by Sara Summers
“She’s the daughter of some of my closest friends.” The man explained.
With his words, it was like a lightbulb popped on over my head. He was best friends with my parents, he was… Okay, I couldn’t remember his name, but I knew the man. He was a lot bigger and a lot older than the last time I’d seen him, but it was definitely him.
The nameless best friend that I couldn’t remember.
But if I remembered right, he had been my dad’s right-hand man when it came to leading the pack.
“I’m Jazmine.” I nodded. “I go by Jazz, though. How did you find me?” I wondered.
“Really?” The man raised his eyebrows. I could see water in his eyes, and was worried that the grown man in front of my might start to cry. Good gracious if he cried, I had no idea what I’d do. “We thought you were dead.” He shook his head. “We thought—Well it doesn’t matter now, because here you are.”
He beamed at me, then stepped forward and pulled me into a massive hug. It was strange and not a very comforting hug, despite half-remembering who the bulky man was.
“One of the boys in the pack was registering for classes, and he saw your name. He asked his mom if it could be you, because everyone in the pack knows about you, so I came looking. This is a miracle.” The man shook his head again, still beaming like he had just won the lottery or become a wizard or something.
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what else could stay.
The man whose name I couldn’t remember, he had been my parents’ best friend, but what did that mean? Had he just stopped by to see if I was alive? Did he want to apologize for leaving me to the government, who had turned me over to my aunt and uncle who hated me? Did he even know about that?
Did he expect something from me?
I wasn’t sure what to think, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be sure what to think.
The man engulfed me in another hug, and then I really didn’t know what should be going on in my brain. Honestly, my thoughts felt like a big tangled yarn ball that some cat had been messing with for a year and a half.
Should I be excited to see this man? Should I be happy that my parents’ pack had remembered our family? Should I be worried that he’d kidnap me and force me to go back to the pack with him?
Yeah, I knew that last one was probably a no-go, but I had to think about it to be sure. You can never be too careful, and I only sort of remembered the guy.
“Can I take you both out to dinner? We have a lot of catching up to do.” The man asked.
I looked at Haiden.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself to your soulmate. Sorry.” He hurried to apologize. “My name is Matt Hansen, I’m the Alpha of the Daniels Pack.”
I raised my eyebrows when I heard the pack name. While I couldn’t remember what it had been called before my parents’ death, I knew that it wasn’t the Daniels pack.
“I’m Haiden.” My mate shook Matt’s hand.
“So, dinner?” Matt checked.
“Sure.” I nodded once.
Confiding in my soulmate one day, going to lunch with someone I could hardly remember the next day? My life was turning into a roller coaster, and I wasn’t entirely okay with that.
Chapter 16
“Do you remember this guy?” Haiden checked, as we followed Matt to the diner nearby.
“Kind of.” I shrugged. “I remember that he was my dad’s second, which explains why he’s the alpha now…” I sighed. “My parents would be thrilled if they found out that the pack stayed together even without them there to convince everyone. They believed in the power of a pack of shifters, and they’re not even here to see it.” I closed my eyes. They ached, tired of almost-crying and tired of being tired.
“Do you think they would want you to be a part of their old pack?” Haiden’s words were cautious.
“I don’t know.” I admitted. “They wouldn’t want me to be alone, but my friends and I are sort of a weird pack. What do you think?”
Haiden seemed surprised that I asked him for his opinion. I don’t know why he was surprised; I’d told him everything about myself. Even after a short amount of time together, what he thought was important to me. He knew about my past and still wanted to be my soulmate, so he automatically took first place-of-importance in my life.
Or at least he should’ve. If Brooke and I hadn’t been such close friends, he would’ve definitely come first. But really, it hadn’t been long enough for him to pass Brooke and our ten years of best-friend-hood.
“I think packs definitely make some types of shifters stronger, but I don’t think we need to be part of one if we don’t want to be. Being part of a pack is a personal decision, and just because your parents believed in it doesn’t mean you have to believe in it too.” Haiden said.
I nodded; he had a point.
We followed Matt into the restaurant and sat down in a booth, Haiden and I beside each other while Matt was across from us. All of us ordered water, and then the awkward silence descended.
But don’t worry, Matt broke that awkward silence after just a minute or two.
“How have you been? What happened after the attack?” Matt wondered.
By “the attack”, I assumed he meant the night when my parents were murdered by terrified humans who thought shifters were trying to invade and/or destroy the world.
“I called 911 when the humans left, and before I knew what had happened, I was living with my aunt and uncle.” I shrugged. “Since then, I’ve been going to school and planning Shifty University. I’m a professor there, beginning next week.”
“Wow, a professor? At what, twenty?” Matt raised his eyebrows.
I nodded.
“Yeah, I went through school as fast as I could.” I told him.
I didn’t tell him that was because I’d spent the last half of my life being called stupid and unintelligent and being told that I wouldn’t get anywhere in life. Matt didn’t need to know that, and he probably didn’t want to know.
It’s not like he could say anything to change all the crap that happened. All he could really do was be friendly, and I had plenty of friends already.
