Pack Ties, Blood Lies

Chapter 4 - Alternative Medicine

I licked my dry lips, heart hammering in my chest as I took a chance. "I'm sure there are other things you could teach me."

Fingers tightening on my jaw, Jack's lip curled in a snarl.

I had never seen him so angry.

I'd be terrified if I couldn't feel the evidence of his desire throbbing against my thigh.

The longing in his eyes betrayed him and I couldn't help feeling a small thrill.

"This isn't a game. You know the stakes." His words were softer than his face and body portrayed. The urgency behind them only serving to make me want him impossibly, infuriatingly, more.

Ever since the raids, the pack had become wary of wolf/human relationships. Countless threats came from an unknown enemy, an enemy that despised humans.

Sadly, the result had eventually been an unspoken taboo, one that meant leaving the pack if you chose a human over home.

Other packs in the area had suffered similarly, wolves becoming more secluded than ever.

Incredibly... the even bigger taboo was that Jack was my mentor. The Alpha forbade it, and it would be him we would have to answer to.

I bit my lip, warring with myself. I knew right from wrong. But I also knew what I wanted.

Jack's bare chest rose and fell above me. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. Looking away from me for a moment before wrenching himself off me.

I scrambled to a sitting position as he paced. Biting my lip worriedly.

"Jack... You know what adrenaline does to wolves." I tried, desperate to pull our relationship back to how it had always been.

He flicked his eyes over to me and grunted, continuing to pace.

Lust was an easy accompaniment to aggression in wolves. We like rough, hot sex and a victorious fight is a great way to get the sparks flying.

Jack ran his hand through his hair in a familiar restless motion. "I can't train you anymore Charlie. We almost crossed the line... Jesus." He groaned and looked at the ceiling. "I've known you since you were a little girl... I'm your teacher!"

The despair on his face dampened any residual flames I might have had, and I stood with a sigh. "Get a grip Jack. It's not like I'm still a pup. I'm plenty old enough. That isn't the issue and we both know it."

He glared at me from across the room. "Julian trusted me to take care of you. Not fuck you."

"Well, you haven't fucked me. So, its fine." I countered, mirroring his glare.

He shook his head sadly. "I disgust myself."

I snorted. "Am I really that bad?"

He looked up surprised. A sudden twinkle back in his midnight eyes. "Don't worry, I'm sure we will find some poor soul to have you." He chuckled.

He laughed harder as I threw my empty water bottle at him and I smiled.

"So, are you going to finish what you started?" I asked silkily, biting my lip suggestively.

His answering growl made me burst into laughter. "I meant finish my training, obviously." I spluttered.

He grumbled with a smile and headed over to the duffle bag.

It was getting late and the sun was beginning to set, painting the room in inky shadows.

"Should we head back soon?" I asked, heading over to close the windows.

Hearing him snort as they thumped closed, I turned to see him pulling sleeping bags and a lantern out of the bag.

"What? I thought you were joking about staying here. Why do we need to stay?" I groaned. Not happy about staying a couple of uncomfortable weeks on this dirty floor.

"Because time spent going back and forth is time wasted. You got the better of me once, but I want to see you replicate that at least a dozen times before I put my good name to you at Qualifying." He grinned, turning on the lamp.

I sighed and tried not to think about our earlier moment. Now I knew we would be sharing a room, a nagging heat had began swirling in my stomach.

"I'll need clothes. We will need food. Running water!" I tried. Only to be told that the Alpha was arranging a delivery for the following day.

I huffed and sat down on my sleeping bag.

Jack seemed plenty content, stretching out on his. All traces of his earlier discomfort erased as if it had never happened.