Chapter 8 Aaron POV: I was working in my Dad’s office when I heard Josephine and Jason return from their shopping trip. I was praying to the Moon Goddess that they had been successful. I mind-linked Jason asking him to come see me. When he came into the office, I could tell immediately that something was wrong. “How did it go?” I asked. Surely it could not have gone that poorly. “Well, Josephine found a dress she liked.” My eyes widened. “That’s amazing!” As I said that, even I realized how crazy it was for me to be this excited. I am a grown man, who likes sports, cars, and working out. I am an alpha-to-be who will soon be in charge of a pack with over 2500 wolves relying on me. I normally could care less about dresses, shoes, and anything traditionally female. Yet, due to circumstances beyond my control, I find myself highly dependent on Josephine finding a wedding dress she likes. “She didn’t get it.” “Why not???” “There was only one. It’s one of a kind. It wil
(Aaron POV) Three days later after Jason’s failed shopping trip, I found myself outside an apartment complex in a human town. I wasn’t quite sure why a wolf –much less a female wolf—would choose to live in a human town, but to each their own. I knocked on the door and waited. After a few moments –and what sounded like a woman stubbing her toe and cursing, which brought a tiny smirk to my face—a woman opened the door. Holy Goddess. I was starting to see why Jason was being so weird. This woman had the face and body of an angel; she was easily the most beautiful she-wolf I had ever seen. She had the kind of beauty that would intimidate any male wolf, even wolves with tons of game like Jason. More importantly, she had this unique energy about her. Many she-wolves have a quiet, submissive energy about them –especially when around high ranked male wolves. This she-wolf had energy that was anything but submissive. Her energy felt energized, independent,
(Jason POV) I woke up to loud, angry pounding on my door. I looked over at the alarm clock and it read 6:15 a.m.. Whoever was knocking on my door at this hour had better have a damn good reason. “Who is it?” I heard the distinct and angry growl of my best friend. “Get the f--- up, Jason.” “Aaron?” I called through the door. “What on earth? Is there an emergency?” “Open this door now, Jason, or I’m going to break it down.” “Dude, chill. I’ve got a girl in here.” I mind-linked him. “You have three seconds.” Aaron shouted back. He wasn’t using the mind-link. He only doesn’t use the mind-link when his emotions are too high to control it. Whatever he is mad about, I knew it was going to be bad. “3….2….” I scrambled out of bed and opened the door. I was immediately greeted by a punch to my face that knocked me straight to the ground. “Dude, what the ---” I exclaimed
(Jason POV) I walked into Alpha Blake’s office expecting to see Aaron. As I walked in, I was surprised to find not one, but seven pairs of angry eyes staring at me. One pair obviously belonged to Aaron. Another belonged to Josephine, who was sitting on Alpha Blake’s lap. Both of my parents were also there, as was the current Gamma (Henry) and the Gamma-heir, Ben. I walked in, and quickly made a joke to break the tension. “I didn’t rob a bank, so you all should probably look for another suspect. Perhaps the cat did it.” I laughed, but quickly realized I was the only one who did. “Sit down, Son,” my father told me. There was only one open chair, and it was right in the middle of the room with the other chairs turned to face it. I sat down. “What’s this about?” The room was silent for a moment. I could feel the tension, and I could also see the eyes of everyone glaze over as they appeared to be mi
Jason’s POV After the intense meeting with pack leadership, including my own parents, I headed to my room to continue to think about what had happened and how I would go about fixing everything. I was happy that Cassie wasn’t engaged, but I was confused as to why she was trying on wedding dresses the day that I met her. I was also confused as to why I felt the betrayal pains. Did I misunderstand what I was feeling? I have never had a mate before so maybe I don’t know what betrayal feels like. It definitely didn’t feel like I was going to die. Maybe she wasn’t with another wolf? Or maybe she was but thought better of it? Also, why was Aaron so angry? Granted, I should have told him that Cassie was my mate before he went to meet with her. But his anger this morning was another level. He didn’t tell me the second he met Allison, and it took him weeks to tell me everything that happened between them. Surely, if anyone would under
(Aaron POV) The meeting with Jason and pack leadership was tough. I never thought that I would be in that kind of heated meeting with my best friend and future Beta, but it had to be done. I had been with Cassie when she felt the first round of betrayal pains. It had been horrible to watch, and there was nothing that I could do to comfort her or make it better. I was grateful that it had been fairly quick, but I couldn’t leave her alone after that. I had to wait around with her until she fell asleep and I could confirm that she was OK. She had done OK for a while, and I had been prepared to go ahead and leave, but then the pains started up again. And again, and again, and again, and again. I called our pack doctor to come to our location stat, and he thankfully was able to get to her apartment in 90 minutes instead of the two hours that it normally took to get from our pack to this location. He confirmed that she was showing signs of betrayal
Jason’s POV: Despite the rocky start to our lunch, the tension between Aaron and I eventually settled down and we were able to have a productive conversation about how I would go about fixing things with Cassie. That’s not to say either of us were fully past our issues with the other. I had obviously f---ed up, and Aaron was there to hold the pieces together. Meanwhile, my wolf was beside himself that my best friend had touched my mate, even if he didn’t know she was my mate when he did so. I probably would have been just as upset as my wolf, but for the fact that I was still a little taken aback – Cassie was the first she-wolf I am aware of that Aaron has kissed in seven years. Yes, seven years. Allison really did a number on him. I’m surprised he doesn’t have cobwebs growing out of his crotch by now. Either which way, we eventually agreed that Aaron should accompany me to my first visit with Cassie. Of course, the main reason was
(Cassie POV) I wasn’t sure what to say when Jason walked into my apartment. After last night, giving him a chance was not something that I wanted to do. Aaron was persuasive yes, and it is always hard to turn down a hot, powerful man who is pleading with you to do something, but I knew I would have but for my wolf. My wolf was adamant that I talk to Jason, hear his side of things, and find out if we could make a lasting connection. Last night’s events hurt her even more than they hurt me. I knew she took as much of the pain from me as she could, in an effort to spare me. Given how much what I felt hurt, I couldn’t begin to imagine what the pains felt like from her perspective. My wolf had always been loyal and kind. She had always tried to support me and boost my self-esteem when my parents would disparage me. She was my constant friend and ally. Jason hurting her was all the more reason for me to reject him and never turn back. At the same