Page 9 of Caligo

“Are human and wolf mates really rare?” I asked.

Jasper hummed in agreement. “Yeah, they are.” He brought my knuckles to his lips and gently scraped them with his teeth. “Means you’re extra special.”

I laughed. “Now you’re starting to sound like Beau.” He winked suggestively at me. I was about to tease him back when my phone rang. I shook myself away from Jasper’s hand and grabbed my phone from the bottom of my bag, surprised when I saw my dad’s number flashing across the screen. I hadn’t spoken to my parents since my confrontation with my mom, but not for lack of trying on her part. I ignored all of the phone calls and texts I received from her, but this wasn’t exactly unusual for me. But now, this was my dad calling.

I groaned, not wanting to deal with him right now, but knowing this was only delaying the inevitable. Jasper looked concerned. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. It’s my dad.” My phone continued to ring as I debated answering it. At least with Jasper in the car I would have emotional support. But on the other hand, I would be forcing him to sit through what I expected to be a very uncomfortable situation. I closed my eyes, ignored the ringing, and counted to five. Then I pressed the answer key.

“Hello, Ava.” My dad’s calm voice rang out over the line, and I knew Jasper could’ve heard every word even if he wasn’t a wolf.

“Hi, Dad.” We had always had a better relationship than my mother and I, but I still always felt like I was failing him in some way. Now I understood why and it was the elephant in the room.

He sighed heavily. “Now, what has your mother so upset?”

“You mean, besides the fact you’ve lied to me my entire life?” I snapped bitterly. I hadn’t realized how angry I was still at them.

“Don’t be overdramatic. Your mother and I made the decision based on what is best for you. Now this whole situation has gotten her quite agitated, and I expect you to call her and apologize immediately.”

My temper flared. “Shouldn’t she apologize to me? My whole life has been a lie, not to mention how little you two must think of me to not fill me in on the family secret.”

“This has gone far enough. You will apologize. And I don’t think I need to reiterate you will stay away from that Knight boy.”

I stole a quick glance at Jasper. He was still staring straight ahead, but his knuckles gripping the steering wheel were white. “You can’t order me around anymore, Dad. I’m not a child. You have no say in the matter.”

My father’s voice cut through me as if he was in the car with us. “I can and I will. No daughter of mine will be seen with a mutt.”

Jasper pulled the car over to the side of the deserted road and closed his eyes, breathing heavily. I knew he was livid, but I wasn’t sure at which part. I turned my attention back to the phone, putting as much venom into my voice as I could. “What the hell, Dad? I thought you were supposed to help the packs? How can you say this shit about them behind their backs?”

“It’s one thing to aid the packs. That’s something in my blood. My father did it, and his father before him. It’s another to watch my only daughter run off and mate with one of their kind.” I could practically taste my father’s disdain, and Jasper stormed out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

“You’re with him right now, aren’t you?” I’d never heard my father’s voice sound so cold.

“I am. Your concern is misplaced, in both myself and in Jasper. You could show me a little bit of faith for once in my life,” I responded.

My father laughed. “Believe me, Ava, you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. I’m telling you this once more for your own good. If you expect to remain my daughter, you will forget you know anything about the Venators, and you will not see Jasper Knight again.”

For the first time in my life, I hung up on my father. I couldn’t believe the disgust and anger that was seeping out of a man I had thought to be calm and level headed. Dark had settled around us while we were driving, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust. I spied Jasper at the edge of the woods close to where he had pulled over. His beat-up jacket was carelessly tossed on the ground, and the fabric of his black shirt strained over his back muscles as he repeatedly slammed his fists into a thick tree trunk. I got out of the car, hugging my arms around my body against the chill in the air as I walked over to where he was.

“You know I don’t think like they do.” I wanted to alert him to my presence.

“Ava.” He stopped his attack on the tree, resting his head on his forearms. “It’s not that.”

I stood in front of him. “Then what has made you so upset you’re hell-bent on knocking this tree down with your bare fists?”

Jasper raised his head up an inch, looking at me darkly. “I can’t ask you to give up your family for me. So where are we going to go from here?”

I put a hand on his forearm, careful to avoid his scratched-up knuckles. “The family I grew up respecting taught me not to judge people by their differences. They taught me to be honest, and to stand on my own two feet when things got tough. So far, the only person in my family holding up their end of the bargain is me.”

Jasper shook his head, his wild locks blowing in the wind. “No. You’ll regret losing your parents eventually, and then you’ll resent me. I’d never want that.”

I gripped his arm with more force. “No. Jasper, they never respected me. I was a burden on them, nothing more. If they want me to ever be part of their lives, they’ll have to respect the decisions I make. And one of those decisions I’m going to make is you.”

I felt like he was staring into my soul. “Are you sure, Ava? That’s a big decision to make. And you wanted to take this slow.”

“I can’t fight this,” I whispered. I knew what I was admitting to, in less words than I’m sure he would have liked to hear. “Now take me home.”

He enveloped me in his arms, crushing me to his chest. We stood in the dark for a moment, me breathing in his woodsy smell. Eventually he released me, and we made our way back to the car.

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