Chapter Twenty-Four

Jasmine’s POV

Something was wrong.

I could feel it.

Not in the sense that something bad was about to happen though.

But something was wrong with Lena.

Even if she was acting exactly as she would on any other day, I still felt it.

Something was wrong.

And I didn’t know what.

Or perhaps I did but I didn’t want to acknowledge it.

During the evening meal, despite the fact that I was seated beside her and she spoke to me from time to time, I could clearly tell that she wasn’t with me.

Her mind was somewhere else. On something else.

And o was beginning to believe that I knew what it was.

So throughout the meal, I didn’t glance his way. Not even once.

And I could feel the heat of his eyes on me throughout.

Thankfully, he didn’t do anything obvious like come to me.

He kept his distance as well and I was extremely grateful.

I had to first sort out the issue with Lena before meeting him tonight.

It couldn’t wait any longer.

So after the evening meal, when we made our way back to the house - arms linked as always- and into her room as we usually did each night, I knew it was time to be honest.

Lena deserved to know the truth.

We sat on her bed like we always did and she turned silent.

Waiting for me.

“I’m sorry”, I whispered, eyes downcast and staring at me clenched hands.

“How long?” She asked, knowing exactly what it was that I was apologizing for.

“Not long”, I told her truthfully. “Only a few days”.

She was silent as she processed the new information.

“I don’t understand”, she said and I began to shake in fear of her next words.

But when they came, they weren’t what I had been expecting.

“Why wouldn’t you tell me?” She asked making my head snap up to look at her in surprise. She turned slowly to look at me. “I thought we were dearest friends”, she said and my heart broke.

“Oh Lena”, I said, turning to her to grab her hand in mine, holding them tightly. “We are”, I swore. “You are my dearest friend and the dearest person to me, I swear it. I did not know how to tell you that I had feelings for him, especially after finding out that your sister was his mate. I thought you would hate me”, I confessed, tears already spilling down my cheeks. “If you want me to stay away from him, I will”.

She looked at me, saying nothing for a moment.

“Would you?” She Gina asked and my heart began to ache.

Nevertheless, I nodded.

“For you, I would”, I said, knowing that even if it killed me, it was true.

She smiled slowly, before pulling her hands from my tight grip and pulling me into a hug.

I hugged her back tightly, feeling my heart break with each breath I took.

“Thank you”, I heard her say. “But I could never ask you to do that for me”, she said and pulled away to look at me. “Not when you seem so happy”, she said and tears began to fill my eyes again. “What sort of friend would that make me, if I cannot even be happy for your happiness?” She asked and I all but attacked her into another hug.

She laughed softly as she wrapped her arms around me.

“I want you to be happy”, she said into my hair. “I want you both to be happy”, she added before pulling away to look at me again.

“You both are very special to me”, she said. “He’s like a brother to me and you…”, she trailed off as tears began to glisten in her eyes. “You are my sister”, she said, her voice fading out into a whisper. “You both deserve to be happy”, she added. “I just wish you could have trusted me enough to tell me”.

“I do trust you”, I assured firmly. “I love you”, I confessed, making a tear roll down her cheek. “I was just so afraid that I would loose you, my dearest friend. My sister. I was scared that you would hate me”.

“I could never hate you”, she said, shaking her head. “Never”, she repeated. “I love you, my dear Jasmine”, she said. “And I would only ever pray for you to find the Joy you deserve”.

We hugged once more, both in tears and feelings lighter from our confessions.

Afterwards, we laid on her bed and Jasmine demanded for me to tell her everything. And so I did.

We laid on her bed talking and laughing.

She told me of instances where she had guessed that the truth and I told her of our meetings, even those with Rage.

We talked well into the night until I suddenly remembered that I had a meeting with a certain Alpha wolf.

On hearing that, Lena immediately bid me to hurry and I left her room after receiving another warm hug.

I made my way to his smaller study there in our cabin and paused in front of the doors for a moment, before giving a quiet knock and entering it.

I had never been in the study before so I took a quick look around the dimly lit room, noticing that it was indeed smaller than the study at the pack house but instantly loving the cozy and homey feeling it had.

“You’re late”, I heard a familiar deep voice say and look towards where it had come from behind the desk.

There he was, seated behind his desk with his eyes on me, watching my every move.

In the dim light, his grey eyes looked black and he looked powerful seated in the darkness.

A smile spread across my face.

One I was sure he could see even through the darkness.

“I apologize for my lateness but I can assure you that it was for a good cause”, I told him.

He stood from his chair and made his way around the desk and towards where I stood, stopped only a hair’s breath away from me.