“That’s awesome.” Matt nodded. “The pack is actually planning on moving here in a few weeks. We want to live in the shifter place.”
“Cool.” I nodded.
What else should I say?
I didn’t know anyone in the pack anymore. I had my friends, and they were family enough. Now that I had Haiden, I honestly couldn’t think of anything else I needed. Not a pack, not to reconnect with people who had been friends with my parents.
I wanted to move on and be Professor Jazz, the cheetah chick who taught in skinny jeans and high-tops.
Matt told me about some people in the pack, but I didn’t remember who any of them were. He talked about his pack until the waitress brought us our food, and then he finally stopped.
“So,” Matt said, between bites of whatever he was eating. “I have to admit, I didn’t only invite you here to catch up.” He said.
Great.
I thought, sighing inwardly.
“Oh yeah?” I pretended I didn’t want to groan.
“Yes. You see, your parents started our pack, and we feel it’s right that you, their only child, lead the pack that they inspired.
I choked on my food.
Was he serious? I’d just told him that I was a professor at SUV, I’d told him that I worked through school as fast as I could. And he wanted me to lead his pack?
The pack I couldn’t even really remember?
For some strange reason (cough cough, sarcasm), I wasn’t excited about that idea.
Like, I wasn’t excited at all.
“We’re really not Alpha material.” I gestured to myself and Haiden. “Really. He’s an artist and I’m an architect. No one would follow us, and we don’t have the dominance to keep the peace.” I hurried to excuse us from his invitation-slash-shocking-declaration.
Haiden nodded empathetically. We wer
e definitely, definitely not Alphas in mind or heart or body or anything else.
Matt shook his head.
“Oh, our pack isn’t run with dominance the way wolf and lion packs are. Cheetahs are independent, and we function as a group of individuals who live our own lives. We have pack potlucks and things like that, but we stay together mostly for safety. If the humans ever turn against us, we won’t all fall.” He explained.
That was a gruesome image he evoked in my head, but I shook it off.
“I’ve never even been in a pack that I can really remember. We wouldn’t know how to be leaders even if we were up for trying.”
“But we need you.” Matt urged. “You’re supposed to rule the pack.”
“I’m, uh,” I stood up. “I’m going to need some time.” I barely managed to get the words out, I was terrified. They wanted me to give up my life, the life I’d worked so hard for? He expected me to lead his pack despite everything I’d gone through to get my job as a professor and to be more than just some stupid animal?
“Jazmine, just—“
“My name is Jazz.” I said, before hurrying out to the car.
Though my speed-walk looked calm on the outside, I was a deer in the headlights on the inside. Leading a pack?
Being part of a pack?
I walked as fast as my semi-long legs would carry me, race-walking to Haiden’s car. Leaning against the passenger door, I closed my eyes and tried to slow down my thoughts.
“Hey.” Haiden pulled me into a hug, holding me tight against his chest. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” I whispered, my brain still moving at warp-speed.
“It’s going to be okay.” My soulmate promised me.
I guess if anyone had the right to promise me that, it was him. He was the other half of my soul, after all, so he was the one who should know.
As much as any person could know, which honestly wasn’t that much.
“What did you tell him?” I checked, my cheek resting against Haiden’s neck.
“I took his phone number and told him we’d talk about it and let him know.” Haiden said. His words were quiet and sweet and gentle, and they suddenly made me mad.
I pushed myself away from him.
“How are you perfect?” I demanded. “How are you always nice and caring? What are you hiding?”
“Easy.” Haiden raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not hiding anything.” He promised. I would’ve doubted his words, but I could just tell that he was telling me the truth. “The world hasn’t treated you very well, Jazz, I know that. But I always will. No matter what, I’m going to be nice and caring to you. You’re my soulmate, my other half, and you make my world more beautiful.” He said.
“You’re an artist.” I swallowed and folded my arms over my chest. “Your world is plenty beautiful without me.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Haiden stepped closer and put his hands on my hips. “I hate being alone. I can’t stand it, and you know what? I’ve been alone since my grandmother died. When she passed on, art was the anchor that held me down. The world was dull and gray to my eyes, but I painted it the way she always saw it.
“I’ve been hurting.” Haiden closed his eyes. “Before we found each other, I was falling. The world was colorless. What’s the point of a life without love? There isn’t any—love is the greatest art in the world, and I didn’t have even a drop of it. And then I saw you, and it was like my eyes started to work again.
“Somehow, after looking into your sad eyes, my world filled with color again. Love breathes beauty into the world, and no amount of 2 AMs can ever replace the beauty of being loved. You’re here, and I’m okay now. I’m not perfect, Jazz, but I’m finally finding the beauty that I’ve been chasing in artwork, and I’m finding it because of you.”
Haiden’s hands rested on my waist. He stared into my eyes, desperate for approval or love or art—I don’t know. I couldn’t process any of it.
But I loved the things he had said to me, and I couldn’t just not respond.
Since I couldn’t gather words beautiful enough to match his, I grabbed his shirt and stood up on my tiptoes. We stood in the parking lot with the sun setting in the sky, and I kissed my soulmate like our future depended on it.
