CHAPTER 15
1377 Words
(Jared POV)
I keep going over everything about last night.
Not just how soft her skin was or how her breath caught when I touched her for the first time—but the way she looked at me like she was giving me something fragile and sacred. Like she trusted me with a piece of herself no one else had ever been allowed to touch.
She was nervous. I could feel it in the way her fingers trembled when they brushed my chest, the way her breath hitched when I kissed her throat. But she didn’t pull away.
“Are you sure?” I must’ve asked her a dozen times. Even though I could see it in her eyes—that she wanted me—part of me still couldn’t believe it. This was Kay. My best friend since we were kids. The girl I used to trade snacks with in class, who used to steal my hoodies and hang out the window of my Jeep howling.
And last night she was in my arms, naked, saying she wanted me.
I was terrified I’d mess it up. That I’d hurt her. That she’d wake up and regret it.
And when cried out in pain—when she gasped that first time—I swear I stopped breathing.
I wanted to back away, to stop entirely. But she wanted this, so I reassured and kept going as gently as I could., I moved slowly. I talked to her. I kissed her. I tried to ease every inch of discomfort because she mattered too much to let this be anything but gentle.
There was a little blood. She looked away, embarrassed, cheeks flushed deep pink. But it didn’t bother me. That part didn’t matter. What mattered was her hand in mine, her voice trembling when she said, “I love you too.”
That night wasn’t perfect. She didn’t come. We were clumsy, a little awkward. But it didn’t need to be perfect. It was ours. Honest, messy and real.
Afterward, she curled up within my arms. I held her like she might disappear, pressing slow kisses into her hair while her breathing slowed. I could’ve stayed like that forever.
Now, as I watched walk up the steps to her door I couldn’t contain my giddy smiles. She reached the door, turned and waved and went inside.
I started my Jeep again and made my way home.
By the time I pull into the driveway of the pack house, the sun is properly up, and the adrenaline from the night is finally wearing off, leaving nothing but the ache of muscles that haven’t slept and the hum of Kay’s touch still on my skin.
She kissed me like I was hers. Gave herself to me like she always had been.
And I’m not the same.
The front door opens before I’ve even cut the engine, and Tyler leans against the porch post, arms crossed, eyebrows raised.
“Well, well, well,” he drawls. “Look who finally decided to come home.”
I groan as I step out. “Don’t start.”
“I’ve got to start. Jessa and I froze our asses off last night sniffing around some trees while you—” he pauses, giving me a knowing once-over, “—were clearly doing other things.”
I shoot him a warning glare, but the corners of his mouth twitch. We make our way inside and towards my bedroom, this is not a conversation I want to have in the open.
“You find anything?” I ask, as we enter my room.
He sobers instantly. “Not much. Faint scent trail—female, definitely wolf, but not one of ours. I didn’t recognized the scent and neither did Jessa. She says the footprints looked human, no shoes. We tracked her a ways into the trees, but she vanished after the creekbed.”
I frown. “So she was watching.”
Tyler nods. “Did you get a good look?”
I glance toward the trees in the distance and shake my head “Caught the scent and thought I saw a figure. Human-shaped. Couldn’t very well run after her then and there.”
“Well, we tried” he sighs. “And found a whole lot of nothin’. But for a female to be a rogue is just unusual, she didn’t’ smell like pack, not ours or any other I’ve ever heard of.”
“That’s what bothers me,” I mutter. “Male rogues are common. Aggressive. Territorial. But a female?”
“Weird,” Tyler agrees. “Could be scouting. Could be bait. Could be completely unhinged. We just don’t know.”
My stomach tightens. I hate not knowing. Especially with Kay possibly in play, I had a feeling the female was looking straight at Kay last night, but I didn’t mention that to Tyler.
Tyler watches me a second too long before his grin slides back into place. “So, uh… about your very late return this morning.”
I groan again. “Don’t.”
“You and Kay finally—?”
“Tyler.”
“Dude! I’ve been waiting on this moment since sophomore year. Don’t act like it’s nothing. Did you tell her how you feel?”
I nod. “Yeah. I told her everything. I love her.”
His grin fades. “So it’s serious. Like… real.”
I don’t even hesitate. “She’s it for me.”
He scratches the back of his neck, suddenly unsure. “You know I’m happy for you, right? It’s just… she’s human, man.”
I shoot him a glare.
Tyler continues carefully. “That’s not an insult man. It’s just a fact.”
“I wouldn’t be the first wolf to take a human mate” I retort.
“True. But….you’re the Alpha’s son, you won’t just need a mate, you’ll need a Luna, and those have never been human. How’s that going to work?”
I stare off at the horizon. “I don’t know.”
“You ever gonna tell her?”
“She’s not ready.”
Tyler studies me, then sighs. “Well, whenever she is… you better be sure. Because if she runs? It’ll wreck you.”
I nod once, silently, because he’s right.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Later that day, after a long, hot shower and a failed attempt at napping, I find Mom in the greenhouse trimming her herbs. The late afternoon sun filters through the glass, warm and golden, turning her silver-streaked curls into soft light.
She doesn’t even look up when she speaks. “Rough night?”
I snort and smile sitting down into the chair across from her. “No, not at all, quite the opposite.”
She smiles faintly. “Your father’s out with the elders.”
I sit up straighter. “I’ve made a decision. About school.”
She pauses. “And?”
“Cal State.”
Her eyes lift to mine. “With Kay.”
I nod.
She sets down her shears and gives me her full attention. “And does she know what that means for you?”
“No,” I say softly. “Not yet.”
“Does your father?”
“No. And I’d prefer to keep it that way for now.”
Her sigh is tired but not surprised. “He’ll fight you on it.”
“I’m not asking for permission.”
Her mouth twitches with a wry smile. “You sound more like an Alpha every day.”
I hesitate. “We’re… together now. For real.”
Her smile softens. “I wondered how long it would take.”
“I love her, Mom.”
“I know.” She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “Just be careful, Jared. You’re walking a tightrope. Loving her is easy—I can see that. But protecting her? That’s going to get harder.”
“I know.”
She squeezes my hand again. “You’ll have to choose, eventually. Her or the pack.”
“I’m hoping I won’t have to.”
She lets go, returning to her herbs. “So did I. Once.”
That answer unsettles me more than I want to admit.
- Writer
