He stood up and closed the distance between them. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She embraced him back as he wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the protest of pain from her muscles. “I’m glad too.”
He pulled back and led her to a chair. “There’s a lot to discuss.”
Jasmine smoothed the back of her hospital gown as she took a seat. “How long have I been out?” With everything going on she hadn’t even thought to ask how many days it had been exactly.
“You were unconscious for three days.”
So it had been four days since the attack. “I need to explain about Shadeau.”
“He won’t be my problem.”
Jasmine’s pulse accelerated. “So you’re going to turn us out without even listening to what I have to say?”
“No. Tyson will be your alpha now. He agreed to take in Shadeau.”
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes as anger rose inside her. How could he just toss her away like that? “Then why am I talking to you. I guess I should go find my new alpha.”
“Jasmine, wait. I had no choice. To give you the best chance, I had to let you go. Pack wouldn’t accept him after everything that happened. It’ll still be tough with Tyson, but at least he didn’t kill any of them.”
Her shoulders slumped as she let loose the tears. She’d always imagined finding her mate as being a wonderful thing, and this experience so far had been drowned in problems. But what Luken said made sense. Arguing that Shadeau hadn’t killed anyone would fall on deaf ears. They’d already made up their minds about him.
“Everything is so off kilter right now. And because of that, we need stability. I wish things could be different, Jasmine.”
She looked up and saw raw concern on his face. These last few days had weighed heavily on him. “So what is going on exactly? Why are we all hiding out here?”
Luken paced the tent. “When the attack happened, Arik had his people show themselves to the humans. It didn’t take long for panic to take root. Some videoed it. It was viral in no time. Each day it seems to be getting worse. Other packs in other areas are now having similar problems. The humans want our heads.”
Her hand rested against to her stomach as a roll of nausea gripped her. This was terrible news. For several years werewolves had fought to keep their race a secret, and in one afternoon this son of a bitch had ruined everything. She clenched her hands into fists. “Do we have a plan yet?”
Luken smiled. “We’re working on it. We have to find out where Arik is hiding. But I’m glad to see you so eager to join in the fight. For a few days we all thought we were going to lose you.”
Jasmine swallowed the lump of emotion that rose in her throat. “I’m good. And I’m ready to do what’s needed. Shadeau will help too.”
Luken shifted his gaze to the ground and grimaced.
“What?”
“No one trusts him, Jasmine. He can swap loyalty without issue. His kind is rare. He doesn’t recognize an authority above his own.”
She felt her brow furrow. It hurt her feelings that they weren’t willing to give him a chance. And she had found it odd how easy he’d broken his tie to his alpha. He’d told her before he’d been a lone wolf for quite some time. Had that been the reason? Was it because no alpha wanted to accept him?
“Are you saying he’s a flip?”
“Yes.”
It made sense. Complicated the shit out of things, but it made sense. “I know a lot has happened, but you have to trust me. He’s not like you think. He didn’t agree with Arik’s mission.”
“But yet he followed orders, and we know he had the ability not to.”
Jasmine’s gaze darted to the ground. “He stopped.”
“Yeah. When he found you. Had he not, what would have happened then?”
She didn’t know, but she could see good in him, so, deep down she had to believe he’d have stopped on his own. Tears filled her eyes and she let them loose. Damn hormones. She hadn’t cried this much ever. But things were seriously fucked up. Luken pulled her into his embrace. She tried to fight him, but ended up sagging into his chest as sobs racked her.
“I don’t know what to do…to feel.”
Luken ran his hand down the back side of her head. “I know. That’s why I’m letting you go. I can’t judge him fairly.”
Hell. Could she even judge him fairly? Or was her connection to him blinding her? “You’re right. I need time to get to know him. I understand.”
Shadeau turned as the tent flap rose. Through his swollen eyelids he spotted the tall, lean, dark-headed male. He might have size on this guy, but his body knew from experience that the male could deliver one hell of a solid punch.
“So. We have an
awesome
situation in front of us.”
Shadeau snorted.
“My name is Tyson and you have a choice to make.”
Yeah. How he wanted to die. Slow or fast? “Fuck you.”
Tyson smiled as he squatted down next to Shadeau. “I see your nose is healing in an odd position. Let me help you with that.”
Shadeau tried to pull away from the other man, but he couldn’t go far with the bonds holding him down. Rough fingers gripped the bridge of his nose. Intense pressure and pain filled his septum. He bit down hard against the pain as bone cracked.
“There. Much better.” Tyson stood and dusted his hands on the sides of his pant legs. “Now. Back to our conversation. No one here trusts you, including me. So that puts us in a rough place.”
“So sorry to have inconvenienced you.”
“You might want to choke down some of that sarcasm before I rethink my decision to help your sorry ass.”
Shadeau blinked, well, as well as one could with swollen eyes. “Excuse me?”
“I told the others I would take you and the female in. She means a lot to two of the alphas here.”
