Chapter Five  ~His Demand~

Gwen

The nightmare has only just begun.

What happened at the school cafeteria was just the beginning. I know it is going to get worse. I went into the cafeteria ready for what was to come.

My Airpods are on, blasting the song 'A New Day' by Celine Dione on a high beat.

I don't even know what harsh words they were all yelling at me. It was better not to know. For the safety of my mental health. My day at school today was hell.

I am exhausted, my body sore and my ankle sprained. I opened the drawer next to my bed to pick up the healing ointment. I hope it soothes my already inflamed ankle.

The activities we did at school today were those that involved physical strength and agility. An area I sucked at! Welcome to the life of a wolfless girl.

My phone pings.

I rarely get message notifications except it was from Leo, N*****x, or any of my favorite newsletters, the ones I subscribed to that is.

I stretch my neck to check.

Jasper!

I shut my eyes to open them again. I picked the phone up fast and stared at my screen, but the name was still there. Jasper.

Maybe it's a mistake, he must have messaged me wrongly. Jasper had never contacted me.

I have his number saved in my phone because it was a rule that in our pack, everyone must save each other's number in case of any emergency where one was too far to packlink with anyone. That must have been how he got my number.

I opened the message, curious to know what it contained.

Inbox:

Gwen, This is Jasper Draven. I have something important I need to discuss with you. Meet me at the children's park tomorrow at 8:00 pm.

The message was for me. It wasn't a mistake. My name was boldly stated there.

What could be wrong? Why would he want to meet with me? Did I do something wrong? I had a hundred and one questions running through my head.

Jasper was bad news. Seeing his message kept me on my toes.

After much contemplation, I decided to reply to his message.

Sent:

Ok. I will be there.

It was odd whichever way I looked at it. I saw him in school earlier today and he saw me too but it didn't seem like he was angry with me. Although he looked sad, obviously because of what happened at the Lunar Convergence.

I lay on my back, placed my head on my pillow and stared at the ceiling of my room.

"Gwen, come down and have your dinner."

My mother's voice distracts me from trying to analyze the reason behind Jasper's message. Gwen you only need to be patient and wait until tomorrow. I tell myself. Yeah, let's be patient.

I rub the ointment on my ankle. The plan was to have dinner and sleep early. Who knows, Jasper might not even wait till 8:00 pm before letting the cat out of the bag. He might even do so at school.

Unfortunately, the following morning, I woke up with a fever. The pain in my knee seemed to have increased. I couldn't even move my legs.

****

Sadly I couldn't go to school and I was also unsure about meeting Jasper at 8:00 pm. I almost texted him that I wouldn't be able to make it but I had to rethink.

What's the rush? I might feel better before evening. This morning my father gave me some medications and helped massage the knee properly.

He said I wasn't going to need a cast over it because at first when he saw the state of my knee, he thought it was broken. Thank the stars it isn't.

Leo pushed my room door without knocking. "What happened to you, Gwen? You weren't in school." He tosses his bag on the ground.

"Can't you knock? I have warned you a million times, Leo. The day you walk in on me naked, our friendship ends." I blurted out, glaring at him.

"Like that will ever happen," Leo mumbled.

"Which are you doubting? Walking in on me naked or our friendship ending?"

"The latter of course. You know you can't do without me." He jumps on my bed, leaning his head close to my knees. He assessed the sprain.

"Of course I can."

"Hum. You will be fine. It doesn't look bad. It's normal for girls to cry over little sprains like this. We guys get this regularly."

"Leo! Are you here to check up on me or to brag about the number of sprains you guys get?"

"Sorry." He leans backward.

My phone pings.

From where I sat, my hands couldn't reach it. Leo was sitting next to it.

"Can you pass me my phone?"

He does as I ask but suddenly halts. "Leo, give me my phone."

"What the heck is this? Jasper! Sending you a message."

"Give me my phone right now!"

I dived to snatch it from his arms quickly despite my aching knee. Leo had already swiped my phone and seen the last message Jasper sent before the recent one.

"Haven't you heard of the word privacy?" I said, trying to avoid eye contact.

I never had a reason to use a password on my phone. Now I wished I had a password.

"Really? Now I am damn serious. Why is Jasper sending you that sort of message?"

I didn't respond. I read through the recent message to have an idea about what Leo had just seen.

Inbox:

Warning! Come alone. It's not like you have any friends. Contrary to that, I don't care if you have any. I need you here alone. And tell no one of our meeting.

"What the heck is this? You aren't answering my question, Gwen. Why will Jasper ask you to meet him alone at 8:00 p.m.?"

"I don't know! Stop yelling. I have no idea either."

"Don't go," Leo warned.

"What?! Why?" I blurted out.

"You don't know why Jasper wants to see you. And you are asking me why. Are you for real?" Leo raised his voice. As a friend, he was watching out for me but in this instance, he seemed to be overdoing it.

"I believe it's a harmless meeting. I can't know what it is about if I don't go."

"Then he should have texted whatever he wanted to say to you."

"Why are you against me going? Why would you just tell me not to meet him?"

"It's more than just that. Have you forgotten about the Katherine case so early? The girl who Jasper was with for some time…you know, she was found dead in the woods."

"But that doesn't mean he killed her."

"How would you know?! That second message he sent you sounds suspicious to me."

"I am sorry. But I have to go see him."

"Then let me come with you."

What Leo asked was a no-no. I was determined to go and alone. "No, I can't. I need to do as Jasper says."

"Suit yourself!" Leo picks up his bag and storms out of the room, slamming my door shut.