, she would look into his eyes, give him an earnest smile and say. "Jasper. We need to talk. I think we have a lot to discuss."

She responded the way he remembered, and his hands moved on her body in familiar ways. He knew they weren’t the same people as back in those days when they were river pirates together, but she felt the same and he needed something familiar to center him. His hands slid down to her ass and rested there as his lips moved down her neck. He stopped where her neck met her shoulder and grazed his fangs over her flesh. He remembered how this used to drive her wild.

He felt her hands on his chest then. An action that was unfamiliar in their seductive dance. He felt the push against him and lifted his head from her shoulder to look at her. Her words made him smile. “You were never one for talking, Love.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Jasper knew nothing of her mate or that this was her attempt at telling him about her. He only knew where they had been the last time they had been together before the potion. That is where his mind was now. He had questions about what had happened, but those could come after sex.

His kiss was hungry and eager as he pressed himself on her. He needed her affection, her touch, and her blood. He was lost right now. Lost in time. His memories a mess of what were his emotions, and which were Red’s. He was scared, though he didn’t voice it. He needed something familiar. He needed something that was a part of who he had been. He needed to feel what he had felt the last time he had been just himself. “Give yourself to me, Sadie. Please.” The please was a beg. A desperate need to quell the fear and loss.

She had tried starting the difficult conversation she needed to have with him, but he distracted her with a kiss. Just like when he had dragged his fangs across her skin in her most sensitive spot, she lost concentration. When he kissed her, she gave in for a brief moment and responded back to the kiss. It had felt like the way they had kissed when they were making runs on the river and had mischievous adventures. Before the potion.

She could feel how he started to deepen the kiss, like he was hungry. She felt that the kiss was just as amazing as the way they were before, but now it felt different to her. And she knew why. Fitzpatrick. She thought as she used the one hand on his chest and pushed gently on his chest again. She broke the kiss as she kept her hand on his chest, and her free hand went to the back of his neck. She pressed her forehead to his in an affectionate way as she took a deep breath. When she heard him speak, she pulled her head back to look at him. With what he said and what she saw in his eyes, she heard so much in his plea.

He was scared, lost, and confused, which was rightfully so. She couldn't give herself to him the way she would have in the past, not now that everything had changed. She had a mate, and though it was a newly formed bond, she felt strongly for him. "I can't give you myself in that way, Jasper. Not anymore. Not like we had before everything went awry." She wrapped her hands around his waist and hugged him again, hoping he would accept this as her trying to show him affection the best way she could now. She put her head on his shoulder and... "We really need to talk, Fearless Pirate. I hope you will understand what has happened, because you mean so much to me."