Chapter 14
It ceased to amaze me how massive Jason's wolf was.
'That's because he's an Alpha,' my wolf interrupted my thoughts proudly. I looked at Jennette; if she didn't look absolutely petrified at this moment, then I didn't know how to describe her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and take her away from this sight, but my feet felt nailed to the ground.
Gabriel shifted into his normal sized, hazel wolf. The playing field was semi-even, now. Maybe he would be able stand a chance against Jason. I was praying so badly to the fates that Gabriel could prove himself to Grey Skin, to Jason; but if by some sliver of a miracle that Gabriel won- well, that would just piss Jason off even more.
Jason's wolf lowered its body, as did Gabriel's, and they circled each other, studying one another. Gabriel's wolf made the first move, throwing his weight at Jason. I cringed as he clamped down on Jason's neck, tightly, while Jason's wolf howled out.
Quickly, Jason whirled out of Gabriel's bite, pouncing on Gabriel in the process, and smashing his large paw down on Gabriel's front leg. Jennette jumped and covered her eyes as the sharp sound of a bone cracking erupted throughout the arena. I winced and started chewing on the inside on my cheek nervously.
Come on, Gabriel, I thought.
Jason's paw lifted and he extended it and smacked Gabriel's head repeatedly. He growled and jumped off Gabriel, pushing his body across the dirt with his forehead. Gabriel's wolf roughly flopped across the ground, and a shrill cry passed his muzzle.
My heart stammered in my chest at the sound. I had enough of Jason's bullying antics. He was supposed to test Gabriel's skills, not rip him apart. I took a determined step forward, but I was stopped by two guards, who extended their arms in front of me. I pushed their hands away and went to proceed on, but they stopped me again, this time grabbing my wrist. I was tugged back, and I grunted. I glared hard at the one guard who grabbed me and looked back out into the arena.
Gabriel was quiet, and his wolf lay unmoved. I inhaled sharply, holding my breath until he moved.
He didn't. I went to tear my arm out of the guards hand just as Jennette booked it passed me into the arena. She dropped down besides Gabriel's wolf and gently clutched his fur into her fists. My heart broke for her. I pulled away from the guard and ran after her.
I stood beside Jennette, who was kneeling down and sobbing softly into Gabriel's wolf form. My eyes focused on Jason. He was standing a few paces away from us now, and he growled at me when he saw me next to Gabriel and Jennette.
I held my hand up to him, "Stop! I want to make sure he's still breathing after you nearly killed him!" I glowered at him and he huffed, turning away. Jennette had her head laying against his body now, but she scrambled to her feet, suddenly.
"He's breathing!" She exclaimed.
"He needs to shift, he can't stay like this," I told her. If Gabriel stayed in his wolf form it would only prolong the injury in his human form and make it worse.
Jennette kneeled down, stroking Gabriel's fur, "Sweetie, you need to shift, please shift. I want to get you all better." Gabriel's nose twitched and his eyes opened, looking directly at a sobbing Jennette. She smiled and continued murmuring to him. Within seconds Gabriel's bone's shifted and his fur disappeared. He lay stark naked in his human form, groaning and clutching himself in pain.
A few pack members came down from the stands, one carried a blanket. I pulled Jennette up and took a few steps back, making room for the pack members. They tossed the blanket over Gabriel and wrapped him up. The men reached down and carefully lifted him up on their shoulders, carrying Gabriel away.
I rubbed Jennette's shoulders as tears streaked down her face. A rough hand on my shoulder made me turn around. There stood Jason, dressed in only a pair of baggy shorts that hung low around his hips. I clenched my jaw and stared at him, finding no sign of remorse or guilt in his blank expression.
"Jennette, please leave us," Jason instructed. I was disgusted with him. Jennette kept her head down and walked away, releasing my hand. I turned to Jason.
"That's it? No apology to her? Jason, you practically mauled Gabriel, and that's all that poor girl gets? An order to fuck off?" Jason's expression didn't change, and after I spoke I immediately regretted it, expecting to be shoved against a tree.
Surprisingly, the corner of his lip quirked upward.
"I said please." My jaw dropped at his response. I wouldn't have ever expected this behavior from Jason. It was astounding at how scared I was of him the night he claimed me, and then my heart softened for him, but more recently I'm feeling more fearful as agonizing seconds tick by. I didn't like it at all.
I licked my lips, "I don't care how angry you are at me or Gabriel, but Jennette did not deserve to watch that." My eyes burned as the air whipped around us.
