The Date

CHAPTER 34- The Date
HUNTER’S P. O. V.
I am so pissed the anger is buzzing in my body. Unfortunately the one on the receiving end is a vampire who is a lot faster than me. I think he might sense my need to vent, I can tell that he is letting me get in a few blows. Jay may not be able to hit very hard, but he can dodge like nobody’s business. He is gaining his strength though, soon he will be an unstoppable force. I am glad he is on our side.
I can still see that Alpha hanging around. He is deep in conversation with Alpha Derrick. I am sure it is plans for his date with Jasmine. Why the hell did she agree to go on a date with him after last night? He forced himself on her. Ok, it was a kiss, but he clearly had plans for more. Jay said he was only wearing boxers. Then this morning I have to watch him plant himself between her legs.
I land a blow to Jay’s stomach and he doubles over. “Dude, I am done now. Go find another punching bag.” He takes a seat on the ground. I guess I didn’t realize how angry I had gotten.
“Sorry, Jay. I am just really pissed.” I take a seat next to him.
“She isn’t going to fall for him. I wouldn’t stress about it too much. She loves you. Give her some space, she will see how much you love her too. She doesn’t have feelings for him, like at all.” Jay says. This catches me off guard.
“Then why did she agree to go on a date with him? In front of the whole pack.”
“She’s going into defense mode. She is going to make sure she isn’t hurt first. That is why I say let her. Let her find out how much you love her.” Jay stands. “I am going to get ready for school. I suggest you do the same.” I just nod and he heads back to the pack house.
I am sitting there a little lost in thought when a pair of hands slide on my shoulders. “Get off me Allison.” I don’t even have to look, she is the only one who would try that shit right now.
“Baby, she just accepted a date with another wolf in front of the whole pack. Do you honestly think she still wants you?”
I turn and glare at her. “Yes, I do. She loves me. She just thinks that because you’re here, that I don’t want her. Why the hell are you back?”
She gets a pouty face that irritates the shit out of me. “I missed you. Baby, we are so good together. Just come back to me and I promise you will never think of that fat ass again.”
I growl and slam my hand into her throat. She is coughing and gagging. “Keep that in mind the next time you talk shit about my mate.” I walk off leaving her a gagging mess.
That felt a little better. I know with her wolf blood she will heal, but it still felt satisfying. I wish I could just rip her apart and be done with her.
After a quick shower and a look in the mirror after dressing I decide that I look good enough for school. I am more concerned with seeing Jasmine. I want to hold her in my arms again. It has only been a couple of hours but still, I want her right back where she belongs. I race down the stairs and see Jasmine waiting for Carlos. I come up behind her and slide my arms around her.
She leans into me. “I am still mad at you.”
I whisper in her ear. “I know. I am a little mad too. But I love you.”
“Why did you tell him?”
“He smelled it on me. I wasn’t going to lie. I didn’t just run around telling everyone. As much as I would love to shout from the rooftops how much I love being with you. I am not that type of guy.” I am still talking in her ear. I love having her this close. I don’t want her to move. Maybe I could convince her to skip school today and just stay in bed with me.
She turns around and buries her face in my chest. “Hunter, I’m scared.”
I hold her tight. “I know. I am here baby. I am not going anywhere. If you think you need to date this guy to know how you really feel about me then fine. I am not happy about it, but I am not going to control you. I want you to want me as much as I want you.”
“I only want you. I just don’t want to be hurt. Why did she have to come back?”
I rub her back. “I don’t know. But I don’t care. I only care about you.” I kiss the top of her head. “Baby I want you to be mine only. I am screaming inside that you accepted this date. Please, just remember how much I love you.”
“Can you promise that you will never hurt me?”
I lift her chin so that she is looking at me. “I never want to hurt you. I only want to make you happy.” I want to kiss her so bad, but I am letting her make the moves. Giving her space is killing me.
She just nods and buries her head back in my chest. I can settle for this right now. At least she is in my arms. Not anyone else’s, mine. She is mine, even if she isn’t ready yet, she is still mine. I just have to get that Alpha to see that.
I hear movement behind us, but I don’t care, I want to stay with this woman forever.
I hear Jay’s voice. “Ahh, how cute, you made up.” I can hear the joking in his tone.
I smile at him. “Shh, don’t tell her yet, she will yell at me for something.”
