JASMINE The day after Luke came over, I could tell that my heat had eased. I no longer felt the same intense swelling between my legs. I still desired Luke, but it was not the same desperation I had felt the morning prior. It was dark outside when I woke. After I shut off my alarm, I lay in my bed with my eyes closed, reliving everything that had happened the day before, recalling Luke’s naked body and how he made me orgasm for the first time in my life. After imagining what it would be like to be with someone for so long, the actual encounter turned out better than my imagination. I reminisced about the feeling of Luke pressed against my body, his hands on my bare skin, and the sensation of sparks between my legs. My thighs were tingling in memory of the encounter—I could still feel his fingers inside me. He knew what he was doing. And then another thought came to my mind. After hearing Lucy talk about how good Luke was in bed, I could now confirm that she had not just been talking—
LUKE I was in the pack office with Blake, deep in discussion about training, when the mindlink from Jasmine came through. I knew I’d fucked up. But maybe I could fix things. I wasn’t sure how, but I would try. “Who were you mindlinking with?” Blake asked. “Jasmine,” I replied. “Sorry, man, I really have to go.” “What happened?” he asked. “She’s stuck in her wolf form. I have to find her a change of clothes so she can shift back.” “Why doesn’t she have her clothes?” he looked concerned. “She had a panic attack.” “Is she okay? Do you need my help?” “No, let me handle it,” I replied. I was becoming annoyed with his concern for my mate. I didn’t trust at all that he had good intentions with her either, especially after his comment at the temple service. Moreover, what was he doing discussing heat with her? I jumped into my car and drove to my sister Lauren’s house. Peyton had had her baby a couple days after the alpha ceremony, so I didn’t want to bother her, knowing she was preo
BLAKE It was mid-October, and Luke had put the new training requirements in place. I checked the sparring rosters to see who was signed up. I noted that Jasmine had enrolled in a two-hour stint that day and got an idea. I mindlinked the trainer that was leading that session and asked to switch with him. It had been a while since I’d heard from her, and I missed her. This was a harmless way I could spend some time with her. Plus, I couldn’t lie. Watching her fight was really fucking hot. I still vividly recalled that day when we had sparred together. I walked out on the field, my heart skipping a beat when I saw Jasmine. She was wearing a tight-fitting gym outfit that showed off her entire body. She looked so sexy I almost forgot what I was there to do. Coming back to reality, I began leading everyone in the warm-up. I had everyone do push-ups, planks, and burpees. I couldn’t help watching how good Jasmine looked performing all the exercises as I barked orders at everyone. To begin t
JASMINE After the whole situation with Lucy, Valerie redid the work schedule so that we wouldn’t be working shifts together. It wasn’t too difficult because I had dropped down to two days a week after school started. It was weird not having my best friend in my life anymore. To be honest, I missed her. She was my only real friend in the pack, and now I didn’t even have her. But I could understand why she was upset with me, even if it hadn’t really been my fault. I knew it would be best to just give her space. I didn’t think there was anything I could say that would change how she felt. I had also agreed to give Luke space, so I hadn’t seen him since the day of above situation. Yep, I was now best friendless and mateless. To make matters worse, I was almost positive I wouldn’t have all As this semester. I was having trouble concentrating in school and putting in the effort required. I was tempted to see if I could take a leave of absence and resume next semester, but I wasn’t sure how
LUKE The same day that I spoke with Jasmine after bringing her clothes, I went to the café and waited for Lucy to end work for the day. After she got out, I had essentially the same conversation with her and asked for space. It had now been three weeks since I’d seen her. I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t miss her. Over the years, she had become my best friend, and I felt lonely without having my best friend in my life anymore. When we were long-distance, we at least texted and spoke by phone regularly, but now it was just silence between us. It felt unnatural. Every time something happened, the first thing I wanted to do was tell Lucy, but I’d have to remind myself that I had asked for space. But, just like that, after three weeks, the silence came to an end. Much like three weeks earlier, I walked into my room one day to see that Lucy was already waiting for me, sitting on my bed. I sighed, torn about what to say or do. Finally, I asked, “What are you doing here, Lucy?” She got up a
JASMINE Taking advantage of my willingness to run errands, my mom sent me to the grocery store with a list on a Saturday morning at the end of October, before work. I was placing zucchinis into a plastic bag when Lucy’s mom pulled up next to me with her grocery cart. “Ah, Jasmine! I’m so glad to see you!” I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she was glad. There was hope that Lucy hadn’t swayed her to believe that I had sprouted whiskers and a wormy tail. I replied, “Good morning, Ivy.” “It’s been forever since we’ve seen you! I’ve been waiting for you to come by so I could tell you something.” I was wondering if Lucy had told her anything. I decided it would be best to just act like everything was normal. “Oh, what’s that?” “Well, I’m not sure if you remember, but a while back I told you a story about my old friend Katie.” “Yes, I remember that story. Did you ever get in touch with her?” “As a matter of fact, yes, I did! We’ve been chatting through F******k, and I was happy
