His Luna, Her Choice

Chapter Four

JASPERS POV

I didn't remember falling asleep. I didn't even know if I had dreamt or not. But I did know that I was awake, as Vie's piercing shriek had me jumping out of bed in record time and racing to the bathroom.

"What?! What?!" I asked frantically. I grabbed her shoulders, scanning every inch of her skin for injuries. She looked completely fine.

"Look!" She gasped.

I saw what she meant then. Violet was holding out her hair, but unlike the rest of her pitch black strands, this was blonde. A beautiful golden blonde that stood out. It wasn't just a few pieces either- It looked as if she had dyed one length of hair near her face.

"What the..." My voice trailed off as I touched the hair. It was cold, like ice. I frowned, completely confused. Her hair was dry, but this piece felt like it had been dipped in water and frozen. "It's cold." I stated.

"What?" She grabbed the hair from me, her fingers running through it. "What are you talking about? It's warm."

My frown only deepened at her words. "Vie, it's like ice." I argued.

"No, no." She continued to run her hand along the strands. "It feels like... like lying on the beach. It's like sunshine."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know!" She shouted, and I jumped. "Why are you arguing with me over how it feels?! How did it happen?"

"I-I don't know. I just woke up!"

"Helpful." She spits sarcastically.

Her attitude had me crossing my arms. "Well, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was supposed to watch you sleep to make sure your hair didn't turn different colours. I'll keep that in mind for tonight."

"Oh, don't be an ass, Jasper. I'm freaking out here."

"I wasn't being an ass. You-" I bit my tongue, drawing in a deep breath through my nose. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't want to fight about this."

She nodded. "I don't either. I'm sorry too."

We stood in awkward silence for a couple of minutes. Vie and I didn't fight often, and almost never about little things. So why had I felt the need to bite her head off a minute ago? That wasn't me. That wasn't us. But the more I watched her play with her new blonde streaks of her, the more annoyed and irritated I became. I couldn't understand it.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital, and have it checked out?" I suggested mildly.

"Yeah. Yeah- I'll do that."

She walked out of the bathroom, heading for the closet. I turned my back to the door and started the shower. That's what I needed- A nice, hot shower.

Stripping out of my sweats, the only clothes I had on, I walked in, sighing as the stream of water hit my back. I was unusually tense, even though I felt well rested. Reaching for the shampoo, I let out a groan as Violets fell off the shelf.

Goddess, why did she have to put her stuff near mine? And why did she need so much stuff anyway? Shampoo, conditioner, body scrub, body wash, soap, face wash-

I stopped as I bent over to pick up the bottle. What was with me? Since when did Violet's bathroom products become such an issue? It's not like she had a thousand items in here. And probably no more than any other girl.

I scooped up the bottle and placed it back where it was, but still I felt annoyed. Like an itch under the skin, I couldn't seem to let it go.

"I'm leaving. Tracy will swing by to take the kids to daycare." Violet called from the doorway.

"'Kay."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

I glanced at her through the slightly foggy shower door. She was smiling at me, her hair tied up in a ponytail. The blonde streak was pulled back as well, and the sight of it made a low growl build in my chest. Her smile dropped, and she stepped into the bathroom.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Fine." I bit back.

I saw her eyes widen, but only she nodded and left, stealing one more look at me over her shoulder. I heard the door to the bedroom open and close. I let out a breath, relieved.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you relieved that she is gone?" Ehno barked at me.

Again, I stopped what I was doing. He was right.

"I... I don't know."

"She's our mate. The mother of our Pups. Don't you think it's a little alarming you feel better right now?"

"How do you feel?" I asked curiously.

"The same way I always feel. I want to be with her every minute of every day. I miss her when she's not here. So what's with you?"

"I told you, I don't know. Maybe-Maybe I didn't get as much sleep as I thought."

"Hmph." He rolled his eyes in my head, not accepting my poor excuse.

I finished my shower, and wrapped myself in a towel. By the time I was done brushing my teeth, getting dressed, and on my way to the kitchen for a late breakfast, I still had no idea why I was so irritable. But food always made me feel better.

Stepping off the elevator, I was greeted by King.

"Good morning Alpha."

"Morning. What's that?" I nodded to the folder in his hand.

"Some of the paperwork for the factory. I need you to go over it."

"Didn't I do that two days ago?"

"This is the contracts, the ones you need to sign and send away so people can start working there. It won't take long."

"Fine. We'll do it after I get something to eat."

He followed me to the kitchen, where I immediately went to the fridge. But when I opened it, I was severely disappointed.

Slamming the door, I turned to the startled kitchen staff who were cleaning up or preparing meats for dinner tonight.

"Where is the sandwich that was in here yesterday?" I demanded.

"S-sandwich Alpha?" A tiny brunette, Lisa, asked me timidly.

"Yes, there was a ham and cheese sandwich with bacon on the top shelf here yesterday. Where did it go?"

King raised his brows at me, but I ignored him.

"I believe the Luna took it Alpha. Before she left this morning." The girl played with her fingers nervously. "I'd be happy to make you a fresh one Alpha."

"Don't bother." I stormed past her, with King right on my heels. In the hallway, I was absolutely fuming.

"What was that?" King asked.

"What?"

"That." He gestured behind us. "Why are you so angry?"

I stopped, turning on him. "I'm angry because I wanted something to eat. Is it too much to ask that Violet doesn't take my stuff? She's always doing it!"

He looked at me in disbelief. "You're mad because she took a sandwich?" He scoffed. "Seriously?"

I ran my hands through my hair. "No- I don't know! I'm just.... not in a good mood today."

"Clearly."

