Jade’s pov:
That night, Alex made love to me like a man possessed, with an urgency that was unparalleled. And I met him passion for passion, thrust for thrust, and screamed his name when we finally hit our climax.
As I laid, sated, next to the man I loved, I knew that even though our love ran strong, happiness might not be everlasting.
“A penny for your thoughts, love?” He let out as he kept drawing lazy sensual patterns on my back, his arm draped over my waist possessively.
“Do you think Jessica will cause problems for us?” I asked in a soft tone of voice.
He nodded at once, “We should be prepared for the worst indeed.”
“The worst being?” I asked while peering up into his deep green eyes.
“Do you think this is the best pillow talk?” He chuckled.
I couldn’t help but pout at the way he deflected. True, it wasn’t the best topic, but was I supposed to hold everything in? He seldom gave satisfactory answers, all because he wanted to protect me, and I wondered what he could be hiding further.
“We are going to enlist the help of a witch,” he declared after a beat.
“A witch?” I echoed after him incredulously. “What for?”
“The attack was more organized than usually possible for rogues, and they didn’t flee even though they were facing imminent death… it would seem like this was the work of an enemy pack.”
My eyes widened at once. I didn’t think that far. It was true that I had thought that the rogue was slightly unfocused and yet seemingly suicidal. But I couldn’t have imagined that a witch would willingly help a werewolf pack. But then again, maybe it was more of a transactional deal.
Who knew?
“Is she any good?” I asked in a faint tone of voice.
“Who?” He raised an eyebrow at me in question.
“The witch you talk of,” I went on.
He nodded before telling me in a soft tone of voice, “Camelia used to be a friend, up till her powers awakened…”
He trailed off pensively, as if recalling a memory a fond one and I let him, despite the doubt gnawing at my insides.
If the mere mention of her name was enough to make Alex pensive, did that mean they were more than friends? Could they have a past? I wasn’t comfortable with having around competition with possibly the power to make everything go awry… but I didn’t dare to voice out my concerns. They were unjustified to say the least. After all, I had never met this Camelia.
Alex leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on my lips, efficiently silencing me and making all and any doubts I had fade away into oblivion.
Soon, we went to sleep. Seeing as we had training early in the morning, we couldn’t afford to stay up too late.
** ** ** ** **
No sooner did Alex make contact with Camelia, about getting her help, she agreed and was soon moving into pack lands. Considering he didn’t believe many pack members would appreciate having her around, he allowed her to stay in a cabin near the lake.
When I met the woman, I did my best to welcome her, and was all smiles, despite my unease. Camelia was positively stunning, and though seemingly reserved, she did smile at me in return.
“You must be Jade, Xander’s mate,” she said in greetings as she extended a hand for me to shake, which I naturally took.
“I am indeed,” I nodded and smiled at her. The mere mention of my mate was enough to drive away some of my worry, even though I didn’t like how casual she was about calling him Xander in front of me.
“I am sorry I came empty-handed, as this was all rather short notice. I hadn’t had the time to prepare a gift.”
The way she said it unsettled me more than it probably should. And I tried hard to keep myself from showing any animosity towards the witch who was supposed to lend us a hand.
“Would you like some company as you go around the pack?” I then offered kindly, doing my best to tell my instincts to shut up.
I needed to trust Alex’s judgment. He was the alpha for a good reason, and he wouldn’t put the pack in harm’s way, much less me.
“You’re here, Luna Jade?” Trevor’s voice reached us just as she opened her mouth to give me a reply.
I waved at him and said, “Yes, I am.”
“We were worried about you when we couldn’t find you at the pack house,” he declared, shooting Camelia a look that was purely dismissive, before focusing back on me.
“I am fine,” I reassured him with a small smile.
“Surely the luna can take care of herself,” Camelia let out in a tone that didn’t sit well with me. “She is after all Xander’s partner.”
It sounded like she was mocking me somehow.
“And it is precisely because she is Alpha Xander’s partner that we wouldn’t want any harm to befall her,” Trevor shot back, not missing a beat, his gaze on her hard and unyielding.
“I have to unpack my things for the time being,” she then declared before telling me dismissively, “It was good meeting you, Luna Jade.”
I could understand her reluctance to be around wolves in general, moreso wolves she didn’t know or trust… But surely she could have been less callous about it.
“Let’s go, Trevor,” I told him, sensing that I wasn’t the only one with reservation regarding the woman. Nevertheless, I didn’t want any misunderstanding to start on her first day here.
“Let’s, Luna Jade,” he said softly, making way for me and allowing me to walk ahead of him.
We walked together in silence. I admired the pack lands which were no doubt beautiful, up till I decided to let out tentatively, “You don’t seem to be fond of her.”
“That’s because I am not, Luna Jade,” he said without beating around the bush.
“I see,” I nodded but didn’t ask further. Seeing as he didn’t want to disclose anything more, I didn’t probe either, but understood that he had his reasons for not being fond of her.
Little did I know…!