While I didn’t know then, it did. That kiss and the conversation we had before it would determine our future in more ways than one, and in the moment, we had no idea. It was just the two of us in that parking lot, holding each other close.
And it was the most perfect moment of my life.
Chapter 16
My phone started to ring while we were driving toward mine and Brooke’s house.
The caller ID said it was none other than my lovely ex-roommate calling, so I, of course, answered it.
“How’s it going, Brookie?” I called her one of the many nicknames I’d tried out.
“Hey J, did you know it’s your soulmate’s birthday?” Brooke went right to business.
“What?” I looked over at Haiden, who hadn’t said anything. “Seriously? How do you know?”
“I’ve been stalking your hottie since we were like thirteen. My calendar has his birthday on it, duh.”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t stop the grin that grew on my face.
“So listen, don’t tell him you know. We have to do the birthday tradition, I’m leaving right now. See you in an hour, Jay-Day. I’ll get the goods, love you.”
“Alright, love you too.” I shook my head as I hung up the phone.
“What did Brooke say?” Haiden glanced over at me.
“Oh, she had to tell me my horoscope.” I straight-up lied to him, but it was for a good reason. The birthday tradition would be even greater as a surprise.
Haiden chuckled.
“What does it say?”
Shoot, now I had to make something up.
“Good things are in store under a bright moon.” I shrugged. “I don’t know why she likes horoscopes so much.”
Yeah, Brooke wasn’t actually into horoscopes… but she’d be happy to foot the lie for the sake of a surprise. She loves surprises.
We spent half an hour packing all my stuff, and when we went back to our house, Brooke was only a few minutes away. I sent her my location (didn’t know the address yet) while Haiden was carrying a suitcase into our room, then hurried to grab a suitcase of my own so he wouldn’t be suspicious.
I was putting clothes into my dresser when there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it.” Haiden told me.
I snuck behind him. The surprise would work best if he was attacked from both sides, so that’s what had to be done.
“Surprise!” Brooke shrieked, shooting a confetti cannon off in Haiden’s face.
“Happy birthday!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing Haiden’s cheek.
He laughed.
“How did you know?” he wondered, as Brooke grabbed her grocery bags and pushed past us.
“Oh, we’ve been your biggest fans since we were like twelve.” Brooke called over her shoulder, plopping two grocery bags on the counter.
Haiden looked at me, his eyebrow quirked in a question. I smiled sheepishly.
“What? We like art, especially when it’s produced by a hot young shifter guy.”
“Especially when that hot young shifter guy is your future soulmate. I mean, come on! Where’s mine?” Brooke complained. “I hope he’s Kristian Kolie. I’d take a hot actor for sure.”
“Kristian Kolie is a monkey, remember?” I reminded my best friend, as I tugged Haiden into the kitchen. He intertwined our fingers together as we walked, and I decided that holding hands was great.
“Yeah, yeah.” Brooke waved it off. “My mate will show up eventually, I know.” She sighed and sat down at the table. For a moment, I saw her—the real Brooke that most people didn’t get to see. She was tired and sick, and she was waiting for someone to show up and fix everything.
“And when he does,
you won’t be sick anymore.” If she couldn’t hold onto hope, I would do it for her. That was how our friendship worked, after all.
“I know.” Brooke smiled, though the expression was faint. “Alright, are we ready to get this night going? Get ready for the best birthday you’ve ever had, Mr. Day.” She pulled her usual smile back onto her face, dropping her sadness. I’d known her long enough to see that the smile wasn’t real, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise.
When Brooke had first gotten sick, she went to a shifter wise-woman, as we called them. There weren’t a lot of them hanging around, but Marley’s dad had known where to find one.
The woman had promised Brooke that she would be sick for many years. She said that until Brooke found her mate, she would suffer, but that when her mate came to find her she would be okay again.
So Brooke dealt with the sickness, but as anyone would be, she was tired of waiting. She wanted to feel good again.
But still, she put a smile on her face and acted like everything was okay.
“What birthday tradition are you talking about?” Haiden wondered.
“Oh, you’ll see. Sit down.” Brooke gestured him forward, so I propelled him into the seat beside hers. “Here’s how it goes.” She stood up and pulled a gallon of cookies and cream ice cream out of the first grocery bag. “You get a scoop of ice cream for every year you’ve lived, and you’re at twenty-two.” She explained.
Haiden lifted an eyebrow.
“Biggest fans, remember?” I said, then bit back a grin.
“Okay.” My soulmate nodded. “What else?”
“What do you mean, what else?” Brooke frowned. “That’s it. You get twenty-two scoops, and you can’t go to sleep until you eat all of them. Tonight, we party and eat ice cream.” She smiled.
“It sounds boring at first, but it’s actually fun.” I assured him.
“Ready for bowl number one?” Brooke pounded out a little drumroll on the table, waiting for Haiden’s answer.
“Sure.” He shrugged. “Might as well get going.”
I grabbed a bowl from the cupboard, then grabbed the ice cream scooper and got to work filling his bowl.