The Alpha's Mate: Book 4 E-Book

Bella Lore

• Herausgeber: Lukeman Literary Management
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: The Alpha's Mate
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 269

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Ayala, 18, has always been a hopeless romantic and a dreamer. After a whirlwind year, she's ready to settle into her new life at the Santa Cruz tree house, with Jasper, Isaac, Regan, and the other members of the pack. When she suggests they host a bonfire, Jasper and the rest agree. It seems like a magical night. But when Ayala leans in to kiss Jasper, he backs away. She's ready to give up on him as her mate when fate forces them into a cross-country road trip together. Soon, they learn they have more in common than they thought. Might he be her true mate after all?

Leseprobe

T H E   A L P H A’ S   M A T E

(Book 4)

B e l l a   L o r e

Bella Lore

Debut author Bella Lore is the paranormal romance author of the MY TRUE MATE series, comprising four books, and THE ALPHA’S MATE series, comprising four books.

Bella loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit bellaloreauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

Copyright © 2022 by Bella Lore. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Subbotina Anna, used under license from Shutterstock.com.

BOOKS BY BELLA LORE

MY TRUE MATE

MY TRUE MATE (Book #1)

MY TRUE MATE (Book #2)

MY TRUE MATE (Book #3)

MY TRUE MATE (Book #4)

THE ALPHA’S MATE

THE ALPHA’S MATE (Book #1)

THE ALPHA’S MATE (Book #2)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY ONE

CHAPTER FORTY TWO

CHAPTER FORTY THREE

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN

CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT

CHAPTER ONE

It takes us a few weeks to get fully settled in the Santa Cruz tree house. The plan is for Jasper to take over all of Sterling’s operations, with me at his side to help out, and Isaac and Regan as the first team members for the new project.

After a plenty of work, and a bunch of phone calls to Sterling’s brother Greyson to get all the security codes that we need, we’re ready to re-open the doors.

Sterling’s mission was to train shifters, especially those serving as Alphas and Betas, in combat, stealth, scouting, and defensive strategies. So the first thing we do is gather the shifters who were training under him when he disappeared.

Jasper wants a chance to re-introduce himself to everyone as the new leader, so Isaac and Regan are helping host a huge bonfire and barbecue out on the beach. We’ve invited a bunch of local shifters, and everyone whose contact information we could find in Sterling’s most recent records.

The evening of the bonfire, I throw on a dark gray hoodie and some sapphire blue leggings. Most of what I wear these days are the workout clothes that Sterling gave me when I first started living with him. Even though Isaac and Regan are planning multiple giant bonfires, it’s cold and misty down by the beach, so the hoodie should help.

When I go down, I see some of the shifters I remember from my very first days in Santa Cruz with Sterling. Piper and Chastity, who were there when I had just started to work out and train with his team, greet me like long lost friends.

“We’ve missed you so much!” Piper pulls me into a tight hug, which Chastity quickly joins in on.

“It’s so awful about Sterling,” Chastity says, patting me on the shoulder. “Stuck in the celestial realm. You must be so lost without him.”

“He’s happy where he is,” I tell them. Sure, it was hard to adjust to his absence, but it’s been a while since our mating bond faded, and now he’s more of a pleasant memory. “His destiny took him to the celestial realm, and I’m sure he’s going to do great things up there.”

“Wish we could visit him,” Piper says.

“Yeah,” Chastity agrees. “I want to see the celestial realm!”

I shake my head. “Unless you are, or you become, a celestial being, it’s not that great. Trust me, we’ll be better off here on earth.”

“I guess we have to take your word for it,” Piper says with a shrug. They don’t know my whole story, about being trapped in the celestial realm under the Moon Rabbit’s control for hundreds of years, and then captured again alongside Sterling. But they do seem to trust me, so they drop the issue.

However, their trust for me clearly doesn’t extend to Jasper. When he arrives on the beach, his sandy brown hair combed back, wearing a plain pair of jeans and a thermal workout shirt, their voices go quiet and their eyes narrow.

“Here comes the traitor,” Piper mumbles.

