*** One and a half years earlier *** LUCY I planned an elaborate trip to visit Luke for my eighteenth birthday. Three months earlier, my friend Emma had turned eighteen and realized that my brother Kyle was her mate after months of grossing me out with their constant hooking up. While my brother and friend becoming mates was initially shocking, it made me feel hopeful about my own relationship and that it could happen for me too. In the same way that Emma and Kyle were attracted to each other long prior to knowing they were mates, I was sure it was the same for Luke and me. In honor of the occasion, Luke booked a luxurious hotel room in Quebec City for the weekend. He made a reservation for a fancy dinner at a steak restaurant at eight o’clock, so we would be dining just as dusk hit on my birthday on April 23. I planned to lose my virginity and allow him to mark me that night, after we knew for sure that we were mates. The act of marking each other by sinking our canines into each o
JASMINE About a week after Blake and I went hiking, I was working with Lucy. I had opened that morning. And I was working a shorter shift than normal. It was just after nine and the rush had slowed. I was looking forward to leaving in an hour when my replacement, a new hire named Reena, would be taking my place. Lucy was on her cell phone and put it down next to mine as a customer entered. She quickly took his order, and I ran to go make it. After I handed him his drink, I looked to see the screen of my cell phone flash. I was about to reach for it, but something caught Lucy’s eye and she grabbed for it first. “Ooooh! Who’s this ‘Blake Sexy AF’? Is that Alpha Blake?” Her eyes darted up at me. Shit, I forgot to change his name in my phone. “And here I was thinking you’re a lost cause!” “What do you mean by that?” “I mean, you’re such a prude. I don’t mean any offense by that, but damn, I guess I had you all wrong! Blake Sexy AF! And here he is texting you and I had no idea you ever
JASMINE He drove to and parked in the same area as last time, immediately exiting the car and coming around to my side. Upon opening my door for me, he held his hand out to help me down. He grabbed his backpack from the back seat and led me to the base of the mountain so we could hike to the top. Once we got to the summit, he spread the blanket out for us to sit down and pulled out some sandwiches. “I put a little more effort into lunch today.” He grinned and handed me a ham and cheese sandwich and a water bottle. We sat in silence, eating our sandwiches, looking over the landscape of trees below, a carpet of green forest, with openings for bodies of water. I spotted the pond where we had gone swimming below, the sun reflecting off it, giving it a glass-like appearance. The view was spectacular, and I could see why Blake liked coming here. “Do you bring all your girls here?” I asked, suddenly wondering if I was just one of the many girls he was hanging out with, especially after his
JASMINE A week went by, and I hadn’t heard from Blake since the last time we went hiking. Lucy had called me that night begging me to tell her all the details, but I just told her that we hiked and talked. She obviously didn’t believe me, but I wasn’t ready to start spilling all the details of what had happened yet. The whole thing felt like a dream, and I didn’t know how to make sense of it. We were at work, and during a lull, she leaned over to me. “How’s Blake Sexy AF doing?” “I haven’t talked to him.” “I don’t believe you.” “I’m not lying. I haven’t heard from him since last time.” “Why don’t you text him and ask him to hang out?” “Because I don’t want to.” In reality, I did want to, but I was too ashamed to actually do it, and ashamed of myself for wanting to. I didn’t want to seem eager and was still determined to not allow things to advance any further than they had. “You’re definitely lying about that. I don’t think there’s a warm-blooded woman on this earth that wouldn
BLAKE It was now late July, and I was, once again, with my father and Beta Alfred in the packhouse office. We had spent the morning going over the pack budget with the pack accountant and office manager. My father was still mostly handling the casino along with the casino managers, which was where most of the funding for the pack came from. However, I would soon oversee the distribution of the funds that flowed down from the casino to different areas of the pack such as road repair, snow removal, security, school, temple, and housing subsidies. After lunch, my father, Beta Alfred, and I sat together in the office at the packhouse, situated around the desk on a conference call with Luke and Alpha Antoine from the Lune Nordique Pack. These phone calls were becoming a weekly occurrence. We were all concerned about Alpha Édouard, who led the Bois Sombre Pack in Quebec. He was a crazy motherfucker and was known for being sadistic and unhinged. He made my father look like a straight-up sa
JASMINE I knew, logically, I should say no. I knew I should reject the far-too-smug alpha. But something inside me wouldn’t allow me to do it. I had been feeling a yearning blossom within me. I loved how he broke down all my barriers and made me feel desired. After being Perfect Jasmine for so many years, it was energizing to do something so rebellious and wrong for once in my life. That was why, without argument, I found myself at the front of the café, looking forward to the evening. I had told my parents I would be eating dinner with friends that night so they wouldn’t expect me at home. As soon as I exited work, I spotted his Jeep parked across the street and walked over. He opened the passenger door for me and helped me in. Once he hopped into the driver’s seat, he turned to me. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, but I’d like to invite you over to the packhouse. The parents are out of town on pack business and the staff doesn’t work on Mondays, so we’ll be the only ones t
JASMINE "What was it like growing up in the packhouse?" I asked, wanting to learn more about him. "It was interesting. I'm glad I had the beta family downstairs. My dad was an asshole growing up, so I'd go downstairs to get away from him. I'd usually hide in Luke's bedroom. He was a really good friend to me growing up." At the sound of Luke's name, I felt something ping within my chest, bringing him to the forefront of my mind, suddenly imagining if I were in Luke's bedroom instead, the thought somehow appealing. I blinked a few times, and pushed Luke from my mind, thinking how inappropriate it was to be thinking about him at that moment. As much as I kept trying to forget him, he always pushed himself back to the forefront of my consciousness, my old crush returning. I turned back to Blake and asked, "What about your mom?" "My mom's the best. She's the most kind-hearted woman you'll ever meet. I am so lucky to have her." He beamed as
JASMINE Emma and Kyle were married on a Saturday morning in mid-August. They had a small ceremony in the pack temple and invited their family and friends for an early-afternoon celebration in the backyard of Kyle’s parents’ house. Lucy made the wedding cake and desserts, and I helped Madison and Emma’s sisters decorate for the event. They had a tent with picnic tables set up and caterers to serve barbecue for the event. There were about fifty people crowded in the backyard. I grabbed a lemonade and went to stand by Lucy who was hovering near the dessert table, likely keeping watch over her masterpiece. Madison came over to mingle with us, followed by the bride herself. We fell into easy conversation and laughter, and Kyle kept sneaking by and rubbing himself against Emma. “Close quarters out here!” He’d laugh as he’d pretend to be trying to sneak by her to grab a cookie from the dessert table. “Kyle, you need to stop coming over here and stealing all the cookies!” Lucy glared at hi