JASMINE On Monday, after temple, I was once again working the late shift at the café. Reena had opened, so she left as soon as I walked in at ten o’clock. Just Valerie and I were working together, which was a relief. After everything that happened this past weekend, I was not ready to face Lucy yet. “So, major hangover on Saturday?” Valerie eyed me suspiciously when I walked in. “Yeah, major. I was out all night celebrating my birthday on Friday night.” “If you were Lucy, I’d maybe believe you. But even Lucy’s never called out hungover before.” “There’s a first time for everything!” I shrugged. “Hmm, ok. I’m going to pretend to believe you since you’ve never called out before and you’re one of my best employees. But don’t let it happen again.” After doing some cleaning, I pulled out my textbook to get some reading in before the lunch rush. But I found that I had trouble concentrating, rereading the same words over and over again. After a while, I closed my textbook, giving up.
BLAKE Luke and I were in the packhouse office one morning, meeting with the pack accountant and office manager, when, suddenly, Luke and I received a mindlink from Mike, one of the high-ranking warriors on patrol. “Alpha, Beta, we found the scents of a stranger pack in the northern border. Could be a sign of casing since it’s not the scent of any neighboring packs.” I mindlinked Mike and Luke, “Thank you, Mike, we’ll be by your patrol station in an hour so we can discuss in more detail.” Being able to mindlink in human form was one surprisingly useful perk of being an alpha. “Ok, Alpha,” he replied. Luke looked at me. “Well, that sucks.” “Yes, yes it does,” I replied. We spent the next hour continuing our conversation about fund allocation. The accountant and office manager were both competent, having survived my father who would never have put up with anything less than, so the conversation didn’t take any longer than that. As soon as we were done, Luke and I headed outside and
JASMINE On Friday, I woke up feeling very hot and aroused. I knew that I had been having an erotic dream, but I couldn’t recall what it was about. I kicked the blankets off me, feeling the cool air on the sweat that was covering my body. I rubbed my thighs together, discovering an unbearable swelling between my legs and a strong desire to have something inside me. I looked at the time and saw it was ten o’clock. I had slept longer than usual, and my parents had already left for work. I opened my bedside drawer where the unopened shopping bag Blake had left for me lay. As I was about to reach for it, I saw a text come through. I reached for my phone instead. I was surprised to see it was from Luke. It read, 'I need to talk to you. Can I come see you now?' A warm shiver traveled up the entirety of my body at the thought. I couldn’t help imagining him in my bed, completely naked, his hands exploring every untouched part of me, his skin brushing against mine, gliding against me, relievi
LUKE I hopped in my car, desperate to get home and rub one out. The visit with Jasmine did not go as planned at all. I hadn’t intended to do any of the things we did. All I’d wanted was to explain how heat works to her, assuming she didn’t know, so she’d be prepared. After my talk with Blake, I became worried, knowing Jasmine had been raised so conservatively. I had assumed that everyone knew about heat, but something told me that Jasmine might not, at least not how it affected unmated men. And while I knew how it affected men, having sensed it before unwittingly, I, myself, hadn’t known what actually brought it on. Fuck, why did I allow things to escalate so much? After she grabbed me into a kiss, I surrendered, all my senses overwhelmed. I reprimanded myself—what was I thinking anyway, going to her house when she was in heat? Why had I thought it would go any other way? But I couldn’t lie to myself. She tasted absolutely delicious. Kissing her was even better than I imagined. I co
JASMINE The day after Luke came over, I could tell that my heat had eased. I no longer felt the same intense swelling between my legs. I still desired Luke, but it was not the same desperation I had felt the morning prior. It was dark outside when I woke. After I shut off my alarm, I lay in my bed with my eyes closed, reliving everything that had happened the day before, recalling Luke’s naked body and how he made me orgasm for the first time in my life. After imagining what it would be like to be with someone for so long, the actual encounter turned out better than my imagination. I reminisced about the feeling of Luke pressed against my body, his hands on my bare skin, and the sensation of sparks between my legs. My thighs were tingling in memory of the encounter—I could still feel his fingers inside me. He knew what he was doing. And then another thought came to my mind. After hearing Lucy talk about how good Luke was in bed, I could now confirm that she had not just been talking—
LUKE I was in the pack office with Blake, deep in discussion about training, when the mindlink from Jasmine came through. I knew I’d fucked up. But maybe I could fix things. I wasn’t sure how, but I would try. “Who were you mindlinking with?” Blake asked. “Jasmine,” I replied. “Sorry, man, I really have to go.” “What happened?” he asked. “She’s stuck in her wolf form. I have to find her a change of clothes so she can shift back.” “Why doesn’t she have her clothes?” he looked concerned. “She had a panic attack.” “Is she okay? Do you need my help?” “No, let me handle it,” I replied. I was becoming annoyed with his concern for my mate. I didn’t trust at all that he had good intentions with her either, especially after his comment at the temple service. Moreover, what was he doing discussing heat with her? I jumped into my car and drove to my sister Lauren’s house. Peyton had had her baby a couple days after the alpha ceremony, so I didn’t want to bother her, knowing she was preo
BLAKE It was mid-October, and Luke had put the new training requirements in place. I checked the sparring rosters to see who was signed up. I noted that Jasmine had enrolled in a two-hour stint that day and got an idea. I mindlinked the trainer that was leading that session and asked to switch with him. It had been a while since I’d heard from her, and I missed her. This was a harmless way I could spend some time with her. Plus, I couldn’t lie. Watching her fight was really fucking hot. I still vividly recalled that day when we had sparred together. I walked out on the field, my heart skipping a beat when I saw Jasmine. She was wearing a tight-fitting gym outfit that showed off her entire body. She looked so sexy I almost forgot what I was there to do. Coming back to reality, I began leading everyone in the warm-up. I had everyone do push-ups, planks, and burpees. I couldn’t help watching how good Jasmine looked performing all the exercises as I barked orders at everyone. To begin t
JASMINE After the whole situation with Lucy, Valerie redid the work schedule so that we wouldn’t be working shifts together. It wasn’t too difficult because I had dropped down to two days a week after school started. It was weird not having my best friend in my life anymore. To be honest, I missed her. She was my only real friend in the pack, and now I didn’t even have her. But I could understand why she was upset with me, even if it hadn’t really been my fault. I knew it would be best to just give her space. I didn’t think there was anything I could say that would change how she felt. I had also agreed to give Luke space, so I hadn’t seen him since the day of above situation. Yep, I was now best friendless and mateless. To make matters worse, I was almost positive I wouldn’t have all As this semester. I was having trouble concentrating in school and putting in the effort required. I was tempted to see if I could take a leave of absence and resume next semester, but I wasn’t sure how