Chapter Fifty-Eight

Jasmine’s POV

It took only one look at my mate’s face for me to know that something was troubling him.

Although he smiled throughout the evening meal and tried to act like all was well, all I had to do was reach into our bond to confirm my suspicion that something was on his mind.

So, in an attempt to exhibit the virtue of patience, I waited until after the meal, when we were in the safety and privacy of our room before I asked him about it.

“Something clearly troubles you, love”, I said, borrowing the term of endearment that he used for me from time to time. “Will you not tell me what it is?” I asked.

He smiled before moving over to sit on the bed.

I moved with him, taking a seat beside him on the bed.

“It is nothing you need to trouble yourself about”, he said, and tried to divert my attention by leaning down to kiss my neck.

In as much as I welcomed his advances and craved his touch, I knew that whatever was on his mind would be something too important to ignore.

So, as his lips trailed a path and began to descend towards the valley between my breasts, I gently pushed him away, putting a very much needed distance between us so I would not get distracted.

“Regan”, I called softly, leveling him with a firm look to let him know that I refused to be distracted. “Tell me what it is”, I requested.

He exhaled deeply and turned away.

“Please”, I whispered, knowing that he would not refuse my plea.

He sighed deeply before turning back to face me.

“Very well”, he said, earning a smile from me. “But before I tell you, you must promise me something”, he said.

Somewhat confused, I slowly nodded my head.

“What is it?” I asked.

“You must promise me that you will only give me an answer you are certain about and not allow my words or reasons make you take a decision you are not prepared to take”, he said.

Though his words confused me, I nodded either ways.

“I promise”, I said, knowing he would not reveal anything to me without me doing so.

Hearing my words, he began.

“As you know, I had a meeting with Nana, Gaia, Gaius and Luke today”, he said. “Concerning bringing help from the other packs”, he told me.

I nodded, since I was aware of that.

“While discussing, they emphasized the importance of having your acceptance”, he said, throwing me a wary glance. “An I am inclined to agree with them”, he said.

I simply nodded for him to go on.

“If we send messages to our allies in the other packs, they will all demand proof of our claims. And you are our proof”, he said. “We would also need to summon the council of Elders as they are the only ones who can call a meeting with all the Alphas in the realm, but I cannot do so until you are ready”, he told me cautiously.

I knew exactly what he was trying to say.

I looked away.

“Look at me”, he demanded softly.

Hesitantly, I brought my eyes back to his, admiring the only pair of grey eyes that had the power to hold me spell bound.

“I will never make you do anything you do not wish to do”, he said. “And I still keep to my promise of not doing anything until you are ready. But I need you to also understand that time is of the essence”. He brought a hand up and brushed the wayward strands of hair that had escaped the braid I had put them in away from my face.

“It might be the only way to save both you and our pup”, he finally said.

I nodded, agreeing with his words before looking away again, deep in thought.

I could deny it all I wanted but it still would not change the fact that he was right.

According to Gaia, Arwyn already knew where I was. So it was only a matter of time before she told Alaric and they assembled their army to come to exact their mission.

For all we knew, they might have already sent assassins to do their evil deeds.

Yet I was still being stubborn about accepting the prophecy.

But the truth was, the more I denied it, I wasted time. And the more I wasted time, the higher the chances were for Alaric and the evil witch Arwyn to find us and finish what they had started over a century ago.

And the most important fact was that it was no longer just myself we had to protect.

My pup’s life was on the line as well, so whatever decision I chose to make had to be one that would be for his good. One that would protect him and keep his safe from every harm.

Even if it cost mo my own life.

So, knowing there was no use wasting time that we did not have much of, I turned back to my mate.

“All you need is my agreement, is it not?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“Then you have it”, I said, my decision made.

He looked at me uncertainly.

“Perhaps you might need more time to think on it”, he said. “It is not going to be easy or comfortable”, he informed me.

I nodded. “I know”, I told him. “But this decision is not only for my sake any longer”, I reminded him.

“We have our pup to think about as well”, I said before looking down in shame. “I have been selfish in thinking only about my feelings”, I said. “I should have considered yours as well, and the safety of our pup”, I said before bringing my eyes back to his. “I hope you can forgive my foolishness”, I requested.

Rather than respond, he leaned forward and pulled me into his arms, wrapping me in the comfort of his arms.

