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
LUKE The same day that I spoke with Jasmine after bringing her clothes, I went to the café and waited for Lucy to end work for the day. After she got out, I had essentially the same conversation with her and asked for space. It had now been three weeks since I’d seen her. I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t miss her. Over the years, she had become my best friend, and I felt lonely without having my best friend in my life anymore. When we were long-distance, we at least texted and spoke by phone regularly, but now it was just silence between us. It felt unnatural. Every time something happened, the first thing I wanted to do was tell Lucy, but I’d have to remind myself that I had asked for space. But, just like that, after three weeks, the silence came to an end. Much like three weeks earlier, I walked into my room one day to see that Lucy was already waiting for me, sitting on my bed. I sighed, torn about what to say or do. Finally, I asked, “What are you doing here, Lucy?” She got up a
JASMINE Taking advantage of my willingness to run errands, my mom sent me to the grocery store with a list on a Saturday morning at the end of October, before work. I was placing zucchinis into a plastic bag when Lucy’s mom pulled up next to me with her grocery cart. “Ah, Jasmine! I’m so glad to see you!” I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she was glad. There was hope that Lucy hadn’t swayed her to believe that I had sprouted whiskers and a wormy tail. I replied, “Good morning, Ivy.” “It’s been forever since we’ve seen you! I’ve been waiting for you to come by so I could tell you something.” I was wondering if Lucy had told her anything. I decided it would be best to just act like everything was normal. “Oh, what’s that?” “Well, I’m not sure if you remember, but a while back I told you a story about my old friend Katie.” “Yes, I remember that story. Did you ever get in touch with her?” “As a matter of fact, yes, I did! We’ve been chatting through F******k, and I was happy
JASMINE Since my parents were home on Sunday, Blake and I met at the library again. This time we took his car. I packed turkey sandwiches and cut-up vegetables to go with a ranch dip. I told my parents I had a lot of schoolwork and would spend the day at the library. After driving to our secret spot and parking, Blake reached for his cell phone to remove it from the mount when a string of texts came in. “Just a second, Jasmine. These look important,” he said as he began reading through them. Suddenly, I started to feel very warm. I pulled off the sweatshirt I had worn in preparation for the cool weather that day. I looked over at Blake, my eyes scanning his whole body, and felt a strong desire to touch him. I put my hand on his thigh and began rubbing it, distracting him from his phone. He looked over at me and dropped his phone. “Fuck!” “What?” I asked, inching my hand toward his crotch. I watched as a bulge formed. He abruptly grabbed my hand and moved it back into my lap, the
LUKE I collapsed into bed around eleven the next morning. After the scent of a stranger pack was discovered by one of the junior warriors during his rounds, Mike and some of the other senior warriors tracked it. They discovered a den deep in the woods where two stranger werewolves were staying. They politely asked the wolves to shift into their human forms so that they could talk. If the wolves had just followed the simple request, things probably wouldn't have escalated as they did. They instead refused, and subsequently attacked. Luckily, our warriors were well-trained and higher in numbers, easily able to overpower them and force them into their human forms. The strangers were then dragged into the cells and jailed. After Blake arrived, the culprits were brought out for interrogation and, up until that point, I hadn’t realized how fucked up Blake was. I’d heard tales over the years of his father’s interrogation techniques, but it was a whole different story to personally witness t
JASMINE I woke around eight the next morning, feeling that the heat had finally passed. I typed a quick text to Blake to let him know I’d gone home, in case he came looking for me whenever he came back. Then I cringed at my behavior the previous day. I couldn’t believe how much I’d lost control in front of him, when I had a mate no less. I turned completely red as I thought about how he had asked me to stop several times and I still persisted to try again and again to seduce him. Ugh! How embarrassing! Then I thought, with horror, if the tables were turned and I had been the man in that situation that, well, I had definitely not acted appropriately. I couldn’t stop thinking about what a fool I’d made of myself. I walked over to the library, where my car was still parked, and drove it home to an empty house. I logged in to my online classes and cringed as I checked my grades. It was not good news. I had completely slipped in every class. I knew if I didn’t do something, my GPA would