“I don’t know why he thinks we’re just going to start following behind him now,” Chastity agrees. “He’s the reason Sterling isn’t here. And he used to be a mercenary. How are we supposed to take him seriously as a leader?”

“Give him a chance, guys,” I plead.

“I heard he even tried to change his name,” Piper says. “Wants us all to call him Jasper now.”

“Like that’s going to make us forget what he did,” Chastity grumbles.

“Actually,” I tell them, “Jasper is his real name. Martell was his mercenary name, and he wants to leave all that behind. He knows he made mistakes, and he regrets what he did. He’s taking over Sterling’s business to try and make things right, to give shifters the capacity to take care of themselves and each other.”

“If you say so,” Piper says, crossing her arms. It’s obvious that they’re not really going to change their minds.

I look around at the other gathered shifters, and I see that it isn’t just Piper and Chastity who feel this way. No one has greeted Jasper, and they’re all looking at him with scrunched up noses and disgusted glares.

Jasper tries to smile, but he looks nervous and out of place. I decide to go join him, hoping that if people see Sterling’s former mate standing by Jasper’s side, they might soften their attitudes a bit.

“Why don’t you say something,” I prompt, nudging Jasper with a friendly smile. “Welcome them to the party.”

Jasper clears his throat, standing tall and looking out at the crowd. Hate filled faces glower back at him in the flickering firelight.

“I’m glad all of you decided to come tonight,” Jasper says. “I wasn’t sure anyone would accept my invitation, but I wanted a chance to get to know everyone and share my plans for the future.”

“No one cares,” comes a shout from somewhere near the bonfire.

“Yeah,” another voice pipes up. “We just wanted to see what kind of asshole would betray Sterling like that.”

“Plus there’s free barbecue,” someone else says. Isaac and Regan were at least right about that - if you want to get wolf shifters to gather somewhere, offer them roasted meats.

“I wanted to tell you all,” Jasper tries again, “that I’m deeply sorry for what happened with Sterling. I regret what I did, and I want to start fresh.”

“No second chances for mercenaries!”

“Sterling would hate to see you stomping on his legacy!”

The crowd is getting angrier and angrier, and I can sense Jasper feeling defeated and frustrated beside me.

“Just leave us alone!”

“Yeah! You don’t deserve to set foot in that tree house!”

Jasper takes a deep breath, and I think he’s preparing to address the crowd again, but then he just exhales, a long, sad sigh. He turns his back on the crowd and walks off into the darkness, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched.

CHAPTER TWO

The crowd laughs and jeers as Jasper leaves. They seem to think they’ve won some kind of victory. As Jasper heads off by himself, someone hits play on a boom box they’ve brought, and loud hip hop music starts blasting. It becomes a loud party, shifters dancing and shouting, after Jasper disappears.

But I’m not interested in a party. I follow Jasper. He’s moving quickly, and I’m struggling to keep up and follow his scent. Then I remember that I can shift now. In wolf form, he’s easy to find. I catch up with him sitting on a flat boulder, resting his elbows on his knees, staring out into the darkness.

I return to my human form as I approach.

“Hi,” I say gently, sitting down on the boulder beside him. Around us, the redwoods tower and the air buzzes with the sound of insects. In the distance, we can hear the party music and smell the cooking barbecue.

“You don’t have to be here,” Jasper mumbles. “You can go have fun at the party.”

“I wouldn’t have any fun hanging out with people like that,” I say, putting an arm around his shoulders.

“They’re right, you know.”

“Right about what?”

“About who I am. I did betray Sterling. I was a mercenary. I’ve done awful things. No shifter should even want to be around me.”

“But that’s who you were in the past,” I insist. “The fact that you feel bad about it and want things to be different means you’re a different person now. And they’re just being mean and stupid and refusing to see that.”

Jasper just shrugs. “Even before I was a mercenary, though, I was…not good.”

“Look,” I tell him. “I don’t know your past. I know that’s something you want to keep private, and that’s okay. But I know who you are today. I’ve seen how motivated you are to help protect shifters and make sure that what happened with the Moon Rabbit never happens to anyone else ever again. And I’m on your side in that. I want to help you make it work.”

“What use is a training program if no one wants to train with me?” Jasper shakes his head. “It’s all a failure. I should just leave you in charge and go away.”

