Chapter 37
Luke
Ifellintobedaround eleven the next morning. After the scent of a stranger pack was discovered by one of the junior warriors during his rounds, Mike and some of the other senior warriors tracked it. They discovered a den where two stranger werewolves were staying. They asked the wolves to shift into their human forms so that they could talk. But the wolves refused, attacking instead. Luckily, our warriors were able to take them down and force them into their human forms. They were then dragged into the cells and jailed.
After Blake arrived, they were brought out for interrogation and, up until that point, I hadn’t realized how fucked up Blake was. I’d heard stories over the years of his father’s interrogation techniques, but it was a whole different story to personally witness them. Blake had clearly picked up every trick in his father’s book.
After chaining the strangers to the wall, he shoved a knife into each one of their thighs, only to pull it back out and allow their legs to partially heal and do the same thing again, continuously reopening the wound. He took a sword and cut their hands and feet off, one by one. Then he cut their ears off. At one point, he cut the balls off one of the strangers and forced the other one to eat them. I’d stayed strong until that point, but that pushed me over the edge. I doubled over and emptied the contents of my entire dinner onto the floor. But Blake seemed like he enjoyed it—got a sick pleasure from it. He smiled while they screamed and thrashed in agony, a glint in his eyes.
Blake didn’t give up and continued the torture for hours while the few warriors that joined us kept running out to bring coffee and food. If torture were an art, Blake was an exceptionally creative artist. Once the strangers were completely mutilated beyond recognition, they were finally begging for death, and confessed that they were from the Silver Moon Pack in Maine. They had formed an alliance as a promise for reinforcement in their own ongoing disputes. Luckily, Silver Moon Pack was a smaller pack and not a true threat to us. However, it wasn’t clear how many other packs may be forming alliances with the Bois Sombre Pack—it was likely they were not the only one.
Blake had the present warriors put together two packages—the left hands in one to mail to Silver Moon Pack, and the right hands in the other to mail to the Bois Sombre Pack. He then wiped his hands clean and, with a sick smile on his face, exclaimed, “Can’t wait until another pack tries to case this place. I’m ready for round two.”
It was already light out by the time we exited the cells, forcing me to squint after being in the dark for so long. I drove home with Blake. While we were driving, I decided to try to make amends with him after Friday’s blowout. I glanced over at him quickly and said, “I want you to know that I’m going to do the right thing. I thought about what you said, and I ended things with Lucy. I’ve asked Jasmine out on a date tonight. Artemis chose us for each other, so I am going to make a sincere effort and try not to screw things up again.”
When I glanced at him again, Blake nodded, not replying. I wondered what he was thinking. We used to be like brothers, practically able to read each other’s minds. But ever since Ria died, he wasn’t the same. He had closed himself off. There were times when it seemed like the old Blake was still there, especially when he’d lighten up and joke around. But it was always short-lived. Most of the time he had only two personalities—serious or angry.
After I parked the car, we got out and headed to the house. Before we separated to go to our own floors, he said, “If I don’t see you before you leave, good luck with your date.” At least that was something.
I set my phone alarm for four thirty and fell into my pillow, completely exhausted.
Jasmine
Iwokearoundeightthe next morning, feeling that the heat had finally passed. I typed a quick text to Blake to let him know I’d gone home, in case he came looking for me whenever he came back. Then I cringed at my behavior the previous day. I couldn’t believe how much I’d lost control in front of him, when I had a mate no less.
I turned completely red as I thought about how he had asked me to stop several times and I still persisted to try again and again to seduce him. Ugh! How embarrassing! Then I thought, with horror, if the tables were turned and I had been the man in that situation that, well, I had definitely not acted appropriately. I couldn’t stop thinking about what a fool I’d made of myself. I walked over to the library, where my car was still parked, and drove it home to an empty house.
I logged in to my online classes and cringed as I checked my grades. It was not good news. I had completely slipped in every class. I knew if I didn’t do something, my GPA would nosedive. It was now November and more than halfway through the semester. I’d have to request a leave of absence. I knew these grades didn’t reflect who I was.
I decided to write the dean an email and tell him I’d been having mental health issues, trying to stay as vague as possible. I wasn’t sure what options he’d offer me. My first year of college, I’d gotten an A in every class, no problem. I’d never been in this position before.
I then decided to get some different tasks done to take my mind off Blake and school. I did my laundry, cleaned my room, and organized my closet. Once it got closer to time for the date, I showered, did my hair and makeup, and picked out a nice dress to wear. I finished the look off by applying red lipstick. Then I cooked dinner and set the table for two. At least things with Luke seemed to be improving. So, it wasn’t all a complete disaster anymore.
My parents walked through the door at around five thirty and I went over to greet them.
“Are you okay, Jasmine? What happened?” My mom ran over to me, her arms encircling me in a hug.
“I didn’t even know wild wolfsbane grew in this area,” my dad added. “How did you ingest it?”
“I was stressed out so I went for a run in my wolf form, and there must have been wolfsbane in the brook when I drank from it, because I suddenly felt really sick and ran to the clinic,” I replied, recalling a story I’d heard of someone in the past who had done something similar.
“We were so worried when Dr. Luna called. I’m so glad you’re okay,” my mom said, releasing me from the hug and holding me at arm’s length, looking me up and down. “Wow, you look nice. Are you going somewhere tonight?”
“I have a date,” I replied.
“A date?” My mom raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, I met my mate,” I replied.
“Well, that’s wonderful news,” my dad said, throwing his arms around me.
“Yes, very good news, honey!” my mom agreed.
“So, who’s the lucky man?” my dad asked.
“Beta Luke.” Both of them went silent.
“I think I need to sit down,” my mom finally said, going to sit on the entryway bench.