Chapter Twenty-Two

Jasmine’s POV

Ever since I had discovered that Alpha Regan’s late mate was Lena’s sister, I had gone through all sorts of emotions.

I had felt shock.

I had felt disbelief.

And I had felt guilt.

For some reason, the guilt ate away at me as if I had become attracted to a friend’s mate.

His late mate had no longer become a stranger that, though I had felt sorry for, yet I felt no obligation towards since it provided an opportunity for me.

Somehow, I suddenly felt like I was cheating with Alpha Regan on his mate that I had never met.

For the first time, I considered how Lena would react to the knowledge that I had become attracted to her late sister’s mate.

There was no way even warm hearted Lena would ever be okay with that.

And that saddened me because Lena had become someone I greatly treasured. Her friendship meant the world to me and loosing it would feel like loosing a big part of myself.

I could not take that risk.

So that meant staying away from Alpha Regan, or better still, avoiding him.

I had noticed that he had been avoiding me prior to the memorial and completely understood since it was a period to remember and mourn his late mate.

But after I discovered who his late mate was, the tables suddenly turned. I was the one now doing the avoiding.

I had started to avoid making eye contact with him and avoided being anywhere close to him.

He must have noticed because about six days after the memorial ceremony, while we were having breakfast at his cabin, he suddenly stood up and spoke.

“Come with me, Jasmine”, he ordered firmly. “Now”.

He didn’t wait for my reply before all but storming out.

Everyone seated at the table looked towards me in concern, probably wondering what I had done to annoy the Alpha.

Trying not to meet anyone’s eyes, I pushed away my barely eaten plate of food and rose quickly to my feet before rushing out of the house to catch up with the Alpha.

I had to run to keep up with his fast strides as he made his way into the woods and I followed.

I stumbled and would have fallen face first to the ground, but strong hands suddenly caught me around the waist and picked me up to throw me over a muscled shoulder before continuing their fast pace.

I stayed quiet because it was clear to see that he was angry, though I did not know why he seemed so angry.

The heat rolled off him in waves and despite the cool breeze from the tress as we passed by, I soon started to sweat.

Even though he wasn’t running, he might as well have been with how fast his pace was.

Before too long, we passed through a curtain of shrubs and broke into a clearing. He immediately put me on my feet and moved away.

I looked around to see that we were in Rage’s sanctuary and wondered how we had gotten there so fast when we usually had to run for a while to get to it.

Knowing better than to ask any questions, I looked towards where Alpha Regan was now pacing furiously and seemed to be having a conversation with himself.

Or rather, with Rage.

But he was obviously choosing to speak aloud.

I drew closer to make out the growling sounds of the conversation he was clearly having with his wolf.

“No, Rage”, I managed to make out. “I need to speak with her first. You can have your moment with her but only after I have spoken with her”, he growled.

I stood quietly as I watched and listened, trying not to interrupt or draw attention to myself.

“No, I am not angry at her”, he said. “I just want to talk to her”, he growled. “I am not scaring her!” He suddenly snapped making me jerk in surprise and move backwards.

As if noticing my presence, he turned towards where I stood a distance away, his eyes taking in my features before he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

After a moment, he opened them and made his way to where I stood, stopping a small distance from me.

“I would like to believe I am wrong but I need to be sure”, he said, looking directly into my eyes as if searching for something. “Are you perhaps avoiding me?” He asked.

I blinked in surprise, not expecting him to be so direct about it.

After a moment of getting over my surprise, I slowly nodded.

His expression did not change, probably already knowing that I had, in fact, been avoiding him the whole time.

“Why?” He asked.

I looked away, unable to maintain eye contact.

How could I tell him that I had been avoiding him out of guilt?

That I suddenly felt guilty about having feelings for him since finding out that his late mate was Lena’s sister?

That I was scared that I would loose Lena’s friendship?

So instead, I kept my eyes to the ground and said nothing.

A strong hand came into my line of vision before my chin was being lifted to bring my eyes back to his.

Though his expression hadn’t changed, I felt that there was something different in his eyes as they looked at me this time.

“Why?” He repeated his earlier question.

I took a moment to look into those stormy grey eyes, knowing that there was no escaping or lying that would save me from the clear determination in them.

So I told the truth.

“I found out who your mate was”, I told him.

Something shifted in his expression but he did not let go of my chin.

“And?” He asked after a moment.

“And I started to feel guilty”, I said, looking away, only to have him nudge my chin to bring my eyes back to his.

