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Chapter 23
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Wolfbane Chapter 24
JASMINE On the next day off from work we had together, I took Lucy for a ride in my new car. It was now nearing the end of August and Lucy’s youngest brother, Neil, would be turning sixteen in a couple days. We stopped at a shopping center so Lucy could buy him a present. We were browsing different colognes at a cosmetic store when a question I’d been wondering for two years suddenly came to me. “Lucy, what cologne does Luke wear? I hope this isn’t weird, but it smells really nice and I’d never smelled it before.” Lucy tilted her head, considering me. Finally, she replied, “Luke doesn’t wear cologne.” “Oh, weird, maybe it was someone else’s cologne I smelled. It’s been a long time since I last saw him anyway, so I’m probably just misremembering.” But that didn’t sit right with me. I only ever smelled it when he was around, and I couldn’t forget how divine and sensual it smelled. I sniffed a few of the samples, and nothing came close to how wonderful that scent had been. We continu
Wolfbane Chapter 25
LUCY After working a full-day shift at the end of August, I went home and spent the next few hours baking dozens of cupcakes, cookies, and brownies. I was now the designated family baker. Any time someone had a celebration, I was assigned to make all the desserts. At first, I enjoyed this appointment, feeling like I finally had a place in my family. It would bring me joy to watch as everyone ate my pastries and showered me with compliments. But, before long, it became more of an obligation than anything, my efforts forgotten just as quickly as the devoured cookies. The next day, my mom helped me package everything up, loading it into the car so we could go to my cousins’ house for a birthday party. I had dozens of cousins, all tall, blonde, and athletic. Everyone in the pack knew of the Owens—mostly positive things, but we also weren’t known for being as devout and religious as others, something that could be alienating. While I was grateful that my parents weren’t as strict and over
Wolfbane Chapter 26
JASMINE Before I knew it, it was halfway through September. I had found myself preoccupied with school and work, and temple choir had started up again. We were now rehearsing every night of the week as we would be performing during the alpha ceremony. At work, Lucy and Valerie were busy prepping for all of the desserts and the huge cake they’d have to prepare for the occasion. The whole pack was alive with excitement for something that hadn’t occurred for over forty years—the transition from one alpha to the next. I had given up on checking my text thread with Blake. He had never responded. I was disappointed and wondered if it was something I did—was it the revelation about my panic attacks or the finality of our decision to just remain friends? Perhaps he had no desire to see me if our relationship would no longer be physical. But, I reminded myself, he did cosign a loan for me, and that isn’t something that someone who wants you out of their life would do. Deciding it was for the
Wolfbane Chapter 27
BLAKE After weeks of shoving Jasmine from my mind, she had hurled herself back into it. I hadn’t expected to be so excited to see her at the gym. Seeing her made me realize how much I had missed her. And, damn. I knew she was fit, but I had no idea that she could squat so much weight. Thinking about it made my cock rock-hard. I loved a tough woman. And now that I knew she could pump iron like a warrior, I was a goner. I wanted to stay longer and had an overwhelming desire to kiss her again. Hell, I’d love to have stayed and worked out with her. But there was just too much going on. The alpha ceremony was less than a week away, and Luke was due back home later today. I had just exited the gym and was striding toward my car when someone stopped me. “Blake!” she yelled, forcing me to turn my head. I felt a blistering pain in my chest as the person calling my name approached me. My hands turned into fists, digging what little nails I had into my palms, staving off the impulse to run th
Wolfbane Chapter 28
LUKE After I returned home, I was thrown right back into pack life and training. Blake and I followed the same training schedule as the warriors. Most warriors had to train ten to thirty-two hours and patrol eight to forty hours a week, depending on their seniority and rank. Because we were to become the alpha and beta, Blake and I were exempt from patrol duty. However, that didn’t mean a single day off for either of us. We were forced to sit with our fathers in the packhouse office, getting the last bit of wisdom crammed into us before the alpha ceremony took place in just days. Alpha James was eager to retire and move out of the packhouse—thank Goddess for that. He had always been a brute and showed no sign of changing in his old age. It would be nice to finally be able to work or eat dinner without listening to his appalling and vulgar opinions. I have no idea how my dad put up with him all those years. My dad was a nice, decent guy. When I’d asked him about it in the past, he had
Wolfbane Chapter 29
JASMINE On Sunday night, my parents and I were seated farther back than usual at the temple service, having gotten there later than normal that day. Partway through, the priest welcomed Luke back to the pack and invited Luke and Blake to join him at the front where they helped him lead a chant. It had been two years since I’d seen Luke in person. He had filled out and was much more muscular now than I had remembered. However, he still had that pretty boy, movie star handsome face, contrasted to Blake’s much more mature appearance. I looked between the two of them, wondering which one I preferred. They were both good-looking in their own ways. However, thinking about Luke made my chest ache. I was still very attracted to him and felt something drawing me to him, as if I should go stand beside him. While I had a steady, ceaseless longing throughout the years, it was somehow more powerful now that I was seeing him in person. My heart raced in my chest while my stomach did somersaults. I
Wolfbane Chapter 30
BLAKE After the service, we went back to the packhouse to sit down for dinner at the kitchen table. Connie had Sundays and Mondays off, so my mom fried up some bacon and put out ingredients to make sandwiches for my father, Luke, herself, and me. Luke grabbed a banana out of the fruit bowl to make his weird favorite sandwich. I, myself, preferred something meaty like roast beef. “So, Luke, I heard you’ll be leading some of the training sessions at the elementary school in the fall.” My mom looked over at Luke. “That’s right. I’ve volunteered to lead training for the young pups in the mornings before lunch, and I’ll be taking college courses in the afternoon twice a week, managing beta duties the rest of the week. Then I’ll be doing my own training in the evenings, three times a week.” “Sounds like a busy schedule. Any time left to spend with your girlfriend?” Luke eyes shot up, wide open, his mouth agape, practically gasping. Clearly his girlfriend was not something he was open ab
Wolfbane Chapter 31
BLAKE It was finally the day of the ceremony. My father was clearly anxious because he was ready to bite the head off anyone in his vicinity. He was barking orders at all of the event staff. My mom tried, unsuccessfully, to calm him. My poor mom, always putting herself in his way to spare others. She looked beautiful in a long navy gown. My mom had always been very pretty, with long brown hair and a tall, slim frame. She was now allowing her hair to gray naturally. It was about half gray now and done up in an elegant chignon for today’s event. I went over to kiss her cheek. She pulled me into a hug and said, “Good luck today, honey. I’m really proud of you, and I know you will do great as alpha of our pack.” Luke and his parents arrived shortly before we were to go on stage for the ceremony. It wouldn’t take long, but the whole pack was here, and the event would be projected on big screens so everyone could witness it. The priest of the temple would be leading the ceremony. He was a
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