CHAPTER 9- A kiss?
HUNTER’S P. O. V.
I wait down on the field for her to show up. Honestly I just want to see what she has. I am not sure she can beat me but it really should be fun. She has been training double time for a while now, she has the strength to keep up with me.
She comes down to the field in an outfit that was pretty much like yesterday. A tight workout shirt and yoga pants. I have on a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. When she comes closer I pull off the t-shirt. She eyes me as I stand there with my chest puffed up a little. I like her looking. “Why put on a shirt if you are just going to take it off?” She shakes her head. Jasmine starts stretching before I even answer.
“Maybe I like people to look when I take my shirt off.” I give her a wink. She just rolls her eyes at me.
“Get into position.” She motions to the mat that is set up.
We both get into position and soon we are circling each other. It feels predatory. I like it. I lunge at her, she spins out of my grasp. She bends down to do a leg sweep but I see it coming and jump to avoid it. When I land she is back standing and gives me an elbow to the back. That one I didn’t escape. I am pushed forward and a little off balance. I managed to correct my stance and come at her again. We continue on. Roll, punch, jab, block. Both of us are starting to pant. She fakes a punch then drops and sweep kicks again, this time I am not as fast. She has me down on the ground. She straddles my torso to pin me down with my arms over my head.
She is so close to my face now. We are both panting. I don’t really know what happens next but suddenly my lips are on hers. She sits shocked for a second then she returns it. We are like that for at least a full minute. Jasmine jumps up and pulls away from me. “What the hell was that?” She is wiping her lips. That hurts a little.
I shake my head. “I don’t know, it just happened.” I start to get up so that I am standing now. I want to reach out and pull her in for another one. I quickly push that thought down.
She steps away from me. “It isn’t happening again.” Her words sound final. Like she was reading my mind or something.
I step closer, “Come on I felt you, you kissed me back.”
She narrows her eyes at me, radiating anger. “No, I didn’t.”
I step closer, this time it is more of a whisper. “Yes, you did.”
She is shaking her head. “This can not be happening.” She is saying it more to herself than to me.
I have reached her now. “Hey, it’s happening to me too.” I slide my hands up her arms. “The closer it gets to your birthday, the harder it is to fight.” I pull her jaw up so I can have her look at me. Those bright green eyes look on the verge of crying. I do it again. It’s a compulsion, my lips are on hers, pulling her body closer to me. She doesn’t fight for a moment. It feels so good to have her in my arms. Her lips send tingles through my body. It is making me hungry for more.
Jasmine pulls away. She doesn’t even say anything, she just runs back to the pack house. I watch as she runs. I can’t take my eyes off of her. I know now. She has to be my mate. I know I can’t officially claim her until her birthday, but I will claim her.
I look at the pack house windows, there in the window is her father, did he see everything? He almost looks like he is laughing at me. Not that I can really blame him, I have done everything possible to fuck up my relationship with Jasmine. The link he sends me answers my question, “You really dug a hole for yourself.”
I link back, “I just hope I can dig my way out.”
JASMINE’S P. O. V.
What the hell just happened? I was kissing Hunter. I liked it. Something is really wrong with me? The only logical explanation is that he is my mate. He is right the closer it gets to my birthday the harder it is going to be to fight. I will fight it. I do not want to be mated with Hunter. But the feel of him on my lips still lingers, it feels stronger than the kisses that Nick plants on me. That has to be the mate bond. Either that or I am going insane.
I am standing in my room staring off into space. I have no idea what the hell I am supposed to do. I know I am going to reject him. He has hurt me too much to be mated to him for life. What about him being my Beta? How can I have my ex mate as my Beta? That is going to make the pack so weak, neither of us having a mate. What the hell am I going to do?
There is a knock on the door. I cautiously ask, “Who’s there?”
“Your dad.” Thank the goddess. I can not face Hunter right now.
“Come in.” I try to look busy. I don’t want him to know what just happened.
He steps in and looks around the room. Like he isn’t sure how to say something. He’s rubbing the back of his head looking as awkward as possible. I guess he figures blunt would be best. “So I saw what happened.”