“There is nothing to forgive”, he said. “I cannot imagine how difficult this must all have been for you”, he said, placing a kiss on my temple.

“I am sure it was not easy for you as well”, I said, leaning into his arms and the warmth they offered.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked, pulling away to hold me at arms length. “I do not want you making a decision you are not ready to take”, he said.

I looked up into his lovely eyes, not for the first time, wondering what I had ever done to deserve him.

“I am sure”, I assured. “I promised you already, did I not?” I asked with a teasing smile.

“You did”, he said, the worry disappearing from his eyes to be replaced by another emotion.

“I hope you do realize that now, I will have to leave home for a while”, he said, eyes serious.

I frowned at his words.

“I do not understand”, I said, confused at his words.

He took a breath before pulling me back into his arms.

“I will have to travel to our ally packs to demand their help in our fight”, he said.

I pulled away and looked up at him in confusion and unhappiness.

“But I thought we were simply going to send a letter to our ally packs”, I said.

He nodded. “Yes, we can send a letter to some”, he said. “But not all of them will answer our call simply because we sent a letter”, he told me. “Besides, they will be more inclined to believe our words if I go in person”, he said.

I did not like the thought of him leaving our pack to go somewhere far away from me. The thought of being away from him for even a day was very painful and I did not know how I could ever deal with it.

I struggled to school my expression so that I could not reveal my fears or worries to him.

“But can we not send Luke instead?” I asked. “I am sure his presence would convince them of the importance of our cause and the legitimacy of our claim”, I said, trying to come up with a way to convince him to stay without outrightly saying so.

“That is true”, he said and pulled away so he could see my face properly. “But if I go, they will not dare to refuse us”, he said as his smile slowly took on an arrogant look. “They know I will not take ‘No’ for an answer”, he said and I could see that he was right. “That is why I must go there myself, so that none of them will be able to refuse our call for help”.

It was clear to see that he had already made up his mind. There was nothing I could say or do that would stop him from leaving me.

So, I gave up and hung my head sadly.

“How long will you be gone for”, I asked.

He was thoughtfully silent for a while.

“I am not certain at the moment”, he finally said. “I would have to visit quite a number of packs”, he said as though thinking aloud. “I will have a talk with Luke, Gaius and Gaia. And afterwards, I will know just how many packs I have to visit and how long the journey will take”, he said.

“That sounds like you will be gone for a very long time”, I said, my mind skipping through several unpleasant scenarios. All that include him getting hurt.

He pulled me closer.

“I will try my best to hurry and be back before you even know I am gone”, he said, in an attempt to comfort me.

I simply looked up to throw him an unimpressed look to let him know that I was not buying his attempt in the least.

He smiled.

“If it is any consolation”, he said. “Know that will miss you more than my heart can handle”, he said, causing me to smile despite my best efforts not to.

“I will miss you more”, I said, lifting my head to receive a kiss from him.

“I will hurry and come back home to you”, he said.

I simply nodded and reached upwards to pull him into a kiss.

“Take Luke with you”, I said, panting as I pulled away.

He shook his head.

“Luke will remain here to protect you in case there is any form of danger”, he said, his eyes fixed on my swollen lips.

I knew I would not have his attention for much longer.

“I have the entire pack here to protect me”, I said. “Besides, Gaia will remain here for a while. I would love to see anyone try to harm me with a powerful seer around. Not to mention Nana and Lena barely ever leave my side”, I said, trying to convince him.

“Let Luke go with you”, I pleaded. “It would ease my worries knowing that you would both be looking after each other no matter how far away from home you might be”, I said.

He hesitated for a while, obviously not liking the idea of his best warrior not being available to protect me in his absence.

“Very well”, he finally conceded. “Luke will come with me”, he said. “But I will reduce the number of warriors I had planned to take with me and assign you special guards”, he negotiated.

“I do not need guards”, I said stubbornly.

“If you do not need guards that Luke will remain here with you”, he said with a smirk.

Shooting his a half-hearted glare before rolling my eyes in acceptance, I finally agreed.

“Very well”, I agreed. “I will take the guards”.

As soon as the words left my mouth, he tackled me onto the bed and kissed me.

“Since I will not be around for a while”, he said. “I might as well make another memory to carry with me”, he said, eyes filled with lust, before drowning me in his kisses and taking me to new heights.