Page 17 of Nighted

“Remember you said that. Because we’re going to Adrian’s house.”

He had to be kidding me.

I groaned dramatically and Jasper pulled me close to him. “Cheer up. It’s for less than a night. Soon enough we’ll be in our own place. That is, if you’re still okay with the plan.” His voice was cheerful, but I could hear the concern underneath. But he had no need to be worried.

“Definitely. Absolutely.” He laughed gruffly at my quick response, the sound reverberating against my body. I peeked up at Jasper through my lashes. “You realize you’re stuck with me now, right?” Rising up on my tiptoes, I kissed the slight mark I had made on his neck, feeling his body shudder under my touch.

“I’m not sure ‘stuck’ is the word I’d use, baby.” His golden stare warmly locked onto mine. “Now come on. We have a blow-up mattress calling our name.”

I wasn’t surprised when we knocked on Adrian’s door and he immediately answered, looking dishevelled but wide-awake. The time was late, but Adrian looked like he hadn’t yet gone to sleep. If the pool table in the living room didn’t scream frat boy, his erratic sleeping habits definitely sealed the deal. Emphasizing this point, Jasper poked his head around Adrian’s lean frame to peer inside his small rental. “We’re not interrupting anything, are we?”

Adrian ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair, laughing unabashedly. “Nah. You missed her.” Narrowing my eyes, I pushed past him, collapsing on his worn couch. He was well aware of my disapproval toward his ever-revolving door of girls. Adrian threw his hands up in the air, feigning defence. “Don’t look at me like that! She knew the score when she came home with me!”

He was digging his grave deeper. I remained quiet, pursing my lips. Adrian wisely took notice and changed tactics. “What’s up with you guys anyway? I thought my air mattress was beneath you.”

I caught Jasper’s eye and shrugged in response to the question I saw reflected there. Secrets didn’t keep for long in the pack, so he might as well spill everything now. At least that way he could get a handle on how the story came out. Neither of us needed more bad press in the pack. Jasper nodded, took a seat on the couch arm next to me and ran down the events of the evening. The explanation didn’t take long, but by the time he finished, Adrian was slack-jawed.

“So, wait. Let me see if I have this straight.” He pointed his finger at me, and then at Jasper. “You, a human, marked him, a wolf?”

The warmth of a blush spread across my face, along with a bit of pride. “Adrian!” I scolded, glaring at him again. I mean, I didn’t expect Jasper to throw the marking into his rundown either, but was that seriously what he had taken away from everything going on? Men.

“I’m kidding! Kidding!” Adrian grinned at me. “Besides, we can circle back around to your marks later.” I rolled my eyes as Jasper rested a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

Jasper turned his attention back to Adrian, expression serious. “Something is up, Adrian. We have responsibilities elsewhere and can’t be here all the time to keep an eye on things. Beau won’t be back from his camping trip for a while yet. We need you to be our ears and our eyes when we aren’t here.”

Always eager to please, Adrian nodded. “Whatever you need. You know that.” Jasper did. As did I. Trust ran deep in the pack. The feeling of this instantly made me feel at home and was something missing in my own family. We never had honesty, so how could we have true loyalty? That was an impossibility. But I had found a family here, with these young werewolves. And I never wanted to lose the feeling. The powerful loyalty was also what made watching Duke and Jasper argue difficult. The rift slowly opening tonight would take time to heal.

“Baby. Ava. Are you listening?” Jasper’s voice sounded like it was miles away. I was exhausted and lost in my own thoughts. I stared blankly at him, wondering what had been said.

Thankfully, he knew what I was thinking and repeated what he had said previously. “Adrian’s had exposure to demons before. He’ll be an asset. Okay?”

Adrian quietly beamed from Jasper’s praise, before solemnly turning to me. “My aunt. In another pack. My mom made us all learn the signs and defences to be on the safe side. If that’s actually what we’re dealing with here, the situation isn’t pretty.” Yet again, I felt like I was in over my head. But I would figure the problem out. I smiled gratefully at him, before yawning uncontrollably.

I felt like I had been awake for weeks and I wasn’t sure I could keep my eyes open another second. “Man, Ava, you look beat. We can talk about this stuff tomorrow.”

I nodded. “I think the whole night caught up with me. I’m going to head to bed if that’s okay.”

Adrian gestured down the hall. “Bed’s all made up.” I glanced sharply at him, shocked. He shook his head. “Listen. I’ve been friends with Jasper for a long time, and I’ve learned it’s always better to be prepared.”

Instinctively I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but thought better of it. I didn’t need to know. At least not tonight. Jasper joined me in the hallway. “Thanks, man, I appreciate it.”

Adrian’s voice carried out down the short hallway. “Don’t worry! You can tell me all about the marking ceremony I wasn’t invited to tomorrow!”

“Yeah. Sure,” Jasper muttered, following me into the tiny bedroom. “Really wishing I had left out that detail now.”

“I heard you!” Adrian’s voice was muffled but cheerful. Jerk.

I fell into the bed, fully clothed. I didn’t care the bed was an air mattress. At this moment the mattress was the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in. With my eyes closed, the spare room could’ve been a five-star hotel in Tahiti. “Everyone would’ve found out eventually. People usually notice new marks right away, unless you cover them up.”

I felt the weight of the mattress shift as he settled into the bed next to me, the warmth of his large body spreading through my own. “I know. Just would’ve been nice if we had been the one to tell people instead of Adrian running his big mouth.” I heard Jasper sigh and felt him press a soft kiss to my temple. I thought he had fallen asleep, and I was close enough to sleep myself I wondered if I was dreaming already. But I heard his soft voice as he whispered into my skin. “Tonight was more than I could’ve ever hoped for.”

* * *

Sunlight filtered in through the window in Adrian’s small spare room, waking me up before I felt ready. I struggled to open my eyes, finding Jasper already wide-awake, caramel eyes watching me.

“Morning,” I mumbled, trying not to be self-conscious. I probably had drool all over my face, and I could feel the imprint of the coarse pillow still on my cheek. But as usual, Jasper’s eyes reflected none of this.

“Good morning,” he whispered, brushing an unruly lock of hair out of my face. “I have to go. My first meeting is at ten and I’ve already waited too long. I didn’t want to wake you up though. You seemed peaceful, for once.”

---