Chapter 8
1040 Words
Jasmine's POV
It was very dark as I stood at the edge of the Bloodstain Pack border.
Fred stood right beside me, his tall frame a comforting shadow in the dark. Before we left his pack house, he had helped me change my appearance and also given me something to mask my scent.
"Are you absolutely sure about this, Jasmine?" He whispered. "It's not too late to turn back. My warriors can go get your mother for you."
"She's terrified of strangers. If your warriors show up, she might panic or run away. She only trusts me. I have to be the one to bring her." I shook my head and continued, "And if you take her away, it might make Garrett suspicious."
"I'll be waiting right here. If anything goes wrong, mind-link me instantly. Be careful, Jasmine."
I nodded, took a deep breath to calm my racing heart, and stepped over the border into the territory that used to be my pack.
I walked through the familiar woods like a shadow. My feet made no sound as I got closer. I saw two border guards standing under a dim lamp near the path and hid behind a thick bush, holding my breath.
"Did you hear about the funeral arrangements?" One guard asked. "Alpha Garrett is losing his mind. He refuses to believe Luna Jasmine is actually gone, even though they found her disfigured body."
I had to close my mouth with my hands as shock washed over me.
"It's a tragedy," the second guard sighed, shaking his head. "She was a truly kind Luna. The pack will never be the same without her."
Hearing them talk about me in the past tense made a strange, chilling shiver run down my spine. They think I am dead, I realized. Everyone in the Bloodstain Pack believes that I was the one who died, not Clara.
I waited for the guards to walk away, then I slipped deeper into the forest, heading directly towards the isolated cabin where my Willa lives.
The small cabin finally came into view. A tiny light was burning inside the window, letting me know she was awake, and relief washed over me, but just as I took a step forward, the sound of footsteps made me freeze.
Someone was already out here.
I quickly scrambled backward, hiding in the trees just a few yards away from the cabin door.
Garrett.
His hair was a mess, his whole appearance was unappealing, and he genuinely looked worse than I've ever seen him, as he looked exhausted, like a man who hadn't slept for days. He didn't look like a victorious Alpha who successfully got rid of his unwanted wife. He just looked broken.
He stopped walking right in front of Willa’s porch, but he didn't knock on the door. Instead, he just stood there in the quiet night, staring up at the trees.
Suddenly, he covered his face with both of his hands, and sobs escaped his throat. It was a low, painful sob.
"What have I done?" Garrett groaned out loud, his voice cracking with intense, raw misery that shook me to my core.
I watched through the leaves, my heart slamming against my ribs. He was talking to himself like a madman, and that's probably the guilt of thinking I was dead.
"Jasmine, I'm so sorry," he whispered into the air, his shoulders shaking as tears rolled down his face. "I was so blinded by my own stupid pride. I was so angry because I thought you never cared about me and you just wanted to leave. But it was my fault. I drove you away. I let my guilt over Jenny make me blind to the beautiful gift I had right in front of me."
He took a ragged breath, leaning his heavy frame against one of the wooden pillars of the porch.
"I would do anything to just have you back right now," he choked out, his words full of remorse and agony. "I love you so much."
Hearing his heartfelt words threw my already conflicting emotions into a chaotic tangle.
A sharp gasp almost escaped my lips, and I had to tightly slap my hand over my mouth to stay silent.
He loved me?
He didn't do any of it?
For a split second, my feelings rushed to the surface, and I wanted to run over there and tell him that I'm alive, that we're going to have a baby, and that we could fix everything. But then I thought about my best friend who was killed brutally, and the burning rage returned, freezing the warmth in my heart.
No, I reminded myself, my eyes turning cold again.
Garrett might be crying now because of his guilt, but he is still the same man who signed the divorce papers without a fight. He is the Alpha. Nothing happens in this territory without his knowledge. I couldn't trust his tears. I had to protect my baby and my mother.
Suddenly, Garrett stopped crying, and he froze.
In my emotional state, my foot l shifted slightly, making a tiny twig snap, and Garrett’s head snapped directly toward the tree where I was hiding.
"Who is there?!" He demanded, his deep voice booming through the quiet night.
He began to walk slowly towards my hiding spot, and my whole body went rigid with fear. If he took three more steps, he would see me.
Please, no, I prayed frantically, clutching my stomach. Don't let him find me.
Just as Garrett reached the edge of the bush, a small rabbit rushed out from the grass right next to my feet and scurried quickly across the clearing, making a loud rustling noise in the opposite direction.
Garrett stopped walking and rubbed his tired eyes.
"I'm losing my mind," he muttered to himself, his voice hollow.
I slumped against the dirt inside the bushes, trembling. If Garrett believed I was dead, he'd think that his plan succeeded. This false assumption is the perfect shield.
It will keep my unborn baby and me safe from any more assassination attempts.
Let them think I'm dead for now, but reckoning day will be for them because they will have to face Clara's death.
- Writer
