Sixteen

JASON

Her spitfire nature made my dick throb. It was pathetic. I was Jason. Famed for making other Alphas cower at the mention of my name. For all the posturing and tough talk, this woman would not submit to me. No one told me the bond would be this strong. I had walked down the path of insanity when I realized Sofiane had crossed the barrier; A feat that bastard could not have achieved without having a witch by his side. I had believed she was safe. How wrong I was. Now my woman was keeping secrets and distrustful of me. Sofiane had done something and I needed to know exactly what poison he had tainted her with. If only she would stop mumbling watermelons. Gosh, it was annoying.

"I will only be asking you one last time Ola, what are you hiding?"

She seemed flustered from the nickname. Her breathing was slow and her mind rattled on what I would do if I did not get what I want. Her imagination was a wild one and I was already getting flashes of our skins touching and how she figured it would be extremely difficult to fight me off if such a scenario played out. A smirk played up my lips. She had handed me the perfect weapons; intimidation and quiet threats. I stepped closer and she retreated like a frazzled deer.

"Sofiane was surprised you had not marked me yet." She confessed, folding her hands across her breasts like that would be enough to stop me. "He told me it was like you were prepping me for the slaughterhouse."

Her heart was racing madly. I didn't even need to sense that to know she was telling another blatant lie. She had mentioned Sofiane's agitation to the fact that she was not marked before so that could not be it. However, I was willing to let it go just this once. She could not hide it forever. Eventually, that secret would slip through the cracks.

"Your heart is beating like you just ran a marathon kitten." I teased, spiking her to the edge.

"Well, I just survived a maniac that tried to kill me and now I have to face another. I think that should be self-explanatory."

"If you ask me," I continued. "That can only mean two things. One, you are telling me a lie, and the second..." In seconds, I closed the space between us and whispered into her ear, "You seem angry I was following your rules."

"What rules?" A whimper escaped Olamide's throat as she tried to step back but before she could make her move, my hands clasped unto her hips and pulled her even closer.

"The only reason I haven't mated you yet is because I did not want to break you."

She was speechless. It was the first time her mind had been blank. Usually, she had an effortless clap back at the back of her mind. This time, I was sure I had gotten my mate cornered.

"I don't...want...you..." She stuttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh yeah?" I nibbled at her ear and whispered. "Stop me then."

Without warning, I put a firm grip on the back of her neck, angling her head the way I liked it and going in for a kiss. At first, she was resistant. She fought me with her tongue and those frail hands but it was not enough. I felt her crumble, slowly accepting the caress of her lips and in the end submitting. Once I had proved my point, I broke the kiss. I expected a backlash. A slap for my brutish behavior but Olamide shocked me. The second I pulled away, her hands grabbed my shirt and pulled me back. Her lips met mine and her tongue devoured me whole. Her hands slipped beneath my shirt and slow moans escaped her as she made an attempt to rid me of the shirt. I loved it but I was the only one strong enough to control myself. I did not want Olamide to hate herself for the rest of her life for succumbing to the mate bond so I stopped her by breaking the kiss

Her face went blue when a flicker of common sense returned. She pushed me off and wiped her lips half hating me for being damn right.

"What was that about?" She mumbled, trying her best not to stutter.

"A proven fact that you cannot resist me and you equally want me in your pants just as much as I want you in mine." I teased, buttoning up my loose shirt and fixing up my hair. "So trust me, Olamide. I am not preparing you to be Sofiane's next victim and I do not have ulterior motives for you. If I did, you would have seen right through me a long time ago."

"Then why can't you see right through me?" She probed.

Of course, I could. I could tell she did not want to be here. She did not want me. If anything, I disgusted her. But there was something about the unattainable that fascinated me. I wanted to prove her wrong and somewhere deep within me, I wanted the same fairytale my parent had.

"Of course I can, "I confessed, picking up Luna who hissed at me the moment I separated her from her new fuck buddy so I was implored to pick up Olamide's cat too. "I know you hate me. I know the fact that you want to stab me to death and kiss all at the same time repulses you. I wish it was in my court to free you Olamide but it's not. A higher power chose you to be my mate–"

"So this is like fate?"Olamide scoffed, approaching me to pick up Zeus.

"Well, someone did not want you to die that night. Be a little appreciative and let the light of the goddess lead you to your destiny."

Olamide looked at me longingly. Her thoughts were strange. For the first time, she did not throw something at herself to debunk whatever I had told her. I was almost beginning to believe she trusted me. My heart melted when she laughed.

