Rise of the Underdogs: Jasper

Soulmate Found

Falling into the Gamma role was the easiest transition of my life. The position gave me more freedom, but it also carried heavier responsibility, and every laugh and every tear along the way made it worthwhile. Colton and I clashed like fire and water, yet together we balanced Neil, our differences sharpening the strength of the leadership we shared.

While helping prepare for Neil’s upcoming wedding, I watched each of my siblings discover their Mates. Of course I razed them — hell yes I did — and they gave it back just as hard. The women teased us with as much mirth as we threw at them, their laughter weaving into the rhythm of the pack. Even Kaden joined in, until something shifted.

One night the air around the pack grew stale. It hung heavy, thick as fog, clinging to every surface and every breath. The atmosphere itself seemed to warn us, pressing down with a weight that none of us could ignore.

It was the night tragedy struck us in a way we had never endured before. I watched the little boy — that tiny Runt — race toward the packhouse despite injuries that would have left a grown wolf writhing in agony. The sight shattered me, pulling me back into memories of when I had once been on the run with my own siblings. It was also the first time I ever saw Kaden cry. The guilt of not being fast enough to save Mariana and Logan weighed on him like stone, and my sister held him as he broke beneath the grief.

Then, just before the wedding, it finally happened.

I had never stepped into the town that lay just beyond our borders, but joining Neil at the bridal shop was supposed to be simple guy time. It was meant to be laughter, teasing, and a few hours of shooting the s**t, as Colt liked to call it. What it was not supposed to be was the moment an i***t walked in and started hitting on a pup.

The expected and the unexpected collided that day, and the difference between them was starkly absolute and unforgettable.

She didn’t breeze into the room. Hell, she never even walked gracefully. She had run. Not to me, but to her daughter.

I’d been in the kitchenette, grabbing the girl a glass of water, when her scent hit me like a ton of bricks. It was a smell that was both sweet and soft, like vanilla ice cream and strawberries. I shivered as I moved back into the main room, my heart dancing like an out of tune drum.

Karen Heath was gorgeous from the crown of her sand-coloured hair to her feet. Her hair wasn’t swept up into an elaborate style, but in a simple bun with some strands surrounding her face. Her skin was sun-kissed, her voice melodic, and her eyes were a clear hazel like her daughters.

When she explained her situation to Neil, I learned that she’d never been Mated. She’d been lonely, drunk, and it resulted in a child: Helen. The growl that escaped me when I heard what the sire of her pup did was completely unintentional.

Linking up with Neil, I initiated a short, but solid conversation.

‘Who the hell does that to their kid?’ I had asked him through the mind link, wanting to know why anyone would simply abandon their blood.

‘What will you do now?’ He shot back.

'He stupidly let her go, so it's my turn.' My voice was confident, certain.

Karen had been used and discarded once. I would not allow it a second time. It was neither my way nor how I was raised. So, when he asked me to make sure Helen got to Alliance Academy, I eagerly agreed.

That Monday, at exactly seven in the morning, I pulled into the lot of the bridal studio. Stepping out of the car, I made my way to the private dwelling attached to the store. I didn’t get to raise my hand to knock before the door flew open.

Blinking up at me, her eyes fearful, but her inner strength undeniable. I say that because, beneath the fear, there was a small spark of defiance.

Helen licked her lips, her hands tightening around the pink sweater she wore. Outside, the early winter air carried the bite of Candlemas, crisp and sharp, the kind of cold that stung cheeks and made breath curl in faint clouds. “I’m going to school,” she declared, her voice trembling but steady.

“Not public, you’re not,” I replied, my tone even against the chill. “Alpha’s orders: you are to be present at roll call today at Alliance Academy. I’m not ordering you,” I added, the words firm but softened by the frost‑laden morning.

I walked her to the car, the crunch of frozen gravel beneath our steps echoing in the quiet. Holding the door open, I waited. She hesitated, her breath misting in the cold, then slid inside and buckled up without another word. Her eyes flashed, her heartbeat quickened, and finally she spoke. “It sounded like you were, though.”

