Chapter Seven

Jasmine’s POV.

Elena’s warmth had a way of wrapping itself around one and making them feel safe.

That was how I felt from the moment I had met her.

And that was why I confided in her about things I had never told anyone, even if we had just met.

While she tended to my wounds, we talked.

I told her a little more about my life at Blackmoon pack and she was more angry at the treatment I had been dealt before sympathizing with my plight.

Then she began to tell me about her pack.

It was called the Midnight Wolves Pack and it was a big one.

As she spoke, I could hear the pride in her voice when she talked about her pack, especially her Alpha.

It was clear that the scary Alpha, or Alpha Regan, as Elena had informed me, was highly respected and admired from the way she spoke of him.

She shared that after the attack that had killed most of their pack members, including their former Alpha and Luna several years ago, Alpha Regan had been the one to restore the pack to its full glory despite being only a child.

She told me that he had been somewhat raised alongside her and Luke -who she revealed was her cousin- by their Grandmother who was an elder and the healer of their pack.

Seeing that we had taken too much time, she helped me quickly get dressed and took me out of the cabin and to the pack house.

We went in through the back door where I saw several she-wolves busy preparing meals.

With her hand holding mine in a firm grip, she led me through the busy kitchen and out the door to what looked like an incredibly huge dining hall with several long tables and benches and beautifully illuminated by several candles and fire torches.

There, she led us past several busy she-wolves helping set up the tables and brought us to a stop before a particularly larger table, where an elderly she-wolf was giving out instructions.

“Sorry we’re late, Nana”, Lena said.

“You’re always late”, the elder replied almost immediately without looking up from her task. “Who is that with you?”she continued, still not looking in our direction.

Lena brought me a step forward.

“This is Jasmine”, she said. “My new friend”.

I felt my cheeks warm at that.

“Well bring her closer and introduce her properly then”, Nana said.

Jasmine did so immediately, leading me around the table to stand before her Nana.

Her Nana turned to face us then and I swallowed a gasp when I caught sight of her face.

Nana had an ugly scar that looked to be claw marks across the right side of her face, from her forehead down to her right ear. Since her hair was in a braid, I could see that a small part of her ear was missing.

The scar went across her right eyebrow and eye, blinding the right eye and making it a stark contrast to piercing hazel of the left eye that watched me intently.

Seeing that I had been caught staring, I hastily looked away and bowed my head in submission.

Her hazel eye reminded me instantly of Luke as they were the exact shade.

Like her grandchildren, her words to me were not what I expected.

“Do not look away, child”, I heard her say firmly and quickly brought my gaze back to her face in fear.

“When you meet someone, keep your chin up, back straight and look them right in the eyes, or eye in my case”, she said and her strict-looking face transformed to an older version of Elena as she smiled. “You can know a lot about a being from their eyes alone”, as she spoke, she looked me straight in the eye. “What does mine tell you, Jasmine?” she asked.

As I looked into her hazel eye, I don’t know why they suddenly reminded me of Elena’s warm brown ones.

So I said the exact thing that was on my mind.

“That you are Elena even though you look like Luke”, I said.

She and Elena dissolved into a laughter that showed more of their resemblance while I blushed in embarrassment.

“I-I m-meant that your eyes are the same hazel eyes as Luke but t-they remind me of E-Elena”, I tried to explain as they slowly recovered from their laughter.

“Oh you are precious!” Nana said, pulling me into a warm but brief hug. “We will have time to know each other later, but for now, we could use some more help to prepare for supper”, she added pulling away and turning to pick up a stack of plates from the table behind her and hand them to me. “Set the table with Lena while I go fetch some more plates”, she said and was gone before I could reply - another family trait.

As I still stood trying to process what had just happened, Elena took some plates from me and began to place them on the table.

“We should hurry”, she said. “Nana does not like tardiness”.

I immediately followed her lead, watching her closely and doing exactly as she did.

Some more she-wolves joined us and all the tables were set in no time.

Then with Nana’s instruction, we joined the rest of the she-wolves in bringing out the different meals. My body had begun to ache since it was not fully healed but I was determined not to show any signs of weakness.

As if knowing this, I began to notice that Elena would always hand me platters that did not carry much weight and I smiled to myself, glad that I had someone looking out for me.