"And what's that? To be your wife?"

"I don't know," I answered. "But what I do know is we can't stay here."

"Now that is an indisputable fact." Olamide acknowledged. "So what do you propose?"

"A hotel for the week," I replied. "You'll be safe there while I put this place back in shape."

She gave me that smile again and my legs felt so jelly I was so sure I could fall. I wondered if she could read the questions that lingered at the back of my mind, the things she made me feel. As we stepped out of the mansion, I could not help but wonder why she did not run the second she had the chance. Of course, it was a question that would die along with the unspoken words that thrummed my mind but I was glad she stayed.

***

Sofiane parked his motorcycle off a side road on the outskirts of the city. It had been a long time since he had visited but he could smell the stench of cigars, alcohol, and sweaty sex but when it mingled with the intense fragrance of roses his late wife grew during her time in the pub, it smelled like home. No scent in the world could rival it.

It had been a grueling week of losing more pack members to Jason and just when he thought he could get some payback at that bastard Alpha, the mate in question turns out to be a fragile human who could read his thoughts. It had been the only reason he was back here. This piece of the puzzle he could not put together was killing him. Sofiane was so sure the goddess was about to pull a cruel card on him until he realized she could not be his mate neither could she be human. Now that he stood feet away from cherry blossoms pub, Sofiane wondered why he had not finished the girl and got it over with.

Slowly, Sofiane walked up to the pub door that had a closed sign hanging over it. He looked through the glass and caught the ominous stare of David Blossoms.

"Nobody wants you here Mr. Hobb," David yelled, proceeding to ignore the man.

"David, please. There has been a situation–"

"Oh—lemme guess, You of the bunch got a third chance mate and killed her right?"

"What! No! David, I loved Candice. I've loved only Candice."

David sprang to his feet and went for the door, hesitating for a moment before he unlocked the damn thing.

"Well, I am sure my sister would not appreciate you killing your new mates simply because you have refused to move on," David said, resting on one of the pub's tables as Sofiane walked in.

"I don't want anyone. If it is not Candice, I am fine with being alone."

David gave a hollow laugh. "Fucking werewolves." He scoffed. "If I did not hate you so much, I would actually feel pity for you. But we are not here to dwell on the past. So tell me why you are here Sofiane. I've had enough of the stench of blood that never seems to leave you."

Sofiane reached into his pocket and handed David a curly lock of dark hair. "I want you to do a test. I met someone today and I have reasons to believe she is not human."

David took the lock and went over to his worktable. The same table he served drinks from. He went under and retrieved a clay pot, a matchbox, and some spices. "What reasons do you have?" David asked Sofiane as he got to work.

Sofiane watched him throw the lock into the pot with a pinch of different spices. Once David began to chant his spell, Sofiane answered.

"She says she is human but I suspect she is more."

David nodded, proceeding to light a match and throwing the flickering flame into the pot. The lock went up in flames and released wisps of thick white smoke that spun in a circular motion.

"Human!" David declared. "She is fucking human Sofiane."

"That is not possible David. She could read my mind!"

"Yeah, like mates do! Are you sure you are doing good Sofiane?"

"Except she is not a mate and yes, I have never felt better. She already has a mate and if she were, I would have access to her thoughts."

"Ohmigod, It's Jason's mate," David exclaimed, piecing Sofiane's rendezvous together. "That's why you asked me to spell you. You went after Jason's mate, didn't you?"

"It does not matter David."

"It doesn't matter?" David practically yelled, banging his fist to the table "Jason will figure out you got the help of a witch, and maybe, just maybe I would end up dead just like my big sister."

"Stop it, David! You know I would never let that happen."

"I am sure my sister heard those same empty words and look where she is. Six. Feet. Under."

Sofiane lost it. His irises turned bright red and his wolf seized hold of his brother-in-law when his enhanced caught the sight of something they both had kissed while they argued. The smoke had turned red and its wisps kept dancing upwards like they were attempting to replicate something.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Sofiane asked, releasing David from his grip.

"No," David confessed, looking in awe as the smoke formed some sort of hellish red tree.

"What does it mean?"

David's blue eyes swung towards Sofiane. "I think your mystery girl is a stitch." What David failed to mention was that Sofiane's mystery girl had her soul stitched with a certain witch. David looked at the smoke one more last time. It sort of looked like the infamous insignia of the blossom family. It was damn cherry blossoms.