The Wild Within

Chapter 4 Luke

Luke

“Uh, what the score of the game was,” Nick blurted out nervously.

“Oh?” Jasmine said and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “What game?”

“Uh, the hockey game,” he said.

“Which team?” She asked, and her blue eyes seemed to have turned Nick into stone.

“Never mind this bullshit,” Julius said firmly. “I’m starving. Can we eat, please?”

“Oh, I didn’t think it was bullshit, Julius,” she said in a strange tone I didn’t understand, but it affected him. “But I don’t want to make you wait any longer to eat; you seem to be a little moody.”

She flashed her eyes at him, and he locked his jaw with a slight nod. He turned and headed to the table to take a seat. Jasmine smirked a bit as she cleared her throat.

“Anyway,” she said. “I apologize on Julius’s behalf for his failure to mention me to you all, but he’s told me so much about you that I feel like I know you already. Now don’t tell me your names, let me guess!”

Jasmine walked over to Nathan, who was closest to her. She smiled as she looked him over, circling around as if he were a dog in a show. Nathan held very still and kept his eyes down. Julius was like a statue as he glared at Nathan, watching his every move.

“You have to be Nathan,” she said. “It was too easy with the haircut. But it’s so nice to meet you, Nathan; I’m Jasmine.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he said with his eyes still averted.

“You should look at me if you’re speaking to me,” she said gently yet firmly and pushed Nathan’s chin up with a finger until he looked her in the eye. “No need to call me ma’am either; Jasmine is fine. Hello Nathan, it’s lovely to meet you.”

“As it is to meet you, Jasmine,” he replied.

She smiled at him and caressed his beard softly while eyeing him up and down again. Julius growled low but stopped when Jasmine shot him a glare. What the hell is going on with them? Jasmine moved on to Nick, who was standing beside Nathan. Jasmine walked around him, giving him the same assessment as Nathan before standing in front of him. Only this time, she had to look up to see his face.

“You are Nick,” she said and smiled. “My, you are as tall as you are as handsome.”

“Thank you,” he said nervously; his eyes flickered to her face, then away, then back to her face.

“Oh, you don’t have to be so nervous around me, Nick,” she said and brushed his arm. Julius let out a deep exhale, fighting the urge to growl. “I want us to be friends, a family. It’s so wonderful to put a face to the name. I hear you’re the funny one.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Nick said, grinning like a goof before straightening up. “It’s nice to meet you,  Jasmine.”

“I look forward to getting to know more about you,” she said, caressing his arm and chest. She moved on to Doug, trying to look relaxed and calm by tucking his shaking hands under his arms.

“You know this is almost too easy,” Jasmine chuckled as she gave her assessment walk around Doug. “I knew who Nathan and Nick were, and I know exactly who you are, Doug.”

Doug grinned a dialed-down version of his usual dazzling wolfy smile. Jasmine brushed her hands over his bare arms and glided them down his chest. Julius started to growl but began coughing as if to hide it. It was almost like Jasmine was making sure to touch us somehow to upset Julius, and he wasn’t allowed to react to it.

“How’d you know it was me?” He asked arrogantly.

“You just exude masculine energy,” she said, drawing in a deep breath and wafting up the air around her. “And just a hint of sadness, a dash of loneliness, and a little furry.”

Doug’s grin dropped off his face so fast that we all busted out laughing.  He shot us all glares before straightening out his face and turning to look at Jasmine. She laughed with us, and he tried to chuckle along.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie,” she said, trying to contain her giggles. “I also know you’re as loyal as you are confident. Which is quite a lot.”

Jasmine leaned forward and kissed Doug's cheek. I let out an audible gasp and turned to see Julius’s face turning a shade of red I’ve never seen before, and his eyes turned black.

“Jasmine, I’m going to have to respectfully ask you to stop touching them and certainly not kiss them,” he said in a deep voice.

Jasmine turned to Julius, and her eyes changed to her wolf’s. Her lips twitched up at the corner, and she looked sexy and deadly as hell. We all looked between Julius and Jasmine in confusion.

“You do remember what standby means?” She said, and Julius’s eyes widened. “That’s what I thought. As I was saying, Doug, it’s nice to meet you. Don’t worry; I’m not always like this. Some people need to be taught a lesson.”

“Jasmine, please,” Julius growled.

“Let’s see who is next,” Jasmine said, ignoring Julius entirely, and turned to look at Ryan and me. She began to circle me, and I felt unusually vulnerable, as though I was naked. “I know you two are the newest pups. But I’m fairly certain that you are Luke.”

“Yes,” I said. “It’s nice to meet you, Jasmine.”

“You’re the military man,” she said. “One of the strongest Julius had ever seen. I can see you doing great things for your pack.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling honored by her words. “That means a lot to me.”

“How’s it feel to be a newborn?” She asked. “I was born wolf, so I have no human experiences.”

“Life’s been a lot better as a wolf than a human,” I said. “Julius saved my life.”

“He can be good when he wants to be,” she said. “You have such stunning blue eyes, Luke.” She reached her hands up to touch my face and caress my cheek. I was tall but not as tall as Nick, so she didn’t have to stretch.

“Thank you,” I said.

“And your beard is so soft,” she said as she caressed the tendrils down my chin.

“I take care of my beard,” I said nervously, trying to avoid Julius’s intense glare.

“So if you’re Luke,” she said, placing her hand upon my chest before turning to look at Ryan. “You’re Ryan, aw sweetheart, are you okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said bravely but quickly crumpled under her intimidating gaze, and he put his hands over his face as he wept.

“What happened?” Jasmine asked and hugged him to her. She wasn’t doing it to set of Julius, though; she was genuinely consoling him. “Ryan?”

“He met his mate,” I said, and Ryan began to cry harder.

“Oh, sweetie,” she gasped, hugging him tighter. “I’m so sorry; what happened?”

“They mated, and then his wolf took over; he freaked out and took off,” Nathan explained while Ryan let out a painful howl.

“Do you see now, Julius?” Jasmine turned and glared at our creator. “He should have known what was going to happen when he met his mate, and they mated for the first time.”

“It’s not my fault he can’t keep it in his pants,” Julius snapped and immediately regretted it.

“Nobody can resist a mate bond, Julius,” she growled at him. “Don’t you blame this on him; this is your fault!”

Julius and Jasmine held the most intense stare-down I’ve ever seen. But Julius caved after several unbearable seconds, and he dropped his head.

“I’m sorry, Ryan,” he said. “I should have told you sooner. I wish you had come to me.”

“I thought you’d be angry with me,” he sobbed. “I almost exposed us and harmed a human.”

“Come on, sweetheart,” Jasmine said to him and pulled him up to his feet. “Let’s get you something to eat, and we will find a way to fix this, okay?”

Ryan let Jasmine pull him to the table and at beside him. She made his plate and placed it in front of him before caressing his head and kissing his temple. And just like that, Jasmine has become our mother as Julius was our father.