Jason's face twisted with anger.
"Why do you care about him so much? I claimed you, you're mine, you shouldn't even be concerned about that pup." He spat, stepping towards me.
"Why do I care? Are you so dense as to ask that? What- am I not allowed to care for my family either, Jason? Am I only supposed to concern myself with you? I'm not heartless, Jason! He's my friend now and so is Jennette. I'm not going to ignore them when we all live in the same pack." My defiance hadn't sprung any yelling from Jason, or threats, to my surprise. He remained silent.
Another smirk appeared across his lips, and I was worried about what he was going to say next.
"Not for long." His shoulder brushed mine as he walked passed me. I spun around and ran after him.
"What do you mean 'not for long'?" He didn't slow down, in fact his speed seemed to increase and I found myself stumbling to keep up as we exited the arena.
"I mean that we won't have this problem anymore. I'll allow Gabriel to stay here until he is able to travel, for Jennette's sake. Once he's well enough to move around, he and Jennette are to leave this territory." I tripped and landed on my knees in the dirt. My face must have been a sight to see because once Jason turned around, his grin reappeared.
He strutted back over to me and pulled me back onto my feet, holding onto me for a few more moments, "You can't kick them out of the pack, are you crazy?" I asked, sounding exasperated.
"Maybe I am. Listen, darling, it's either he stays here and I continue to harp on this matter, or we can put my mind and my wolf at ease and send him on his way." He shrugged casually and then intensely straightened before me, gripping my chin with his thumb and forefinger. I expected him to pinch my chin and bark another order, but instead he caressed my chin with his thumb, and his eyes glistened adoringly. He tilted his head and lowered his lips closer to mine. Our breaths mixed and a blush crept over my cheeks. "You still need to receive your punishment, my darling."
I was stunned when he pulled away. I blinked a few times, trying to keep my eyes focused on his, and not his toned pectorals.
"Are you serious? A punishment?" I furrowed my brows and placed my hands on my hips. "What, are you going to break my bones too?"
Jason sighed and sucked his lip between his teeth, nibbling on it for a few seconds. He cracked his knuckles dangerously slow, making me cringe with each snap.
"I wouldn't dare. You're too fragile, sweetheart. I have different ideas for you than what you saw here today," he turned and began walking up the path, but he paused and turned back around, "I wasn't going to kill him. He just needed to know I meant business, and all matters concerning you, my love, are business." I found myself staring at the smooth way the muscles in his back matched his movements as he strode away, but I looked away.
His body was too distracting, and it bothered me that I could be so easily swayed by his looks. I stood there for a few short moments after that trying to remember why I was so angry, but I could only think about Jason's body on top of mine, dominating me. I snapped out of my thoughts and panicked, running back up to the house. Jason disappeared from my sight, so I took this opportunity to search for Jennette and Gabriel.
It took me a while to find their room, but when I did I was being shoved around by a mass of women who were tending to a crippled Gabriel.
I moved to the corner of the room and watched the rush before me. A petite woman wrapped up in a turquoise shawl was dabbing a wet cloth on Gabriel's forehead, while a bigger woman with a mess of gray curls and dark spotted face pressed down on his sweat coated stomach with the pads of her fingers.
Gabriel hissed out in pain when a third woman went to gently lift his leg. She put his leg back down and massaged around the knee cap, earning a few guttural cries from Gabriel. I walked closer to the bed, now noticing Jennette clutching Gabriel's sweaty hand.
Her eyes never left his pained face. The big woman who was pressing on Gabriel's stomach paused in her soft movements. I stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her back. She looked at me, confusion flashing in her paling eyes followed by recognition.
"Oh, my Luna," She bowed her head in respects, as did the other women who now took notice to my presence, "What do we owe the pleasure?" I stared over her shoulder at Jennette and Gabriel. She looked behind her and nodded. "Of course we aren't meeting under the best circumstances, dear."
"I'm just looking for an update on his conditions."
The elderly woman nodded and picked a cloth up beside Gabriel's feet. She wiped her hands of his sweat. The two other women, much younger than the pack member I was just talking to began shifting and bandaging Gabriel's leg, carefully.
"He'll be fine, dear. The major concern was how bad his human form would deal with the injury. We had to be careful assessing him. Sometimes, injury's that occur in wolf form tend to be more serious in a man or woman's human form." I sighed, a feeling of relief washing over me as Jennette's head shot up, apparently listening to what the nurse was informing me. "It'll take time for him to heal, but it will happen," The nurse turned to Jennette, her polite smile revealing the age lines around her eyes, "Your mate will see another day." I smiled to myself. Relief had filled my chest when the nurse said Gabriel would be okay.
