~TheaHis fingers were only inches from touching me. Had he touched me, I am not sure what would have happened. Was he advancing on the attraction between us? Was he going to pull me close and kiss me until I was out of breath? I had no idea...And I didn't get the opportunity to know, before someone slapped their hands down on my shoulders.The look on Jasper's face was what I saw first, as he retracted his hand. For a moment, it looked like he awoken from a trance, finally snapping back into reality. Then, he throws an angry look at the person behind me."Did I interrupt something?" I wanted to yell yes. Because that voice belonged to Tayten, and I admit it really did annoy me that I didn't find out what Jasper wanted. Now, he seems to have recovered his senses, and it seems as if he isn't going along with his plan suddenly. Jasper shook his head slowly. "What do you want?"Tayten moved around me until she was beside me, draping her arm over me. It seems to be her favourite thin
~TheaMaking a noise wasn't an option, as a hand slapped over my mouth, the other person used to keep my wrists together behind my back so I could hardly move. Being abducted or kidnapped was never something I had to worry about back in the Devotion Pack, so the unfamiliarity of it all stunned me into stiffness."You're not from around here, are you?" the man murmurs in my ear.My mind wanted me to do so many things. At the very least, it wanted me to lash out and defend myself in any way, so I could escape, but my body refused the command. Paralysed, this man has complete control over me until I snap out of my disorientation. Is this what this Pack is like? Are they all so sexually deprived, they have to kidnap woman to satisfy them?Suddenly, my body kicks into gear. Not only was it the idea of what could come from this situation, but the idea of not doing anything to stop it. I've been strong since the moment I decided to leave my home and follow Jasper. Not once have I broken dow
~TheaWe made it back to Jasper's car, a silence stretching between us.With him by my side, not a single person even glanced at me, let alone snuck me a sly comment, or grabbed at me. Jasper was like a walking wall of security, ensuring unknowingly, that no one tried anything with me."Where did you go?" Jasper decides to ask, once we are in his car, drowning out most of the street noise and tacky shop music.I made the decision moments ago not to tell him about the man in the alleyway, or the man in the bar. Both were creepy and something I want to forget, and never have to deal with again in my life. This Pack is too much for me, and I want out right now. "Just a bar to think. I overreacted about my Uncle, or lack thereof. I just don't understand who would do that," I say, my comment making Jasper sigh. Even though I can't read minds, It is fairly obvious that Jasper wonders the same thing.Clearly, someone had used magic to find where I was staying with Jasper, and send a note th
~Thea"What a pleasant surprise," Asher says delicately. "What did I do to deserve the Alpha of Devotion hand delivering me such a beautiful young lady?Surprised, I catch Jasper's gaze for some sort of assistance in this situation. Imagine if I turned and slapped him for his words, and his unwanted touch; an Alpha. Surely some kind of consequence would ensue. So instead, I stay tense, feeling every inch of his fingers against me. Jasper, however, chuckles. "You really have quite the humour."Asher winks at me, but I look away. His golden eyes are taunting, and I have to admit, unnerving. Jasper steps forward, grabbing the cloth of my shirt, gently yanking me toward him, making Asher's hand fall away. Something about the movement didn't seem as innocent as Jasper made it out to be."I haven't seen you in quite some time, Alpha. As always, it's a pleasure," Asher says, shaking hands with him. Then, his gaze flickers to mine. "And this one? She belong to you?"Instantly, I frown at
~TheaGroaning, I stuff my head deeper into my pillow. The burden of what I committed to last night weighed heavily on my shoulders, as did my splitting headache. Rolling over, I stuffed my head into the pillow, wishing I could say the word and this hangover I granted myself with would just disappear.Memories of last night are a jumbled mess in my mind. Asher's golden eyes, and Jasper's violet ones are in there somewhere. And did I...?The way I got out of bed so fast, was potentially dangerous. Flinging the sheets off my legs, I acknowledge my lack of clothes before I make it out the door, shrugging a shirt on with pants to follow. I may be known to make some mistakes, but there is no way I'm letting Jasper or Asher see me in just my bra and underwear.Jasper was walking back down the hallway, when I open the door, hair a mess, with my clothes in a disarray. "Good morning-""Did we...?" I question, both of us pausing in front of each other. "We didn't right."At first, it looked a
~TheaJasper offered to skip time for us to get home in time, and I took it.It passed that day, leaving me feeling slightly disoriented and drowsy. Although, I had to admit that it felt nice to be back at Jasper's house, almost as if I was coming home for the first time in what felt like forever. Never have I felt like this before."You should head to sleep," Jasper murmurs from behind me, the moment we walk through the door.I flinch, twisting around. We were in his living room, the space filling with warmth the moment we stepped inside. Something to do with Jasper's magic, I assume."I like when I skip time around you," he says, changing tact. He leant against the doorway, staring at me.Sometimes the way he looks at me paralyses me. It is almost as if he can change his emotions with just his eyes, portraying to me only what he wants me to see. Like right now, it captures me, melting my insides with its intensity."Why?" I ask, my voice quivering slightly.I don't know why he makes