“Please don’t do that.”

“Why not? That’s what everyone else wants. You saw how happy they were when I left the party.”

“They don’t know what they’re talking about,” I reassure him. “Besides, it’s not what I want.”

Jasper looks at me, finally, turning to meet my gaze. He looks hopeful and confused. “Why? Why are you trying so hard to help me? Why do you even care if I get a second chance?”

“Because I believe in second chances,” I tell him. “I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for a long line of shifters and their packs who were able to see things a different way and forgive dark pasts.”

“Thanks,” Jasper says.

“And it’s not just that,” I tell him. “If I’m being honest…it’s because I like you. I care about you.”

“Why? By all logic, you should hate me.”

“But I don’t.” I rub comforting circles on Jasper’s back, leaning close against him as we sit together in the forest. “I never have. Even when we first met, and I noticed your mercenary tattoos, I was drawn to you.”

“I remember that,” Jasper says. “You came over to say hi. We were all training together on the beach.”

“Yeah. There’s something about you, Jasper, that I can just sense. You have a good heart, even though you’ve been through some dangerous and scary stuff. You’re strong, and driven, and you take this mission seriously. I see how hard you’re working to make sure that Sterling’s work doesn’t fade away.”

“I wouldn’t need to work this hard if I had just never abducted him in the first place,” Jasper groans. “It all comes back to the fact that I let the Moon Rabbit convince me to take on his mission.”

“Getting in over your head with the Moon Rabbit isn’t exactly a rare situation to find yourself in,” I remind him. “Someday, you’re going to have to stop beating yourself up and just let yourself live in the present, not the past.”

Jasper smiles then, giving me a sad little laugh. “Sounds good, but it’s easier said than done, you know?”

I nod. “I really do. I have a lot of stuff in my past - more than you’d think just by looking at me. But I’ve learned that the only way to move forward is to stop looking backward.”

“Huh.” Jasper looks out into the darkness, sighing. “Maybe you can show me how.”

“I’d really like that,” I tell him. I lean in close, inhaling his scent, enjoying the warmth of his body. The stone we’re sitting on is hard and cold, but something about Jasper feels soft, like there’s a sweetness and a tenderness beneath all the pain and toughness of his exterior.

“I guess maybe we should go back to the party,” Jasper mumbles. “At least show them that they can’t chase me off.”

“Might be a good idea,” I tell him. “But let’s sit here for a little while longer.”

“That sounds nice,” Jasper agrees.

“I like sitting here, with you,” I say. “That’s something that helps me be in the present, like we were talking about. Just finding something pleasant and nice to do.”

Jasper gives a disbelieving little chuckle. “I doubt I’m that nice to be around.”

“Want me to prove it?”

“How would you do that?”

I’ve wanted to do this all evening - longer than that, actually - and now is finally my chance. I lean in close and press my lips to Jasper’s, kissing him.

He kisses me back for a few seconds, his lips parting, his breath quickening. Then he pulls away, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, Ayala, but I can’t - I shouldn’t do this.”

“Why not?” I protest.

But Jasper doesn’t seem able to give me an answer. He just apologizes again, then stands up and walks off into the forested darkness.

CHAPTER THREE

I don’t know why Jasper stopped kissing me. I want to understand what’s going on with him - we seem to have a strong connection, but all he does is deny it and avoid me.

I go back to the party, hoping to find him there, but he’s nowhere to be found. I hang out with Isaac and Regan, introducing them to the other fighters I know from my time with Sterling, and eat a few burgers before the bonfires start to fade and the party dies down.

The next day, I look for Jasper, hoping to get a chance to talk with him about what happened. I go into the kitchen, but he’s already made his breakfast and gone down to the beach for a run. I can see him through the tree house’s tall windows, racing back and forth on the beach, swapping methodically between his wolf form and human form to get the right muscle conditioning.

I decide to wait for him to come back in for lunch, but when he does, he has his workout headphones in, still blasting music. He grabs a protein smoothie from the fridge and disappears into the gym room again.

This type of pattern continues for days. Jasper is clearly avoiding me. He always makes up an excuse to pull Isaac aside and talk with him, or he goes to bed extremely early if I’m hanging out in the living room in the evenings.

