Chapter Forty-Six

Jasmine’s POV.

When I finally saw Luke, a part of me was relieved that the only thing left from his wounds was a faint scar, though I would have preferred that he didn’t have one to begin with.

He didn’t sit with us at our table as he usually did. Instead, he walked in, whispered something into Regan’s ear that made him nod, before serving himself a plate of food and taking the said plate of food to a corner of the hall with no one else.

He sat on an empty table by the window and ate, going through some papers as he did so.

“If you wish to speak with him”, my mate suddenly said from beside me and I turned my worried gaze from where Luke was seated towards him. “You can go to him”, he said, not looking the slightest bit upset that his mate’s attention was elsewhere. “I am sure he would appreciate your company even if he doesn’t know it”, he said, giving me a nod of approval.

I smiled at his words and pushed back my chair to stand to my feet. Then I bent to kiss his cheek but he turned his head so that my kiss landed on his lips instead.

I pulled away to see the mischievous look in his eyes and shook my head while a smile teased my lips.

As I picked up my plate of food to go, Regan spoke again.

“Take this to him”, he said, pushing a mug of probably ale into my hands.

I nodded and balanced the things I was carrying properly so they would not fall before making my way to the corner where Luke sat.

“I wonder how I never knew of this corner”, I said by way of greeting as I gently put down the things I was carrying onto the table then pulled out a seat to sit down before turning to him.

He stared at me in surprise, pushing the papers aside and probably wondering what I was doing.

“What are you doing?” He finally asked after recovering from his surprise. He turned to look around to where Regan sat having his meal with the others. “You should not be here”, he said. “You should be with your mate”, he advised.

“Well”, I said. “My mate wanted me to give you this”, I said, pushing the mug of ale towards him. “I wonder why you wolves like that”, I said, passing the ale a look of disgust. “It smells horrible and I bet it tastes the same”, I said.

He picked up the mug of ale and looked at it before looking back towards where Regan was seated. After a short while, he heaved a sigh and brought the mug to his lips to drink.

He gulped down half it’s content before putting it down and wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

“How do you know it tastes horrible if you have never tried it?” He finally asked.

“I do not need to taste it to know”, I answered firmly.

I don’t know how my expression must have been, but the next moment, he broke into a smile.

“You are as stubborn and hard headed as your mate”, he said and I beamed.

It just made him laugh.

We ate quietly for a while and I was reluctant to bring up the topic I wanted to talk about, knowing that it would ruin the peaceful mood.

“You might as well ask whatever is on your mind”, he said suddenly, as if he could read my mind.

I hesitated for a moment before proceeding to do so.

“Were you in much pain?” I finally asked, my voice barely above a whisper as I stared down at my plate.

He chuckled and I looked back at him in surprise.

Rather than tease me like I knew he usually would have, he simply answered.

“For a while”, he said, nodding his head. “Being a werewolf does not mean you do not feel pain”, he said. “It simply means you heal from it faster”.

my gaze dropped back to my plate in sadness.

“I know that I was the reason you fought”, I said quietly.

He scoffed and leaned back into his chair. “We did not fight”, he said. “He attacked and I avoided him. That is what happened”, he said lightly. “If we had fought, I would not be the only one with a scar”, he said and my heart dropped.

“Don’t say things like that”, I said, already seeing the ugly image of them engaged in a fight in my head.

He shrugged.

“There is no use for you to keep worrying”, he said. “I am fine. Regan is fine. All is well”, he assured.

I looked back at him.

“Then if all is well why are you not sitting with us at our table to eat?” I asked, unable to help the hint of accusation in my tone.

Rather than respond immediately, he did the last thing I explained him to do in regards to our conversation.

He rolled his eyes.

“The pack keeps staring at me and I cannot eat properly with so many eyes on me”, he said flippantly, as if it was nothing worth discussing. “I would rather enjoy my meal away from the prying eyes”, he said and proceeded to eat the said meal as if to prove it.

“And that is the only reason you are sitting here by yourself?” I asked, not being able to tell if he was saying the truth or if he was lying.

“What other reason could there be?” He asked in return.

“I don’t know”, I told him. “That is why I am asking you”.

Again, he rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know if it is because you have been around her for too long or simply that I am just beginning to notice”, he said. “But I am starting to believe that you are becoming as vexing and annoying as Lena”, he said.

My eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

“I?” I asked. “Vexing?” I asked, at a loss for the right words.

He nodded.