JASMINE Since my parents were home on Sunday, Blake and I met at the library again. This time we took his car. I packed turkey sandwiches and cut-up vegetables to go with a ranch dip. I told my parents I had a lot of schoolwork and would spend the day at the library. After driving to our secret spot and parking, Blake reached for his cell phone to remove it from the mount when a string of texts came in. “Just a second, Jasmine. These look important,” he said as he began reading through them. Suddenly, I started to feel very warm. I pulled off the sweatshirt I had worn in preparation for the cool weather that day. I looked over at Blake, my eyes scanning his whole body, and felt a strong desire to touch him. I put my hand on his thigh and began rubbing it, distracting him from his phone. He looked over at me and dropped his phone. “Fuck!” “What?” I asked, inching my hand toward his crotch. I watched as a bulge formed. He abruptly grabbed my hand and moved it back into my lap, the
LUKE I collapsed into bed around eleven the next morning. After the scent of a stranger pack was discovered by one of the junior warriors during his rounds, Mike and some of the other senior warriors tracked it. They discovered a den deep in the woods where two stranger werewolves were staying. They politely asked the wolves to shift into their human forms so that they could talk. If the wolves had just followed the simple request, things probably wouldn't have escalated as they did. They instead refused, and subsequently attacked. Luckily, our warriors were well-trained and higher in numbers, easily able to overpower them and force them into their human forms. The strangers were then dragged into the cells and jailed. After Blake arrived, the culprits were brought out for interrogation and, up until that point, I hadn’t realized how fucked up Blake was. I’d heard tales over the years of his father’s interrogation techniques, but it was a whole different story to personally witness t
ALEXANDER Well, that was an interesting way to meet my mate, to say the least. It almost wasn’t surprising when it happened. Okay, it was very unexpected and shocking, but I’m also one of those people who attracts drama and crazy situations. Needless to say, it is never a dull day in my life, and I never run out of stories to tell at parties. So, it was almost expected that I wouldn’t meet my mate the normal way. Most people meet their mates at a party or a café, they lock eyes from across a room, they go to the same park one day. You get the picture—there are hundreds of normal ways to meet a mate. Of course, I’m the one that meets my mate at my father’s murder scene, my mate being the number one and only suspect. If it weren’t so disturbing, I’d laugh about it. The Moon Goddess clearly has a sick sense of humor. Granted, my father was not exactly in the running for father or, heck, person of the year. But I’m not quite sure what crime he committed that deserved murder. Okay, okay,
BLAKE One afternoon, well into September, a mindlink for Luke and me came in while we were in the office together. “I smell a rogue in my patrol area.” Jack’s voice said in our minds. Luke and I both looked up at each other and instantly got to our feet. “Be right there,” I mindlinked Jack back. We both rushed outside, quickly shifted into our wolf forms, and sprinted over. When we got to him, Jack led the group in tracking the scent, inhaling the unpleasant aroma that had clung to the dirt and ferns just outside our territory. Rogues usually weren’t a big problem. It was just a matter of making it clear to them that this was pack land and that they should move away from the area. Every once in a while, we’d encounter a problematic rogue, one that had spent so much time in its wolf form that it became feral and refused to shift, occasionally attacking us. Those rogues were dealt with differently. But hopefully, this would just be the standard, run-of-the-mill, confused rogue. We fo
TALIA Upon finally succeeding in taking every last penny from me, Madam Coco came through and handed me a box with four darts inside. I’d deliberated on it for a while but eventually concluded that the darts were a much more efficient tool for infiltration and worth the extra cost. I didn’t even bother thanking her or saying goodbye, relieved that I’d never have to smell the disgusting mix of old lady perfume and cigarettes, or hear her raspy smoker’s voice, again. A few days later, on a warm Thursday in mid-August, Hugo drove me to his pack. We stopped at the entrance and exited the car, then we were brought to a small room. The werewolves who escorted us there wrinkled their noses at the sight of me, and I realized it must be my rogue smell. I let out a deep sigh. When we were waiting alone, I asked Hugo, “Is the smell really that bad?” He rubbed the back of his neck and said, “No, they’re exaggerating. It’s just a little unpleasant.” I nodded and wondered if he was just being po
