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CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE
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The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOUR
Jasper looks startled - which makes sense, considering we basically just ambushed him. Regan says a chipper goodbye and leaves with Isaac, giving Jasper no choice but to follow me into the gym room.“So,” I say, flipping open the binder, “it looks like we need to find the serial number for each piece of equipment and write it down here, then find the warranty paperwork for that thing, and put the expiration date right here.”“Okay,” Jasper says, looking around the gym like it’s the first time he’s ever seen it. “You know, I could probably do this by myself, if you have other stuff you want to do.”“Nah,” I say, “I’m happy to help out! This business is mine as much as yours, and I don’t want to leave you to do all the work.”“Right,” Jasper mumbles. “Well, I have awful handwriting anyway, so maybe you should write the stuff down while I figure out where the serial numbers are on these things.”“Sounds great!”We head over to the first piece of equipment, a squat rack s
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIVE
“Jasper, wait!” I follow him out of the gym and down the wood paneled hallways of the tree house. I can’t let this opportunity slip away from me. I might not get another one.Jasper goes into Sterling’s rooms, where he’s been living since we all moved in to the tree house. This wing of the tree house is dark, like Jasper hasn’t been willing to turn on the lights. Looking around, I can see that he’s left everything nearly the same as Sterling had it. It doesn’t look like Jasper has done anything to make the space more comfortable for him, or personalized it for himself.I find Jasper in his bedroom, sitting on the edge of the perfectly made bed, his hands on his knees. “Jasper,” I say, stepping in to the bedroom. “Please. Just talk to me. What’s going on?”“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jasper snaps. “But I do,” I plead. “I’ve always wanted to know who you are. Where you come from. You won’t share anything about your past, and you keep me at arm’s length all the time.
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SIX
As we snuggle up on the bed, I let myself get lost in the sensation of Jasper so close to me. His scent, his touch, his warmth. He seems to be enjoying my scent too, pressing his nose into the crook of my neck and inhaling. It tickles and I giggle a bit, which makes him raise his head and give me a questioning smile.“Is this okay?” Jasper asks, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.“More than okay,” I tell him. “This is exactly what I hoped for.”He raises his eyebrows. “You were planning this?”“Thinking about it, at least.” “I think about you a lot too,” Jasper admits.“Well, now you can do more than just think about me,” I tease, lifting my head to kiss him again. But we’re interrupted by a strange sound - someone is pounding on the tree house door and leaning on the security buzzer. “What?” Jasper sits up, rubbing his face like he’s just been yanked from a pleasant dream. “Who could that be?”“Probably just Isaac and Regan,” I grumble, standing
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SEVEN
“What was that all about?” I ask, but Jasper isn’t listening. He’s already in his bedroom, hauling out his scuffed up suitcase from beneath the bed and frantically tossing all his stuff into it.“I’ve got to go,” Jasper says, shoving a pile of workout shirts into the suitcase. “You and Regan and Isaac can watch over things here for a while.”“Where are you going?” I feel despair slice through my heart at the thought of being separated from Jasper, especially now, after we just decided to start spending more time together and letting ourselves grow closer. “Montana,” Jasper says, which doesn’t really give me any kind of an answer. “I’ll be fine. I’ll come back when I can. You be in charge while I’m gone.”“I want to come with you,” I plead. “Let me help. I can be on your side - we’re partners, remember?”“Not in this. This is old stuff. Personal stuff. Has nothing to do with the business.”“But the lawyer came here,” I protest. “He got me involved. Now you can’t say i
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT
We drive for days, leaving the misty redwoods of Santa Crus and heading into the dry, dusty deserts of Nevada. Pale scrub brush the color of my straw blonde hair stretches out in all directions, waving in the desert wind. Then we hit the cliffs and canyons of Idaho, spending one night in Twin Falls, where we fall asleep to the heavy roar of the waterfall just outside our cabin room.I like riding with Jasper - even Regan herself couldn’t have put together such a perfect opportunity for us to hang out and talk. I tell him about Layla, and some of the funnier predicaments we found ourselves in. He opens up a bit and tells me about a few of his adventures from his mercenary days. It’s obvious that there’s still a lot he’s holding back, but the more time we spend together, the more his walls come down. We pass through Yellowstone, where herds of elk tempt our inner wolves’ hunting instincts. Jasper mentions that his family used to vacation in the area, and suggests that we get out a
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE
“You go first,” Jasper snaps at the other shifter who has just burst into our motel room.“Why me? You go first.”“I don’t care who goes first,” I shout, “just as long as one of you tells me what’s actually going on here.”“Fine,” Jasper sighs, sitting down on the other bed, refusing to look at me or the other shifter. “That’s Zach Whismore. He’s my cousin.”“Though you wouldn’t know it,” Zach grumbles, “based on the fact that you ran off and abandoned the family.”“I did what I had to do,” Jasper snaps. “I was trying to protect you.”Zach snorts. “Some protection you offered, running around in California being a mercenary. Do you know how many more of us have been killed since you disappeared?”Color rises in Jasper’s cheeks again, and he clenches his fists against the motel bedsheets. “What makes you think me sticking around would have stopped any of that?”“Well now we’ll never know,” Zach huffs.“Okay, okay,” I say. “I hate to interrupt whatever weird fam
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY
We finish our dinner, and Zach says his goodbyes. We make a plan to meet with him the next morning at a breakfast diner in town. Zach says it’s owned and operated by humans, and it’s uncommon for the bear shifters to hang around there. Jasper cleans up after dinner while I get ready for bed. Even though the motel room has two beds, we end up snuggled up together in the same one. Jasper rests an arm around me and I settle my head on his chest, breathing in his scent. It’s gotten stronger since we arrived at his ancestral homeland, and I can feel myself being even more drawn to him than usual.We turn out the lights, but I’m not exactly ready to go to sleep. I lift my head and give Jasper a kiss, stroking his cheek with one hand. Then I work up the courage to ask him the question that’s been burning in my mind ever since Zach arrived. “Jasper, can I ask…why did you leave Serpent Creek in the first place?”Jasper sighs, a heavy movement. He wraps his arms around me and nuzzl
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY ONE
Jasper is quiet for a while, having finished his story. He seems tired, like telling me all that has exhausted him somewhat. But he also seems relieved, like he’s been able to put down a heavy weight that he was carrying.I let the silence envelop us for a bit, then ask him one last question. “Jasper,” I whisper, “is that why you didn’t want to be my mate? Because you’re worried that since you couldn’t protect your sister, you wouldn’t be able to protect me?”Jasper hesitates for a moment, then his answer comes, a whisper even softer than mine. “Yes.”“Oh, Jasper,” I say, rubbing his back. “Just because of one tragic event in your past, that doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to be mated, or that you wouldn’t be an amazing mate for someone out there.”“If you say so,” Jasper murmurs. “My dad always told me that since I was so obsessed with being like a human, that I wasn’t a real wolf. I figured any wolf shifter wouldn’t want someone like that to mate with.”“Hey,” I sa
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