Ashly was good-looking; Alex will admit that. But his heart belonged to a blond-haired beauty whom he wanted to spend his entire life with. Maybe if he had met Ashly before he met Jasmine, everything would have turned out differently.
He only hoped that Jasmine was willing to wait for him even after his marriage. He knew what to do; he would get married, yes, but once he was sure that the peace treaty between the packs wouldn't ever be affected, he had to get rid of Ashly. He didn't know how, but he would do it for his love. He didn't even know what was waiting for him at Jasmine Place, and he desperately wished it wasn't a breakup. He didn't know if he could take it. It would kill him if Jasmine ever left him.
He soon reached the destination of his choice. He shifted back as his bones popped back into their original places. Jasmine's room was on the ground floor, and her room had a balcony that led right to the forest. Alex's feet carried her through the familiar path; he walked carefully and nervously.
He twisted the doorknob of the balcony door and realized it was locked. On the inside, there were curtains covering the door. He sighed, and he left his phone back at his house. Now he had no choice but to knock. He knocked on the door, not too loud but loud enough to get the attention of Jasmine if she was in the room.
The curtain was pulled aside roughly. His lover's face came into view, the look on her face turning from surprise at seeing Alex outside to shock as she noticed Alex was naked. He saw her as she gulped and opened the door. Alex stepped in, his hands shaking at his side in anxiety.
"Alex, what are you doing here?", Jasmine asked, her eyes trailing from Alex's to his bare member standing erect. She tried to sound angry, but Alex could sense that she was aroused.
Alex smirked, saying that even though Jasmine was angry with him, she couldn't help but get turned on by Alex's naked form.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your...mate?"
"You're the only one that will, my mate, Jass; you know that.", Alex walked towards her, shutting the balcony door. Jasmine held his hand up, stopping him.
Alex sighed. "Jas..."
"Just put on some clothes first, please,", Jasmine said as she walked to her closet and picked out clothes for Alex. Alex smiled wide as he moved to stand behind them. He whispered in her ear, "Why? Can't resist?" He got the reaction he wanted when Jasmine shuddered against him, lowly moaning. Alex traced the outer shell of his girlfriend's ear with his lips, not kissing or licking, just there. Jasmine moved away from Alex and handed him his clothes. Alex didn't show the hurt he felt on his face as he started to pull on his boxers.
"Alex, why did you come here? You just had dinner today with your wife-to-be. Please don't tell me you sneaked off here."
"I didn't. The dinner got over early,", Alex lied.
"Why did you come here?", she repeated.
"I wanted to see you, Jass,", Alex said, sitting on the bed as he started to wear his pants. "Am I not allowed?"
Jasmine gulped as she said, "You shouldn't be here, Alex."
"I'm not giving up on us, Jass. I want to... I want to fight for us. I don't want to marry that Omega; trust me, I don't. But I have-"
"Have to. I know,", Jass interrupted him. "We can't be together, then, Alex."
"What?", Alex said, his hands holding his T-shirt, stilling.
"You are going to get married, Alex. I don't see what else we could do."
"I don't want to be without you,", Alex said weakly, pulling on his T-shirt.
"Are you going to stop the wedding?"
"Jass, I can't...", Alex stood up and made his way over to her.
"Then it's over. Please leave now."
"Jass, listen to me, please?", Alex pleaded, gripping Jasmine's hands. "I love you, okay? The only woman I want as my mate is you. I would move heaven and hell for you." Alex smiled when he saw his lover's face light up. "But I am also the future alpha of the pack, and I can't make a decision that would affect the pack's safety." And just like that, Jasmine's face fell again. "You're the best thing to ever happen to me. I am going to marry, but that woman will never be the one who has my heart. It will be purely business, just for the sake of the pack. Once I can make sure that the packs will never fight again, I will leave her. It's you that I need."
Alex dropped Jasmine's hands and stepped back. "I will do everything I can to make the packs trust each other and that they will never fight each other again. Once that's done, I will leave the Omega, I swear. I won't mate with her, I will keep my distance from her, and I'll do anything you want. After getting rid of her, we can be together openly. We can get married."
"Alex, what are you saying? All of this stuff... You don't know if they'll work out. For all you know, it could take a decade to make the packs' accept their differences."
"I know; I'm willing to take the leap for us if you want to. I want nothing more than to be with you, Jasmine. Please consider it. I won't force you to wait for me. I'll understand if you choose to leave me. But I'm asking you to consider it... I love you, and I don't want to lose you."
He waited as Jasmine thought. He hoped that Jasmine would decide to wait for him.