"It will be a long process, though," she added. Jennette didn't seem very phased when the nurse informed her of this, instead she was tracing the creases on the surface of Gabriel's forehead gently.
"I understand," Jennette said while keeping her attention on Gabriel, "I'm just so happy he'll be okay." I watched how careful she was with him, and it made my heart swell with warmth that she was so happy to be mated to him, and he deserved that more then anything. On the end of the bed there was a tiny kitchen chair, which I made myself comfortable in while the nurses left.
"You don't mind if I stay awhile, do you?" I asked Jennette as she scooted closer to Gabriel. She shook her head and gave me a sad smile.
"Thank you for being concerned, Cassie, it means so much, and I'm sure it will to Gabriel that his Luna stayed by me." I craned my neck to see Gabriel's bruised face to see that he was now fast asleep. I was still fuming about how Jason handled the situation, maybe I shouldn't have hid this from him, but even if I did come clean he would have wanted to kick Jennette and Gabriel out of the pack, and I just didn't think it was necessary. The worst part of it all was that she and Gabriel were paying for my mistake. I felt so selfish for not coming clean to Jennette, but she was the closest thing I had to a friend in this pack, and I don't know what she would think of me after all this.
My palms grew sweaty along with my growing anxiety that felt like it was eating away at my insides. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place; the rock being my guilt and the hard place being my selfishness. I bit the inside of my cheek, nibbling slightly, and gripped my shaky legs.
Deep breaths, I reminded myself.
"Jenn, I want to apologize for what Jason did to Gabriel, I know he'll never say it so someone has to. I feel terrible about how he practically- well, you know. It was absolutely the most terrible thing he could have done." Jennette grinned down at Gabriel.
"I suppose it could have been worse," she said. "Besides, he's alive and he'll be okay, and to be honest I want to put this behind us." She looked at me almost inquisitively.
"I understand," I nodded and continued to stare at her and Gabriel. "I just can't help but feel so angry about how he acted and his dominant attitude, it-it-" Jennette chuckled, and I paused. "What?" I asked.
"You don't like his dominant attitude because you're the same way. Usually mates share common traits, and it's obvious you're both stubborn and hard headed." I was taken back by her comment. I knew I was stubborn but I didn't think I was hard headed whatsoever. Jennette noticed my confusion. "Forgive me if I stepped out of line." I waved my hand nonchalantly.
"Don't worry about it, I just am a bit confused about the hard headedness." Jennette smiled warmly at me.
"Well, he's an Alpha and you're his Luna. You both have a lot to say and normally your thoughts will clash, which is why you disagree. Like at the arena, you're more calm about certain situations and Jason acts rashly." The sad thing was she didn't sound far off. "It's like yin and yang. That's the point of a mate. You were both created to balance each other out."
"But what he did was so outrageous and I'm so angry at him for it, it scares me-" Jennette stood up and walked towards me, taking me into a coforting embrace.
"I knew what Gabriel was getting into, and I think he knew, too. Jason was acting on his Alpha instincts, don't judge him too harshly, because he's not the only one." Her words sunk into my mind deep, and it made me think that it was Jason's wolf out there. Then again, a part of me wondered if Jason's thoughts were fueling his wolf's jealousy and rage.
"Aren't you scared of him?" I asked seriously; she looked at me with a blank expression for a moment before pursing her lips in thought..
"I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't. I think we all are to an extent. Besides the rage that comes along with being an Alpha, Jason is a respectable wolf."
I shook my head, " Well, I haven't determined whether or not I'm more amazed by his wolf or scared. I think it's half and half." My gaze shofted to Gabriel's pained expression as he slept. "I just don't understand how he could come so close to killing someone, and be okay with it."
"He was trained to show no mercy, he's an Alpha's son, remember?"
"That's no excuse. We're all people at the end of the day, not savages."
"Maybe some are people, but not all." She finished before walking back over to Gabriel.
I was astonished, "How are you not mad about what Jason did to him?" I asked incredulously, motioning to Gabriel.
"I never said I wasn't mad, but in this pack I can't show it, because there's nothing I can do about it."
Without another word, I walked out of the room, leaving Jennette alone with Gabriel. I just needed to be alone so I could think. I needed to think about this pack, everyone in it, and what on earth I was going to do about Jason's insane rages.