“I don’t believe I noticed it before”, he said, looking at me as though he were seeing me for the first time.

“Stop that!” I snapped at him and he burst out laughing.

I glared at him as he laughed at him.

“Well”, I said. “I will have you know that you are just as vexing, if not more”, I told him hotly.

He nodded, recovering from his laughter.

“I am quite aware”, he said, a shameless smile on his face as he did so. “Unlike some”, he added with a smirk.

“I am not vexing!” I denied, completely annoyed.

“But you are”, he countered, smirk still in place.

“You are…” I trailed off, trying to find the right words that would describe just how he was behaving. “…Impossible!” I said, sounding lame even to my ears as I said them.

He laughed again.

“Thank you, my vexing lady”, he said with a mock bow.

That was the height for me.

“Oh… you!” I said and pushed my chair back angrily and rose to my feet.

“I hope you have a good meal!” I said infusing as much venom into my tone as I could before picking up my plate and walking away.

As I did so, his boisterous laughter accompanied me all the way back to my seat.

On seeing my angry face as I pulled my chair and sat, dropping my plate none too gently on the table, Regan and Lena immediately turned to each other and shared a knowing look.

“What did he do?” Lena asked in a tone that suggested she could already name many reasons.

“He…” I started and trailed off, feeling the annoyance try to steal my power of speech. “He called me vexing”, I said, trying to keep my voice even so I would not hear and alert the others at the table. Although I doubted anyone would hear with the amount of noise in the room.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Lena bite down on her lip to keep from laughing.

Although he didn’t smile, it was clear to see that Regan found my situation with Luke amusing as well.

“That simply means that he now considers you as family”, Lena said with a wave of her hand. “Luke always considers family vexing”, she said as if to console me.

“But I am not vexing”, I insisted, feeling more and more like a pup with each moment that passed.

“I agree”, Lena said immediately. “Neither am I, yet our words will do nothing to sway Luke’s opinion so what does it matter?” She asked with a shrug.

I felt Regan’s hand grab a hold of mine and turned to him.

“He does this on purpose to upset you”, he said. “And you give him the satisfaction he craves when you react this way, my love”, he said with a smile and leaned forward to kiss me on the head.

I knew what they said was true.

Luke lived for the thrill of getting a rise out of others.

I turned around to cast one last glare at him only to find his eyes already on me, the infuriating smirk still in place.

I turned away from him with a huff.

Turning back to my table, I picked up a piece of meat and angrily stuffed it into my mouth.

Due to the fact that the piece I had chosen was quite big, naturally, I began to choke on my food.

Lena rushed to get me water while Regan patted my back firmly until I brought out the offensive piece of meat.

I drank the water Lena held for me to drink and gulped down mouthfuls of it while my mate rubbed down my back.

The entire hall had fallen silent at my near death experience and once they were assured of my safety, gave sighs of relief before turning back to their meal.

However, before everyone could return their attentions to their meal, there was an eruption of boisterous laughter from the corner of the room, suspiciously the same area where Luke was seated.

I turned around, still trying to steady my breathing and draw in enough air into my lungs, only to see Luke, almost falling off his chair from the ferocity of his laughter.

I was not the only one who turned to watch him laugh at me. Everyone else did so as well. Some in surprise, others in amusement.

I never thought his laughter would end but it seemed I wasn’t the only one who had grown tired of his teasings.

“Enough, Luke!” Regan suddenly snapped from beside me.

I flinched in surprise as it was unexpected and Luke’s boisterous laughter seized.

I could not resist giving him a smug look. One he simply returned with a wide smile and robbed me of the small feeling of satisfaction that I had started to feel.

“Pay him no mind”, me mate whispered into my ear to bring my attention back to him. “I have news”, he said, gaining my attention.

Other than the anticipated of what the news contained, the smile on his face was just so enchanting that I was completely enraptured.

I returned his smile, nodding for him to continue.

“Do you remember that I once told you about a potion I had asked Nana to prepare for us?” He asked, playing with a wayward strand of my hair that had escaped the braid Lena had made for me.

I frowned in concentration, trying to recall what he was talking about.

When I finally remembered the conversation as well as the setting the conversation had taken place, I felt my cheeks heat up in a blush.

“I see that you remember”, he said with a smile full of mischief.

I nodded slowly.

“Well”, he said. “Nana has informed me that it is ready”, he told me.

My eyes widened at his words, already knowing their implication.

There was nothing stopping us from finally completing the mating ritual.