"I'll mark you; if that's the proof that you need, I won't go back on my word,", Alex said. He had placed his heart on the table; now it was up to his lover whether she wanted to guard it or trample it.
"Our relationship will be hidden away if you get married. In that situation, I don't want to become a target for you.
"Okay, whatever you want."
"I...I love you, Alex. Of course, I'll wait for you. I'm just scared."
Alex let out a sigh of relief as he marched forward and hugged her. "Thank you for not giving up on us. Don't be scared, Jasmine... Everything will be fine. With you by my side, everything's always fine."
He pulled back slightly and kissed her deeply. Jasmine's low moan stirred the inner animal in him as his cock hardened underneath the jeans. He hummed disapprovingly when Jasmine moved away.
"You promise?"
Alex smiled dazedly. "I promise. You know I never break my promises." Alex leaned forward, kissing her again and pulling Jasmine's body against his own. He grinded against her, and Jasmine whimpered, "Alex Branson, the promise-keeper."
Alex giggled. "One, promise-keeper isn't that great of a title. Two: Don't call me Alex Branson. You know I hate it."
Jasmine laughed, "I do. How about I call you Alpha?"Alex shuddered in pleasure and kissed him frantically. They ended up on the Jasmine bed, grinding against each other, with Alex lying on top of Jasmine. He smiled against his girlfriend's lips when he felt Jasmine trying to remove his T-shirt. Alex pulled back and teased her, "Now, why did you insist I get dressed if we were going to end up like this anyway?"
"Shut up,", Jasmine groaned, pulling Alex back to her.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•
Alex squinted as the first rays seeped through the door, unclosed by the curtains that filled the room. He stirred awake, his gaze falling on the naked body lying next to his. He smiled happily. As much as he wanted to spend the morning with his lover, he had to get back home and deal with his parents.
He sighed dreamily, gently waking Jasmine up. "Hey, I gotta go."
"Alex, what?", Jasmine said, waking up.
"Shh...", Alex whispered, "Continue sleeping. I need to get back. I'll call you."
"Hmm...", Jasmine whispered back. Alex pressed a kiss on her forehead, and he left, closing the balcony door behind him. He morphed into a wolf and ran to his home. He felt happy.
Ashly felt like her world had crashed, spinning one second and stopping entirely the next. Those words that escaped her fiancé's mouth weren't the ones that she was expecting at all. She guessed she deserved the cold treatment because it was an arranged marriage and Alex wasn't in love with her. But what Alex had said—Ashly still couldn't wrap her head around it, ten hours later. Alex had someone in his life, someone he loved, whom he planned on being with ever after their marriage. Ashly had never had an opportunity to fall in love. Being an Omega meant Ashly had a pretty sheltered life. People were never looking to build a relationship with her; they'd rather get in bed with her. It had put Ashly off relationships and falling in love. But after she had gotten engaged, she started looking forward to sharing her life with that single person to whom she would give everything. She had gotten ready to give everything to the cold and hostile Alex Branson. Ashly sighed, pulling the bedshee
"What the hell, Alex?" His sister's voice boomed through the emptiness of his room as soon as she opened the door. "Where the hell have you been?" He groaned, sitting up on the bed. To be honest, he knew this conversation was due. He had returned in the wee hours of the morning from Jasmine Place and sneaked back into the house, being careful not to wake his parents or his sister. He knew Rose was going to lecture him on yesterday's events, and he wasn't really looking forward to it. He had a good time after leaving the Shadow Pack lands and felt at peace after spending the night with Jasmine. He was in a good mood, and he wanted to maintain it that way. "Nowhere,", he replied carelessly. "Nowhere?", she scoffed. "That's funny because I don't remember seeing you at home last night." Alex sighed, avoiding her eyes. "None of your business, Rose." Rose narrowed her gaze. "Did you...Did..." She closed her eyes, irritated. Alex was an even bigger idiot than she initially thought, if he
"Monika, Ashly." Brandon shouted. "Come on down! There's someone you have to see." "God, why is he shouting in the morning?" Monika groaned, walking out of her room, her hair like that of a bird's nest making Ashly squint away her drowsiness just so she could get a clear look at her sister. And when she did, she couldn't resist laughing, making Monika let out a growl at her, before she carded her fingers through her messy hair, trying to smooth down the tangled strands, before they walked down the stairs, both wanting to know why their dad was yelling for them at 7 in the morning. They walked together to the living room, and they looked at their father, in front of whom another guy stood. And they squinted before the said guy turned around, and they both squealed, "ADOM!" "Surprise." Their friend stated before holding his arms out, knowing that the next moment Monika and Ashly were going to strangle him with a tight hug. "Curse you, Adom! I missed you so much." Monika rushed forwar