As if he heard my thoughts, Jason rounded the corner of the hall and walked straight towards me as I halted in surprise.
"Where are you going?" I asked as he walked right by me without acknowledgement. When he didn't answer me I jogged to him and grabbed his shoulder. "I'm talking to you, Jason!" At that, he whipped around, his nostrils flaring.
"I'm going to inform Jennette about how she will need to remove herself and her mate from the pack by the end of next week." My jaw dropped and I shook my head furiously at him.
"Gabriel won't be well enough to travel by then! Have you lost your senses completely?" My mind and my heart were at war. Every word out of Jason's mouth was pissing me off, but the sight of him was breathtaking to say the least. Even when he was angry I wanted to run my fingers through his dark hair and breath all of him in.
NO, I thought. Not a good time. I warned my wolf.
"I spoke with the nurses who took care of him, he should be up and moving by that time. Therefore, my mind is made up." I growled lowly and stepped in front of him.
"Jason, you can't do that! Why are you punishing them because of what I did? I lied to you, I decided to keep my past with Gabriel a secret. You know why? Because I moved on from that. You're my mate, you're who I'm fated with. There will never be another person who could ever so slightly steer my heart away from you, but when you act like this I-I despise you. It's cruel that you'd even consider kicking out a loyal member of your pack, and her innocent mate because of someone like me. I won't stand for it." My mind was spinning with anger and courage. "If you kick them out then I will be leaving with them." I stated. Jason's eyes lowered and grew dark. I watched his fists clench at his side and the ferocity in his snare was deadly.
"The day I let you leave me is the day I'm buried in the ground beside my mother." He growled. "I'm Alpha of this pack, meaning I can make whatever decisions I want, whether or not the rest of the pack likes it. This decision is final, and seeing that this was a personal matter, I don't intend on informing the rest of Grey Skin of it, capiche? All they need to know is Jennette and her mate are leaving on their own terms. I'll give you that, angel, but that's all you're getting. That and a nice, hard spanking." My body froze at his last few words. He wouldn't dare.
Oh, he would. And I hope he does after the way you talked to him. I fought off cursing at my wolf. She was supposed to be with me, not against me. Every decision he makes is for the good of this pack and you and me. Do us both a favor and shut your pie hole!
"Y-You wouldn't even think about laying a hand on me." I stuttered nervously, inwardly cursing myself for showing him that his threat had scared me.
"You're wrong there, angel. I intend to put my hands all over you." He got noticeably closer to me, intruding past my comfort level. In one swift movement, Jason swooped me from under my legs and tossed me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. I immediately started beating at his back, hissing low threats at him while he carried me down the hall, holding my thighs as he walked.
"If you don't put me down this very second Jason I'm going to make sure you lose your testicles!" Suddenly, I was thrown down onto a soft bed, and I sighed as I tried to relax my racing heartbeat. I leaned up on my elbows and met his intense stare.
"What is wrong with you?" I spat. He continued staring at me with those gorgeous moss resembling orbs that were haunting my dreams most nights.
"Nothing at all. I just wanted us to be out of sight, because we have important things to take care of."
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously and sat up, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Like a spanking?" I joked sarcastically. Jason didn't laugh, nor did his serious expression alter. I dropped my arms from my chest. "You're kidding. No. No, you weren't serious about that." I tried convincing myself out loud, but Jason just stood across from me, a devious smirk appearing on his face as my heart began to stammer once again.
"I'm very serious, darling. You need to be punished." He said darkly.
"No." I jumped up off the bed and ran to the door, I barely opened it a crack before Jason was right behind me, slamming it shut. The noise sparked fear in my heart. He was about to take advantage of me, right here, in a random room that could only belong to Goddess knows who. I spun around as he caged me in. "Please, do not do this." He appeared to be amused by my plea.
"Begging already? I don't even have you bent over yet." He said smugly.
"Fuck you." I hissed. I shoved at his chest, but he didn't budge. His smirk disappeared and he gripped my arms, dragging me over to the bed. He sat down on the bed and turned me over so I was bent in his lap. The anticipation is my chest made my stomach curl into knots. Jason yanked my pants down the best he could to my mid-thighs. I squealed and squirmed in his lap as he left me bare and vulnerable in his lap in a very small pair of panties. He firmly held my back, steadying me in his lap, and I continued wriggling my hips before I froze as a sharp smack stung my derriere.
