My Best Friend's Werewolf

37 Branded By the Alpha

My door opens and Jasper holds his hand out. I grasp it, not realizing my hands were shaking until I feel how calm my hand feels secured. He helps me step down.

"It's going to be okay," he whispers.

I nod. "So how does this pack joining work?"

"You'll see." He guides us toward the house. "Xavier will hear your heart. You may want to slow it."

I take deep tedious breaths, closing my eyes. "Better?"

"Yes."

The front door opens and Xavier steps out, shirtless. "Addison."

"Xavier."

"Alpha." Jasper tilts his body forward. Am I going to have to call Xavier Alpha?

Xavier walks down the steps and past us. "Follow me." He leads us to the woods and once we can't see the house, he stops. "You told her?"

Jasper tilts his head side to side. "Ehh. . . sort of."

Xavier pinches the bridge of his nose. "Great. . . Hold her."

Jasper's arms wrap around me. "It's going to be okay."

Xavier approaches me. "Take off your shorts."

"What?" I squirm in Jasper's arms.

"I have to accept you into the pack. Didn't you explain anything to her?"

"I didn't go into detail."

"Look, Addison, either you take off your shorts or I do it. Which do you prefer? After tonight nudity won't even bother you. I'm not asking you to take off your underwear, but if you don't do this, I won't be able to accept you. My pack will kill you if I don't."

I unbutton by shorts and unzip them. "Fine." I slide my shorts off, imagining hard I have another pair of shorts on still.

Xavier crouches onto his knees at the side of my right leg. "You aren't going to attack me for this, are you, Jasper?"

"No, Alpha."

Xavier places a hand on my hip and the other on my thigh. "You got her? because her anger is about to skyrocket."

Jasper tightens his arms around mine and my torso, his chest pressing into my back.

"Xavier, tell me what's going on."

Xavier sinks his teeth into my hip, and my eyes roll back from the pain. He's marking me like cattle. Blood trickles down my leg, warm. His teeth scrape and tug my flesh as he extracts them from me. With an open mouth, he stares up at me, blood coating his teeth and dripping off his chin. "Welcome to my pack." Standing he wipes the blood from his face with his hand. "I assume you won't want to get blood on your shorts." He shrugs off his kaki shorts, leaving him in only his underwear. "There's a barbecue outback."

With that he returns from where we came. Jasper lets go of me, and I slide into Xavier's pants, holding onto them so they don't fall. Does Xavier still have any of Eliza's things? I'd feel bad wearing them though. Jasper grabs my shorts. I can put them on once the bleeding stops.

Walking hurts. The pain shoots through me with each step. Blood seeps through Xavier's shorts.

"Addy? What are you doing here?" At the steps of the house stands Travis. The front door opens and Hunter walks out.

"Jasper convinced me to come here instead of risk it at home."

Travis walks up to us, Hunter following. "So this is the wolf that marked you without permission?" Travis's eyes run up and down, scanning Jasper. Unfortunately for him, Jasper is bigger.

Jasper growls. "Back off. The last thing I need is to shift early."

Hunter places a hand on Travis's shoulder. "He's right. Besides, trying to defend his mate against him won't help matters. Addy needs him for as long as she can have him tonight.This is his fault and he has to deal with it."

This elicits another growl from Jasper who moves around them.

Hunter's eyes drop to Xavier's pants. "You're part of the pack now, huh?"

"Apparently." I grip the band of the shorts tighter. "I wish I had known about Xavier having to bite my butt."

Hunter chuckles. "More like your hip."

"Still. How's Hanna?"

"She's Hanna."

"Are you together now?"

Travis growls.

Hunter looks at him nervously. "Yeah, let's leave it at that."

"I should find Jasper. I heard there's food, and I haven't eaten a thing all day."

"He marked you against your will, Addy," Travis' eyes are black. "You don't need to give him the time of day." He turns his head to Hunter and Hunter gulps. "Get me out of here before I shift."

Hunter places a hand on Travis' shoulder. "Bye, Addy."

I find Jasper on the other side of the house where tables are set up with metal containers filled with ribs. There are no tables and chairs, and I can't eat holding food and these shorts up at the same time.

I retrieve my shorts from Jasper and head inside to change into them, attempting to ignore remembering the last time I was in here. I quickly change and leave Xavier's pants in the laundry room before heading back outside.

Jasper is waiting for me. He scratches the back of his head. "Because I marked you, everyone here is going to consider us mates. I thought you should know incase anyone brings it up."

"Do I correct them?"

"If you're feeling particularly revengeful you can."

"Meaning?"

Jasper shifts his weight to his other leg. "You saw how Travis reacted. They'll tear me apart for marking you without permission."

"You tell me this today of all days when I feel like the cap I have on my anger is about to shoot off?"

"I haven't had another chance to tell you this. You may not be able to get with any of the wolves here, because of this. . ." With one finger he traces the mark on my collarbone, and something about it makes my eyes close and my chest rise. For a moment my anger dissipates. "But you can still be with a human." He removes his touch and my eyes pop open, and I hold off the inevitable flush until he turns around.