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.
Outside, leaning against his Mustang, was Jasper, talking to somebody on the phone. I waved as I walked up and he smiled, unexpectedly pulling me into a hug and opening my door for me. He climbed in, still on the phone, and we were speeding down the road. If he hadn't been a werewolf I would have been scared but since we were werewolves our reflexes were a lot better, he wasn't going to crash. He seemed to be arguing with somebody in a different language and, I had to admit, it was sexy.
"I didn't know he spoke another language." Nina all but purred in my head. Me either but, man, is it hot. I thought in reply. My body reacted to his deep voice and the way his tongue formed the foreign words. I saw him stiffen and he turned to me, signaling that he had smelled my arousal.
I flushed and focused on the road, trying not to get taken in by the hunger in his gaze. I saw his hand tighten on the wheel but he continued speaking to whoever it was on the phone. Soon I could see the large house that was the living quarters for most of the pack come into view. It was everything that I remembered.
The pack house was about five stories above the ground and that didn't include the underground sections. The outside was a plain off-white color and there were balconies on each level. Once we got close to the house, Jasper pulled off to the side, pulling the car around back to the large yard. As we pulled up, people were walking around with drinks and talking, some were seated around the three different fires set up. I wrung my hand nervously as Jasper got out and came around to open my door. Some time between getting out of the driver's seat and opening my door, he had ended his call and put his phone away.
"Come on, Lena." He said at my hesitation, taking my hand. I sighed and got out, looking around to see the different people. It was strange being back where I had experienced so much pain. Jasper, sensing my hesitation, ran his thumb in circles along the back of my hand. Here goes nothing. I thought with a sigh, letting him pull me into the crowd.
As soon as the wind moved and my scent was projected into the crowd, hostile eyes turned sharply to me. I knew being a rouge wasn't going to help this situation any, I shouldn't have let Jasper convince me to come. Jasper pulled me closer, dropping my hand to wrap his arm around me and I let him. The only thing that kept me from cowering behind him was my pride, I didn't cower before anybody.
The air was cold but, being werewolves, helped us run a little warmer than humans so it wasn't bad and Jasper's body heat was helping. Girls glared harder than the guys, angered at the fact that Jasper had his arm around me. Off in the distance, I heard my name being called and looked around for the source. Jasper, seeing the culprits before I did because he could see over people, took his index finger and pushed my face gently in the right direction. As soon as my eyes focused, I saw Jason and Jacob making their way towards us.
"Lena." Jacob smiled, looking as though he was conflicted about whether or not to hug me. I hesitated a moment then Nina reminded me that I had said I was coming to try to fix things. I nodded, letting him know it was okay, and he pulled me into a big bear hug, knocking the breath out of me.
"Alright, Jacob, put her down. You don't want to kill her, do you?" Jasper smiled but I could hear the seriousness in his voice. Jason stepped forward to give me a gentler hug when two dark-haired girls walked up. One of them cleared her throat and Jason pulled back, looking at her.
"Oh, yeah. Lena, this is Cathy and Tiffany, our dates for the night. Cat, Tiff, this is Lena, our sister." He introduced and I smiled at them as they looked me up and down, their mouths twisted in a cruel line.
"Lena, would you like something to drink?" Jasper asked, breaking the awkward silence that had followed. I nodded and let him lead me away but my brothers followed which meant so did the newest members of my hate club. I sighed, trying to ignore the looks I got as we walked into the little tent they had the drinks at.
"What would you like, Alpha?" The guy at the cooler asked Jasper, quite obviously ignoring me. Jasper looked at me, silently letting me know to tell him what I wanted.
"Um, can I get a Coke, please?" I asked the guy but he didn't even acknowledge my presence.
Jasper was about to say something but I stopped him. I stepped forward, opening the chest myself then the guy grabbed my arm hard and Jasper and my brothers growled but it was too late. I punched the asshole right in the nose then pressed my foot against his throat when he fell to the ground.
"You don't ever touch me. Understood?" I asked, pressing my foot harder against his throat. He wheezed and I released him. "I thought you would." I smiled sweetly, turning back to Jasper.
"I'm in love." He sighed happily at me and I laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I smiled, waiting for him and my brothers to get their drinks. At least that was one less asshole that would bother me.
"So where did you learn how to fight like that, sis?" Jason asked as we made our way to one of the fires.
"Well, being a rogue can be a rough life. Some people attack me just for the hell of it and I'd rather know how to fight than get my ass handed to me." I answered, sipping my drink and letting it drop. There were some things about myself that I didn't want to talk about.
"You have no idea how proud I am of you right now." Jasper whispered softly to me, pulling me close to him.
"For what?"
"For just being you. For coming here tonight and for handling that guy. For everything that you've done to survive. For just everything." He whispered, looking deep in my eyes. I could feel his breath against my lips and he pressed them softly to mine. I felt his tongue ask for entrance and gave it to him eagerly.
My hands stayed where they were, on my lap and his arm stayed wrapped around me as our mouths moved slowly against each other. He smiled against my lips and pulled back, just looking at me. What am I doing? I asked myself, completely lost as to what we were at this point or what was going on between us. I mean, I knew we were mates but I had told him that we weren't in a relationship so what was this? He leaned in and kissed me softly again just as a shriek broke the air.