"Ashly, you look amazing." Monika said, staring at her sister, who was wearing a red, black-striped glittery long dress with a royal black sequined coat over it. She knew when Ashly picked out the dress that she was going to look amazing in it, but actually seeing her all ready for the big event brought tears to her eyes. "Of course, I do." Ashly laughed. "After all, you're the one who did my make-up." She smiled at her teary-eyed sister. She hugged her, gently shaking her head. "I love you, Ashly." "I love you too, Moni." Ashly gently patted her back. She pulled away, smiling at her and blinking away the tears before her makeup could be ruined. "Oh shit." She said as she noticed the time on the table clock in the tent assigned for Ashly in the gardens of Branson Manor. "Mom asked me to give this to someone before 4. It's half over already. Shit. shit." She pointed to the file that contained papers about the two-pack agreement and their peace treaty. "Moni, calm down." Ashly said
"What are you doing, sitting here alone?" Monika asked the blond-haired man who sat by the pond, his blazer on the ground by his side. "Just sitting. Crowd's not really my scene." He answered when he looked at her. "Really?" She asked. "I would have pegged you for a love-the-attention kind of guy." "Oh, believe me, I am. I just don't want to steal the newlyweds' spotlight." He joked. "Cocky, I see." She smirked. "Is that how you talk to an alpha?" Seth's eyes hardened, and Monika was scared for a second. "Sorry...I.." She stopped when Seth's brow furrowed. "Relax; I was just teasing you." He chuckled. Monika relaxed. "Oh." She sat down near him. "Yeah.." "So you're not like your friend, then?" She said, bringing up her knees to the chest. "Who?" Seth asked, confused. "Alex," she answered. "Alex is not that bad, either." Seth said it gently. "Try again," she said, smiling sadly. "Monika, he's not." "Seth I don't know if you know what Alex told my sister or not, but if you
Alex wouldn't look at Ashly as he walked past her, down to their bedroom. "I'm going to another country for some packing business." "Of course you are! You always run to your problem, don't you? You spent our whole time outside when you couldn't give an answer. You call things off almost every fucking time when we want to talk to you, and no, that's still not enough time for you? What about Ashly, Alex? What about your mate?" Rose yelled through the tears pouring down her face as she watched her brother pack a bag of clothes quickly. She can hear Ashly sob from outside. "I just need time to think. Jasmine tries to help me sort things out, and I think I should go," Alex said, grabbing his toothbrush and throwing it in his bag. "I'm sorry," Alex mumbled to his sister, quickly walking out of the bedroom and down the hallway, not meeting Ashly's eyes. "Alex, Alex No, don't go; cancel your work; think about Ashly," Rose begged, following Alex down the hallway. "Please. Alex, stay here. T
Rose gave Ashly a gentle smile and followed her brother, and when she entered Alex's room, she could see how frustrated Alex looked. "Ale-" "No, I need to do this. I was stressed, and there were so many things going on in my head. Jasmine was not talking to me, and my Alpha didn't let me sleep peacefully. I can sense Ashly's sadness, and I don't know why, but I despise myself for all of this, Rose. Why did I do this to her, to Jasmine? Rose I can't love anyone except Jasmine. She is my life, and Ashly, I really don't know what to do or say to her. I thought I could fix this, but how can I play with Ashly with our bond? Even I don't like her, and I don't want her." "You slept with Jasmine on your wedding night," Rose asked with a stern voice. She and Alex both had tears pouring down their faces, and if Rose thought she felt sorry for Ashly when Alex walked out on the very next day after marriage, it was nothing compared to how she was feeling now. "Yes, and I did. I am sorry, Rose. B
It was a typical work day at the pack house for Ashly. On the right of her desk sat a mug (lacking tea) and a frame with her family picture in it. To the left were some reports that needed her signature and review. She usually checks on food, children, and women. It's her duty as Luna to take care of everyone in the Moonlight Pack. Everyone really loves her and accepts her as her mate, but Ashly already knows it will never happen. For her heat, she is already taking pills; she really doesn't want to disturb Alex. She grabs the first draft and flips it open. "Trading yesterday,", it read. She was reading about an Omega woman who was a bit of a pessimist, but that was only because she had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Her Alpha had left her several months before, and now she spends most of her time in the hospital. Life could be rather horrible, Ashly thinks. She is on the fourth page when she places a check near the title, marking that this really needed to go to her mother-in-l