I hear a small chuckle escape her lips. This makes me smile even deeper. She took my humor. If she was still really pissed at me then she would have yelled at me instead.
It quickly falls when Allison comes from behind Jay. “That is so gross.” She is sneering at us.
I sneer back. “You can leave, then you won’t have to see it.”
She laughs. “Baby, that is so funny.”
I hear Jasmine growl in my arms. I squeeze her closer to me. I know how pissed she must be. I want her to know that I am here for her. “Do I need to slam your throat again?” I glare at her. She gets quiet.
I keep Jasmine in my arms as much as possible the rest of the day.
JASMINE’S P. O. V.
I enjoyed spending the day with Hunter. I am glad I did that. Now I am standing here in front of this mirror contemplating what the hell I am doing. I am going on a date with someone that isn’t my mate. I put on a black dress that ends at the knee. It has spaghetti straps, I never really liked this dress because of it. I still think my arms are too fat. I keep my hair down, he doesn’t need to think I put effort into this. I don’t want to give Christian the wrong idea.
I am descending the stairs when I run into Hunter. He takes one look at me and pulls my body into his. “Is it too late to say no to this date?” He breathes into my neck. “I just want to have you all to myself.”
“I said I would go Hunter.” I point out, I am leaning into his body. How the hell does he do that to me?
He takes a deep breath. “Just remember I love you. I will be here waiting for you when you return. I am going to need to see you, if that is alright.” I like that he is asking, but it still sucks that he even has to. Why can’t things just be straight forward? I want to just re-claim him and have a normal life.
If I wasn’t so scared that he would leave me.
“I will be looking for you when I get back.” I state as I pull away.
“I am going to leave you here, because I don’t think I will let you go if I see you go off with that guy.” He kisses my neck and goes back into his room. I can imagine how hard this is for him.
I go down the rest of the stairs and I am greeted by a stunning man. I will say this for Christian, he knows he looks good. He is wearing a blue button up shirt, black slacks. He has his blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail. He is giving me a look that lets me know, he knows I like what I see. Sure he is hot. I am not going to deny that, I am just not so sure I like the man behind the looks.
“You look ravishing.” He smiles up at me.
“Thank you.” I smile at him. Might as well make the most of it. A compliment never hurt anyone.
He puts his arm out for me to take. “Your father insisted on Carlos driving us. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Carlos will protect me with his life. Even from you.” I point out.
He chuckles a little bit. “I get it. So I hope you like italian. I found this restaurant that looked really good.”
“I like chicken parmesan. I guess that counts right.” I smile back at him.
“That works.” He opens the doors for me and is a complete gentleman. I take a seat in the SUV and wait for Carlos to take us down the mountain. I don’t really know what to expect, or what Christian expects. He knows I have a mate that I am mostly happy with, if it wasn’t for the past I would be completely happy. Christian can’t really hope to compete. Now I feel guilty thinking about this, Christian has no chance.
“So what are your plans?” I am hoping to eliminate the guilt here.
He gives me a serious look. There is a slight smile on his lips. “To sweep you off your feet.”
I have to break this bubble before it gets out of hand. “Christian, I don’t really think that you should put any stock in being with me. I have a mate. I don’t even know why you like me in the first place. You said I don’t look like your mate, it just doesn’t make sense.”
He pulls out his phone. He flips through something and then shows me a picture of a beautiful woman. She has blonde hair, thin, really tan skin, blue eyes. She looks nothing like me. “This was my mate. I still love her very much, but as you can see, you look nothing like her.” He flips through his pictures again until he comes to the spot he was looking for. It is a picture of me. I don’t really remember that one. I am smiling, not a big toothy thing but a mild smile. My hand is resting on the side of my face and my hair is cascading down. I must have been having a talk with my dad when he snuck this one. “This picture alone made me fall in love with you.”
“You fell in love with a picture. That isn’t me. I mean it is, but I am more than a picture.”
He nods. “I get that. I really do. I just think maybe it is some love at first sight thing. I don’t really know how to explain it. I have looked at this picture a lot and pictured you on my arm. The way Eli has taken to you makes it even better.”
“You can find another girl who does the same thing. I don’t get the fixation with me. You said even if I hadn’t rejected my mate you would still be pursuing me. That is an obsession.”
