JARED'S POV
I went and got Anna from Gia, noticing how my mate relaxed once I showed up, her shoulders sagging and untensing. The journey home was mostly quiet, Anna occasionally looking back at me with a worried expression, but I just offered her a reassuring smile, hoping that she wouldn't ask too much about the letter.
I knew that I had to tell her about Amelia, but I didn't know when the best time was. She had only just found out about us, and dropping yet another bomb on her was sure to send her brain into overdrive. I needed to allow her thoughts and feelings to settle until I could tell her my story. I didn't want her thinking she was any less than she was. She was my everything now.
I had offered to make her a hot drink when we got back, but she excused herself, slipping into her room, but not before giving me a quick kiss on the side of my face. She looked exhausted, and I didn't blame her for wanting to get into bed. She had had a long day, and she needed to allow her mind to re-fresh itself overnight.
I couldn't sleep though, attempting to work through some kind of speech to give Anna on how Amelia meant nothing to me and she was all I wanted, but I eventually gave up, heading to bed myself. I was making myself go crazy and just needed to relax for the time-being.
The next morning, Anna was up early, mumbling to herself as she fixed herself a bit of breakfast from the kitchen. I entered after having freshly showered, noticing her munching on a piece of toast, her eyes wide once I rounded the corner, having caught her off guard.
"Got work this morning?" I questioned, and she nodded, brushing a few crumbs from her toast off of her pink knitted sweater.
I smiled, quickly pulling my phone from my pocket to send Dylan a text to let him know that Anna was headed to work and the warriors would need to keep an eye out for her, but, I was sure that he already had the school surrounded. Sophia was also going to be in there and he didn't want to risk anything happening to her either.
"Have you got your surgery today?" Anna asked, taking a seat at the dining table, looking anxious as she clicked her knuckles. I could tell she was concerned for it to go ahead in case anything went wrong, but I was a wolf, and I healed much faster than humans did. The risk of something going wrong was much lower.
I shook my head, biting at my lip. I was going to have to explain why I thought postponing my surgery was the best thing to do, but, we didn't have time to talk about it now. Anna was going to be late for work.
"I'm postponing it for the moment," I told her honestly, trying to make it seem casual as I wheeled myself over to the fruit bowl and took an apple, biting into it.
Anna knitted her brows together, looking taken aback. "What? Why?"
I shrugged, releasing a small chuckle. "Things are busy around the pack right now, and there are lots of things I need to sort out with the training program for the warriors. Now just isn't the right time."
Anna chewed on her bottom lip, slowly nodding, but she didn't respond, and I felt instantly guilty for lying to her. I couldn't tell if she knew if I was lying or not, but if she did, she didn't mention anything.
"That makes sense," she said, getting up from her chair. "I need to go to work."
"Have a good day," I told her. "Do you want me to meet you there when you finish?"
"Sure," Anna responded, pushing her braided hair off of her shoulder, grabbing her bag. She gave me a kiss to the cheek, quickly exiting the house, and a shiver ran down my spine. I was never going to get used to her kissing me, and I was frightened to never feel it again if I told her about Amelia. She could hate me for not telling her sooner, and putting it off was making me feel worse.
I had work to do today, but I was going to do it from home. There wasn't much reason for me to head over to the pack to do it. I looked out the window, peering into the forest to see the shadows of a few wolves, the sound of their paws hitting the ground as they walked reaching my ears.
It was reassuring knowing they were out there guarding us, but, it also meant that they were missing out on necessary training. I wondered if Dylan still needed me to plan their programs for next week.
I decided to begin working just in case, pulling out my laptop from my rucksack and setting it up on the dining table, opening up my spreadsheet. I had been pretty distracted recently, and I was sure that Dylan had noticed my lack of attention to detail in my work. I felt guilty, but he hadn't said anything.
I needed to ensure that I really knuckled down though and got it all done, even if the fighters weren't going to use it for a couple of weeks.
I was unsure how long I worked for, but I went through as many of the warriors as I could, emailing over their new programs to Dylan. He was bound to be busy now though, and probably wouldn't get back to me about the new programs for another few days, and a lot of the time he just trusted my work, not feeling the need to check every single thing I sent him.
My phone then began to buzz in my lap, and I gazed at it to see that Dylan was calling me. I immediately answered, resting my face in my hand.
"Hello?" I spoke, hearing Dylan clear his throat from the other end of the line.
