Chapter 5

Jasper Hartford

I had been looking for Lizzy all afternoon. She had skipped classes, but she never normally skipped classes so I was naturally worried about her. I knew I had upset her and her friend and I wanted to apologise to her even though, I wasn’t sure exactly how to go about it.

I couldn’t find any trace of her scent anywhere on campus so I had come home hoping she would be there. When I couldn’t find any trace of her at home, I started to panic. She was never late home, if anything bad had happened to her it would be all my fault.

I needed to get some air and clear my head so I was planning to go on a walk but once I stepped outside I could hear a car approaching. Lizzy couldn’t drive but I hoped that one of her friends had brought her home. I watched the car pull into our driveway and that’s when I saw him.

She was in a car alone with that male human she hung around with. I had seen the way he looked at her, I would have to be blind not to. He was constantly watching her when she wasn’t looking and his eyes always lingered too long over her body.

Lizzy didn’t seem to look at him the same way but that didn’t make me feel any better. He wanted her and I didn’t trust him around her. For all I knew he might try to get her drunk so he could take advantage of her. I wasn’t going to give him a chance to do something like that, I had to protect her from him.

He stopped the car directly in front of the house, only a few metres away from me. He turned off the engine and turned around in his seat. He had a huge grin on his face as he spoke about some cheesy romantic movie they had been watching together.

My Lizzy had skipped school to watch romantic movies with this guy. I felt the sting of betrayal as I thought of them snuggled together watching a film. I imagined him leaning over and kissing her on the lips, the way I had wanted to kiss her every time we were in the same room as each other.

“So did you enjoy yourself this afternoon?” He asked in a seductive tone.

I needed to stay calm. I took a series of long breaths as I tried to control my emotions. It wasn’t working, I was still holding onto the door knob and I was gripping it so tightly that my knuckles were turning white.

“It was good to spend time with you and Patti. Maybe next time we can invite Mia too.” Lizzy replied. It was a nice deflection, and just knowing she wasn’t interested in him in a romantic sense was enough to ease some of my tension.

“I was thinking of something more intimate. Just you and me in my room.” This human wasn’t taking the hint at all. I wanted to kill him. He was trying to steal her from me and she didn’t even seem to realise what he was doing. To make things worse, she looked so uncomfortable with his attention. How dare he treat her like that, he had to pay.

I hadn’t made a conscious decision to move but I had already crossed the short distance to his car and opened the door. I dragged him out of the car by the collar of his T-shirt and pushed him up against his car.

“What are you doing?” He asked, his voice was high and squeaky with fear. That probably had something to do with the way my grip was pulling his collar tight against his throat. I knew I should let go of him, but I wanted to make sure he got the message first.

“You will keep your hands off Lizzy.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lizzy getting out of his car. She looked worried about her friend so I let go of him but I didn’t back off. I glared at him, I wanted him to know how serious I was. He couldn’t have her, she was mine.

“I won’t and there is nothing you can do to make me.” The boy shouted. That was when I saw red. I punched him in the face, hard. He staggered backwards into Lizzy who was knocked off balance and fell head-first into the human’s car door. Her head made a dull thudding sound as it hit the metal door. She lost consciousness instantly and she collapsed to the floor like a rag doll.

I pushed the human away from me and ran over to Lizzy. I checked her breathing and her pulse, it was slow and steady, she was fine but she was unconscious. I sat on the floor next to her and cradled her head in my arms, there was a small trickle of blood falling down her forehead.

“Oh my god, is she OK?” The human asked.

I ignored him and scooped Lizzy up into my arms. Her body was so light and fragile as I held her close and kissed her hair, it felt so good holding her in my arms that I never wanted to let go of her.

“I am so sorry baby, I will never let anything hurt you ever again. I promise.” I whispered as I carried her towards the house.

“Maybe I should drive her to the hospital.”

“I think you have done enough.” I snarled without breaking stride or even glancing in his direction. He put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. This fucking human had a nerve. He was lucky that I was too busy looking after Lizzy to worry about him, otherwise I would truly make him pay.

“You can’t possibly be blaming me for this.”

“This is all your fault, you were trying to steal my mate from me. Now leave before I put you in the hospital.” I shrugged off his hand and started walking towards the house once more.

“Take her to her room.” My mom told me as I walked through the door. Both of my parents were waiting for me just inside the house, I wasn’t sure how much of what had gone on they had seen. I had always tried to hide my feelings for Lizzy from them and everyone else, but there was no hiding the fact that I had just acted like a jealous boyfriend because someone else tried to touch her.

“When you get her settled, meet me in my office.” My dad added as I carried Lizzy upstairs towards her room.

I haven’t been in Lizzy’s room before. It wasn’t as grand or spacious as mine. It was decorated in the pack colours, just like the rest of the house and it looked pretty cosy. She didn’t have anywhere near the amount of electronics I had and those she did have looked older but they were all beautifully maintained. Now that I was thinking about it I don’t remember her asking for things the way me and my brother do. She always seemed so content with what she had.

I laid Lizzy down on her bed and kissed her forehead. I didn’t want to leave her, I wanted to get into bed next to her and hold her until she woke up. Of course, then I would probably look like a complete creep when she woke up to find me in her bed.

“She will be fine. I will keep an eye on her while you speak to your father.”

I hadn’t even noticed my mom had entered the room but she was standing in the doorway behind me. I considered refusing to leave but it would look weird if I did. So instead, I stood up and walked away from her, taking one last glance at her unconscious body as I left the room.

My dad was waiting for me outside his office, he hurried me into the room and closed the door behind me. His facial expression was neutral as he moved to sit behind his desk so I knew I was in trouble. My dad hardly ever showed any outward signs of anger. He had far too much self-control for that but when he stopped smiling you knew he was annoyed at you.

“I saw what happened.” Oh, I really was in trouble then.

“What makes you think she is your mate?” He prompted once it was clear I had nothing to say for myself.

I called her my mate? I didn’t mean to say that, particularly not in front of a human. It would make sense though, it explains why her presence can overpower my ability for rational thought and why I can’t stand any other males near her.

“It’s hard to describe but it is like she is the air I need to live. Whenever she isn’t around I feel like I am drowning.” I was glad that this room was soundproof, if anyone else heard me talking like this I would be a laughing stock. Nobody would ever take me seriously as their Alpha.

“Oh, you are in serious trouble.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked, in shock. I was confessing my deepest hidden feelings and my dad wanted to punish me for it. How was that fair?

“Not from me. If Liz is your mate and if what you said is true I think she might be, then you’re in trouble.” He clarified.

“Why?” Surely it was a good thing that my mate was so close by. I wouldn’t have to search the whole country looking for her. She was right here where I could keep her safe and shower her with love.

“Do you really not know?”

I looked at his blank expression with confusion. What was I missing?

“You and your future Beta have bullied her for years, even after I told you time and time again to leave her alone.” His eyes changed colour for a few seconds as his wolf fought him for dominance.

“That wasn’t bullying. The other men in the pack were showing her too much interest and I couldn’t let that happen.” I could feel my anger rising just thinking about the way some of them looked at her before I put a stop to it.

“That doesn’t justify the way you treated her and even if it could you, you didn’t exactly show her the same consideration.”

“I thought that I was discrete.”

“Really?” My dad asked, raising one eyebrow at me.

“I guess not.”

“You have quite the reputation in the pack. Everyone thinks you are a violent bully who only cares about chasing after women. If Liz is your mate you will have your work cut out to convince her you are anything else.”

I guess I really was in trouble. I needed to change my ways before I lost her for good.