I smiled, shaking my head as the winter light glinted off the windshield. “No. I’m simply following my own orders from the top, as all who live under the banner of the Shadow Storm pack must. Don’t worry, little one. I’m not feral.”

She giggled at the last remark, the sound bright against the muted hush of the season, but her smile faltered. Swallowing hard, she asked, “Is this… is this because of what happened? At the fitting?”

I raised a brow, the cold air prickling at my skin. “Yeah, it is. Besides, Luna Izaria wants you there — surrounded by people who value you regardless of your station, your clothes, or your home life.”

“And the Alpha?” she pressed, her breath fogging faintly in the cabin.

“Neil is…” I began, but stopped when I caught the look on her youthful face.

Her eyes widened, hazel bright against the pale winter light, and she let out a nervous laugh. “You call him by name?”

Snickering, I nodded, “Yup. Only those closest to him are permitted that luxury, however.”

The radio was playing old Christmas classics, as we meandered through the streets until the pack entrance came into place. The guards were watching, cautious. Their faces brightened when they saw me.

As I stopped at the Academy, listening to the sounds of other students arriving. Hearing Colton wrestle his twins into the building despite their protests had me grinning like and i***t. I was totally using that against him.

“I saw it, you know.” She said suddenly after nearly twenty minutes of silence. “When you looked at my mom. I’m sorry.”

Now that was confusing. Unbuckling my safety belt, I turned to look at her. “Helen, why are you sorry?”

“You’re going to reject her,” she said, sullen and defeated by her own thoughts.

“Says who? And why, for that matter, would you believe such a thing?” I asked, wanting to know names so I knew who to hunt down.

The girl shrugged, her eyes downcast and shoulders slumped as if she was trying to disappear. “Cause of me.”

Damn my bleeding heart.

Taking her hands in mine, I shook my head, “Helen, I can’t change the fact that you exist. I don’t want to, either. Yes, your mother is my Mate. No, I’m not rejecting her. She made a mistake, that’s all.”

Her eyes swam with tears. “Am I… Am I the mistake?”

“No,” I replied, shocked by my own honesty. “Your sire was the mistake. You were the gift that came out of it.”

Watching students filter into the school, I sighed. This innocent child had been bullied to the point that hearing the word mistake had her rethinking her life. “I won’t pretend to be what I’m not, Helen. I won’t grovel, beg, or threaten. You’ll either accept me in your life or you won’t. It’s that simple.”

She gasped, her eyes misting into pools. “You’re not like the other guys she tried dating. They met her, fell in love. Then they met me, and they couldn’t leave fast enough.”

“Do your worst,” I challenged. “I raised my five siblings after our pack was decimated. Anything you can think of doing or saying? Yeah, I’ve probably already heard it, cleaned it, bandaged it, or watched it happen.”

The girl beside me choked out a laugh that sounded more like a sob.

I smirked, “Helen, where I am from, there is no step-parent. Not really. The community helps, just like pack. We work together raising the pups because it is a callback to our wolf’s history.”

She tilted her head. Her eyes searched me, looking for anything that would discredit me. “You’re really not going to reject my mom?”

“No.”

“And you… you don’t mind that I exist?” She pushed, feeling out any kind of deception. “What if… what if I wanted to join a date or two?”

I grinned, “Then I hope you enjoy having fun. I would rather get to know you and your mother rather than settling for one over the other. When boys step up, they leave signs. When men step up, no one gets left behind. Your mother showed me who she was already.”

“How?”

Reaching over, I smoothed back her hair. “Helen, she showed me that I would always come second to her child. She knew. I know she knew I am her Mate, and she showed me her truth without meaning to. Through her actions, she told me that you matter more than the bond. The message was received, and I agree.”

“You really are different,” she whispered.

I barked a laugh, shaking my head against the absurdity of it. “My mother chose her pups over her Mate all the time. She told me that a she-wolf would kill her own Mate to protect her children if it came down to it, and I believed her. Your mother embodied that lesson the other day. She’s going to be a challenge, but I can’t wait to try.”

“You’re weird.”

Ouch, my ego. “Get to class.”