My heart beat double at the proximity and my mouth went dry.

“Well, I am now curious to know what this good cause could be”, he said, his voice a deep rumble.

I swallowed, licking my suddenly dry lips before speaking.

“I spoke with Lena”, I said, unconsciously smiling up at him. “About us”.

A corner of his lips lifted in a smile.

“And what was her response?” He asked before adding. “Although judging from the smile on your face I believe it is safe to assume it was favorable?”

I nodded.

“She wants us to be happy”, I told him, tears of happiness glistening in my eyes.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his hard body.

“Does this mean we do not have to hide anymore?” He asked.

“Yes but we must inform Nana as well”, I said.

A chuckle vibrated through him, causing a vibration through my body as well.

“My dear”, he said. “You must not know Nana well if you think she is unaware of our relationship”, he said. “Nothing, and I repeat, nothing gets past Nana”, he told me. “Where do you suppose Luke gets his ability to observe quickly from?” He asked.

“But we must still inform her”, I said. “It is only proper”.

He gave a nod of acceptance.

“As you wish”, he said, before lowering his head to plant a kiss on my hair like he often did. His arms came around to wrap themselves across my small frame, filling me with warmth.

The feeling of contentment that always accompanied being in his arms did not elude now, and I shut my eyes to breath in the scent of oak and spring that was all him.

After a short while, he adjusted to bury his face into my neck, something else he usually did.

But this time, he began to place soft kisses all over my neck.

I trembled with each kiss, grateful for his arms holding me upright.

My breath started to come out in pants as he softly bit a corner of my neck, a gasp escaping me.

“Regan”, I called out softly, not even knowing why I was calling out his name.

A quiet growl rolled out from him before he nibble the on the place between my neck and shoulder, the exact spot where my mate was supposed to mark me.

A moan escaped me unconsciously.

I had forgotten where I stood, forgotten all else except the sensations that had overtaken my mind.

Sensations he caused that I had never felt before.

“Jasmine”, I heard him growl my name softly before lifting his head from my neck to look down at me.

“Hmm?” I answered dazedly, slowly opening my eyes to the darkness of his.

He stared down at me for a while before speaking.

“I’m going to kiss you now”, he said, his voice deep and suddenly husky as forgot how to breathe.

Knowing I had been waiting for this moment for a long time, I simply nodded my consent and closed my eyes.

If I had thought his kiss would be gentle, I was wrong.

I strong hand grabbed me gently around the throat before pulling me close for hard lips to meet mine.

But the didn’t just meet mine, the devoured it.

Even though I had never been kissed before, I had seen several mates kissing.

Werewolves were hormonal and horny creatures especially during the heat period.

But in all those times I had dreamt about my first kiss, I had never imagined it would be so…consuming.

I didn’t know how possible it was for one to be consumed by a kiss but that perfectly described what I felt.

His hand left my throat to the back of my neck and held me in place as his lips sucked and nibbled mine.

A moan escaped me as he bit down on my lip to get me to open up. Immediately I did, his hot tongue slipped into my mouth to taste me.

A groan left his lips before he began to explore my mouth with his tongue.

Not knowing what to do and acting instinctively, I brought my tongue to imitate his actions, stroking my tongue across his as my hands dug into the flesh of his arms.

Another loud groan escaped before he tore his mouth away from mine, leaving me dazed.

With me still trembling in his arms from the sensations he caused, we both panted breathlessly as he once more buried his head into my shoulder.

The hands holding onto his arms released them to slide across his back in a slow caress and I felt him shiver.

It excited me to know that I could cause such a response from him and I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only one affected by that earth shattering kiss.

After a while, when our breathing had returned to normal, he lifted his head from my shoulder and placed a kiss on my head before pulling away.

“You should go to bed”, he said, brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Come, I’ll take you to your room”, he said, releasing my completely to take my arm.

However, when I did not move, he turned back to look at me with concern.

“What is wrong?” He asked in concern. “Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head.

“You did not”, I assured. “The truth is…” I said looking down in embarrassment. “I don’t believe my legs are strong enough to walk at the moment”, I confessed, already feeling the weakness still in them.

When I looked back at him, there a proud smile on his face as he came back and scooped me up and into his arms.

With the same smile on his face, he carried me all the way up and into my room, placing me gently on my bed and placing a blanket over me.

“Good night, my sweet Jasmine”, he whispered as he placed a kiss on my head.

I felt my eyes drift close, a smile of happiness on my lips and faintly heard the door to my room slam shut before I was swept away to the realm of dreams.