Page 18 of Nighted

I knew the urgency had to be the pull of the Alpha’s order calling him back. Jasper wouldn’t be up this early of his own volition. “I’ll see you tonight?”

He nodded. “I’ll see you at your apartment.” He started to say something, then stopped himself, hesitating. His muscles tensed under his shirt in the usual manner when he was holding something back.

I poked his chest. “Spit it out, Jasp. Don’t tell me you’re regretting last night already.” My tone was light, but it didn’t stop a spark of worry from running through me.

Jasper closed his eyes, words spilling out. “There’s a party on the new pack’s land this week. I have to go. Alpha wants you to come with me, representing our pack.”

“But…?” I waited for him to continue, mentally preparing myself for the end of his sentence. A party couldn’t be enough to stress him out.

“This pack. They’re old fashioned. Most aren’t the biggest fans of human and wolf mates.” His face was apologetic, and I knew it wasn’t a conversation he wanted to be having.

I groaned in frustration. “Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me. As if we didn’t deal with this enough from my parents, now we have to be professional about it?”

Jasper lightly kissed my forehead. “I know. Believe me -- I know. I want nothing more than to shout about our marking from the rooftops and tell everyone we’re mates. Marked. But it’s probably safest we keep the bond under wraps. Because you still read as human for most wolves, and we can cover up the marks it should be fairly simple. We can talk about the party more later.”

“Under wraps, my ass,” I muttered. I was not okay with this. What did he expect me to do, buy out the concealer aisle at the drugstore?

Jasper smiled, knowing exactly what was going through my mind. “I’ll see you tonight baby. Be careful today.” The door clicked softly behind him as I flopped back into bed. As soon as he was out of sight, I was desperate for him to return. To make me feel whole once again.

Ugh. I was awake anyway. I might as well make the most of it. I had one last day to hang out on the pack lands. Originally, I had planned to spend the day with Lucy. I didn’t think girl time was still in the game plan. But there was always work to do. I dragged myself out of bed and headed into Adrian’s small kitchen. Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst, I scavenged in the fridge to try and pull some breakfast together.

I closed the fridge and jumped -- Adrian stood leaning against the counter, arms crossed. “Jesus, Adrian, you’ll kill me one of these days.” Fucking wolves and their fucking stealthy walks.

He ignored me. “Duke dropped your stuff off early this morning. Like, really early.” He gestured to my bag next to the front door, my blades set carefully on top. “You know, you’re the first human I’ve met who marked a wolf.”

I huffed. Men. One track mind. “First time for everything, Adrian.”

“It’s a pretty big deal. Did Jasper explain everything about the marking?”

“You mean about the mind reading, and basically owning each other’s souls? Yeah, I got that much.” I couldn’t help traces of sarcasm from threading through my voice. The mark was not subtle as it pressed through every cell of my body, demanding Jasper’s presence.

“It’s more than possession. It’s two bodies functioning as one.” Adrian sighed, putting his hands on my shoulders. “You know I love you like my own sister, Ava. But you have to take the marking seriously. Which means you need to take your safety seriously. You two are linked now. I don’t think Jasper could take the pain if something happened to you.”

I met his gaze. I knew what he was saying was true. I had felt the connection in my own body for weeks now, and more so since last night. I doubted I could handle if anything happened to him either. It was why Adrian needed to know he was safe with me around. “I know. My intention is to keep both of us out of harm’s way. We’re going to take this demon down before they can touch either of us.”

Adrian made a face at my casual use of demon, before smiling. “I don’t think either of you understand what it means to not be in danger.”

It was a joke, but his words sank like a brick in my stomach. He was right. I needed to take care of this demon before I put Jasper into any more danger. I gave Adrian a brief hug, dumping all the food in my arms on the table as I tugged my shoes on. I pulled my bag on my shoulder and grabbed a blade in either hand.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Adrian called out to me as I ran out the door.

“I’ll eat later. Thanks, Adrian!” He had made some good points, and I knew where I needed to go today. I had to look up demons at the pack library.

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