~TheaThe sun had hardly rose when I next opened my eyes. It had to be at the beginning of dawn, which was surprising since I never woke up this early."Oh Goddess," I drawl, running a hand down my face as I sit up.Did I really do that last night, or was it a wild dream? It can't of been, I remember the feeling so well...His fingers, his eyes, his everything. It was so real, and so was the fact that I had committed to it, wanting with every ounce of my body.Clambering out of bed, I throw my hair into a ponytail, and form a semblance of an outfit that might be suitable for a walk outside. Right now, I need to clear my head.Jasper is bound to be awake, since he doesn't need to sleep, being a Phantom Wolf and all, so going out the front door wasn't really an option. After last night, I don't want to see him yet, and something tells me he won't want me to go wandering outside this early in the morning in a place I don't know completely yet.Instead, I zipped up my coat and opened my be
~Thea"Never in my life did I think I would be able to say I actually met my own Alpha!"Cole's excited exclamation didn't go unnoticed by Jasper, who looked as if he wanted to do nothing more than knock the man out. However, he kept his anger restricted to his gaze, which he assaulted both me and Cole with.This went completely unnoticed to the man beside me."I just met your cousin!" Cole said pointedly, resting his arm across my shoulders in a way I knew was friendly, but hardly looked like it. "She's very sweet."Poor Cole had no idea what Jasper had done to me last night. He had no idea that there is no way he is my cousin. He didn't even recognise the malice brewing in his expression, but to be fair, I didn't fully understand why. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to have friends. "You two seem to be quite friendly, aren't you?" Jasper murmured, his gaze lowering to the arm over my shoulder. The way he looked at the arm seemed to add weight to it, making me want to shrug it off to
~Jasper's "How the hell did you manage to get yourself in this situation?"Sighing deeply, I brace my hands against the table, trying to hold myself back from doing something irrational. Thea has been missing for over eight hour now, and we have no leads as to where Luca may have taken her. At this point, he could have taken her to any Pack, and we are still here in the Love Pack,.My jaw clenched. The internal battle I've committed to is weakening, but I won't stop for a second, until I'm with Thea again. I won't eat. I won't sleep."I was trying to be a good mate," I mutter, raising my gaze to his own. "How was I supposed to know this would happen?"The Alpha of Vengeance stood in front of me. Aside from me, he one of the oldest Alpha's that lives today. Kaden and I never used to hold the best relationship, but our disagreements have recently been resolved, and I now find him a valuable friend. With what has just happened, I believe he may be the only one who can assist me."So wha
~TheaLuckily for me, it wasn't snowing when I ventured outside. Already, from the moment I stepped out of Malik's home, I felt better. Just breathing in the crisp air, letting it filter all my thoughts thoroughly was a relief, and for the first time in awhile, my muscles began to relax, despite the difficulty of pushing through the snow on Malik's lawn. If I can just spend a few minutes walking around, then I can go back and hear Jasper out.Quite frankly, my mind had found it hard to fathom the fact that Jasper is my mate. An Alpha? My rational mind passes many things off as coincidence, but I know for a fact, that this is Fate.And now I know the true reason why he wanted me to escape so badly.By the time I reach the streets of the Love Pack, snow has seeped into my shoes, and realisation has hit that maybe the coat I grabbed isn't enough. At least the struggles through the snow had warmed me up enough to actually make my legs work. Everybody else that I walk past seem unfazed by
~TheaThere is no doubting, that everything has changed. That I am no longer how I was yesterday.Jasper stood behind me, staring into the mirror as I did. Something was so common between us, there is no mistaking it. Our eyes. Just looking at it made me want to claw my eyes out. That deep-set violet shade had taken over my once hazel eyes, infecting me with the colour I had admired about Jasper. Now it belongs to me too, although, it hardly amounts to what I see in Jasper's eyes. His are alight and dazzling, vivid with colour. Mine are still bland and rather lifeless.Still, there is an uncanny resemblance, which suggests that I'm not actually alive still. I'm not dead either. I'm just a walking body without beating heart."I'm a Phantom," I breath, running my fingertips down my cheek, that is an awful transparent colour. Perhaps if I had ever seen a dead person, I could relate myself to them, but Jasper is the closest I have gotten, and he is like a walking masterpiece.Jasper move