Shadeau bit back the growl that wanted to erupt. Jasmine was his, and he didn’t give a shit what those alphas thought about her.
“And with the humans rising against us, it isn’t very safe out there. It’s better to be with pack.”
Arik’s plan had worked. Unrest filled the humans and it would make things difficult for every one of their kind.
Tyson crossed his arms over his chest. “So the question is, can you fall in line?”
Damn it. After the beating he received he really wanted to tell this guy to go fuck himself, but he had to think about Jasmine. She had an attachment to at least some of these wolves. And after dealing with the thoughts of her dying, all because of Arik and his horrid plans, he wanted nothing more than to seek revenge against him. He looked at Tyson. “Yeah. I’ll fall in.”
Tyson gave a tight nod. “If for a moment I even think your loyalty is wavering, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Wow. You really know how to make a wolf feel welcome.”
Tyson rolled his eyes as he pulled a key from his pocket. When Shadeau felt the cold metal fall from his wrists, it took everything he had not to jump to his feet and run. He’d never before been held against his will like this. In fact, he’d never had allowed them to take him prisoner had it not been for Jasmine. He had to go where she did. Tightness in his chest that threatened to cut off his air had filled him at the thought of separating from her. Hell, he didn’t even really know her. But it didn’t matter. She was his.
He rubbed at his wrists, helping to restore blood flow in his tingling hands. It grated his nerves to stay on the ground while Tyson rose to his feet and towered above him. The position was submissive. He wanted to howl and snarl. But for
her
, he would endure.
Tyson lifted on arched brow. “Hmm. Impressive. But I know it’s killing you, so get up already.”
Shadeau pushed to his feet and brought his shoulders back. At least the other alpha recognized his effort.
“I’m not going to try to suppress you, Shadeau. I see value in your strength. It’ll just take time to earn the trust. And trust is something I have never given out easily. Just don’t cross me.”
He nodded then turned as another familiar scent filled his nose. The tent flap opened and Jasmine walked in. She stood strong in front of Tyson with her eyes averted. A show of respect for his dominance.
“Jasmine. Welcome to the team. I just finished explaining how things would be to your mate.”
“Thank you for doing this, Tyson. And I promise we’ll make good additions. I can start on patrols today.” She glanced at Shadeau. “We’ll pull our weight.”
“Jasmine, slow down. There won’t be any patrols for either of you right now. You need to focus on healing. And everyone else is going to have to get used to the change.”
Shadeau watched Jasmine’s chest rise as she inhaled a long, deep breath.
Jasmine exhaled slowly. “You mean people are going to have to get use to Shadeau. He hasn’t done anything to hurt me.”
“While that may be true, he has done things that hurt others. No one is going to forget an incident that has uprooted them from their lives. And while the entire thing isn’t his fault, he does have some fault for his actions in it.”
“But—”
Shadeau laid a hand on Jasmine’s arm, halting her words. He wasn’t going to stand by and let these two talk about him as if he weren’t here. “Jasmine, enough.” He looked at Tyson. “We’ll do as you wish.”
Jasmine’s eyebrows shot upward. “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t answer for me.”
“Oh really? Well maybe you should stop arguing with him like you’re defending a pup. I can speak for myself. Besides, he’s right and you know it.”
Tyson put his hands up in the air. “Children.”
Both Shadeau and Jasmine turned to him and growled.
Tyson laughed. “Well, if nothing else, this should be entertaining.”
* * * * *
Jasmine tried to swallow her frustrations as she entered the tent she and Shadeau would be sharing. It stood on the opposite side of the camp, across from her old pack mates. Everything was new and felt so foreign. She closed her eyes and sighed as Shadeau came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders.
Then his chest pressed against her back and he growled low as he rubbed his body against her. She pulled away from him and turned. “What the hell?”
“You smell like him, and it’s driving me nuts.”
Jasmine remembered Luken hugging her in the tent a little while ago. “It’s not like that.”
“It doesn’t matter what it’s like. I have been away from you for days and you reek of his sent mixed with your own scent from being in heat.” Shadeau gripped her wrist, tugging her back into his arms.
Jasmine sighed as he rubbed his face against her neck. Her nerve endings were so sensitive and she responded to his nearness without wanting to. Considering the shit storm they’d found themselves in, she sure as hell didn’t need to get pregnant right now. But she could feel his arousal pressing into her lower belly. She wanted him. Oh how she wanted him, but now wasn’t the time. “No.”
He covered the flesh of her neck with his teeth and growled.
She pushed at his chest. “Damn it, don’t try that dominant shit on me right now.”
He released his hold on her neck and let her back up a little.
“You’re in no condition to be doing this—”
He placed her hand on his erection. “I disagree.”
Jasmine pulled her hand free and glared at him. “You know what I meant. And besides, there is no way in hell I want to get pregnant right now.”
He released her and she saw a look of shock pass over his face, but he quickly masked it.
“You have something against bearing my young?”