One afternoon, after Jasper has just slipped by me with a quick “hello” before claiming that he needs to go into town to transfer some banking paperwork from Sterling’s old business, I slam my hands down on the kitchen counter with a frustrated grunt.

“What’s wrong?” Regan asks me, taking at seat at the bar stools and giving me a curious look.

“Jasper won’t talk to me,” I whine, joining her. She’s nibbling at a plate of sliced meat with crackers and cheese, and slides it over to me. I take a bite, chewing miserably. “I just want some time alone with him, but he finds every way of making sure that can’t happen.”

“Sometimes boys are just like that,” Regan shrugs. “Isaac is the worst when it comes to talking about his feelings.”

“Yeah, but at least he’s already your mate,” I tell her. “You know that even if he’s not in a very talkative mood, you still have your mated bond. That connection won’t go away. I don’t even know if Jasper likes me at all.”

“Sure he does,” Regan insists. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and he always makes sure you have the best gear, the right food - Jasper likes you a lot. That’s probably why he’s avoiding you. He’s shy.”

“He was a mercenary!” I can’t help but shout in frustration. “He did all sorts of scary things - it can’t be that hard to just talk to me face to face.”

“Going into dangerous battles is different than spending time with a cute girl,” Regan teases. “Have you told him how you feel?”

“Yes,” I say. “I even tried to kiss him that night we had the bonfire. But he just said that he ‘shouldn’t’ do that, and got up and left.”

“Huh,” Regan says. “That’s weird. If he just didn’t like you that way, he would have told you. But if he thinks that he shouldn’t kiss you, it sounds like there’s something else going on.”

“Of course there’s something else going on!” I sigh. “I just wish I knew what it was!”

“Maybe I can help,” Regan suggests.

“What do you mean?”

“If you just need some time alone with him where he can’t help but talk with you, I can arrange that. I’m really good at this sort of thing.”

“Do you really think it’ll work?”

Regan winks. “Trust me. And keep your calendar clear for tomorrow night.”

Sure enough, the next night, as I’m strategically hanging around the tree house with nothing to do, Regan catches Jasper in the kitchen. I’m in the living room, fighting the urge to run into the kitchen and immediately start chatting to Jasper. I want to be close to him, but I trust Regan to make this work, so I just stay on the sofa, listening to their conversation and waiting for the right time to join in.

“Hey, boss man,” Regan says as soon as Jasper arrives. “I need to check in with you about the gym equipment.”

“What?” Jasper looks confused.

“Isaac and I were going through some of Sterling’s old folders, and it looks like he keeps warranties on all the stuff in the gym - look.”

Regan plops down a binder full of wrinkled papers, and Jasper starts to page through it, his brow furrowing.

“If we’re going to keep these warranties going,” Regan says, pointing to a specific line on one of the sheets, “we need to start keeping track of the serial numbers of all our items, and the date of the warranty renewals.”

“Didn’t Sterling have it all written down?”

Regan shakes her head. I can’t help but smirk a bit, knowing that she almost positively removed the piece of paper that had all that information. “I guess he just thought he would remember, or he had the information in his phone or something. But we should go through and document everything for ourselves.”

Jasper sighs, running a hand through his sandy brown hair. “Okay. I’ll go work on that right now.”

“It’s kind of a two person job,” Regan says. “One person to find and read out all the numbers, and one person to write it all down.”

“Fine - will you come with me?”

“Actually, oof, sorry,” Regan says, and I’m absolutely impressed by her acting skills. “Isaac and I have to go down into town, we’re meeting up with an old friend for dinner. Maybe Ayala can help!”

“Sure thing,” I say, bouncing into the kitchen. I grab the notebook from Regan, making it impossible to do the project without me. “Let’s get started!”

CHAPTER FOUR

Jasper looks startled - which makes sense, considering we basically just ambushed him. Regan says a chipper goodbye and leaves with Isaac, giving Jasper no choice but to follow me into the gym room.

“So,” I say, flipping open the binder, “it looks like we need to find the serial number for each piece of equipment and write it down here, then find the warranty paperwork for that thing, and put the expiration date right here.”