After everything was ready, the grand doors to the dining were opened from the other end and werewolves began to troop in.

Elena pulled me back to the cabin -where I discovered she also stayed- and into her bigger room for us to quickly wash up before we went back to the pack house for supper.

By the time we walked into the enormous dining room, it was always filled with werewolves on different tables eating.

“We’re late again”, Elena whispered and pulled me towards the larger table where her Nana sat.

After receiving a smile from Nana who sat on the head seat on our end of the table and sitting beside Elena, I awkwardly glanced towards the other end of the table and froze.

There, seated at the head seat on the other end of the table was the Alpha of Midnight Wolves pack - or Alpha scary as I secretly called him.

The reason I was frozen wasn’t because of the sight of him, though it would cause anyone to freeze. But because his piercing eyes were fixed right at me.

I felt myself shiver and goosebumps promptly appear on my skin under his heated gaze.

There was just something about him that terrified me.

Something powerful.

Suddenly feeling a tap on my arm, I tore my gaze from his and turned to Elena who was seated on my right.

“Are you okay?” She asked, concern shining in her brown eyes.

Unable to speak, I nodded instead.

“Then why are you not eating?” She asked and I looked down at my plate to see food that I was sure she had plated for me.

I looked up at her with a smile, and rather than answer, I picked up a grape from my plate and brought it to my lips.

As always, it was delicious and I shut my eyes to savor it, only opening my eyes on hearing Elena’s laughter at my reaction.

“I knew you would like it”, she said with a dazzling smile and took a bite from her strawberry.

We talked as we ate, with her telling me funny stories about the pack and me trying not to choke on my food as I laughed.

I wasn’t worried about us making a scene because the dining hall was loud and rowdy with the werewolves interacting as they ate.

I had never seen anything like it before.

Not in my guardian’s pack and certainly not in Blackmoon pack.

When I had asked Elena about it earlier, she had said that it was something Alpha Regan had started.

He had made it a rule that the entire pack must have dinner together in order to create a closer relationship between the members of his pack. And it was clearly a huge success.

The dining hall was filled werewolves, even the screams and laughter from the pups could be heard as the sat with their parents and ate.

I had noticed Luke seated to the right of the Alpha and we locked gazes, he gave me a lazy smile and a nod that caused me to blush and look away.

The meal was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed my first supper at the Midnight Wolves pack.

As it came to an end and Elena pulled me out of the hall to escape cleaning chores, I could still feel the heat from his gaze just as I had felt and tried to ignore it throughout supper.

Regan’s POV

I watched as she snuck out of the door with Lena, only slightly surprised that the two were acting like old friends.

I knew Lena was kind and friendly, that was why I had told Luke to get her to show Carson’s mate around.

The thought of her mate made my blood boil.

The bastard!

He was even cruel enough to try to kill his mate. The fool!

I remembered how frightened and bruised she had been when I had first met her. For some reason, I felt relieved that she looked better than last time.

Though her bruises were still visible, they were obviously healing- no doubt thanks to Nana’s salve. Her blonde hair was now in a neat braid, falling down her back and to her waist. She was still very thin but the green dress she wore, though a little big for her, was a lot better than the ripped cloak she had on before.

The fact that I remembered such things about her brought a sudden frown to my face.

One my Beta wasted no time in pointing out.

“What has caused that frown this time?” He asked, sprawled on his chair.

“Nothing”, I answered gruffly.

I knew he wouldn’t let it go and he didn’t disappoint.

“Is it troubling you that Lena is growing close with Jasmine?” He asked and at first I didn’t know who he was referring to.

“Jasmine?” I asked, turning to face him with a puzzled look.

“Yes”, he said, popping a nut into his mouth. “The Blackmoon girl. That’s her name”, he informed.

“Jasmine”, I subconsciously said, trying the name out.

“Yes, Jasmine”, Luke affirmed, something akin to humor now dancing in his hazel eyes. “Does she bother you?” He asked.

I shot him a glare.

“Why would she?”, I asked. “She’s a wolf-less girl that poses no threat”, I told him, drinking from my wine goblet. “I could break her in half with just a flick of my wrist”, I reminded him nonchalantly and saw him give a nod before turning away without another word.

For some unknown reason I wasn’t ready to explore, I felt relieved that he let it go.