Page 5 of Caligo

“I was going to ask you the same question.” I smiled softly. Even with the evening we had, I felt at peace knowing we were together. Except… “We should clean up. But you don’t exactly have any clothes left to walk back up to the apartment in.” I looked at the scraps of fabric at our feet. I’d have to tidy that up later. Jasper chuckled against my neck, and I pushed away from him. “What’s so funny about streaking?”

He pointed behind me, and I turned to read my apartment number on the door beside us. “Why didn’t you just tell me we were at my apartment the whole time?” I cried.

Jasper shrugged, smiling. “You seemed pretty set on me taking you right then and there, and who am I to argue with a pretty girl?”

I punched him in the arm, but I smiled too. “You still could’ve told me. Let’s go inside.”

I cleaned up while Jasper made himself at home, and I walked out of my bathroom to find him sprawled on my bed. “I was so scared, Jasper. Maybe my parents were right, and I’m not cut out for this.”

Jasper hugged me tightly. “Not even a small part of me believes that’s true. Your instincts were spot on, and they saved your life. As for being scared, anyone who wasn’t afraid in that situation would’ve been an idiot.”

I fidgeted in his embrace, nerves getting the best of me.How stupid,I thought.Can outrun a damn wolf, but can’t talk to a man.My fear won the battle. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

Jasper smiled gently. “I’m not planning on going anywhere, baby. Not even a teeny cat can scare me away tonight. I’ll sleep better knowing you’re safe.”

“Watch who you say that around. Betty will take offence if she hears you!”

I yawned widely, and Jasper kissed the top of my head. “Come on. Go to sleep. I’m here if anything happens.”

Jasper spooned against my back, pulling me tight to his chest. I couldn’t help but notice we fit together perfectly. Being around Jasper made me feel at ease, even after the night we had. His breathing slowed and evened out, and I found myself drifting off easily. Maybe this mate thing wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter 2

“Good. Now hit me again.”

I dropped my hands to my knees to catch my breath, wiping the sweat off my forehead. “Seriously? Can I have a five-minute break?”

Jasper shook his head. “Nope. Supernatural beings don’t stop, Green, and there’s no breaks in the real world. What happened to the girl who told me she wanted to be stronger?”

We were in the old park on the outskirts of town, and Jasper was teaching me to spar. It was a week or so after the encounter outside my apartment, and things had been going a lot smoother. Jasper and I alternated where we spent our nights, our explicit reason being we were safer together, the unspoken explanation being we didn’t like sleeping apart after we first shared a bed. I found myself having an increasingly more difficult time fighting the mate bond and trying to take things at a normal pace.

We had been practicing for several hours. In between lessons, I took the time to admire his impressive form, the easy way his track pants draped perfectly on his hips. Jasper was jogging in place, shirtless and sweat free, looking like he had stepped out of a catalogue. I, on the other hand, looked like I had run a marathon. In a garbage bag. With weights. I had thought I was in shape, but that was before I trained with Jasper. Despite my exhaustion, most of the skills he was teaching me came quite naturally, as if they were second nature. I had never been more certain my parents were wrong in doubting my abilities as a Venator.

I groaned and stood up straight again, reaching for all the strength I had. I forced myself into a defensive stance. “Tell me again why I can’t train with weapons. I don’t think I’m going to be taking anything down with my bare hands.”

Jasper laughed. “I’ve told you before. If you can’t fight with your fists, then you won’t be able to control a weapon effectively.”

“Where’d you learn all this stuff, anyways?” I asked, trying not to roll my eyes.

“Here and there.” He stretched his arms out. “It’s encouraged in the pack to diversify your strengths. Stop stalling. Again.” He slapped his hand against his sharp jawline, waiting for my move.

My knuckles were bruised from punching, and every muscle ached, but I felt stronger every day. I threw another quick punch to his jaw before ducking back to my defensive stance. Punching him hurt me like hell, but Jasper didn’t seem any worse for the wear. How did normal humans fight like this on a daily basis?

He nodded briskly. “Again.”

After what felt like years of training we headed back to my car. “You did good today, baby. I’m definitely seeing improvement, and your base instincts are good. Maybe we can start with knives by the weekend.” Jasper reached for my hand, kissing my swollen knuckles. His touch sent tingles down my spine, and as tired as I was, I was eager to get back to the motel. I did a small happy dance with my free arm to acknowledge my excitement of my training progress and Jasper laughed. He looked towards the near-empty parking lot and jerked his chin up. “Wonder what crime the sheriff has to investigate in this park? Someone littering? A kid riding their scooter on the wrong side of the sidewalk?”

I followed his gaze and saw Sheriff Kelly in his cruiser, talking to someone on the phone. “Huh. I wonder what kind of call they got.”

We passed Sheriff Kelly’s car, and he nodded a greeting to us as he hung up the phone. “Ms. Green. Out for a run?”

I paused to respond, noting the sheriff’s dark sunglasses even though the day was overcast. “Yeah, just out for a jog.”

He nodded his acknowledgement, revealing a healing bruise along his neck. “Rough time on patrol, Sheriff?” I gestured toward his neck.

He looked away, pulling his collar up higher. “The usual. Wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

Weird. This whole situation felt off. But Jasper was waiting next to my car, so I said goodbye and walked away. As I made my way over to my car, I glanced back over my shoulder to see the Sheriff pick up his phone once again.

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