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Chapter 31
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Wolfbane Chapter 32
JASMINE My twentieth birthday was three days after the alpha ceremony. It was the perfect fall day—the trees in northern Vermont had turned into a palette of red, orange, and yellow, and the weather had now cooled. I had the day off from work and spent it on schoolwork. It wasn’t a very exciting birthday, but I wanted to be sure I stayed ahead in school. At four in the afternoon, while my parents were at work, I heard the doorbell chime. descended the stairs to the first floor and looked out the window to see that Blake was waiting on the doorstep. I took a deep breath and opened the door, wondering why he was here. “Happy birthday.” He smiled, engulfing me in a hug. I patted his back, unsure of his presence and confused by how he was acting as if he hadn’t ignored my existence for three weeksbefore he bumped into me at the gym. Four if we included the past week, especially after having been so intimate and confessing his secrets to me. I felt a pang in my heart, hurt by how he expe
Wolfbane Chapter 33
JASMINE I could see in my peripheral vision that Lucy was looking between us, completely unaware of what we were experiencing: a gravitational force pulling us toward each other. I suddenly wished I could mindlink in my human form, not wanting to create drama at my birthday party. After a few moments, I was surprised that a mindlink from Luke was able to come through. “Jasmine, please don’t say anything. We need to talk about this.” I looked at him, surprised that he was able to mindlink me not being in his wolf form. “I can mindlink in both forms now that I’m beta of the pack.” Drawing me out of my trance, Luke finally spoke out loud. “Nice to see you, Jasmine. Happy birthday.” He reached to give me a hug, spreading sparks and calm throughout my whole body. I was amazed at the feeling he caused, and he smelled so good—his divine and sensual scent much stronger now than what I had remembered. I didn’t want to leave the comfort of his arms, feeling like I couldn’t get close enough
Wolfbane Chapter 34
JASMINE As soon as I entered my house, my parents rushed over to encompass me in hugs. I stayed strong and kept the tears at bay, and told them I wasn’t hungry after having eaten at my party. They still forced me to have birthday cake with them. I humored them, putting on a plastered smile as they sang Happy Birthday. I blew out the single candle my mom had placed on top, not bothering to even think of a wish, still devastated from the one I'd made earlier that day. I had to find the strength to act normal as I made strained conversation with them, wanting to be anywhere but there. This had to be the worst birthday I’d ever had. After I was finally excused from the table, I rushed up into my room and shut the door, so many emotions flooding me. My limbs were weak and strangled sobs kept forcing themselves out as I struggled to steady my aching heart. How did I end up in this situation? Succumbing to the dizziness from overthinking everything, I collapsed onto my bed. I stared up at
Wolfbane Chapter 35
JASMINE Before long, Blake appeared and sat down next to me. “I know I asked you to text me when you were ready to celebrate your birthday with me, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. Won’t lie though, if I knew I could celebrate with me and my body, I wouldn’t want to wait either.” “This is serious,” I replied. His eyes searched mine. “Tell me.” “I found my mate.” “You did? Why do you look so upset then? Where is he? And why are you with me instead of him right now?” “My mate doesn’t want me.” “I don’t believe that for a second. What kind of idiot wouldn’t want you?” I choked out, “My mate is Luke.” “Luke? Like my beta, Luke?” “Yes.” “Your mate’s my best friend and beta, Luke Hemming?” “Yes.” “Well, shit. That’s a plot twist.” He took a seat next to me, his shoulders slumping. “And you never realized he was your mate until today?” I looked into his eyes, and if I didn’t know better, he almost seemed sad, his brows furrowed and the corners of his eyes downturned. “He
Wolfbane Chapter 36
JASMINE The next day was Saturday, and I was scheduled for the late shift at the café. Checking the schedule and seeing that I was supposed to work with Lucy for several hours, unable to face her, I texted Valerie to tell her I was sick. I knew she’d be very concerned for a couple of reasons. For one, when adult werewolves got sick, they got really sick. There was no such thing as a small cold, since our wolf was capable of healing us. Only young werewolves who had yet to shift were capable of getting colds. In summary, she would likely assume that I had to be hospitalized. Second, I never called out from work, so she would definitely think I was hospitalized. But I couldn’t even bring myself to care enough to make a believable excuse. Of course, next thing I knew, I had a frantic text from Lucy that said, 'OMG! ARE YOU OK! YOU’RE SICK????' Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have made such a dramatic excuse. I replied, 'Too much birthday drinking haha. Late night.' It was still pretty dumb, bu
Wolfbane Chapter 37
JASMINE At five that evening, I told my parents that Madison had invited me over for dinner. My mom rolled her eyes but didn’t stop me as I left the house. I drove over to the packhouse and noted Luke’s silver Toyota 4Runner was the only car parked in the packhouse lot when I arrived. I took a few deep breaths, feeling a tightness in my chest as I approached the front door, not knowing what to expect. My hand was practically shaking as I rang the doorbell, but I did my best to hold myself together. Moments later Luke let me in, welcoming me with his enchanting scent. I inhaled deeply, having almost forgotten how amazing he smelled. My stomach fluttered, and I couldn’t help but smile widely, taking in his handsome face. He smiled back at me, showing off his perfect white teeth. He pulled me into a hug to greet me as sparks danced across my entire body, putting me instantly at ease. When he pulled away, he asked, “Can I give you a tour?” “It’s okay, I already had one,” I replied. “Fr
Wolfbane Chapter 38
JASMINE We took more sips of our wine and Luke topped up our glasses some more. He spoke again. “Look, Jasmine, I know I made a huge mistake four years ago. I should never have started such a serious relationship. To be fair, at the time I didn’t think it would ever get this serious. For years we told ourselves that we would just break up with each other if we were mated to others.” “That’s not true! At least not for Lucy. All I ever heard from her was how much she loves you and how you’re meant to be together and that you’re going to be chosen mates.” He shook his head. I could sense a feeling of deep regret. “Lucy’s very resolute. When she puts her mind to something, she won’t stop until she gets it. Once I found out we weren’t mates, I tried to encourage her to consider us ending things, but she wouldn’t hear of it. I eventually gave in. I was in too deep to fight it anyway. It’s hard to justify ending something tangible for something theoretical.” I sipped my wine in understand
Wolfbane Chapter 39
JASMINE Blake climbed into the driver’s seat. I looked over at him, watching his eyes scan my body. “Damn, you smell like a bar. How much booze did Luke give you?” he questioned as he started the car. “We shared three bottles of wine.” “It’s like he was trying to get you as drunk as possible so he could get in your pants.” “I don’t think so,” I groaned. “You sound like you were hoping he’d get in your pants.” “Mm,” I responded noncommittally. He pulled out of the packhouse lot and drove down the dark and quiet streets. “Are you sure you want to go home in that state? You’re really drunk right now and there’s no question that your parents will be able to smell it on you.” “Oh Goddess, my mom is going to claw me,” I moaned. “Claw you?” “She slapped me this morning because I told her I drank at the party lake last night. And she told me she’d use her claws next time. I am so screwed.” He burst out laughing. “You know, I did get an official complaint today that the lake wasn’t b
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