The nightmares are back again. Waiting for Hermann to make his move is nerve-racking. I go for a midnight jog, and find myself at the office.
The tech girl Sarah is still here, monitoring the CCTV feeds. "Won't some alarm go off if the sensors pick up anything?" I ask her.
"Yes, it will. But, I was told to stay stationed here."
I sigh. "I'll take your shift now. Go home."
"Alpha, it's okay, you should rest. I'm good here."
"Go," I tell her.
Reluctantly she takes her bag and leaves. This 24x7 watch we're having must be tiring for everyone.
After a while I hear rustling outside. Instinctively my hand touches my jacket's pocket, ready to draw out the gun.
Soon a figure enters the office.
"Jackson! Almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Wouldn't get one if you weren't alone here," he says.
"How are you not asleep now? I'm beginning to think you've insomnia." I say taking off my jacket.
"Says the girl staring at the black and white monitors in the middle of the night."
"I was just too tired to sleep today. Otherwise, I usually sleep like a baby."
"I also sleep well, but it seems my mate is keeping me up these days," he says, leaning in and kissing my lips.
Soon I find myself latched onto him as he puts me down on the not so reliable piece of furniture we assume is a couch.
"What happened to all that I'm not like all those boys wanting to get laid with their mate speech?" I say.
He laughs. "You sure hold onto a grudge."
"You have no idea," I say pulling him even closer.
His body warmth calms my anxiety. We make out on the couch until I feel the onset of my heat. I claw his back moaning. "I need to take my pill," I manage to tell him.
He breathes out and gives me some space. I look around for water. There's a jug at the table. Jackson brings it to me while I take out the tablet strip from my pocket.
When I'm about to pop one into my mouth Jackson grabs my hand and pulls me close to him. "How about we go all the way tonight?"
"With me in heat?! No."
"But you alway get into heat when we start making out and we've to stop in the middle," he says, almost whining.
I laugh. "You should be proud you're this good at turning me on."
"Come on, don't you want to do it?" He says.
"I do, but, what if you mark me? W're not ready for that."
Frustrated he leans back on the couch. "I don't know why I said anything about wanting to wait. It's not like there's any use in it."
"You tell me. You're the dramatic one who was hell bent on rejecting me," I say. I've always been ready to go all the way and bear his mark.
Jackson holds my hand and kisses it. "I'm sorry," he says, "Guess I'm more cowardly than I thought."
"What were you scared of?"
"You know Yarvey's former Alpha is my father, right?" He says.
"Yeah."
"It's not true," Jackson says, "He's my uncle. But his wife is my mother."
I don't understand.
He continues, "The Alpha's younger brother was my father and my mother was my father's mate. However, she preferred the older sibling who was going to be the Alpha. My dad... he was timid. You know that's not exactly the kind of trait werewolves appreciate. I don't entirely blame my mom for leaving him, but it killed him. Growing up, I've always been scared I might end up like my dad. So I toughened up and just plain rejected even the idea of having a mate. What was the point of getting that attached to someone? I thought. Mate or not, people just leave you when it gets tough."
I didn't think he would have a backstory like this. His father's death must've been hard on him. I've always thought of Jackson as someone who's full of confidence all the time. But now he seems just as insecure as any of us.
"I'm sorry," I say.
"Remember the day you called, before that lake incident, and you mentioned that it must be tough for me being the Alpha of Yarvey, it was the first time someone had said something like that to me. First time someone cared. In spite of having Rick and Wren by my side I'd always felt alone. But when you said that, it was like I was whole."
"I know what you mean," I say, "I was anxious at that time from everything that was happening here. But when I heard your voice it was like I could breathe again."
"So neither of us is the tough Alpha we pretend to be," Jackson says.
"Hey, I've never said I was tough. But, you," I say, stroking his hair, "You're the best. I love your straightforwardness, your strength, hard work, everything, even that uptight ego of yours. For me, being an Alpha is just something I've to do. But you, you are an Alpha, Jackson. Like from the legendary stories we hear."
He smirks and grazes his finger against my cheek. "But that's no match for the sly you."
I climb up on his lap. "That's true," I say. We kiss.
He rips off my t-shirt and gropes my bare skin. When he touches my breasts I feel the heat again. He takes off his t-shirt and pushes our bodies together. "Ah!" I grab the hair at the back of his head.
Through his pants I can feel his manhood pressing against me. It's burning between my legs. When I move my hips his body becomes taut. I smile. Let's see if I can have him moaning. Without taking our pants off I grind against him.
After an amazingly pleasurable while, "L-Leah, fuck," he says as he comes. I give him a kiss.
He quickly puts me down on the couch and pulls down my pants. As his lips and tongue pleasure me I throw back my arms and grab the armrest, my breath shaking. Trembling I bite my lip.
After I climax, Jackson looks up at me. His eyes are still full of lust. My heat is turning me on back in an instant.
I lick my lips. I want him. "Let's do it," I say. Smiling he takes off his pants, too. And as I see his full naked glory, a blush creeps up on my cheeks. In spite of being mates, and in the thick of my heat, it's still too much for my virgin heart.
"You sure?" He says.
"Yes, I'm both ready for that," I say, referring to mini Jacky, "and this." I move my hair off of my neck.
Jackson instantly bends down and kisses my neck. His hand wraps around my waist. My legs bend and raise. My toes curl.
Through the sunrise, somehow the couch survives.
End of chapter
