Hello, readers! I hope you're enjoying getting to know Jack and Tyler more in this book! I really love the friendship Blake and Jack have with each other and hope to feature more in future books. As I mentioned, this book deals with some more real-world issues, and I'm hoping readers will appreciate that this book isn't just light & fluffy. But happy to hear any feedback, positive or negative :).
JASMINE Just as predicted, Charlie was even worse now after what’d happened. He spent the entire morning constantly forcing me to do burpees randomly. Blake came by to bring me coffee during our morning break. As soon as he left, Charlie pushed the coffee cup out of my hand, acted like it was an accident, and then forced me to clean it up. I thought about confronting him again, but I didn’t want to end up in another fight. During the afternoon, he made me run several miles while everyone else sparred. I’d never felt so relieved to go home, practically in tears from the day. I jumped in the shower, finally relaxing with the hot water hitting my muscles. I just had to get through it a little longer, and I’d be in a new rotation, not having to deal with Charlie anymore. Of course, that didn’t address all the other problems I was having. Luke and Blake had decided that they no longer wanted me to go to patrol duty anymore, so once again, I was getting preferential treatment and, like a
BLAKE Early the next morning, I met Jasmine and her dad at the front of the clinic to visit Tyler. We all hugged each other in greeting and then headed inside. On our way, I explained to both of them that Tyler was not in great condition, but my mom had cleared him for visitors that morning after a tough overnight recovery. Jasmine's dad nodded, appearing a bit dazed. When we made it to his room, Jack was already inside in a wrinkled T-shirt with dark circles under his eyes. I knew he had spent the night, and by the looks of it, he'd barely slept. Although my mom had suggested he go home, he refused. I couldn't blame him and convinced my mom to let my friend stay. As we entered the room, Tyler stirred and gave us a bright smile, flinching as he tried to sit up. Jack instantly moved to help him, affectionately running his hands through Tyler’s hair, and brushing his hand along his arm. He then fluffed up all his pillows and made sure he was seated comfortably. As we all found chairs
BLAKE The next day, I checked Charlie’s schedule and saw he had patrol duty. He’d be doing a twelve-hour overnight, from four at night to four in the morning. For these assignments, warriors normally went out in groups and rotated throughout the night in two-to-three-hour shifts, taking turns keeping watch while the others slept. I snuck out of the packhouse a little after four while Jasmine was working upstairs in the office we’d set up for her. I made my way to the eastern border, where Charlie was stationed that evening, pulling up to the patrol station in my car. When I exited, I asked the senior on duty, an elderly warrior close to retirement named Fred, where Charlie was. “He took one of the new recruits out for some training. Told me she needed some one-on-one attention. Nice girl. Comes from a good family. I see them at temple every week,” Fred replied. “Any idea where Charlie took her?” I asked. “I saw them head over in that direction.” Fred pointed toward the forest. “T
BLAKE The whole room was silent as we stared at him. Finally, I broke the silence. “Did you try to make Jasmine strip for you?” I yelled at Charlie, using my alpha aura. “Yes,” he replied, not able to defy my control. I stabbed him in the stomach, and he screamed in agony. His screams resounded for several minutes as blood spilled out of his stomach and down his legs, onto the floor, creating a puddle. I could see he was struggling against his restraints, his arms flexing against them. After several minutes, his screams turned into whimpers, and I approached him again, using my alpha aura. “Whose idea was it to attack Tyler?” “It was mine,” he squeaked out. “Why’d you do it?” I asked him menacingly, ready to tear him to shreds, the graphic images of Tyler still fresh in my mind. “He was asking for it, thinking he could just show up in our pack, question our ways and my authority!” he spat at me. “Jack, want to take a stab at him for Tyler?” I asked, handing Jack the knife. Jack
JASMINE It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I had training scheduled once again. Tomorrow I’d have the day off. Not all warriors got Thanksgiving off, but I’m pretty sure Blake had a hand in my schedule. I went to visit Tyler at the clinic before I had to start my workday. “How are you feeling?” I asked, taking a seat next to his bed. “They’re saying I’m fully healed now, and they’re planning to discharge me after one of the doctors looks me over today. Thank Goddess. My mom is getting in tonight, and she would flip if she saw me like this.” “Does that mean I can give you a hug now?” “Yeah, my ribs are feeling much better now.” He smiled. I leaned forward to hug him. “I’m so glad they didn’t do any permanent damage,” I said. “Yeah, me too. It could have been worse.” He looked at me sadly. “Maybe it was a dumb idea to try to live here and be out of the closet. I really wanted to do something good and make a difference. But if they had killed me, Jack would’ve had to liv
TALIA I had to get up early on American Thanksgiving since it was apparently one of the busiest days of the year for the bakery café. I made my way in at five to clean and open. Valerie, Lucy, Reena, and Liz were already all there when I arrived, clearly having gotten in much earlier than me to set out all the pastries, cakes, and pies for the big day. Right before we opened, Lucy pulled me aside and said, “You should come by my family’s house today. Thanksgiving is always huge at our house, and I can introduce you to another one of my cousins.” “It’s okay,” I replied. “Blake is taking me to Jasmine’s family’s Thanksgiving today.” “You can always come by before. I think they do their Thanksgiving at night. Ours is early, at two.” “Okay, I’ll think about it,” I replied, not wanting to be set up with another one of Lucy’s cousins. It was a very busy morning as it seemed the whole pack descended onto the café, picking up their pastries for that evening. Valerie, Lucy, and Reena all
JASMINE I spent the entire morning and afternoon with my grandmother in her kitchen, the two of us working side by side to put dinner together for that evening. This was something I’d done for most of the past many years, except last year. I cringed, remembering what a sad state I’d been in at that time, embarrassed by how useless I’d become. My parents came over early to help set the table and assist with any last-minute things. Just as we were putting out all the side dishes, the doorbell rang. I went to go answer it to find Blake with his mom, grandparents, and Talia at the front door. Blake pulled me in for a hug and kissed me on the cheek as soon as he walked in. I then gave hugs to all of Blake’s family members, including Talia. “Thanks for coming, Talia.” I smiled at her. “Thanks for having me,” she replied. I wanted to ask her if she’d made any decisions about her mate, but I didn’t want to do it in front of everyone. I’d try to text her later. “Blake!” my dad exclaimed, co
JASMINE I sighed, looking at the ground, and said, “I just feel like I’m not cut out for this alpha stuff.” “What do you mean?” he asked, forcing me to make eye contact with him again by pulling my chin up with his hand. “For a while, I’ve been thinking that maybe that’s why I was mated to the beta and not the alpha. This alpha stuff is just too much for me.” I started walking forward and Blake followed. “But you are mated to the alpha.” He took my hand in his, the warmth of his calloused palm feeling nice in this weather. “You’re my second-chance mate. Anyway, why would you sell yourself short like that? You yourself come from an alpha family. To me, it seems like a perfect match. You’re intelligent, strong, great at fighting, and you have an amazing ass.” He smirked. “What does my ass have to do with being an alpha mate?” “It has everything to do with it. I’m the alpha and I love that ass. I want to tap it nonstop, all the time. Perfect trait for this alpha’s mate.” He had a gl