Betrayal & Redemption

Chapter 14

Jackson POV 

Arlo is jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store. She finally realized it. 

Mate, mate. MATE, he chants over and over. 

I pull away from her lips and he lets out a low growl. I'm not any happier about it than he is, but it wouldn't bode us well to be making out in a random parking lot. 

"Wait. Did you say 'finally'?" she asks. 

I clear my throat, suddenly nervous. 

"Erm yeah. Yes I did. Why?" 

"So you KNEW and decided to keep me in the dark?!" she folds her arms across her perfect chest. 

"Well.. I wasn't really sure what was going on with you. I shouldn't have had to tell you- you should have just known based on my scent," I tell her, taking a large bite of my sandwich. 

She watches me eat and picks up her own food. She has to be starving, we hardly ate the Chinese from the other night, and that's the last time we got food. I even bought extra sandwiches, fruit, and snacks in case the sandwich isn't enough. She takes a big bite and moans, my c**k twitches in my pants. Whatever spell this woman has over me has to be of the strongest magic on the planet. 

Love is the strongest magic, Arlo sniffs. 

Jesus Christ, buddy, you need to chill with that. 

Mate loves us, I love mate, is all he says. 

You're such a cute little pup, all in love, I say, grinning. 

He growls loudly. Arlo hates being called a pup. I put the car in drive and pull away from the pump. I take a few more bites of my sandwich and look over at Caroline, who is hanging over the center console, digging through the cooler. She produces another sandwich, an orange, and a bag of chips. She already inhaled her sandwich- I'm glad I got food, I knew she would be hungry. As if reading my thoughts, she pipes up. 

"I don't think I have ever been this hungry," she says, spreading mayo on a turkey sandwich. 

"Make sure you get water, too," I tell her. 

Her ocean eyes meet my green ones and my heart stops beating. I have never seen anyone as beautiful as her. She smiles and I think I die on the spot. How could anyone be so perfect? 

"So why didn't you tell me about the mate thing?" She says, biting into her food. 

I run my hands through my hair and focus on the road. 

"I-I wasn't sure why you weren't responding to me. I wasn't sure if I was right about you being my mate... I mean you were in my bed, sniffing my sheets and didn't figure it out." 

Her brow crinkles and she sighs. 

"Why didn't I know?" 

"Well, I have a bit of a theory but I'm not sure you're going to like it. I don't want to scare you.." 

"Just tell me, Jackson. I'm a big girl." 

"I think you've been drugged with wolfsbane for most of your life. You smelled so strongly of it when I met you, I almost didn't pick up that you were my mate," I tell her, my hands tightening on the steering wheel. 

The effects of microdosing someone with wolfsbane wouldn't be lethal- but it would be detrimental to their wolf. The fact she could even shift is an absolute miracle but would have drained her and her wolf's energy quickly. 

"How would some- why would someone do that?" she says, still nibbling her food. 

"It would keep your wolf weak. It wouldn't be deadly, but it would make your wolf very very weak," I tell her. 

"Well...we've never been very strong... Wouldn't I have picked up on that, though? The wolfsbane...?" 

"Not if you were used to the smell. If it had been given to you before you got your enhanced sense of smell, you probably would have had too weakened of senses to smell it as strongly as you should, or even at all. It had to be someone close to you- someone who had access to what you would eat or drink." 

"Why do you think that?" she says- her voice has changed, and I know she knows who I'm referring to. 

"If it was injected into you, the effects would have been different. More noticeable. Even a small dose would have you behaving as though you were drunk, only it would have been painful for you." 

I reach over and place my hand on her shoulder, rubbing her marking spot with my thumb. I love the way she melts into my touch. 

Mark mate, Arlo says. 

Dude. It is literally the middle of the day in bumfuck nowhere and I'm driving, I tell him, astounded. 

Don't care. Mark mate. Pull over, he says stubbornly, like a child. 

Relax. We will. When she's ready.. Look at her- she's not ready yet, I say to the primitive beast.  

He just sighs, defeated. He knows how broken she is, too. 

"It was my mother...wasn't it? She knew. She planned this.." Caroline says, her eyes filling with tears. 

"I think so, sweetheart. I think so," I say, simply. 

Caroline POV 

I just want to curl up in Jackson's lap again. My own mother...poisoned me... For years. Jackson is rubbing my neck and shoulder, and if I weren't so distracted I would be in his lap. Tears fall down my cheeks and I take another bite of the sandwich. For some reason I am absolutely ravenous. Jackson's words really strike home when Rae starts pointing out how much better she can smell and how different she feels. 

I could take down an entire pride of lions! She says to me. 

I just smile inwardly. 

And do you SMELL HIM?! God. It's like... It's like a fresh forest with a lavender stream, and a roaring waterfall. In the rain. 

I inhale deeply and notice all the things she's saying. I don't realize I'm involuntarily leaning over towards Jackson, sniffing him with my eyes closed. I open them and he's staring at me like I am the world's biggest weirdo. My face goes red as a tomato and I cover my face. 

"Shoot, I'm sorry. Rae..Rae can smell you. We can smell...everything," I tell him. 

Now his face turns red. 

"What?" I ask. 

