Chapter Fifteen

Chapter 15

Jasmine’s POV

I stared at the scary Alpha in surprise, not quite believing I had heard him right.

He had resumed coming for supper at the pack’s dining hall and from the attention he had gotten on arrival, it was clear to see that his pack had missed him.

It seemed that his misunderstanding with Nana had somehow been resolved since she had seated herself to his right, rather than at her usual place on the other end of the table, in the other head seat.

Instead, while she took his usual place, Luke occupied her seat at the other head chair and engaged both me and Lena in conversation throughout the meal.

While I was not seated right beside him, I was seated beside Lena who was to his right. I had been slightly surprised when he had turned his entire focus to both me and his cousin, hardly relating at all with the werewolves seated to his left.

He had regaled us with tales from his journeys to different places, including his visits to the werewolves in the West. Lena had probably heard the tales before because she simply ate and listened, whereas I was in complete awe as I listened, until Lena offered to swap places with me before I fell into her bowl of soup.

I had gladly accepted the offer and listened attentively as Luke told his tales.

If I hadn’t been so enthralled, I would have noticed how often Luke zoned out while still telling his tales. I would have noticed that the look in his eyes meant he was being mind linked constantly. And I would have noticed how he immediately rose to his feet after hearing a growl from the other end of the table, making an excuse about suddenly remembering something urgent in need of his attention before rushing out of the dining hall.

But all I had noticed after his hasty exit and turning back to my food was the familiar heat of a stare that caused me to look up and meet the heated glare directed at me from the scary Alpha.

Wondering what I had possibly done to anger him again, I turned back to my plate of food and continued to eat, trying my best to ignore the heat of his gaze before I could excuse myself from the hall and leave with Lena.

From what Lena had told me, scary Alpha had apologized to her and even gotten her gifts. She had proudly showed her new dress and pearls to me and even offered me a beautiful necklace that I firmly but kindly rejected, reminding her that it was a gift.

I had seen him at breakfast at his cabin as well, though we said nothing to each other asides a greeting from me and a nod from him.

That was why I had been surprised when a she-wolf had come to inform me that the Alpha had requested my presence at his study. She had left immediately after delivering the message, which quelled my concern that I was probably in trouble again.

I had made my excuses to Nana and Lena and left the healing house to head to the pack house where the Alpha’s main study was located.

As I arrived, I hesitated at the door before giving a nod to the guards to open it, knowing that they had already alerted the Alpha of my presence.

I took a deep breath before going in.

Who could blame me?

My memory of the place wasn’t a good one.

For some reason, I wasn’t as scared as I was last time I was here. Perhaps because I now knew that the scary Alpha would not harm me without a reason.

And I was determined not to give him one.

I had finally come to a stop a few paces from him and bowed in respect.

“You sent for me, Alpha?” I had asked.

But at that point, with all the possible reasons why he would request for my presence floating through my mind, not once did I imagine that his request would be for me to be no more than a rag doll for his terrifying wolf.

“I believe I must have misheard you, Alpha”, I finally said, confused.

“You did not”, he said, rising from where he was seated behind his desk to walk over to where I stood in disbelief.

I opened my mouth but no words would come out.

Probably seeing this, he continued.

“I know this is asking too much of you, but I am left with no other choice”, he said, sounding reluctant even to my ears. “For some reason, my wolf seems to be…”, he paused as if looking for the right word. “…fond of you”, he finally said, before turning away to go and lean against his desk.

“As I am sure Lena must have mentioned to you, Rage has been acting strangely of late”, he said. “That was the reason I had to distance myself from Nana and Lena, as well as my pack. I feared that he would harm someone and I could not take such risks. But after our encounter with you in the woods that day, he has… mellowed. I believe having some sort of playmate would be good for him and since you are the only one he has allowed to get close enough to him without any danger of being harmed, I find I am left with no other choice than to ask for your…” he struggled to get the last word out. “…help”, he finished.

After his speech, he waited silently for my response.

I simply stared at him.

There was no way he was possibly asking me to be a playmate for his terrifying, bloody-thirsty and absolutely dangerous wolf.

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.

I was completely speechless.

Probably sensing my state of mind, he spoke further.

“I understand that this may be asking too much from you”, he said. “But I see no other solution to Rage’s strange behavior”, he said and waited once more.

“Alpha…” I finally got out after a moment of complete silence. “Forgive me for asking but how are you so sure that your wolf would not tear to pieces?” I asked.

That was, after all, how pups played with their rag dolls.

Most, especially male pups, had the terrible habit of ripping up their rag dolls.

Thinking about that suddenly brought an image of scary Alpha’s wolf ripping me to shreds like a rag doll.

A shudder coursed through me at the image.

“Well”, scary Alpha said, suddenly rising from where he was leaning on his desk to gradually make his way towards me.

“I suppose I would have to tell you”, he said, looking me straight in the eye and causing me to hastily look down. “As I already said, Rage had been acting aggressive up until our encounter with you in the woods the other day”, he went on. “Afterwards, he calmed considerably”. He hesitated before continuing. “The thing is”, he said, bringing a hand up to flick a wayward strand of hair away from his eyes. “He has taken a shine to you”, he said, causing my eyes to snap up to his.

He nodded.

“He perks up at the mention of your name”, he went on, locking eyes with me and not looking away. “He gets defensive whenever you’re involved. He…” he trailed off briefly. “…howls in pleasure whenever we lock eyes with you”.

It could have been my imagination but I could have sworn his voice dropped lower and turned deeper as he continued.

“He becomes excited at the sight of you”, he continued and paused briefly. “And it is taking everything I can to hold him back from reaching for you right now”, he softly ended on a growl.

As if to prove his statement, his eyes briefly flickered from their usual dark grey to blood red and back.

I gasped softly in surprise and made a move to step back.

A strong, muscled arm caught me around the waist before I could do so and pulled me closer to the heat of his body.

I stiffened in fear as the eyes remained blood red, a clear indication that it was Rage in control at the moment and immediately shut my eyes to await his next move.

I froze for a moment when I felt the soft brush of what was undoubtedly hair before he buried his face into the space between my neck and shoulder and inhaled deeply.

Perhaps because my eyes were shut, my other senses were heightened. That was why I suddenly noticed the incredible scent what comprised of oak and spring that suddenly engulfed me and pulled me into a trance.

Unconsciously, my hands came up to bury themselves in his hair, marveling at how soft the strands were.

He let out a groan of pleasure before suddenly tensing up and pulling away from me.

My eyes flew open as I stumbled but I quickly caught myself.

He moved away from me to a window on the other side of the room and took deep breaths, panting softly.

I stood rooted to the spot, unable to grasp what had just transpired.

“I apologize”, he said from his place at the window. “As you might have already figured, that was Rage”, he said turning briefly and I noticed his eyes were back to their usual dark grey. “I advise that you hastily make up your mind about it. As you can see, he lacks patience. I expect you to have an answer by breakfast. You may leave now”, he said and turned back to look out the window.

Still in a daze, I gave an automatic bow made my way out of his study.

As I exited the pack house and felt the cool breeze of the moonlit night, I felt a shudder coursed through me as the most ridiculous thought swept through my mind.

His scent.

He had smelled familiar.

Almost like…home.

I brushed the ridiculous thought of my mind with a shake of my head and focused on making my way back home.

That word appeared again.

Home.