The words were calm and steady, but she could sense the hurt behind them. “That’s not what I said. Things are really out of control right now. I don’t want to bring children into this.”
“So you don’t think I could protect our young?”
She could tell he was getting offended and she wanted to slap him for it. “Damn it, Shadeau, dial down the testosterone for a minute. We don’t even know each other. Not to mention that our lives are in an uproar right now. Half the wolves here want to tear into your hide.”
“Does that make you ashamed of being with me?”
She threw her hands in the air with a frustrated yell. “No. I don’t know.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched. “Fine.”
Her heart pounded as he turned and headed for the tent opening. Just because she didn’t know what to feel didn’t mean she wanted him to leave. “Where in the hell are you going?”
He turned and glared at her. “Does it matter?”
“What if it does?”
He started forward. Each step that of a predator stalking his prey. Her pulse leapt into high gear as she held her ground. His facial injuries had begun to heal somewhat. His eye was no longer swollen shut. The intent with which he now watched her, mixed with his injuries, should have scared the crap out of her. But it didn’t. Her lower lips grew wet with wanting him. He was so fucking sexy. She should’ve let him leave, because with every step closer she was losing her will to deny him.
One hand landed on her hip and his other fisted in the hair at the nape of her neck. “You either want me, or you don’t.”
“I…” Oh wow. Her body buzzed with awareness, but she wasn’t going to let him walk all over her.
He leaned in, his lips hovering above hers. “There’s no in between.”
“I want to try. But you need to chill out with all the offended bullshit and stop reading words into what I say.”
“Then you need to stop driving me mad.”
“Pfft. You need to respect my rights.”
His mouth crashed down on hers and she couldn’t resist. Her lips parted and she moaned as his tongue swept inside, tangling with hers. He removed her hospital gown by ripping it from her body. Then his hands were everywhere, teasing and tempting her into a higher state of arousal as he ravaged her mouth with searing kisses.
He dropped to his knees, bringing her with him to the ground and softening her landing with his thighs. She sat straddled across his lap in much the same way as the night she’d given herself to him. The remembrance of having him inside her had her pussy tingling and pulsing.
No. She couldn’t let him cloud her judgment with lust. Jasmine broke away from his kiss. “Stop. I meant what I said about the time not being right.”
His hands slid down to cup her ass and he pulled her close, bringing her pelvis against his groin. A growl laced his words. “I’m not going to take you. But by God, I will have you under me, writhing with want. I plan to drive you as crazy as you drive me.”
He sucked her nipple into his mouth and she gasped, spearing her hands into his hair. She fisted the locks in her fingers then immediately let go, gentling her touch so she wouldn’t agitate any of his injuries.
He released her nipple with a snarl and laid her back on the floor. “Don’t.”
She looked up at his perplexed expression, confused. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t curb your passion. Don’t treat me like you’re going to hurt me, because the only thing killing me right now is not being inside you.”
Something in her chest constricted and unshed tears stung her eyes. People she loved had done this to him. How could he look at her as if he were starved for her when she was responsible for his pain? She must have given away her thoughts because his fingers dug into the flesh of her thighs as he moved closer.
“Don’t go there. It’s over. And nothing will ever make me want you less.”
Jasmine bit down into her lower lip and nodded her head. She knew it wasn’t a statement of love. The mate bond was a powerful thing. Hell, she didn’t want to be away from him either, but that didn’t mean she loved him. Could she fall for him? She pushed the thought away, not wanting to focus on something that could totally alter her life even more than it had been.
But she could take pleasure in him, and give it in return. Her fingers clasped onto the fastenings of his jeans.
He looked down as she started to free his cock. “Have you changed your mind?”
She smiled. “No.”
He groaned then sucked in a breath as she took his erection into her hand. “You’re making it very hard to keep my promise.”
“There are other ways to get off without having sex.”
Shadeau laughed. “Truly? And here I thought there was only one way. I guess you’re going to have to show me.”
She liked this playful, sarcastic side of him. He’d shown it a few times and it made her want to bring it out of him more.
“But first,” he moved his hand over her pussy and she lifted her hips to meet his touch. “You’re so soft and wet.”
His finger dipped inside her cunt and she rolled her hips against him. When he withdrew she sighed. “You want to know a little secret?”
He drew lazy circles with his finger over her clit making her squirm. “What secret do you have, baby?”
“You do drive me crazy.” She gasped as he pushed two fingers inside her and covered her body with his. His mouth met hers and the passion in the kiss made her toes curl.
Shadeau held his body weight on one forearm and his knees. She worked his cock with her hands as he continued to finger-fuck her and kiss her senseless. Soon his hips began to thrust and he matched the tempo with his fingers. Damn, she wanted him inside her so bad.
Pre-cum coated the head of his cock, allowing him to slide easier in her hands. Pleasure built between her legs as she neared the edge of orgasm. She writhed beneath him, wanting that glorious climax that hovered just out of reach.