He clears his throat and runs his hand through his hair, leaving it on his head so that his tattooed bicep is bulging to the size of my head. I feel a tingling sensation deep in my belly and he sniffs softly and his eyes dart directly to mine. My stomach flip flops and I all but feel my p***y tingling for him. His eyes go dark for a moment and I know he can smell it. His eyes meet mine and Rae purrs appreciatively- and I realize I can smell his arousal as well. f**k. 

I cross my legs, squeezing them together and look out the window. 

"So uhm...how much longer until we're there?" I ask, breaching into safer territory. 

"Not soon enough," Jackson's voice is gruff, tight, and almost growly. 

I look over at him and realize his eyes have no left my body and his eyes are mostly black pupils with a sliver of iris. 

"Uhm..Jackson? Are you-" 

"Arlo. I am Arlo, little mate. I will be back soon to meet you and mark you," the voice coming from Jackson says. He licks his lips and then Jackson's eyes go back to the same forest green. 

Arlo. That's his wolf... I fight Rae as she tries to take control over me. I am not going to let this horny mutt embarrass me. 

Hmph, she pouts. 

I know. Horrible person for not letting you jump him while he's driving. 

As soon as I get all my strength back, I am taking over. You have no idea what you're doing. 

Oh? And you do? Do you remember that I am you and you are equally clueless?? 

That shuts her up. 

Jackson seems to regain control of his wolf and sighs. 

"I'm sorry about him. I've had to keep him at bay for the past few days with you and he just couldn't take it anymore," he tells me, his eyes never leaving the road. 

"When will we get there?" I ask him. 

"A couple hours yet. If you want, you can lay down in the back again. I have movies back there." 

"Oh? Any special requests?" I ask, climbing through to the back seat. I pick up the box and put it in my lap.

"Grease has always been a favorite of mine. Or Beauty and the Beast." 

I catch his eyes in the rear view mirror. 

"Those are two of my favorites, too," I tell him, biting my lip to hide my smile. 

He draws a sharp, ragged breath. 

"Caroline, I'm gonna warn you now. Do not do that again unless you want me to take you right then and there," he tells me, his voice going deeper with every word. His eyes never leave mine. 

I lick my lips, still holding his gaze and he closes his eyes and groans. 

"Dammit woman. You are going to be the death of me," he grunts, taking his eyes from mine.

I can smell his arousal again, stronger this time than it was before. I don't know if it's because he's more turned on, the wolfsbane wore off slightly more, or both. I pick Grease and slip it into the DVD player, then open up the large overhead screen. He presses a few buttons on the stereo and the commercials come up, illuminating the back seat. I lean my seat back slightly and grab the bag of chips and the water from earlier. 

"You can skip straight to the movie. The remote is in the storage pouch behind my seat," he says. 

I find it and skip ahead to the movie menu, then hit PLAY. The starting scene begins, the waves of the beach crashing and the camera pans over to Sandy and Danny playing on the beach. I always loved this part. The opening credits start and my amazement, Jackson sings the opening song Grease word for word. His deep voice sending shivers down my spine. I want to catch his gaze and bit my lip again. 

Who's horny now? Rae pipes up unhelpfully. 

I roll my eyes and watch the movie. Jackson sings all Danny's parts and I sing all of Sandy's- and soon the ending credits come up and the car approaches a long, dirt drive. He slows and turns down it, and I climb back in the front seat, looking around. There's nothing but dense woods now, but I can see that it gets lighter ahead. Soon we are in the community. I can see a soccer and football field, next to two massive buildings. There are some small homes on the outskirts with small dirt paths leading to and from them, and straight ahead is a massive brick home with tall white pillars and a big set of stairs surrounded by overflowing gardens out front. Off to the left there's a huge lake with docks, a park with slides, swings, and a jungle gym. The houses we pass go from log style cabins to brick homes the closer we get to the mansion. Jackson pulls into the circular driveway and a warrior comes forward to get my door. He holds his hand out to help me down from the car and Jackson lets out a warning growl, eyes set on the warrior. I bite my lip to hide my smile and hiss comes through Jackson's teeth. My entire body responds to the noises he makes. The front door opens and a couple emerge. The man is a few years older than Jackson but the woman with him can't be much older than me. His black hair is offset by her almost white blond hair, and their eyes couldn't be any different with hers almost a gray and his match his ebony hair. 

"Jackson!" he says going over to him. 

He pulls him into an embrace and they clap each other on the back in the weird way that men do. Jackson comes to my side and drapes an arm around my waist. 

"Caroline, this is Alpha Carter and his lovely mate, Evelyn," he introduces us. 

I extend my hand but the woman comes over to me and hugs me tightly. She quickly pulls away as though she was shocked and looks at me, sniffing. 

"Wolfsbane?" she asks, looking at Jackson. 

Alpha Carter comes up to me and inhales deeply, too, but he makes an appreciative noise in the back of his throat before scrunching up his nose. Jackson lets out a quiet growl. 

"Now, now, Jackson. You know I have no interest in your mate. She may smell heavenly, but she will never hold an ounce of the attraction that my mate does for me. Even then, I can still appreciate such a unique smell, even if it is offset with wolfsbane," he says and his hand goes to Evelyn's hip. 

"Y'all come on in, where we can talk about this more privately," Evelyn says.