Jasper_United Together_Book 2 of The Guardian Shifters

by KM Lowe

  Author History

  My name is Kelly McMullen Lowe and I was born on March 19, 1986 to the proud parents of Christine Greenlees Beaumont Steedman and Hugh Patrick McMullen. My parents taught me the value of life and they showed me how to succeed. I married David Lowe, on December 30, 2006 and we have two wonderful children named Dylan and Tianna. Over the last couple of years, I was unwell and I put all of my time into my family and reading. In 2012 I wanted to commit myself to writing my own novel. I have put a lot of time and effort into all of my books. I hope that you all enjoy them, as much I did writing them.

  Acknowledgments

  First of all, I would like to thank Kellie Dennis at Book Cover by Design, for helping me to create a beautiful cover for my ninth novel. You have helped me through a difficult time when I couldn't find what I was looking for. I will always be grateful to you for your help with picking my cover photo.

  Second, I would like to thank Karen Sanders for editing my book. This process has been so much easier with you on my side. I feel like I’ve learnt so much from you over the last few books and I can’t wait for that to continue. I hope to have you as my editor for a long time to come.

  Also, I would like to thank my family and friends for putting up with me over the last couple of years. My husband will get some sense out of me for a couple of weeks, until I start writing again. This book would not have been possible, if it wasn't for the support of my husband. I love you to the moon and back.

  Next, I would like to thank my children for being my little angels. I love you dearly and you mean the world to me. I hope that one day you will be able to read mummy's work. In the meantime Dylan, you can read the blurb. My son is my little book worm. I hope when he gets older, he will still enjoy reading just as much.

  Finally, to my readers. Thank you all for purchasing my books. It means a lot to see so many of you reading what I write. All of your lovely reviews and comments make everything worthwhile. Your willingness to buy The Beautiful Life Trilogy, gave me the nudge I needed when I was at a low point in my life. I have made lots of new friends from all over the world. That wouldn’t have been possible, if it wasn't for my writing. I would like to thank everyone on my street team. Without Suzie and the other ladies, I would be snowed under with promoting books. You ladies take a lot of the pressure off and I thank you for that.

  Special Acknowledgements

  Special acknowledgements go to Kellie Dennis. I would like to thank you for all of your help with this series of covers. As a team, we all worked together to come up with the perfect cover, but you transformed that into a beautiful masterpiece. Your help and expertise will always be very much appreciated.

  https://www.facebook.com/bookcoverbydesign/

  Dedications

  I’d like to dedicate this book to each and every single one of you that have picked up a copy of this book. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be living this dream now. Each day I count my blessings for where this career has taken me, and I can’t wait to see where it continues to go.

  CHAPTER 1

  Jasper

  Being called into see the chief of our council at headquarters is never a good thing. I’m sitting here, ankle crossed over my knee, arms folded over my chest, face like stone, because I won’t back down. You see, my son’s mate Lisa’s adoptive parents are human. We had a lot to deal with over a three-week period, and at the end of it, our pack decided to go against the council to fill in her parents about her shifter abilities. She couldn’t live without us or her parents, and the pack acted with her best interests at heart. Rule number one; keep our shifting abilities away from humans at all times. Rule number two; follow all orders of our council. Yeah, well both of those rules were broken, and I’ve taken the rap for it, because there is no way on Earth that I would let my pack take the punishment. Especially when I would’ve eventually done the same thing. It would affect Lisa, not having her parents in her life, and she’s been through enough, what with her kidnapping, finding out about her shifting ability, seeing her dead mum, and gaining a soulmate so young. Her life has been affected by wolves enough.

  “Jasper.” Braxton calls me in from his open door.

  No Julian. Shit. I’m in big trouble when the boss of the whole paranormal community is doing his own dirty work.

  I take a deep breath in and stand to my full height of six feet two inches. I’m not scared of a punishment. I’m their best enforcer and they can’t lose me, especially after what happened with the enforcers that were sent to protect Lisa and our pack. We were played good and proper because Brodie, one of my guys, was working with the devil himself–Lisa’s rogue biological father. He kidnapped her, beat her, and made her very ill. That doesn’t sit well with me and I know it won’t sit well with the council either. They just won’t admit it as freely as I do.

