Chapter 2

Pack Infirmary

Perrin

"What. the FUCK. Did you do?"

I can feel the heat of Jasmine's words from down the hallway. Kira helps me sit down in the entryway. A polite healer comes and ushers us into a private room before Jasmine can reach us. Before the healer can close the door, Jasmine shoves it wide open.

"Kira. Get. OUT."

Kira peels out of a chair by the door and shuts it behind her.

"Jasmine, I--"

"What. Happened?"

When she gets like this, I know it's bad. But suddenly she lets out a sigh.

"Perrin.... don't scare me like that." She steps closer, cradling my face. She's still wearing her scrubs from class, hair tied tight and high in a swinging ponytail, sneakers squeaking as she steps closer. But scrubs don't hide the shape of her mouth, the almond shape of her eyes, and the sweet, sweet scent of her skin. She locks eyes with me for a long moment, then she begins, tenderly, to treat my wounds. 

Her words can bite, but she really found her calling. Her touch as a healer is so gentle.

We sit in silence as she tends to my head, my arms, and my shoulder--I didn't realize my shirt had ripped clean through.

"This is going to hurt." She sticks a massive needle in my arm. I'll never get used to the size of needles we need for medicine. Wolves burn through modern medicine faster than humans. We usually take triple the dose.

"Thanks," I mumble. I may be training for Alpha, but that doesn't mean I like needles. I try not to let her see.

"Relaxxx" she whispers. One second I feel my head swimming in pain, the next my head is spinning from the feel of her. She climbs onto my lap, straddling me as I sit on the patient table.

"Is this how they teach you to heal?" I jibe, kissing her neck.

"Only the special patients," she nips me back, slipping her arms around my shoulders.

"Are you sure this is ok?" I ask against her lips.

"If you're looking into starting some type of role play, I could get into this," she teases. She easily rips open what's left of my t-shirt, sliding her hands down my arms and across my abdomen. "These training sessions are certainly paying off," she purrs. "I'm starting to lose count." She traces her fingers up and down my abs.

"Two-a-Days, just like the doctor ordered" I tease back. She kisses down my neck, her breath warm on my skin. I reach to the bottom of her scrubs and raise them over her head. She knows I hate the shapeless things. She was meant to be a pack warrior, built with strong hands, lean legs, a great ass.... her generous cleavage is swelling as she breathes heavily, pressing her hips more firmly into my lap.

"It's working" she breathes. I can practically smell her arousal. And I'm on my way to meeting her there, throbbing through the fabric of training shorts. My phone buzzes.

"Mmmm" she murmurs. I move my hand to stop the vibration, but her hand stops me. "Leave it" she breathes. "It's right where I want it." My jeans are growing my constricting, shifting my phone beneath her pelvis. It continues to vibrate.

"Whatever you do, don't answer it." She's practically moaning by now. Hearing her like that gets me going and I want to be part of it. Phone still buzzing, I slide my hand down the front of her panties, feeling her slick and damp against my hand. She down the waistband of my shorts, forcing her hand to touch me in response. I nearly lose it as soon as she grips my--

"PERRIN!"

The door slams open.

Fuck.

"Alpha Jason!" Jasmine squeals, covering her chest and jumping off my lap. She averts her eyes and bows her head, customary pack behavior when directly addressing any Alpha. "I didn't, I'm sorry, I didn't--"

"Shut. Up. And get. OUT!" He barks. His voice is so low but so harsh I feel my head start to pound.

Jasmine grabs her shirt and runs for the door, slamming it behind her.

I shift uneasily. While I'm allowed to meet my father's gaze directly as a birthright, I don't dare attempt it now. I'm trying to figure out how to hide the damage but there's no hope. Training shorts are no match for what Jasmine did to me.

"Would you care," my father growls... voice deep, venomous, and terrifying, "to explain to me why Beta Mark just called, asking where you were?" 

I sat in continued silence. I knew it was better not to respond.

"Because...." he seathed, "Leila has been waiting for a half an hour, by herself, at the restaurant. My second in command, his only daughter, stood up because you can't stop dry humping a low-level healer?

"Dad, she's more than--"

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" He practically spits in my face, moving closer with every world. "SHE... LEILA, is MORE than you deserve. You're just lucky that no alpha's daughter is close enough to marrying age and that a Beta, one of our pack nonetheless, has such a distinct lineage intact, let alone a daughter willing to take a position of Luna--"

"But Jasmine--"

"IS NOTHING!" He Roars, furious and flush with anger. I raise my eyes to meet his, blood raging in my veins. Jasmine was my first, and I love her. My dad will never understand that. We stare at each other, breathing heavily, hackles raised. After what seems like minutes, I avert my eyes in submission.

"That's what I thought" he growls. "I told you that I didn't want you anywhere near Jasmine or her family. I'm not sure what you're playing at, but going against direct orders from your Alpha tells me I don't think you're ready for The Sacred Call..."

"DAD!" I blurt out, before I can stop myself. "Of course I am! I've been training for years. I'm so ready for--"

"Quiet." He silences me with a look. "Perrin, you must understand that being Alpha is so much more than just being the strongest warrior. You have to maintain order, discipline, looking out for others, the good of the entire pack, make tough decisions... and your judgement by hanging out with that Jasmine girl isn't going to do you any good. Don't make me ask you again. I don't want my son to be the one that allows the Alpha line to fall to another family."

My stomach sinks in disappointment.

"And now, I hear that you refuse to meet the one person who would protect the sanctity of our pack, without jeopardizing our history, our bloodlines--what we hold most dear--"

"I get it, Dad." I stare at the floor. I can't decide if I'm more pissed at myself for whining about The Sacred Call like a little kid or not defending Jasmine against my father.

"Do you?" He speaks so quietly, that I know it's nothing but a threat.

"GO!" He barks.

Grabbing what's left of my shirt, I practically run down the hall towards the Exit. I see Kira sitting in the waiting room chair, and judging by the look on her face, she knows the Alpha is here.

"Need a ride?" She gets to her feet, keys swinging between her fingers.

"I owe you one," nodding as I follow her out the door.

Miles away, speeding towards the pack house, I finally start to relax. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.

JASMINE: Wow, was that a BUZZ KILL or what?

JASMINE: Ok, ok, that was bad. But not as bad as leaving me so close to the edge ;) Meet me at our spot after duty? 9pm?

I smirk, shoving the phone back into my pocket, turning the buzzer off.