“Okay,” Jasper says, looking around the gym like it’s the first time he’s ever seen it. “You know, I could probably do this by myself, if you have other stuff you want to do.”

“Nah,” I say, “I’m happy to help out! This business is mine as much as yours, and I don’t want to leave you to do all the work.”

“Right,” Jasper mumbles. “Well, I have awful handwriting anyway, so maybe you should write the stuff down while I figure out where the serial numbers are on these things.”

“Sounds great!”

We head over to the first piece of equipment, a squat rack set up with elastic bands and adjustable rails so that anyone can lift heavy weights without a spotter. Jasper looks for the little sticker that would have its information on it, but can’t find it.

I watch as he climbs up on top of the metal structure, peering over the top of it. His muscles ripple beneath his shirt, and I can see his sculpted abs peeking out from below its hem. My breath catches in my throat, and all I can think of is how grateful I am to Regan for making this possible.

“Found it,” Jasper grunts, hoisting himself up to balance on the very top of the rack. “Ready?”

“Go ahead,” I tell him. He reads out the number, which I print in neat, even writing on the notebook sheet.

He leaps gracefully back onto the padded floor. “Let’s hope they’re not all that difficult to find.”

“I don’t know,” I say. “Looked pretty fun, climbing up there.”

Jasper laughs. “Maybe you should try the next one, then.”

“Sure thing!”

The next piece of equipment to check is another tall rack, this one set up for exercises like chin ups and pull ups. I stand on my tiptoes, searching for the sticker, but it must be on the very top as well.

“Here,” Jasper says, stepping up close to me. “Let me help.”

He laces his hands together, letting me stand on them so I can hoist myself onto the rack’s higher levels. Once I get my feet in the right spot, he reaches up to help me balance, his broad hands hovering just inches away from my waist in case I fall.

“Found it!”

“Great,” Jasper says. “Are you good for me to grab the notebook?”

“Go ahead,” I tell him. I read off the number, then go to hop down - but I slip, tumbling toward the floor.

Jasper catches me, and we collapse together into a heap on the gym floor.

“Are you okay?” Jasper asks, sitting up and checking me all over for injury.

“I’m fine,” I insist. “Only because you caught me. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Jasper says. His cheeks are turning red, and he seems restless. “Let’s get back to work,” he mumbles.

We continue the work, which gets tougher when we start having to move the barbells around and disassemble things to get to their interior parts. Regan sure knew what she was doing when she chose this as the task to get us stuck working together for hours.

I want to start asking Sterling a thousand questions - about his past, about why he stopped kissing me, about why he’s been avoiding me - but Regan counseled me against jumping straight into the interrogations. She told me to keep things fun and social at first, and give him time to relax.

So I mention dinner last night, and start asking Jasper about his favorite foods. He opens up a bit, talking about the roasted deer skewers his family used to cook up when he was a kid. That seems like a good opening, so I ask him about his family.

“Did you grow up in a big pack?” I ask, trying to keep my voice friendly and light.

“No,” Jasper says. “It was just my mom and dad and my sister and me. There were other wolf shifters around, but we didn’t really have a tight knit pack like yours in San Diego.”

“I didn’t grow up in that pack, though,” I tell him.

“Right,” Jasper says. “It was just you and your sister for a long time, right?”

“Yeah. And then it was…well, it was just me, and no other wolf shifters. It made it pretty hard to find a mate!”

“I bet,” Jasper says.

“What about you?” I ask. “Have you ever looked for a mate? Or thought about having one?”

Jasper shakes his head. “No. I don’t think that’s really for me.”

“Oh?” I do my best to sound open minded and curious. “Why not?”

“I just don’t think I’d be good at it.”

“What do you mean?” I genuinely don’t know what he’s talking about - how can you be bad at having a mate?

“A mate is supposed to protect you, and stick by you. I don’t want someone to be stuck with me if I can’t protect them or be everything they need me to be.”

“Jasper, you run a whole shifter training program - you just caught me and prevented me from knocking myself out when I fell - I’m sure you’d be great at taking care of your mate.”

Jasper just shrugs. “I’ve never felt like I deserved a mate.”