He sighs. “Last night was just a little taste of how obsessed I truly am. You are all I think about. The two weeks I was gone, I was itching to get back here. As it is I have less than a week just to get you to consider it.”
I sigh, “Christian, I just don’t see this working out the way you want.”
He smiles at me. “I can still hold out hope.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt in the end.”
“That is why I love you. You are more worried about my happiness, than your own. Does that boy really make you happy? Constantly worried that he is going to hurt you. That girl is always around to lay her claim. That can’t be how you want to live.”
I look out the window. How can he know all that? “No, it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean I am just going to give up on my mate.”
He reaches over and squeezes my hand, then releases it. “I get how strong the mate bond is. That is why I am trying so damn hard. Everything in me just wants to reach across the seat and pull you close to me. I want to have your lips on mine, without you sicking your vampire on me.” He gives me a little smirk that I see in the window reflection.
“Don’t think Carlos wont do the same thing?” I point out.
He laughs. “I am sure that is why your father insisted that he drive.” That gives me a little chuckle too. “Honestly though, I thought you would bring the vampire along.”
“He has a name you know. How would you like it if he called you the werewolf all the time.”
“I apologize. What is his name again?”
“Jayden. Or Jay is what I call him. Most people do. I think it is just my dad that calls him Jayden, and school.”
“Have you known him long? You two seem close.”
“Yeah, several years now. Way before he was a vampire. He has only been one of those for about a month. He is a great guy. My best friend. Besides Zoe, but I guess Jay is closer now, I mean now that he knows what I am.”
He is quiet for a long time. “How do you have human friends? Most of us just keep to ourselves. Integrating is too hard for most of us.”
“It really isn’t all that hard. There is some lying, but mostly I kept it close to the belt. I would say things like, you can’t come over because my dad is a very protective person and doesn’t like people to come to the house. Or I can’t date because I am engaged. Not really much, but close enough to the truth that they didn’t question it. They thought it was a little weird at first, but they accepted it. It isn’t that hard to be friends with them. Actually for a long time the only friends that I had were humans, they were nicer than the wolves.”
He squeezes my hand again. “I can’t imagine why anyone would treat you badly. When your father was saying those things, I got so angry. You look like an angel and for them to treat you like you are anything but, it just pissed me off.”
I scoff, “I am no angel.”
He gets a dark smile on his lips and moves closer. “Oh, yeah, prove it.”
I turn my head away from him. “I have nothing to prove to you.”
He sits back in the seat. “See angel.”
I huff, “What did I do that convinced you of this?”
He smiled back. “It’s what you didn’t do. I have girls throw themselves at me all the time. You never once did.”
I smirk back at him. “So that is all I have to do to make you fall out of love with me?”
He gripped my hand again and looked me straight in the eye. “Now, that is all I want. Desperately. Last night felt so amazing and I just can’t get it out of my mind how much better it would be if you weren’t pushing me away.” There is a huskyness to his voice that would send many a girl reeling. Unfortunately for him, I am wired for my mate.
“Sorry you won’t experience that.” I point out.
His voice doesn’t change. “I have time. You haven’t made a choice yet.”
“I did tell you that I wouldn’t marry you.” He doesn’t change his smile.
“You still haven’t taken him back fully. That means there is a chance for me.”
“Christian, you know I was with him last night.” This is getting exacerbated.
“Yes, but you didn’t mark him did you. I understand you have needs. Your mate meets those needs at the moment.” He looks out the window, he doesn’t like to talk about this.
“And who is filling your needs?” I smirk, if he is bringing up needs then he must have someone meeting his. Another reason that he can find someone else.
He turns to look me in the eyes. “In the past year there has been no one. I have only had eyes for you.”
Ok, that takes my breath away a little. “And before?” I have to focus.
He is silent for a moment before answering. “Come to think of it, no one. I haven’t been with anyone since my mate. Then I wanted you and no one could compare.” He gives me a smile that melts me a little. “If I didn’t know any better I would think you were my second chance mate. Except the fact that you don’t feel as strongly about me.”
“I don’t believe in second chance mates. You get one.”
“I do. I have to hope that the goddess would give me another after taking mine so soon.”
“Then it isn’t me Christian. Maybe you should hold out for her.”