TALIA The following day, Madam Coco summoned me to her office. As soon as I entered, I was met with the familiar scent of old lady perfume and cigarettes, the smell now more nauseating than it ever had been in the past. I tried not to breathe it in too much, becoming enraged with each breath. I forced myself to stay calm, digging my nails into my palms, barely able to look at her. She was a tiny woman, petite and always sporing a tan—her skin taking on a leathery appearance from spending so much time in tanning beds over the years. I wasn't sure of her exact age. If I had to guess—I'd say late fifties or early sixties. She gestured to a chair in front of her desk, barely looking up at me, flipping her long, platinum blonde hair behind her shoulders as I entered. I took a seat. She casually played with thick rings on her fingers. She loved jewelry and was always draped in it. Bought using my mom’s body and desperation. After dragging the silence out for far too long, she said, “Tali
Thank you for reading Wolfbane. This now begins book 2 of the series, Wolfblood, which introduces some new characters and also continues Jasmine and Blake's story. Please note that this book is quite a bit darker than the first one, and contains some triggers, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway! Happy reading!*** TALIA Dead. Killed in cold blood. The only person in the world I loved was taken from me, her heart ripped from her chest, leaving a gaping hole behind. The red splatter staining the wall of the bedroom indicated it had subsequently been thrown as if it were nothing more than a rotten fruit. Even through the acrid smell of blood, I could still smell him. He was the one who did it. He came almost every week, sometimes several times a week, going back years. In fact, I could not recall a time when he did not exist in my consciousness. He had always been obsessed with my mother. Now his smell invaded her bedroom; he couldn’t have left long ago as his rancid stench lingered,
JASMINE After getting home Saturday morning, I rushed to take a shower and change into new clothes. I was extremely late for work, having completely forgotten about my shift that day. I checked my phone as soon as I walked through the door of my house to find frantic messages from Valerie. I was supposed to be there at seven thirty and I ended up walking in at eleven to come face-to-face with Lucy. “Looks like Perfect Jasmine finally decided to grace us with her presence,” Lucy taunted me as I walked past her to drop my stuff off in the back and throw on an apron. “Where have you been?” Valerie asked, coming over to me. “Sorry. Late night,” I replied. “Got stuck far away because of the blizzard.” “Far away?” Valerie raised her eyebrow at me. “Never mind, you can tell me later. We have a line of customers. Get to work.” I went up front, taking my place to prepare orders as they came in, trying my best to avoid interaction with Lucy. I noted that she now had a proper baby bump, ver
BLAKE It was an amazing night. We had round two and round three after the first round, barely sleeping. Then, the next morning, after we woke, we had round four. I was practically singing as I drove Jasmine home and dropped her at her parents' house. I snuck into the packhouse and quickly showered and got dressed. Then I made my way downstairs to the office where Luke was already at his desk, concentrated on his laptop. "What's up, what's up!" I said as I walked in, a big smile on my face. "You're in an oddly good mood this morning," Luke looked up at me. "Too much coffee. Maybe I should get some more," I said, getting up and heading to the kitchen. I quickly poured myself a mug. "Good morning, Connie!" I shouted, looking over at her preparing some food. "Good morning, Alpha," she looked at me oddly. "Would you like me to make you some breakfast?" "Yes, that would be great!" I smiled, taking my mug and heading back to
JASMINE After Blake paid and signed the check, he took my hand and led me to a bank of elevators. I was surprised we managed not to break into a run as we made our way to our destination. As soon as we stepped inside the empty elevator and the door shut behind us, his mouth crashed against mine, kissing me urgently, nibbling on my lip, taking my tongue into his mouth. His large hands slid down my back until they found and cupped my ass. He swallowed the needy whimper that escaped my lips and I jumped into his arms. My thighs instantly found his hips, and he easily supported me when I wrapped my legs around him. My back collided with the wall as he pressed his whole body against mine. We were both desperate to be as close to each other as possible. I lost myself in the kiss, aroused with anticipation, fireworks exploding behind my eyes. My thighs were burning, my panties so wet I was sure Blake could feel it through my dress as his erection throbbed against me. The apex of my inner th
JASMINE Blake’s scent entered my nose. I turned to see him sitting down next to me. “Hey,” he said. “Hey,” I replied, looking at him. “Nice speech.” “Thanks.” “Sorry again about your dad,” I said, feeling emotional, touching his leg. “Thanks.” He looked down at his hands. “I see you recovered finally.” “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to text you, but I got caught up in pack duty stuff. I had to visit all the families of the fallen warriors and meet with the priest. It’s honestly been a lot.” He sighed. We sat silently together for a bit and then he spoke again. “Do you want to do something tonight?” “Like what?” “Just hang out. I’ve missed you. I’d like to spend some time with you.” “You know how my parents are.” “One second,” he said, getting up and walking toward my parents. I stood up, shocked by him approaching them so suddenly. I watched as he shook my father’s hand and spoke with him. After about a minute, he returned. “You’re a free woman. Let’s go!” “What did you say to h