“Why did you slip up?” I asked, feeling sickened by the conversation, part of me not even wanting to know.
He looked into the distance. “You’re not going to like this story, but I don’t want to hide anything from you anymore. I want us to be straightforward and honest with each other from now on.”
He looked in my eyes sadly. “It happened after I came to see you when you were in heat. I left with the intention to, you know, take care of things myself, but Lucy showed up. I wasn’t planning to do anything with her, but she just took control. I was so horny that I let her. Because I wasn’t thinking straight, I forgot to put a condom on and that was that.”
I rolled off the couch and began crouching on the ground, dry heaving. I was dizzy, as if the whole world was spinning around me. Fur was sprouting up my arms and legs, and my claws were beginning to extend out from my fingers.
Luke jumped off the couch next to me and held me against him. “Breathe, Jasmine, breathe.” I followed his instructions, taking deep breaths as the feeling of his body touching mine calmed me. “Just breathe,” he repeated, brushing my hair out my face.
After the feeling passed, I asked, “How could you?”
“I know, I really fucked up, Jasmine.”
I looked into his eyes which were now red and pooled with tears. I put my head against his chest, sighing. He petted the back of my head, holding me against his chest. I could feel the regret radiating from his body.
“I hate how much I’ve hurt you. You don’t deserve any of this.”
“What will I tell my parents?”
“I will help you tell your parents if you want me to. It’s my fault and I need to own up to it. I will let them know that I will still honor our mate bond and intend to take care of you for the rest of my life.”
I pulled away from Luke and sat back on the floor, my back against the couch, letting out a heavy sigh. “Let’s not tell them yet. They’re not happy with me right now, so let’s wait for them to cool off a bit.”
“Whatever you want, Jasmine. I’m here for you.” Luke crouched in front of me and took my hands. “I’d like to invite you over to the packhouse for dinner tonight, just to hang out, nothing more. I just want to start making up for how badly I’ve acted.”
I nodded, unable to bring myself to decline.
“Good, I’m so happy you’re still willing to give me a chance. I’ll see you at six tonight.” He kissed me on the head. “I have to go now but I’ll see you later.”
He got up and I followed his lead. I walked him to the door. Before I closed the door behind him, he turned around and said, “See you tonight, Jasmine. I’m looking forward to it.” He then turned and walked to his car.
Chapter 46
Jasmine
Afewminutesbeforesix, I pulled up next to Luke’s 4Runner in the pack parking lot. I made my way to the front door and rang the doorbell. Luke opened the door, stepping aside so I could walk in. As soon as he shut the door, he wrapped his arms around me in a hug.
“Thank you for coming, Jasmine. You look and smell so good.” He helped me slip out of my jacket, hanging it in the entryway closet. He took my hand and led me into the dining room where he had laid out dinner with two place settings. “I wish I could take the credit, but Connie’s a much better cook than I am.” He smiled, pulling out my chair for me. I sat down and he pushed me in to the table.
I looked at the food in front of us to see there was crisp salad, warm dinner rolls, and a savory beef roast surrounded by fingerling potatoes. When Luke carved into the roast, the juices dripped from the perfectly cooked beef.
“This all looks and smells delicious!” I commented.
“Connie does a good job. Now help yourself,” he said, waiting for me to take some food. I served myself a little bit of everything and put it on my plate. Meanwhile, he grabbed a bottle of wine from the table and poured some for both of us. He put some food on his own plate. We both began eating. Luke looked at me and said, “How do you like it?”
“It’s really good,” I replied, smiling.
“Good, something to look forward to.”
“What do you mean?” I asked
“Once you move into the packhouse. Connie’s our cook, so you’ll get to enjoy this every day.”
“Oh,” I replied, digesting the information. It was strange to think that I would one day be living in the packhouse with Luke. And Blake. I took a drink from my glass of wine. I was unsure about spending my entire future with Luke. Something about it didn’t seem right.
And then I recalled the news I had recently been given and started to feel nauseous again. I tried to push it from my mind, trying to enjoy the night. I took another drink from my glass of wine. Would Luke and Lucy’s pup also live with us? Probably not full-time, but likely sometimes. I took another drink.
“Slow down there, Jazzy,” Luke said, standing to refill my wine glass.