Jasmine winced as Mallistare dabbed the wound with alcohol, sighing as he pressed the gauze to it, “I’m sorry. But he was going after Lee and I wasn’t going to let her get hurt.”
“It’s not your fault,” he finished wrapping the cut and pressed a small kiss to the bandage, “But you really need to be more careful. I know you’re fighting style isn’t defensive, but you aren’t in a position to rush him.”
“Yeah, I know,” the fourteen-year-old ran her fingers through her knotted hair, looking to where her younger sister sat, “Come here, Lee.”
Annalee sniffed and walked over, eyes glued to the bandage, “I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry for. It is not your fault he decided to harm you for nothing, you were only trying to help.”
“But you got hurt because of me!”
Jasmine pulled the young girl into her lap, pressing a kiss to her sister's head, “Listen to me, that man wants to hurt us in any way possible. He knows that I will not let anything happen to you if I’m there and he takes advantage of it. He takes advantage of the love I feel for you to hurt both of us. But you must never think this is your fault.”
Annalee leaned on her sister, hiding her head in Jasmine’s neck. Jasmine leaned back on the couch as her head began to spin and the cut began to burn.
Malistare looked over her when she bit her lip, blue eyes glowing as he focused on the spot. He frowned when he figured out the problem, picking up Annalee and laying her down next to her twin on their bed, “Go to sleep Lee. Gonna need to rest for tonight okay?”
When their sister was asleep, Malistare came up to her, “He cursed it.”
“He cursed the bottle,” Jasmine stood and forced herself over to her bag, pulling out a jar, “I’ll be fine until we get to Alecs.”
“Jazzy, you are in no condition to drink right now.”
“But it dulls the pain and you know pain killers won’t work for this.”
“Just, don’t leave this room until tonight. When I leave to go to work, lock the door and make sure the window is blocked, do not try to confront them.”
“I won’t,” Jasmine drank from her jar and nearly laughed at the burn in her throat, “I know we can’t afford any fuck ups right now.”
“Just be careful Jazzy.”
Jasmine lifted her jar to him as he left, locking the door and putting a piece of cardboard over the basement window before sitting on the couch, taking another sip of the whiskey.
She looked around at their small basement room, at where Jake, the oldest after her and Malistare, lay sleeping on an old chair.
Annalee and Leeanna, twins that used to be the babies of the family, slept on a sleeping bag at Jake's feet, huddled together for warmth.
Jasmine looked at the crate, capping her whiskey and kneeling over it, gently touching the infant's face. Her parent's latest child, the youngest had been handed to her moments after being born.
Annalee had named this little one Angel because the child never cried or fussed unless hungry.
Angel opened her eyes, the bright amber color that she shared with Jasmine shining with early tears.
Jasmine picked her up and then grabbed her bottle, feeding her sister as she sighed.
Tonight it’ll all be over.
—--------------
Alec smiled as she spread the blanket over the bed, looking around at what would be Jasmine’s room.
“You know, I don’t think you should decorate Jasmine’s room for her,” Alex said from the doorway, holding out a hand, “She’s not here and would probably like to do it herself.”
“Oh I’m not decorating it for her, just make her bed and make sure it’s all ready for her. Just like I’m doing with everyone else’s.”
Alexander smiled at her, looking around at the attic rooms they had put up. Their home was near the center of Mirabelle, the largest city in the Soneta tribe area, three stories tall and built in the Tudor style.
Alec had fallen in love the moment they had bought it, immediately fixing it up to feel safe and warm, things so rarely found in the Bloodlands.
And when Jasmine had finally admitted everything her parents were doing to her and her siblings… Alec knew she couldn’t let that go.
—----------
Alec kneeled down by her friend, pushing aside Jasmine’s hair to inspect the cut on her head, “What happened? Who hurt you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jasmine’s voice was bitter and she let out a hysterical laugh, “They’ll just keep doing it anyway.”
“Who will keep doing what? Are you safe Jasmine? Is someone threatening you?”
“We’re never safe Alec you, should know that.”
“Jasmine,” Alec could smell the whiskey on her, gripping the teen's arms, “Who is hurting you?”
“Isn’t it obvious? My parents have never been good people Alec, you know they never wanted kids, you hear them fight. Now I have another kid to raise and my mom was mad that I didn’t fight her when she handed the kid to me.”
“Your mother did this to you?”
“No, my father. My mom doesn’t like getting her hands dirty, so dad did it for her,” Jasmine leaned her head back on the wall, looking around the filthy alley, “I’ll live. I always do.”
Alec frowned, carefully waving her hand over the wound, her magic’s gold aura carefully stitching together the wound, “I can get you out of there. I can help you.”
“They’re going to try and hurt you if I do that.”
“I don’t care,” Alec’s fangs grew out and her brown eyes turned bright red, “Just let me help you, sweetheart. I can get you and your siblings out of there.”
Jasmine looked at her, head foggy from the whiskey and desperate when she thought about her little siblings, “How?”
—--------
“Alec?” Alexander placed a hand on her cheek, “Are you alright?”
“We have to help Jas and her siblings. We can’t let those fuckers hurt them anymore.”
“We are helping love, and they will never be able to touch them again.”
The two vampires stared at each other, looking like twenty but over a millennium old, smiling softly as they made more plans to help their friends.
—--------
Jasmine placed the bags next to the window, turning to bring Annalee closer, “Hey, we’re going to be okay. Just do what me and Mallistare say and no harm will come to you.”
Annalee sniffed, wincing as another crash came from upstairs. Leeanna, the more confident and loud of the twins, glared at the floor above them. Jake shushed Angel as the infant began to fuss.
Mallistare looked to Jasmine, nodding slowly, “It’s time, grab everything and let’s get going.”
Everyone had a bag to carry, it was everything they had though luckily it wasn’t too heavy to carry. Jasmine opened the basement window silently, pulling herself up and out, reaching to grab her siblings.
Annalee gave her an uncertain look, wincing as a glass shattered inside. Jasmine pointed to the woods, helping her other siblings out before going there herself.
Halfway there the back door opened, revealing her mother. Jasmine looked back at the woman, saying in a quiet voice, “Just let us leave.”
But her mother was angry, stepping out onto the lawn. Romania raised the gun she had in her hand and pointed it straight at her daughter.
Jasmine dodged the first two shots, making it into the woods before the third shot hit her arm. Mallistare had turned around when the gun fired, and now he looked at his sister with wide eyes.
“Go!” Jasmine hissed, “Fucking go, get them to safety, I’ll be right behind you.”
“Jas-”
Another shot whizzed by them, narrowly missing her brother and hitting a nearby tree, “Go!”
She could see Jake looking back at them as he ushered the twins on, leading them further towards the meeting spot.
The woods were dark, Jasmine could barely see her older brother's form. Her arm burned, the cursed cut and the bullet wound bleeding as she ran, everything in her praying that her mother wasn’t following them.
Something must’ve been on their side that night, Jasmine couldn’t hear any footsteps behind them and Alec was waiting for them with Jasmine’s siblings.
The young teen ran to her friend and almost collapsed, nearly falling to the ground before Alec caught her, whispering in her ear, “You’re safe now.”
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