Rejected, Loved, Mated

Chapter Eight: Bonfire

Jasper dropped Harper off at his place first then took me to the campus so I could get to my classes. Before I got out the car, he put his number in my phone and told me to call him as soon as I was done. All my classes seemed to drag on and on and I was ecstatic when my final class ended. I called Jasper and he picked me up to take me back to my apartment.

"Thanks." I grinned, getting out and heading for the stairs. I turned to wave and was startled to find him right behind me. "You don't have to come, I'm just grabbing clothes and heading to work. I can drive myself."

"What good would that do when I'm the one picking you up after your shift? I might as well just drive you, it's the simplest way." He said matter-of-factly, walking around me and up to my apartment. My door was still broken and I groaned as I opened it, hoping they got to it soon. I wasn't going to feel safe until they did. "I don't think you should stay here until they get your door fixed." He remarked as he stood in the living room and I made my way to my bedroom.

"Well, it's the only place I can stay right now. I don't want to throw money down the drain by getting a hotel and I'm sure Harper's not up for my company, he's the only friend I have that doesn't have a roommate or live in a shoebox and can spare room." I called back to him, finding the clothes I needed and putting them into the bag I always carried to work. He remained silent as we made our way out of my apartment and down to the cars, his face thoughtful.

"You could come stay at the pack house." He suggested after we had been riding for long moments in silence. I looked at him, shocked he had jumped to that conclusion.

"You can't be serious. First of all, I'm a rogue if you haven't noticed. People aren't always accepting of a rogue and I'm thinking, with my history with your pack, it would be ten times worse."

"Lena, they would never do anything to you, I wouldn't allow it. I know you think all I'll do is hurt you but that's the last thing I ever want to do and making sure my pack doesn't upset you is a part of me keeping that from happening. It's not entirely safe for you to be at your place right now and you don't have to stay anywhere near me if that's the problem."

"That wasn't the problem." I softly murmured, looking down at my hands. "My apartment is safe enough for now. They'll fix it sooner or later."

"And sooner or later, you could be dead because some psycho broke in and killed you. I don't want to take that risk so either I'm staying with you every night until it's fixed or you come to the pack house until it's fixed. Keep in mind, my restraint may only last a short time and, if I'm in your apartment, you have nowhere to run." He smiled wickedly.

"I- um...," I started but we pulled up to Ricardo's and I jumped out as soon as he came to a complete stop. Thankfully, Jasper didn't come in and sit like he usually did and I could just let my mind go blank and work.

Harper ended up being a lot more flirty than he usually was, finding reasons to brush passed me and stuff. He took his break with me and sat with me while I ate my dinner, talking to me about any and everything. A few times, he grabbed my hand on top of the table and tried to keep them clasp but I pulled away. By the time I was changing to leave, he had tried every trick in the book and I couldn't wait to leave. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive or I didn't find him sexually appealing but it was kind of the been-there-done-that kind of thing. I was over what we had once had and he was going to have to learn to get over it too.

I stopped to brush out my hair and put some lipgloss on before I sprayed some body spray on myself and headed out. I made sure to put on only a small amount since I was going to the bonfire. Werewolves having heightened senses meant body sprays needed to be used sparingly. On my way out of the changing area, I saw Harper talking to one of the other cooks and slipped out of the door unnoticed. I felt kind of bad for giving him the slip but I couldn't take anymore flirting.