Val arrives at my apartment first. Her perky-blonde personality is in full swing when she walks in the door. “Once you tell me the whole thing, we’ll figure this out,” she declares before I can speak. She hands me a bottle of wine and gives me a one-armed hug. “Open this sucker up. Charlie should be here any minute.”She’s not supposed to know about werewolves yet. To keep the pack safe, a woman is not told about her werewolf mate until she’s ready to get married. But Charlie leaked the truth to Val when she was struggling with her decision to be with Ryan. For that I’m grateful, because I need both of my friends tonight.Val leads the way to the kitchen with a shopping bag on her arm, which rustles as she moves. I say, “Thanks for coming over, but I don’t think we’re going to solve this.” My voice shakes as I fight tears. “I think Jasper tampered with Life Shift’s code to destroy it.”Val hustles over to the cabinet with my big bowls. A drawer scrapes open as I retrieve the wine open
I’d left Jasper this morning sitting in his boxers coding for a freelance job. I recall how he grabbed my hand after I kissed him goodbye, and he held on for a few moments in a silent invitation to be late. I squash down the twinge of desire I feel from the memory.I’m not sure when he’ll be home, but I grabbed my laptop before leaving the office so I can get things done while I wait for his return. I shudder, thinking about our intimate moments that were just another roll in the hay for him, while I thought I was beginning a life with my forever love. The window of my apartment that overlooks an apple orchard is cold on my forehead as I press against it, and I close my eyes as humiliation washes over me. How was I so easily duped?“I am your mate, Marilyn.” Those words shocked me when Jasper finally decided to speak and let me know why he was being so difficult the first day we met. And then he said, “We will be together, and neither of us has a say about it.”Anger spikes in me as I
“Marilyn,” Charlie says as she walks into my office. A paper coffee cup thuds on my desk. “One double-shot latte with oat milk. I’d have brought you wine if I thought you’d drink on the job.”“Wine?”“I know what happened between Jasper and Kevin.”“Oh boy.” I inhale deeply and then blow out the air slowly. “Sit.” I grab the coffee and gulp some down.“When Kevin first proposed Life Shift to the clan, Jasper was dead set against bringing humans into the pack. He challenged Kevin as beta. Apparently, when this happened, Kevin was wearing the scarf you knit him. When Jasper got close enough to scent you, he lost his mind. He shifted and went after Kevin.”“Oh no.” I think about how Jasper could have seriously injured an older and not nearly as big Kevin.“Yeah,” Charlie says. “Pack members restrained him, but Kevin—” She shakes her head. “Werewolves are werewolves, and Kevin pissed Jasper off more when he pointed out that he must be in a jealous rage over his human mate. You can imagine
After my steamy make-out session with Jasper, I had a meeting to attend. While I’m sure my appearance was professional, my straying thoughts were anything but, and I left the meeting wondering if I should marry Jasper as soon as possible. The werewolf is my perfect match, and numbers don’t lie. We’re a sure thing. I feel like Jasper is my chance at love and companionship for the rest of my life. And who better to do it with than a guy who makes my blood simmer with desire?I’m pleasantly surprised when I walk into my office and am greeted by the clean and grinning version of my werewolf. “Hey, what are you doing here?” The door clicks shut behind me, and I walk over to place my hand on his chest and stand on my tiptoes for a quick kiss.“I’ve been thinking.” Jasper pulls a hairpin out of my bun to loosen it. I would usually be tempted to fix my hairdo—this is my workplace after all—but something about the man across from me makes me want to let my hair down. “As much as I like to brea
The pastry bag rustles as I carry it down the hall toward Jasper’s room. I got him a breakfast sandwich and six jelly donuts in case he’s still working and doesn’t want to go out, but if he’s really fixed the security breach, I’ll buy him a lot more. I couldn’t sleep last night because I was worrying about all that could go wrong if hackers got further into the town’s system. The fact that they entered through the Life Revenge program could seriously compromise or kill it.I also spent a fair amount of time thinking about a future with Jasper. He’s turned out to be much more than the feral werewolf I thought he was, and I can’t deny my attraction for him is off the charts. I’d really like to see what Life Revenge’s matching would give us for a compatibility score.When Jasper opens the door, his appearance surprises me. He’s wearing gray sweatpants that have a coffee stain on the thigh, his hair is standing on end, and his eyes are puffy behind a pair of glasses that are crooked on hi
“It’s the strangest thing,” says Mallory. I’m back in my office to see if she figured out what was interfering with our program. “I can’t find anything wrong with the code, but Jasper’s profile won’t let the search work.”“Maybe it has something to do with the fact we set this up for only twenty-five werewolves.”“No, that’s not it.” A pen taps against the table as Mallory bounces it in her fingers. “I’m completely stumped.”I reach over and grab her pen so she’ll stop the annoying noise. “Should I reload him? I could have done something wrong setting him up.”“I doubt it, but sure, go ahead and delete his profile and start again.”Mallory yawns, and I say, “Get out of here. I’m sorry I kept you late for this, but I appreciate your help.”“No problem.” She shuts her laptop with a click and tucks it under her arm. “I’ll take another crack at it in the morning.”I know better. Mallory is like a dog with a bone when a coding problem presents itself, and I bet she’ll stay up all night try