Emerald Kisses

Chapter 4

“Hey,” a soft chuckle was heard from behind Yasmine. It was Lance, “Looking for something?”

“No!” Yasmine exclaimed before turning around. Her cheeks were beat red and she was face to face with Lance’s chest. He was a foot taller than her and only inches away. She looked up at him, “Can I be honest?” Yasmine took a step back trying to create space, but that only led her further into the room and closer to that smell, the amber and musk.

“Sure,” he had an amused smirk on his face. Yasmine was a petite but shapely woman, and she startled easily, it seemed. Lance couldn’t understand why his brother wouldn’t be gushing about her. She seemed nice enough. He wondered if it had anything to do with Lyla. If he married Yasmine, she should be special enough to talk about it. Jason had lost his mate and still met someone he loved enough to marry again; Lance couldn’t say he wasn’t jealous.

“It’s your cologne. I have to admit I stopped because I smelled it coming from the room.”

“My cologne?” Lance seemed confused, which somehow made Yasmine even more uneasy.

“Yeah?” she looked down while messing with her hands, “I assumed you sprayed it in here.”

“No, I only showered and changed. I had a long flight, my cologne is still in the suitcase actually.”

“It isn’t amber or musk?” she asked curiously, this time her eyes reaching up to Lance’s. It would be just her luck that she was going crazy in this second.

“No, amber and no musk,” Lance c****d an eyebrow, “Anyway, Jason left. He felt as if we were ganging up on him and went to the bar. So, I figured I could fill you in on the details.”

Yasmine wanted to dwell on that scent she smelled, it was so real to her. She pushed it to the back of her mind and sat down on the bed. It was a well-lit room, she had decorated it herself, “Tell me then,” she pat the spot next to her, and Lance sat down about a foot from her. He was respectful of her space, which she was appreciative of.

“I feel like it’s a lot, but I assume you should have figured out some of it.”

“I haven’t thought about it, no. Everything has come up so quickly.”

“Huh,” Lance faced her more closely, while eyeing her curiously, “One thing about an alpha is that every wolf knows. It’s our energy; you haven’t noticed?”

A gasp escaped Yasmine’s lips and she covered her mouth. The new alpha! She screamed in her head. He was right. She was supposed to sense it, but she hadn’t and she still couldn’t, not even with Lance sitting so close to her, “Maybe I’m sick,” she pressed her hand on her forehead.

“I don’t think so,” Lance took her hand gently off her forehead, “You’re strong. I can sense it. You would certainly be able to tell if you were any other wolf.”

Yasmine’s cheeks heated again, nobody had ever called her strong like that, “My father was an alpha, it must be that”. Of course, Yasmine had to admit she hadn’t met her real father. It was true he was an alpha, but he was killed before she could meet him.

“Maybe. So now you know I’m the alpha that will be taking over this pack. I didn’t want to make some grand entrance or a show of it. I thought staying in my brother’s place till everything died down would be better, but he didn’t tell me I would be imposing on his wife as well. I am sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“It’s not your fault,” Yasmine dismissed his apology. She knew it was Jason playing around. He was so self-centered. Sometimes it made her mad, “He wasn’t always like that.”

“Are you sure? Jason’s always been a d**k,” Lance let out a deep laugh, “He’s my brother and I love him, but he has his days.”

That was news to Yasmine. She had seen a sweet side to Jason, but Lance was telling her otherwise, “Who is our Luna?”

A sheepish grin spread on Lance’s lips, “There isn’t one, I haven’t found my mate yet. I’m still looking.”

“Oh,” she was surprised that Lance wasn’t married despite not finding his mate yet. He was older than Jason, she wasn’t sure by how many years, but by this time it was incredibly rare to find a mate at this age. Life wasn’t as peaceful on the outside. Wolves are being murdered at an incredible rate. There was too much infighting for power and being an alpha was dangerous itself. If his Luna was dead, it would have been because her parents were targeted in a raid for being Alpha, just like her own. Yasmine had lost hope of finding her mate a long time ago for those reasons alone, “You are brave to continue looking.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I couldn’t cope with being alone, not anymore. I never found my mate, and at the time, Jason was everything to me. I chose him.”

Lance wanted to ask what she meant by ‘at the time’ but he knew it was sensitive, judging by the look on her face. He kept quiet about that, “You never found your mate. I hope Jason fills that void for you. I know my mate is still out there.”

“How could you know?” Fate worked in funny ways, but there was no way to know unless he was in the same room as her. With the uncertainty of even knowing if they were still alive, Yasmine was unsure that anyone could know if their mate was really out there.

“Because she severed the connection, for whatever reason she thought it was necessary. So, I know she’s out there. She just hasn’t met me yet, and I know she knows I’m out there too; she would have felt it. That pain isn’t something you can forget.”

Yasmine clutched her chest instinctively, she could not relate as she felt nothing when she severed the connection, “I hope you find her,” she wanted to comfort Lance, to even hug him. The pain of not knowing was something Yasmine could relate to, and it weighed heavy on her. She often wonders who the man was she was fated to be. Yet she tried not to think too long about it as well. It devastated her. To think that Lance had to feel the pain of a broken connection, she couldn’t describe what it must have felt like.

“I will,” Lance said with conviction, “Sorry about the guy she’s with, but I’m the better match.”

Lance’s cheeky grin brightened the mood and Yasmine clapped in enthusiasm, “Very true.”

“I’m glad you agree.”

There was more Yasmine wanted to know. She wanted to know where he came from, and what he was doing there. Why come now? She just didn’t want to pry as well.“If it’s all right to ask, but since your family hasn’t told me anything. I was wondering where you were all this time?”

“Yeah, uhm, when our pack was raided, I stayed behind in what is now enemy territory to rebuild and defend the pack. I became the new alpha over the members that survived, which were the warriors that were left. Anybody who wasn’t a fighter who survived left with my family here. It wasn’t much, maybe 3 or 4 other families. My family thought I was going to die out there. I just wanted to make sure whoever was left didn’t have to go through what we did,” he looked away for a second, his hands slightly shaking, “The pack that I built over there are all fighters for a reason. Enemy lines are being blurred, we’re losing territories left and right. The government says it’s a problem we need to handle ourselves. We’ve tried to make life here as peaceful as possible, but we can’t anymore. I’m not just here to take over, I’m here to end a war.”