“Maybe she already did. Your mate is just holding on to something that isn’t his. He doesn’t deserve you.”
“That may be true. Sometimes I feel that he doesn’t either.”
“I know it.” He sounds so sure.
“You hardly know me. I doubt you can be so sure.”
“I know you well enough. I definitely know him enough to know that he doesn’t deserve someone as amazing as you.”
“Flattery, is this where we are going now?”
“It works at times. Besides, it’s true.” He gives me a pointed look. “So, what is your father’s plan to deal with the rogues?”
I sigh, “Increased training, patrols. We keep turning the rogues over to the council, I am just not sure if that is the right call. They keep having more and more. I didn’t think that was possible. Of course, they have to have a plan. My dad won’t let me sit in on the interrogation so I have no idea what they are saying. My dad says it isn’t my concern at the moment. I get it. I have a lot on my plate, but I would like something constructive to do.”
“Maybe if I talk to him, you know Alpha to Alpha. You should know what is going on, you are due to take over the pack soon. It seems like a bad idea at this point to keep you in the dark.”
I chuckle. “I wasn’t joking when I said that my dad is overprotective. He wants me to have a mate before I take over just for that fact. He doesn’t want me hurt. I think that is why he likes Hunter so much. He knows the job and is ready to take care of me. Not that you wanted to hear that.”
“I know the job and am ready to take care of you. Your father still doesn’t like me. I think you might have to find another reason for that affection.” Christian points out.
“Maybe it’s just that he knows him. I don’t know. I just know that he does.”
We are silent the rest of the way to the restaurant. I would like to say that I had a terrible time, especially after the car ride, but I didn’t. He was pleasant company, we opened up more to each other about ourselves. He was nothing but kind. Christian was the perfect date. After dinner we went for a walk in a local garden, they usually have it closed down after sundown, but he pulled some strings. They even had some lights put out. I have to say it was very romantic. He held my hand as we walked along the path. It was nice.
“You are going to make someone a great husband one day.” I say as we head back to the SUV.
“I am hoping that person is you.” He leans in and whispers.
“I don’t see that happening.”
He just shrugs. “You never know.”
I am starting to feel comfortable with him again. He isn’t pushing like last night. Although it is hard to get that thought out of my mind. Christian is just trying to be with me. I have to say I kind of like it. Not that I am really swayed.
When we get back to the pack house, I am assuming the date is over. However, once we exit the SUV, Chrisitan pulls me into a hug. “I would love to kiss you good-night but I am a little worried you will hate me.”
“I am afraid to say… What is that noise?” I hear some rustling in the bushes by the pack house steps.
“Don’t worry about it.” Christian has stiffened. He knows what it is. “Maybe you should head in.”
“I want to know what it is.” I head towards the bushes.
Christian blocks my path. “You really don’t want to know.”
Then I hear it. “That is Hunter. Let me pass.” I push past Christian. He holds on to my arm.
“You really don’t want to see.” He looks sad.
I pull out of his hand and go for the bushes. There behind the bushes is Hunter with Allison. She is on top of him and his arms are wrapped around her. “Woops.” Allison smiles up at me.
Hunter pushes her off. “Jasmine it isn’t what it looks like.”
“It looks like you are with her again. Always the victim right Hunter?” I stormed off. Christian tried to stop me. “And you. You could hear it and you were trying to hide it from me.” I turned my anger on Christian. “I told you how much I hated lies.”
“I didn’t want you to feel the pain you are feeling right now.” He tried to sound caring, but I have lost all patience.
“I don’t want to hear it. All you men stick together.” I storm into the pack house with both men trailing behind me calling my name. I almost didn’t hear the little voice calling my name.
He came running at me like I was his mother that he missed all night. I look down at Eli clinging to my legs. I smile at him and pick him up. “Do you want to see your daddy?” He shakes his head. “Do you want to spend the night with me?” A very happy nod. I look up the stairs at the nanny. Selene is her name. “He will be staying with me tonight. You can come get him in the morning.” I carry Eli up the stairs.
“Jasmine.” They both echo each other.
I turn and look at them. “I am not talking to either of you. I am done with the lies. You two can keep each other company. Eli is more than enough for me.” I turn to head back up the stairs. I link Jay on my way. “I am never talking to Hunter again. Your boy fucked up again.”
“Really. I can’t rest.” He complains.