Hunted Queen

Chapter Twenty Nine • Blood and Vengeance

Merry Christmas and happy holidays friends!

Work has been awfully craving these last months, but here is a long overdue chapter!

I hope you enjoy it!

Love Jenny

-Loren-

Jade shot up when she had had a moment to process what he'd asked. Her face turned even paler than it already was and the icy blue eyes were screaming in panic. "The baby!" She gasped, staring in his direction, but not at him. Looking like she wasn't completely awake.

Individual sensations of a piercing pain suddenly clawed their way into his mind. It took over his attention focused on Jade's face. As the pain increased slowly, he grimaced, swallowed and clenched his jaws from the dull agony. Without letting Jade out of sight, he followed the feeling from within his body. It led him down his shoulders, past his upper arms and elbows. Then he found the pain's source; it was emanating just above his wrists. And Jade was the source.

Looking down between Jade and himself, Loren noticed that she was gripping his arms extremely hard, her fingers digging into his flesh. He swallowed again, ignored the pain and looked up at Jade again, who still wasn't looking at him. Just where he happened to be.

Her gaze was just... empty, flickering slightly from one place to another. He tried to catch her it but failed. She appeared to be in a complete state of shock. He groaned reluctantly as her nails dug deeper into him as the silence stretched between them. He suffocated the involuntary sound coming from him in response to the pain, not wanting to startle his queen.

"Jade?" He whispered and searched her face again. Nothing in her eyes registered the sound of his voice.

Seeing her this distraught was almost more than he could manage at this moment. He was exhausted after the relentless and unforgiving journey here and barely able to stand. What was worse, was that he was used to Jade being composed and in total control of herself. Not counting her outbursts, which only came out when her husband angered her or someone was being treated poorly. And those few moments when she wasn't composed, he was, and he could help her. Now... he wasn't so sure he could help her... or how. But he would try his absolute best.

"Jade." He breathed darkly, trying his best to bury the pain his queen was causing him. "Look at me, Jade." He barked as quietly as he could.

-Jade-

Her name being barked reached her. Sounding so far off she could have sworn it came from another room. Then someone barked it again and something else.

Jade blinked and saw Loren sitting in front of her.

He had an impatient and stressed look in his eyes. Like he had tried to gain her attention for some time. The memory of him asking about the baby came rushing back and she realized she must have disappeared into her own mind. Then his question hit her and she started to breathe faster. She didn't know if she had bled or not, searching her body she couldn't make out which pain was which and if it was new or old.

I have been beaten, kicked, spit on and almost raped, my face feels as swollen as a-

"Jade, calm down." Loren whispered. "Have you bled?" He repeated his earlier question.

"I don't kn-know." She breathed, her voice trembling from the shock of waking up wherever the hell they were and from her ice cold and stiff body. "Where are w-we?" She stuttered.