I bit my lip and grunted. "That fucking hurt!" I looked over my shoulder at him as he fondled my ass cheeks with one hand. He looked at me, lust apparent in his eyes as he brought back his hand and gave me another hard spank. This one hurt more.
"You're going to count how many time I spank you. And you're going to hear why you're getting punished each time. Understand?" I glared at him with the most hate filled expression I could manage. I knew if I argued with him, it would probably make the spanking longer and harder, which I didn't want at all, so I turned back around and placed my hands on the ground, digging my fingernails into the carpet.
"You lied to me." He said and delivered another hard hit to my ass.
"One." I announced through gritted teeth. He spanked me again.
"You swore at me, multiple times."
"Two!" This hurt so bad, I wouldn't be able to handle it, I wasn't a fan of pain.
"You disobey me." Spank.
"Three!"
"You deny me of what's mine." Spank. This wasn't right. He wouldn't do this if he loved me.
"Four!"
"You disrespect me" Spank.
"Five!" I cried out. My arms were already shaking as all I wanted was to jump off and hold my rear-end and cry. This was degrading. I wanted to give him a few nice slaps. I didn't need this.
But you need him. No. Not like this.
Yes like this. He wants a reaction out of you.
"Six! Seven!" I whined breathlessly as two simultaneous hits came down on my ass. The last one felt good, almost.
"This is for having such a glorious ass, angel." I felt him caress one ass cheek before hitting it hard. I hissed out another number. Spank after spank just reigned down on me hard to the point where my butt grew numb. Some of the hits felt good and my body tingled with an itch to be touched by him, and I couldn't help the feeling when it overtook me.
When he reached the fifteenth spank, I felt him massage my glutes and rub my lower back soothingly. I couldn't help but let him touch me like this. I hated what he did, but at the same time I was craving more of this. More of his soft caress.. I wanted his hands everywhere, but I just couldn't allow it.
Jason helped lean me up, and I quickly pulled up my pants, no matter the stinging pain that my pants caused by rubbing against my butt. He stood up and leaned down, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me into him. I didn't know what to do. I had mixed emotions about being spanked, and I was upset about it, but being in his arms was a bliss that I didn't realize I needed until it was happening.
He placed a sweet kiss on my forehead and rubbed little circles on my hips before kissing my nose. I was a bit surprised by the sudden display of affection, but I wasn't denying it. I didn't want to get myself into more trouble. And sweet Jason was better than angry Jason.
"I need to go speak to Jennette." He announced, stepping away from me. I just looked at him and turned away. "Go back to our room, and I'll send someone to retrieve you for dinner." I sighed, not feeling very hungry after my "punishment". In fact, I had no appetite whatsoever.
"I'm not hungry." I mumbled, walking to the door. My ass hurt, and I slowed down my speed, wincing a bit as I reached the door. Jason was beside me, and he closed the door again as I opened it.
"You will eat." He ordered. I looked up at him and stared into his mesmerizing emerald eyes.
"I'm not eating. I'm not hungry. If I get hungry, then I will get something. I'm not forcing food into my stomach when I my just throw it back up." At that, Jason looked genuinely concerned.
"You feel sick? Are you nauseous? Does anything hurt?" I almost laughed.
"Besides the unbelievable burn in my ass right now, I think I'll live. I'm just- embarrassed. You didn't have to do that. The entire hallway heard my cries, I bet. Just leave me alone, okay? You've done enough today." I looked away and opened the door, walking down the hall and away from my mate.
I yelped as arms picked me up and held me bridal style, carrying me down the hallway. Sure enough, it was Jason.
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, annoyed.
"Carrying you to our room. I don't want you waddling in pain."
"Says the person who caused the pain." I scoffed. The swell in my chest felt overbearing and I was filled with embarrassment. I wanted to hide my face and cry out all of my frustrations.. Jason heard me but after a solid moment of him being expressionless, he ignored my comment, as expected, and continued carrying me down to our room. When we reached the room he gently put me down on the bed, and without another word he ushered out. I was left alone to think, and cry, and miss his embrace.
A/N: An update, finally! Hoorah! Please feel free to vote and leave your comments below:) It is very muh appreciated. I apologize for the wait, let's hope now that I have some more free time that my updates will be more frequent.
ALSO, I don't want you guys to look at Jason so negatively, because he is an Alpha, and he needs to feel that control. Over the course of the next few chapters you will see developing changes in both Jason and Cassie.
Happy Sunday!
~Amanda