“Jasper,” I say, setting down the pen and notebook and reaching out to take his hand. “Mating is a special connection between two werewolves - it’s not about being perfect, or thinking you’re good enough. If you want a mate, it’s okay to look for that.”

“Uh huh.” Jasper pulls his hand away from mine and sticks it in his pocket. He glances around the gym, looking very uncomfortable.

“Well,” he says, “I think that’s enough work for today. Thanks for helping.”

With that, he leaves the gym, his shoulders hunched, his gait quick and nervous.

CHAPTER FIVE

“Jasper, wait!” I follow him out of the gym and down the wood paneled hallways of the tree house. I can’t let this opportunity slip away from me. I might not get another one.

Jasper goes into Sterling’s rooms, where he’s been living since we all moved in to the tree house. This wing of the tree house is dark, like Jasper hasn’t been willing to turn on the lights. Looking around, I can see that he’s left everything nearly the same as Sterling had it. It doesn’t look like Jasper has done anything to make the space more comfortable for him, or personalized it for himself.

I find Jasper in his bedroom, sitting on the edge of the perfectly made bed, his hands on his knees.

“Jasper,” I say, stepping in to the bedroom. “Please. Just talk to me. What’s going on?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jasper snaps.

“But I do,” I plead. “I’ve always wanted to know who you are. Where you come from. You won’t share anything about your past, and you keep me at arm’s length all the time.”

“Why do you even care so much?” Jasper asks. “I’m just some mercenary who showed up in your life and messed everything up. You don’t have to be trying so hard to help me. You didn’t even have to come out here with me.”

“But I wanted to,” I insist. “Even if you think it’s not a good idea or whatever, I like you. I feel drawn to you. We have a connection. And I don’t understand why you keep on denying it.”

“How do you know I’m in denial?” Jasper asks. “What if I just…don’t feel the same connection?”

“Is that true?” I cross my arms and lean on the doorway, watching him. “If you can tell me, truthfully and honestly, that you just don’t like me and don’t want to be close to me, I’ll drop the issue and leave.”

Jasper doesn’t say anything. He just stares out the bedroom window. The sun has almost finished setting, and the redwoods are tall, dark shadows swaying in the Santa Cruz breeze.

“Is that what’s happening? You just don’t like me? Don’t want me around? Tell me, and I’ll go away.”

“No,” Jasper finally says. “That’s not it.”

Relief floods through me, although I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to say that. I’ve seen the way he looks at me, the desire he’s holding back for some reason, the sadness that permeates his body whenever he walks away from me.

“So what is it?”

“Why does it matter?” Jasper asks. “I don’t think it’s right for us to be together. Do I really have to tell you why?”

“I wish you would,” I say. I walk toward him, sitting down beside him on the bed. We’re not touching, but our knees are close enough that if he just shifted a bit, we’d be pressed up against each other.

“I just hate talking about it,” Jasper mumbles.

“Maybe you don’t have to talk about it, then,” I say. “Maybe you can just let it go, and let yourself get close to me. I’ll never need to know why you held back at first.”

“Would that really work?” Jasper looks at me, hope and curiosity in his eyes. “You would be okay being mated to someone whose past was a mystery to you?”

I shrug. “Let’s not worry about mating just yet. I just want to get to know you. Be close to you. Spend time with you. Will you let me do that?”

“I do want that,” Jasper says. “I still feel like it would be a bad idea, though.”

Something inside me tells me to keep pushing. Maybe Jasper is destined to be my mate, or maybe I’m destined for something else - but either way, my inner wolf is howling her loudest, refusing to let me accept Jasper’s half hidden answers.

“But I think it would be a good idea,” I argue. “How come you get to decide for both of us? Maybe you should just tell me what you’re so worried about, and then I’ll know whether it really is such a bad idea for us to be together.”

Jasper is silent, chewing his lip as he thinks.

“Or,” I suggest, “you could just not tell me, but try to let it go, and start fresh here with me today. Stop avoiding me, and give us a chance to get to know each other.”

“Okay,” Jasper says. “I can try that.”

“Awesome,” I say. I feel my face break out in a huge smile. Jasper, too, looks happy and relaxed.