I stop moving and throw my head back staring at the ceiling. “What the hell am I going to do dad? I can’t be mated to him.”
My dad sighs and sits on the end of my bed. “Hun, sometimes we don’t understand what the goddess is doing, but we have to trust that she does know what she is doing. She mated you with Hunter for a reason. You have time to come to terms with this, but it isn’t going to be as easy as just saying no to him. That isn’t how a rejection works. It is incredibly painful. Do you really want Hunter to feel that pain?”
I look at him with tears in my eyes. “No, but I can’t forget all the things he said to me. All the times he told me how ugly he thought I was. How am I supposed to love someone like that?” Tears are flowing freely.
My dad gets up and pulls me into a hug, “This is going to be hard for him too. Just give it time and talk it out with him. Talking is going to be the best thing for you and him. I have actually suspected it for some time. Why do you think I said you two need to talk more?”
I can’t stop the tears now. “Dad, I can’t.” That is all I can get out.
“Shh, give it time. You just found out.” He is rubbing my back the way he used to when I was little and would get hurt. This is a little bit more painful than that, but it still feels nice to have my dad with me. He pulls back from me, still holding my shoulders. “Take a night in. Take a shower, then watch a movie. I will have some food brought up for you. Maybe some junk food. Relax and give yourself time. It isn’t as bad as you think it is. Hey, at least he isn’t a rogue.” He tries to make a joke, but it is falling on deaf ears at this point. “You can’t even really make a choice until your birthday, so just take the time to get used to it.”
My dad is kind of making it clear that he doesn’t want me to reject the mate bond. I just don’t know if I can do that for him.
I just nod my head and turn to get my clothes for the shower. Maybe getting clean will help clear my brain.
My dad doesn’t hover, he just lets me be. I kind of wished he would stay and just tell me what to do. Just to come to terms with it doesn’t seem like something that I can do. I have to do something though. I have a boyfriend. I have a life that Hunter is going to kill. He is possessive and aggressive. I won’t be able to have my human friends. He especially won’t want me to date Nick. Poor Nick, what the hell am I going to tell him? He kept suspecting it was Hunter and I kept shutting down the thought.
Maybe I can just get Hunter to reject the bond. Not that he seems to want to at the moment. It’s new, maybe when he realizes that this is forever he will change his mind.
I hop in the shower and try to blank out. I don’t want to think right now. But flashes of Hunter’s lips on mine keep coming to mind. Stupid mate bond. I don’t even feel the full effects of it yet. How can I do this?
That was a bust. I get out of the shower, hoping to block it out with a movie. Of course I can’t concentrate on a movie. I can see that Nick is texting me. I don’t know what to say. I try to keep it light. He keeps up with the questions from yesterday. Now I feel bad about it. I want to be happy like yesterday. Nick does make me happy, that is what I need to focus on.
I push thoughts of Hunter out of my mind and focus on Nick. He is the one I am with right now. He is who makes me happy. That is what I need right now. To be happy.
UNKNOWN P. O. V.
My spy takes a seat in front of my desk again. “I don’t think you are going to be happy with my report today.”
Already she is getting on my nerves. “Speak now.”
She sighs, “Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. When she was training with the Beta today, they spared. And then they kissed.”
I let out a tremendous growl. That unworthy piece of shit doesn’t deserve to even look at her let alone touch her. I know those things that he has said about her. Not to mention the things that he has done with that other she-wolf. The one that looks like a slut.
My spy waits for me to stop growling. “Do you want me to continue to watch her? It is obvious that he is her mate. Why else would he kiss her?”
I glare at her. “She is my mate. I know what is happening here. It is going to take time and I want to soften the blow as much as possible. They will be mated or else rejected right off the bat. I want you to report the progress of their relationship. Every last detail.”
She bows her head. “Yes sir. Um, my mate?”
I let out an exasperated breath. “He is fine, just like yesterday.”
“Thank you sir.” I think I need to let them spend some time together. She is driving me nuts asking every day.