~TheaMy eyes closed at the same time the water closed around my face.The warmth of the water and the feel of Jasper's hands on my shoulders did nothing to quell the fright the instantly consumed me. My body wanted to retaliate, as my last gulp of air bubbles out of my mouth. The feeling was nothing like I had felt before, as I felt water slip between my lips, the water like a hand on my neck, slowly strangling the life out of me.Forcing my eyes open, I could see the shadow of Jasper looming over me, as he held my shoulders back against the bottom of the tub. I trust him...I have no choice.Involuntarily, as a sudden surge of fright for the lack of breath I was getting hit, my legs jerked up, my body convulsing in protest. The water stung my eyes, as I tried to see Jasper, to try to beg him to stop. Doubts ran through my mind, hurdling all the logic easily. This isn't comfortable...This isn't like falling asleep.Blinking through the water, I notice what is probably Malik, coming fo
~Thea I had always told myself that I wouldn't find my mate. There was an entire part of me that had accepted the fact that I would never feel those sparks, or be able to spend the rest of my life with someone I was made for. And there was no way I thought that my mate would ever be an Alpha. Let alone the Alpha of Devotion.However, there was no denying what was going on, with Jasper's hands cradling my face, his lips on mine...There were sparks there, and the undeniable voice in my head screaming, he's your mate!Stunned, I was still, trying to fathom the feeling. Sparks were a feeling I couldn't put words to. They spread from his hands, through his lips, right across my body, weakening my limbs, so I was completely open to the feeling. The tiny electric like jolts were almost relaxing, but at the exact same time, they enlightened a foreign feeling inside me.It was second nature, as I began kissing back, taking a part of me that controlled my conscious by surprise, but I shunned
~TheaInside the cabin was just as inviting as the outside. It was the small, the furnishings were subtle, and the entire place almost seemed to bundle you up in the fireplace-which Jasper's magic lit-warm embrace.The moment Jasper ushered me inside, I was awed by the entire thing. With wooden interior beams on the ceiling, that match what might suffice as wallpaper, the small space seemed warm, friendly, and inviting. Despite my wariness of what Jasper called faux, the rug on the floor looked softer than silk.Jasper took my jacket, as I shrugged it off. "And Malik, of all people created this?"The Alpha chuckled. He knew what Malik was like, and if I told him about the girl-Vanessa, or whatever her name is-then I'm sure he wouldn't be surprised. I just found it ironic that the Alpha of Love decided to spend his time with beautiful women warming his bed, rather than actually looking for his mate.I expected him, of all people, to hunt the entire land for her. "He did. There is a ro
~TheaJasper gave me some space, which I spent in the bathroom trying to make myself look nice. He promised me, that we would be going out, to make my last day alive good for me. I combed my hair through with my fingers, patting down the strands that stuck out in places. If I had a tie, I maybe would have braided my hair. Instead, I pushed it over my shoulders, and hoped it looked somewhat decent. My clothes were rumpled, but I didn't have Jasper's magic to conjure up clothes, and I wasn't about to ask him for a pretty dress or something.This will do. I can still wear clothes when I'm a Phantom.I refused to think about what was going to happen tomorrow. Today was all I could think about, as well as Jasper's enticing promise about something special tonight. I had no idea what it was, but he told me that it had to do with a secret he's been keeping.My insistent curiosity is going to keep me on edge about it all day, I know it.Rinsing my face, I wash the dried tears from my cheeks.
~TheaJasper paced in front of me.I sat on the edge of the bed, my leg stretched out in front of me. The blanket was still wrapped around my waist, but honestly, I don't care anymore. Too many things swim in my mind, trying to fit somewhere, but it was failing, leaving me feeling empty, and numb."I don't want to die," I say softly, watching Jasper as he thinks.Malik had given us some space to talk things through, to discuss how Jasper was going to end my life. However, the moment we were left alone, Jasper was starting to realise he was actually going to stop my heart from beating, and I realised this is really happening."I'm sorry to have dragged you into this mess," Jasper murmurs, finally coming to a stop. I've never seen him look so lost, so distraught in a situation. He isn't holding himself together as well as I have seen him do, and it doesn't help my jittering nerves.I sigh deeply, trying to get some breath into my lungs. "It's not your fault. It didn't, I would be dead b
~Thea"I-I...Me?"My hardly coherent stuttering didn't go unnoticed, in the way Malik smiled knowingly, and my cheeks reddened in response. Where has my brain gone? It seems to have melted under the heated gaze Malik assaults me with. The first flicker of salvation was like a knock on the back of my head with a very insistent fist. I've spent a lot of my life being intimidated by Luca, and I'm not about to show weakness like that in front of anyone again. Malik may be an Alpha, but I'm a woman who knows how to hold a gaze, and cover my emotions with an impassive cloth."Sorry you had to see that," he said coolly, standing back straight again. Clearly he was referring to Vanessa. "I'm sure you've been waiting for quite some time."My eyes narrow, as I respond a little too abruptly. "Not really."Malik watches me carefully, openly searching my face curiously. He was probably wondering what was behind the sudden change of tact, but I wasn't about to mention it. I knew what he was insinu