Jason’s POV: Despite the rocky start to our lunch, the tension between Aaron and I eventually settled down and we were able to have a productive conversation about how I would go about fixing things with Cassie. That’s not to say either of us were fully past our issues with the other. I had obviously f---ed up, and Aaron was there to hold the pieces together. Meanwhile, my wolf was beside himself that my best friend had touched my mate, even if he didn’t know she was my mate when he did so. I probably would have been just as upset as my wolf, but for the fact that I was still a little taken aback – Cassie was the first she-wolf I am aware of that Aaron has kissed in seven years. Yes, seven years. Allison really did a number on him. I’m surprised he doesn’t have cobwebs growing out of his crotch by now. Either which way, we eventually agreed that Aaron should accompany me to my first visit with Cassie. Of course, the main reason was
(Cassie POV) I wasn’t sure what to say when Jason walked into my apartment. After last night, giving him a chance was not something that I wanted to do. Aaron was persuasive yes, and it is always hard to turn down a hot, powerful man who is pleading with you to do something, but I knew I would have but for my wolf. My wolf was adamant that I talk to Jason, hear his side of things, and find out if we could make a lasting connection. Last night’s events hurt her even more than they hurt me. I knew she took as much of the pain from me as she could, in an effort to spare me. Given how much what I felt hurt, I couldn’t begin to imagine what the pains felt like from her perspective. My wolf had always been loyal and kind. She had always tried to support me and boost my self-esteem when my parents would disparage me. She was my constant friend and ally. Jason hurting her was all the more reason for me to reject him and never turn back. At the same
(Jason POV)The more time I spend with Cassie, the more intrigued I am by her. I appreciate her fire and her spirit. She isn’t like other girls that I have dated, but that’s OK. The Moon Goddess knows what she is doing.Tonight is finally Friday, the day that I will get to take my beautiful Cassie out on our first date. I have been eagerly waiting for today all week. I admit that the first time we met was rocky, and our second meeting with the 20 questions game could have gone better, but I am determined that tonight will go well. Third time’s the charm, they say.Despite doing fairly well with the ladies, I haven’t really ever dated any. I have a general idea of what makes a good date, but there is too much at stake here for me to risk getting any of the details wrong. I decide to do what any self-respecting man in my position would do…. I ask Josephine for dating advice.Josephine is much younger than my mother, so she is likely to have a better idea of what a woman Cassie’s
(Cassie POV) The rest of the weekend flew by quickly. I helped Megan run yet more wedding-related errands, which started to take longer due to bouts of nausea she was not only starting to experience, but also had to hide from our mother. At first, I had tried to make excuses in an effort to cover up for Megan, but after the third shopping trip in which I claimed that we had to stop quickly because I had eaten a bad human-made bean burrito, I realized I wasn’t creative enough to keep up. After that day, Megan was on her own. Other than wedding errands, I spent my weekend balancing and re-balancing my checkbook. Buying that ugly wedding dress had really done a number on my finances, and as a new graduate, I really needed to start looking for a job. The problem was, where did I look? If Jason and I were going to make our relationship work, I would soon need to move to his pack. However, I couldn’t look for jobs there without my parents finding out, and I wasn’t ready for them to
(Jason POV)After the date with Cassie on Friday night, I found myself kicking myself for being so stupid before. I am so glad that Aaron, Alpha Blake, and my parents intervened. Cassie was one of a kind, and I could absolutely understand why the Moon Goddess chose her as my mate and as part of Blue Moon leadership. I couldn’t wait to introduce her to everyone on Monday night.I texted Cassie a little bit over the weekend, but I couldn’t call her or go see her. It wasn’t for lack of desire; it was because rogue attacks were starting to increase, and it was all hands-on deck multiple times. Plus, I needed to be there to referee the fighting between Aaron and Alpha Blake.Aaron and Alpha Blake had a good relationship, but Aaron had definitely been closer to his mother. When she died, Aaron struggled. Well, because of her death and because of Allison. But that’s a whole other subject.When Alpha Blake met Josephine, I expected Aaron to take it hard. At first, he did. However, t
(Cassie POV)As Aaron and I hurried back into the dining hall, I felt a little naughty and a little excited. It is probably one of the strangest things that I have ever done: I literally put on underwear given to me by my mate’s best friend and alpha, and that underwear had pictures of super heroes giving the middle finger. They certainly violated absolutely every rule of decorum that my parents had ever taught me. At the same time, Aaron was right: there was something freeing and exhilarating about wearing them.The feeling of exhilaration was immediately replaced by a feeling of guilt when I saw Jason’s angry eyes. How had he found out about the underwear so quickly? Did he disapprove? Of course he would disapprove. Oh, wait – He didn’t think that that Aaron and I had done something together did he? Yes, I went to the Alpha suite but I stayed in the living area. Surely he knew I hadn’t cheated on him; he would feel it if I did. But then again, I had kissed Aaron before, s
(Jason POV)Despite how angry I was, I was relieved when Josephine and Alpha Blake demanded that Aaron take me out of the room. My anger had reached an irrational level. It was fueled not only by the situation itself, but also by the other strong emotions that had been swirling around in me --guilt, longing, fear of rejection, pressure to fix my mistakes, obligation toward the pack.Had I stayed in that room even five minutes longer, I would have done something I would have regretted for the rest of my life. I would have rejected Cassie.The entire time I was yelling at Cassie, my wolf was freaking out. He told me that she was telling the truth and that she was innocent. He begged me to stop yelling at her. He threatened to never shift again if I rejected her.Deep down, I knew my wolf was right. I saw the look of sincerity in Cassie’s eyes when she began to cry and beg me to believe her. Have you ever been so angry that even when you realize that your anger is misplaced, you
(Cassie POV)I must have cried in my car for a full thirty minutes. By the time I was done, I was determined that I was never going to be in that situation again. I would go home and sort myself out, and then I would come back just long enough to complete the rejection process. Hopefully Jason would keep it in his pants long enough to give me the time that I needed; I didn’t want to go through the betrayal pains again.As I was wiping my eyes and gathering myself back together, I realized that I now had guards on three sides of me. They weren’t approaching, but they were watching me pretty closely. That meant that they either saw me as a threat, or they were being directed to watch me by someone in pack leadership. Given how tonight’s events played out, it could be either one. Now that my tears had cleared, I decided it was time to leave. There was no reason to stay.As I started the engine, I saw a large black wolf out of the corner of my eye. My suspicions as to who it was