“Why?” He simply asked, a slight frown of confusion on his face.

I knew what he was asking.

Why would I feel guilty over finding out who his late mate was.

“Because…” I trailed off, trying to summon the courage to say what needed to be said.

“Because?” He repeated, his eyes urging me to say the words.

But there was no way I could keep looking into those eyes and still find the courage I needed to say what I had to say.

So, I shut my eyes and let the words spill out.

“Because I have feelings for you, Alpha”, I confessed, not daring to look at him while I spoke. “And before, when I didn’t know who your mate was, I only felt sorry. But now I know she was Lena’s sister, I just feel so guilty. And I’m afraid Lena will hate me if she finds out I have feelings for her sister’s mate, and I’m also afraid that you will hate me for even daring to have feelings for you”, I rushed out quickly before I ran out of courage to say them.

Silence greeted my confession.

Not that I expected him to say anything in particular. I had probably finally succeeded in shocking him into speechlessness.

So I waited for his response to my confession with my eyes still shut.

“Open your eyes, Jasmine”, I heard him say, something in his voice persuading me to obey.

It was the first time he had said my name like that, and so, I opened my eyes.

He was looking at me in a way I had glimpsed from him a few times.

Always subtle, always brief.

But not anymore.

He was looking at me that way again, this time it wasn’t subtle or brief and he was not looking away.

“I could never hate you”, he finally said. “And if there is anyone who should feel guilt, then it is me”, he said. “I was the one who could not protect my mate”.

Not realizing what I was doing, I grabbed the hand holding my chin firmly.

“You were a pup”, I said, not realizing how strong my voice was coming out or the strength in my grip. “You did more than you could have even imagined doing”, I told him. “You saved your pack. You saved Luke, and Nana, and my dearest Lena, and you saved everyone we have today. Everything we have today is because of you”, I told him, firmly believing every word that left my mouth and wanting him to believe it too.

Suddenly realizing that I was holding him, I released his arm and was in the process of putting my hand back when his other hand - the one that wasn’t holding onto my chin grabbed it in its hold, fully engulfing it in its warmth.

His lips curled up into a rare smile that was so beautiful that all I could do was stare.

“It makes me glad to know you think so highly of me”, he said, moving his hand from my chin to gently cup my cheek. “There is something else that makes me feel guilty. Would you like to know?” He asked, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

I nodded, unable to speak as he began to stroke my cheek.

“Against all my efforts”, he began. “I find that my wolf is not the only one who is obsessed with you”, he said and I forgot how to breathe. “I am sure you’ve noticed that I can’t take my eyes off you”, he confessed and I promptly began to choke on air.

He immediately let go of my chin and hand and engulfed me in his arms, easily lifting me off my feet and moving us towards a fallen log to sit on it before placing me on his lap and gently patting my back.

When I finally stopped choking and caught my breath, I immediately realized the position we were in and started to choke again.

He continued to pat my back, looking concerned and completely oblivious to the reason I was choking for the second time.

Eventually, I recovered from that as well and could not bring myself to look straight at him.

“Are you alright now?” He asked.

I nodded, my cheeks heating in embarrassment and suddenly feeling shy.

His body started to shake and I looked up to see him trying not to burst out laughing at me.

So maybe he wasn’t oblivious then.

“Forgive me”, he said when he saw that I had caught him laughing. “I don’t mean to laugh but it was quite funny”, he said.

I turned away, slightly offended.

“In my defense”, he said. “I did not find it funny until Rage started to laugh”, he said, having no problem with putting the blame on his wolf.

I turned back to him.

“Well”, I said, arms folding across my chest. “You can tell Rage that thanks to him, you both are now in my debt”, I said.

He smiled.

That was quite the opposite of the reaction I had expected.

“And how would you want us to pay our debt?” He asked, his voice suddenly deeper, causing shivers to course through me and making me aware of our close proximity.

The hand that had been patting my back was now around my waist, holding me close enough to him that our bodies were almost touching.

His grey eyes had darkened considerably and I could hear my heart thundering, certain he heard it too.

His head began to draw closer and lower down to mine and I shut my eyes immediately, waiting for what I did not know, but was sure I welcomed.

Soft lips made contact with my head as I was pulled into a warm embrace.

“As much as I would like to continue”, his deep voice rumbled above my ear. “Rage really wants to come out”, he said and released me from his embrace.

I stood immediately, moving away to give him space and turning around abruptly when he began to take off his clothes.

I was certain that this Alpha was going to be death of me.