"Jared, hey," he said, sounding a little tense, causing me to perk up. "I just wanted to call you to let you know that a human man has been seen entering, leaving and then re-entering the area. It just looked a bit suspicious to the warriors. He seemed like he didn't know where he was going either, just driving around aimlessly."
I gulped, groaning, pinching the bridge of my nose. There were plenty of reasonable explanations why someone would enter, leave and then re-enter a town, but it didn't seem logical in such a short space of time.
He was clearly looking for something. Or someone.
"It could be Anna's Father," I muttered, a small growl making its way from my chest up my throat. "I would suggest they keep an eye on him."
He wouldn't get anywhere near her. I wouldn't let him. I could kill him before he even thought about laying a hand upon my mate again.
"I'll let them know," Dylan told me, and I could hear him tapping away on his laptop as he spoke.
"Okay, I've also sent you over the programs for the warriors for next week. I wasn't sure if I needed to plan them though with them watching Anna and Sophia."
"Thanks, Jared. The fighters are on a rota, so they'll still be getting their training in," Dylan informed me, and I nodded to myself.
"Okay, I'll speak to you later."
ANNA'S POV
It was recess, and I was looking out the window, watching the children as they all ran around screaming and playing, completely and utterly lost in their imagination, something I was jealous over. I wished I could do the same.
I was currently cleaning up the classroom, the kids having made a hell of a mess, especially Sophia. She liked to paint, but usually enjoyed throwing it around on the table and the floor instead of the paper, something she was always being told off for.
"Anna?"
I turned around at the stern voice, noticing the principle, Mrs Peterson looking at me, dressed in her beige pant-suit. I gulped, setting down the pieces of paper I was clutching, offering her a small smile.
"Mrs Peterson, what can I do for you?" I asked, but, I already knew why she was here. She didn't visit the classrooms often, usually keeping to herself and staying in her office for as much time as possible. She only came out when she needed something.
"Would you be able to join me in my office please?"
I nodded, following her down the corridor, my heart thumping out of my chest. I was about to be fired for what Jill had told her. Fraternising with Jared looked unprofessional to them, but they didn't understand the circumstances. I couldn't just tell them that he was a werewolf and I was mated to him though- they would immediately send me to a psych ward.
I entered her office, and she quickly shut the door behind us, gesturing for me to take a seat as she made her way around her desk to do the same. I settled down into the squeaky leather, squeezing my fists together in angst as she looked at me, cocking her head.
"Anna, I've been told that you've been getting involved with one of our student's carers," she spoke, looking disappointed.
I gulped, nodding once. 'Getting involved' wasn't quite the right word. In fact, I was now living with him, but there was no way I was going to be mentioning that to her. "Yes, um, Jared."
"And that is Sophia's brother?" She asked me, and I shook my head.
"No, no, he's her Uncle," I quicky corrected her. Uncle sounded a lot better than brother.
Mrs Peterson nodded, jotting down a few notes on her notepad in front of her, and I attempted to crane my neck subtly to take a look. It didn't work though.
"Right, and you had him in the classroom alone?" She questioned, my face immediately going red.
"Yes, I apologise. It was innocent, I swear." My voice wavered a little, but I cleared my throat in an attempt to stop it from shaking. I didn't want it to sound like I had committed some devious crime. That would only make the punishment much worse.
"If you want to keep this job, you're going to have to be much more professional, Anna," she told me, and I felt a wave of nausea wash through me.
"I know, I'm sorry."
"I don't have a say on what you do with your personal life, but, as a school, we will have to reconsider your position here if you are going to be continuing things with Sophia's uncle."
I furrowed my brows. Were they allowed to do that? Could they really tell me that I wasn't allowed to see him any longer? I understood requesting he didn't come to the school other than to pick up Sophia, but surely they couldn't actually tell me to break it off with him or I would lose my job?
"Am I making myself clear?" Mrs Peterson spoke, looking at me over her glasses, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Crystal," I responded, nodding once. I could feel that I was about to cry, but I didn't want to show her that I was upset by the situation. That would make me look guilty and I didn't want to come across as weak.
"Okay, you can get back to work, thank you, Anna," She told me, nodding towards the door, and I quickly got up from my seat, exiting, closing the door behind me. I pressed myself up against the wall, taking deep breaths, swallowing my tears. I wasn't going to cry over this.
She was telling me that I couldn't see Jared anymore.
I ground my teeth together, feeling frustrated. Jared was my mate.
Jared was far more important than this job.
•••
Mrs Peterson can suck it.
Read ahead on my patreon:
patreon.com/Loveme105
The link can also be found in my bio!
Please vote if you enjoyed!