Strange encounter.

Jasmine's POV.

It felt like ice water had been poured over my body that quenched every other raging fire of pleasure and need that I had previously held.

He had a mate. Kai fucking had a mate.

But doesn't this count as cheating? Why were male wolves given the liberty to cheat even while mated as they liked, while it wasn't the same for female wolves?

It was a known rule in the Werewolf kingdom that if a female wolf was caught cheating or merely accused of cheating, she faced death by hanging or complete banishment as a rogue.

Never was the same rule applied to men.

I felt angry, hurt, and betrayed and wanted nothing more than to bolt out of this place.

I couldn't deny Kai was good-looking as hell, but he was a cheat. If I had known earlier, I would have rejected him from the first offer he made to pay for my drinks.

I put myself in the shoes of his mate and knew that she wouldn't be happy with him cheating on her. No one would.

I had experienced the pain before and knew how it felt.

“Wait for me.” Kai ordered and grabbed a handful of my ass playfully before walking out of the room, phone in ear.

I looked around the room, confused about what my next move should be. I needed to leave immediately!

I picked up my clothes from the floor and hurriedly put them on.

I remembered something. Leaving him suddenly wasn't fair, even though he was a cheat, and so I picked up the piece of paper my eyes found around the room, picked up a pen, and scribbled a note.

'I'm sorry, I had to leave.'

I located the forty dollars my mother had given me for tonight's dinner and placed it between the paper and placed it on the bed.

That was payment for the few minutes of pleasure he had made me feel.

I walked toward the door and held my breath as I opened it.

I found myself in front of the elevator and realized something. I was in a complete mess... I didn't know how to operate an elevator!

I had no time to waste or else it would only be a matter of seconds before I would be caught, and who knows what might happen next.

'Elsa, please help me.' I pleaded.

Without thinking, I struck random keys, and the elevator moved and stopped after a while.

I sighed in slight relief. First battle crossed.

The elevator door opened, and a man walked in.

His back was all I could see at first, but when he turned, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

Kai!

I was completely doomed. Kai had found me!

“I-I am sorry.” I stuttered, but to my complete shock, the man stared coldly at me as though I were some raging lunatic.

He looked exactly like Kai… wait, except that his eyes were a rich forest green as opposed to Kai's blue ones.

His aura… It was as cold and powerful as the one Kai had around him.

I didn't realize the elevator had stopped, and the man was waiting for me to move until I heard him growl.

“Move!”

My face reddened in embarrassment, and I stumbled out, muttering apologies.

Why did he look so much like Kai?

I couldn't spare so many thoughts to that, as I only had one thing to do now, which was going home.

I had resigned myself to the loads of punishment awaiting me at home. It was unavoidable.

I was out of the hotel building and noticed that the surroundings had become dark. Through my senses, I could guess the time was past eight p.m.

I sprinted toward the Pack's border on foot. I stopped and waited for a while, looking around to see if anyone was watching or had followed me down here, and I heard nothing.

“Ready?” I asked Elsa.

Elsa had still been restless and prancing around ever since my encounter with Kai.

I couldn't tell the reason, but I could guess she was angry because I had hooked up with him? Was that even possible?

I shifted into my wolf and bolted off.

One hour passed, two, three, and finally, after six solid hours, I arrived at our Pack's border.

It was past three a.m.

I wondered what my family was doing currently. Had they been looking for me? Would the whole pack be aware that I had gone missing?

Or perhaps they were sound asleep, happy that I was out of their lives for good.

I shifted back to my human form and began to walk to my house.

I paused in front of the door, took in a deep breath, and knocked. No answer.

I repeated the action thrice and still got no answer.

I tried to open the door, and luckily, it seemed to be unlocked.

I walked into the sitting room and found it empty. They had probably all gone to bed. No one was looking for me or cared about my absence.

Slight relief flooded through me. I was free for this moment and only had to prepare to face them by daybreak.

Dirty plates, spoons, and cups littered the kitchen, and I busied myself washing and arranging them.

I opened the pot to see if they had prepared dinner and left some for me, but I found it empty. That didn't come as a shock. In fact, it would have been more surprising if they had left something for me.

After I completed the cleaning up, I yawned tiredly and walked toward my small room to rest, even if it was just for a short while because I had to wake up by five a.m. to prepare breakfast for the family.

I opened the door and saw that the room was completely dark. The lights had been turned off.

I began to feel slightly uneasy, as if something else was coming.

I groped my way through the darkness and tried to locate the switch to put on the light when something landed on my head.

It was the head of the pounding pestle.

I fell to the ground heavily, and the hitting continued, followed by kicks.

Blood seeped from every part of my body, and I fought between pain and unconsciousness.

“I'm sorry.” I managed to beg amidst pain and sobs.

The lights hadn't been turned on, but I could very well make a guess about who it was.

Who else could it be besides my mom?

She dragged me by my hair around the room, screaming curses and profanities.

“Worthless piece of dog! Next time, don't even bother to return and die in the woods.” She kicked my head roughly and released my hair.

My whole body was filled with pain, and I suddenly wished I could die or just disappear from the face of this earth.

The light switch was flipped on, and she glared at me coldly.

“The Alpha asked you to see him at daybreak by six a.m. Be late if you want to.”

She left the room and slammed the door behind me.

Jason had been installed as the new Alpha earlier today, or rather yesterday.

What did Jason want to see me for?