-Daphne- Even though our little paradise was great, Jackson and I couldn’t figure out if this truly would work before we went back to our world and face the monsters waiting there. Or maybe it was me who had monsters to face, but as my mate, Jackson would stand by my side and hopefully it would help me remain strong enough to defeat them. “How are you feeling?” Jackson felt as I got my jacket on. “Nervous. Scared. Like I might throw up,” I confessed. He let out a low whistle before we both chuckled. “That’s a lot of feelings,” he said. “A lot,” I agreed. He stepped closer to me, wrapping his arms around me, and smiled at me. I felt better when he held me. It calmed me that he kept me close. “You got this,” he said. “You always have such strong beliefs.” “I believe in us. Is that bad?” “No, not at all, but in me? Yeah.” “Stop looking down on yourself, Daphne. What the hell did your family do to you?” “Told me everything I did wrong all the time,” I confessed to him. “All t
-Jackson- Daphne wasn’t the only one worried. Of course, I was too. I wasn’t going to lie. The things she had warned me about did trouble me, and we were both silent as we drove back to my place. I would make sure she was all set up, relaxed, and ready to face her family. Then she could call them and we would figure out the rest from there. I just needed her to feel secure somewhere. That she wasn’t standing alone, then she might be able to face these people. It did worry me though what she had told me about them and how they had raised her. It was clearly not from love, and the things they had told her still scarred her. How could a parent only focus on the negative and never the good? It didn’t fuel a child. It only hurt them. “You okay?” I asked as we neared my home. I reached out and took her hand. She turned to me. “Still nervous.” “That’s okay. I am too,” I admitted. She smiled a little, then squeezed my hand. I parked in front of the house, and we both walked out before I
-Daphne- I had expected little openness or kindness, not just from Jackson’s parents, but also his pack. After getting some clothes and stuff ready for me in his room, we went down to eat some breakfast with the rest. We had not eaten yet, since we wanted the confrontation over with as fast as possible, but I barely saw it as a confrontation. It had gone so smoothly with his parents, and that surprised me. I knew they would probably be more acceptive of me and Jackson, but this was something else. This was love and family, I noticed. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the happiness around. It made me feel good to sit among, and many people had questions for me too, making me feel welcome and hopeful. Maybe I didn’t have to be so scared to be alone. Maybe I could find people who truly had my back. Jackson held my hand through it all, making me feel very secure and safe. It did not scare me sitting there or felt uncomfortable. I felt good. Had I ever had dinners like this before? I
-Daphne- I was so shocked when I saw Jackson’s mother standing there. I had hoped I could find my composure before going back to the others. I had been taught all my life not to display too powerful emotions. You had to keep it all bottled up. It was almost like a habit now, and so I did not want anyone to witness me like this, and see me crumbled from what had happened. It was too late, though. Jackson’s mother saw, and the moment she looked at me I broke down. She hurried over to me and hugged me close. “I am so sorry,” she whispered. “You heard?” “I shouldn’t have listened in. I am nosy, just ask Ana and Jackson,” she said, but I laughed through the tears. It was good to bring some humor to the situation, and it was nice sharing the burden with someone. “I am so sorry, Daphne,” she whispered. “They hate me.” “They are exploiting you,” she agreed. “They will never let me be happy.” “We will find a way.” “I want to be with Jackson,” I confessed. “Of course you do, or you w
-Jackson- I grew worried right away when I saw my mate and my mom returned. My mom looked fine, but my mate was clearly upset, and when she sat down beside me, I hurriedly moved closer, wrapping my arm around her and bringing her to me. “What happened?” I asked, my face close to hers. She shook her head, which worried me. I could see she was clearly upset, and I wanted her to talk to me. I waited until the dinner was completely over, and then we went back to the room we were now staying in. I could feel her trying to slip a little away, like she didn’t want to burden me with this, but that was not how it worked between mates. “Daphne?” I called. “Yeah?” “What is wrong?” She shook her head while looking out a window, and I moved up behind her, wrapping my arms around her and giving her neck a small kiss. I felt her lean against me, and it felt perfect having her so close. “Talk to me.” “The… phone call went bad,” she whispered. “How bad?” “Bad…” I stood like that with her fo
-Jackson- I woke up to a very soft and warm mate nuzzled against me, with her back to my front. I smiled as I opened my eyes, then buried my face in her neck, stroking her skin with my nose and lips. Daphne whimpered a little, reacting to me even in her sleep. Or was she dreaming of me? Oh, that was a huge compliment. Even in her sleep, she couldn’t get enough of me. I believed she might be dreaming of me, because when I leaned over her, I could see she was smiling in her sleep. I turned her head a little more, then pressed my lips softly to hers. Her eyes sprung open, and she looked at me surprised. “Morning,” I whispered. Her cheeks grew redder, and then I knew she had been dreaming of me. “What were you dreaming of?” I teased. “Eh… nothing.” “Nothing? Didn’t sound like it.” “What?” “You moan in your sleep,” I told her. “What?!” she exclaimed. “Did you dream of me?” “I…” Her cheeks just grew reader, and I kissed her again. “Tell me.” “Well, maybe…” “Maybe?” I rewarded
-Jackson- I was right. The moment my dad could get me to the office, he practically dragged me there, pushed me down in the important alpha chair as I called it, and then made a show of throwing a huge stack of papers in front of me, telling me to “go for it”. I wanted to call him an ass, but he could see it in my eyes and warned me not to push it without words. We could have an entire conversation with just our eyes. It was quite impressive. I raised an eyebrow, and he just stared at me. Then I sighed and shook my head. “You’re the one who wanted to run off with your mate, now you pay for that,” he told me. “Actually, you kidnapped her.” “No, she came with willingly, as she has already expressed.” “Was it that willingly?” he asked and sat down in front of me, looking a little disappointed. “It’s not like I threw her over my shoulder and took her with kicking and screaming.” He raised an eyebrow this time. “Okay, I threw her over my shoulder, but she wasn’t kicking and screaming
-Daphne- I was with a group of women from the pack, including Jackson’s mom. I really enjoyed being around the older luna. She had a lot of advice, and not just about me and my family and how I dealt with them. Just in general and what it meant to be mates. She had apparently not been that accepting of her mate to begin with because he had a player reputation, but she couldn’t fight the bond and had ended up with him. Now she was happier than ever because she fell in love and they worked through hard times together. Like her only being able to have Jackson. She had wanted more kids, but it simply didn’t happen. She had raised Ana though after she lost her family at a young age. It was all Roman’s cousin’s fault we had learnt. I had been at the dinner where he kidnapped her. It was some show. I had thought Ana acted weird that night, but it turned out she had learned Shane’s true colors before the rest of us. “So when will I be getting grandchildren?” Jackson’s mom suddenly asked. I