"Just give me the folder. I'll sign the contracts and wait 'till lunch." He placed the folder in my hand slowly.

"Are you okay?" He eyed me carefully.

"Fine. Like I said, just not in a good mood." I flipped through the papers, ignoring his stare.

"Alright... Did you two have a fight or something?"

I started walking again. "No. Not exactly. Vie woke up with some blonde in her hair." I explained lamely.

"Huh?"

I told him how I'd woken up. "It felt cold to me though. Like ice. But she said it felt warm, like sunshine or something." I scrubbed a hand down my face. Then I laughed lightly. "It really is a stupid thing to be upset about."

"Kind of."

We got into the elevator, King pressed the button for my floor. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Can you have the staff prepare lunch for us? She was right, I was being an ass."

"No problem."

Ehno jumped in my head, excited. I even felt a little better too. A nice lunch, just the two of us. We hadn't had that in a while, with both of us working all day.

I smiled, noting that King looked slightly relieved at my change of mood too. It was still early, I could turn this day around. And it had been a while since I orchestrated something for me and my mate. She would appreciate it.

We stepped into my office together, unsurprised to find Ashwell already there. He usually met me in my office.

For the next hour, we went through the contracts together, discussing finances and employment opportunities. It had been a long road, but the factory Violet had dreamed of was finally built, loaded and ready to go. The fields of apple trees were ripening already too, and the pack was excited to start on a new course. The factory was equipped to make jams, pies and sauce.

I'd reached out beyond the pack, and we had made a great deal with the neighboring packs, including Blood Moon. But I was more excited about our deal with the humans.

Barely anybody dealt with humans, and therefore, the competition wasn't an issue. The closest city to Silver Moon wasn't large, but big enough to bring in some good business. As far as they knew, they were dealing with a discreet and out of the way village, and that's all we needed them to know.

"That's the last one." My pen scraped across the paper as I signed my name. "Ashwell, can you get these off?"

"Sure thing." He swiped the folder off my desk.

"What's next?" I looked at King.

"We can either go over the budget for the daycare, or..." He shuffled some papers around, papers that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. I swear this man had folders of paperwork stuffed in his clothes. "Ah. Or we can go over the new patrol protocols."

"Protocols first. We can do the daycare after lunch." My eyes drifted up, watching the clock hands tick away.

King handed over the papers and we got to work. Half an hour later, Ashwell was back to join in on the discussion. The three of us went back and forth for a while until finally, we agreed on a course of action that suited everybody.

As soon as I finished the last of what I needed to sign, I stood, stretching my legs.

"Lunch time. See you guys in a few."

"Later." Ashwell said, but King just watched me leave with the same careful expression as this morning. My mood was lighter though, and I was eager to see my mate.

I'd ordered an outside lunch, in the gazebo behind the packhouse. It had been a birthday present to Vie, and had become our favorite place. We'd go there after runs and talk for hours, sometimes making love. During the days we'd bring a picnic blanket and enjoy time with the kids. I'd had a whole bed of Violets planted, one for each day I knew her, and more for each day, we'd been mated. She loved it so much, I thought she's never stopped crying when she first saw it.

When I got there, I was pleased to see a little white table had been set up, with two matching chairs. A bottle of wine was placed in the center, and two plates with cutlery and glasses. Lisa stood to the side, a cart with covered dishes on it next to her.

She bowed her head as I approached.

"Alpha. Everything is prepared just the way you wanted it."

"Thank you." I smiled at her. "And I'm sorry about this morning. I don't know what came over me."

She smiled back. "Please don't worry about it. I'm sure being an Alpha gets stressful at times."

"Yes, it can be stressful. Say, where is Violet?" I looked around.

"Here!"

My mate was rushing towards me, panting. I took her hand as she reached the gazebo. "You alright?"

"Yeah!" She huffed. "I had to run here though. My meeting with Alpha Bruin ran late. That man never stops talking!"

Her eyes landed on the table. "Oh! Oh, Jasper, this is wonderful!" She beamed at me.

I gave her a soft smile. "It's been a while since we did something like this."

"You're the best." She leaned on her tiptoes, giving me a quick kiss.

We sat down, holding hands across the table. Lisa served our dishes, a chicken caesar salad and steak for Violet while I had a rarer steak and greek salad.

We both thanked her while I poured wine for us both, the sun glittering off the fine wine glasses. Birds chirped in the trees, and the wind that blew was warm and gentle. It was a perfect day for a lunch date.

"Enjoy Alpha, Luna. I have to get back to the kitchen." Lisa nodded to us and then left.

We ate it in silence for a while. Vie seemed really happy about our date, but my eyes wouldn't stop wandering to her hair. Finally, I cleared my throat, setting my fork down and taking up my glass.

"So... what's the verdict?" I asked casually.

"Oh. Kettler didn't know what to make of it. So I called Grandpa. We assume for now it has something to do with my magic." She shrugged.

"Your magic? Your magic is turning you into a blonde?"

"Goddess, I hope not!" She shivered. "I really don't want to be blonde."

I chuckled. "No offense, but neither do I."

"None taken." She gave me a look I knew too well. "You know, I'm thinking... It's been a while since you and I were out here, alone."

She pulled her hand from mine, running her fingertips along my arm. My body responded just like any other time, but the words that came from my mouth shocked both of us.

"I have to get back to work shortly. Maybe tonight."

Surprise and hurt flashed in her eyes, but she agreed, pulling her hand back. What shocked me more than anything was the satisfaction that came when she stopped touching me. If I hadn't been worried before, I definitely was now.

Just what the f**k was wrong with me and why was I feeling like this towards my mate?