  I walk into the office slowly. I stand in front of a panel of three members. Alexius, Braxton, and Julian; the three top dogs. Only Julian was with me on the fight to save Lisa, so this is going to be interesting.

  “Have a seat, Jasper,” says Julian, as he holds his hand out to the chair a few feet away, directly in front of them. “How are you? How are Lisa and Markus?”

  “We’re all good,” I say, straight to the point.

  “You know why we’ve called you in, Jasper?” Braxton asks.

  I nod and sit up straight. Just keep your cool, I tell myself over and over again. Get the best possible punishment and leave.

  “I don’t know whether to chastise you or praise you for what you’re doing for that pack. It should be them here today. Care to enlighten me?”

  “Yes. I can do that.” I look down the line of the council and see their eyes trained on me. This is my one and only shot at speaking for myself and my family. “You see, over the years, each and every person in that pack has become my family. I’ve saved them all in one way or another. Especially Joel, who acted on behalf of the pack. He’s just as much of a son to me as Markus is. I would’ve eventually done what the pack did. You allowed Lisa to live a human life for nearly eighteen years. She couldn’t walk away from her adoptive parents. It would’ve put a divide on the pack and her family. That didn’t go down well with any of us.” I sigh and shake my head.

  “Are you telling me that you would have broken my rules, Jasper?”

  I hold my hands up. “I am, sir. I would have spoken with you first, but my son and daughter-in-law’s happiness will always come first.”

  Braxton looks defeated as he bows his head to look at his hands. “What do I do with you, Jasper? You’re my best enforcer. Everyone loves you. We adore you. But I can’t let your pack get away with breaking my two most important rules. I need to make an example, so others won’t go shouting our secrets from every damn rooftop. However, if I kill you, I’ll have World War Three on my hands. You’ve put me in a very difficult position.”

  “I understand, Braxton. I’m more than prepared to take the pack’s punishment.” I never break eye contact, because to me, we haven’t actually done anything wrong.

  “Monday morning, you report to my office at nine a.m. sharp.”

  “Sir.” I nod in agreement.

  “You’ll be coming back to join the missions full time. You’ll be sent where I send you. You’ll have no contact with Carlos’s pack, or Markus and Lisa, unless we say you can. I say jump, you say how high, until I say otherwise. There’s no picking and choosing what missions you do.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  They’ve taken the one thing away from me that they know will break my heart into tiny pieces–my family.

  Missions I can do; that’s what I�
�m trained for. I started this job so I could protect the people I love and care about. Now, I feel like I’m just another one of their puppets dangling on a string.

  Not seeing my family is going to be torture. This bastard knows that, and I don’t have anything I can do or say on the matter. This punishment is better than death. Better than never seeing my family grow and have families of their own, but it will be hard.

  “One other thing. The boy, Kevin.”

  I lift my head quickly at the mention of Kevin, Lisa’s half-brother. He is innocent in this whole sorry mess. He helped his sister when he realised what his father was doing. He protected her as much as he could until his father turned on him. “What about him? He’s just a kid. He was dragged up by rogues, you know this. He deserves a fresh start with Carlos’ pack.”

  “He’s going with you, Jasper. You’re going to train him to the best of your abilities. You’re going to teach him our rules. Understand?”

  “Why? He hasn’t done anything wrong. You’re not just punishing me here; you’re going to tear Lisa’s heart out. They’ve just found each other again.”

  “It isn’t up for discussion. You’ll both report to me at nine a.m. on Monday. Don’t be late. You can join your family over the weekend, but after that, it’s when I say so. Do you understand?”

  I stand and sigh loudly enough to show my displeasure in what they’re doing. They’re showing that they can play with lives just as much as the rogues we fight, and they’re no better, in my opinion.

  “I understand. It doesn’t mean I have to be pleased about it.”

  I turn to leave and my hand reaches the handle when Braxton says, “I think I’m letting you off lightly, Jasper. Anyone else would have been sentenced to death for breaking my rules. Your loyalty to us has saved you… this time. And, Jasper…” I look over my shoulder at the mention of my name. “The parents that now know about us, they’re your responsibility. Anything happens because they know about us and I’m coming for you.”

  “Thanks,” I say sarcastically.

  “I won’t be so lenient the next time.”

  I exit the office and walk until I reach the cool air outside. I look up at the blue sky and take in a few deep breaths to steady my beating heart. I’m beyond pissed off. I can feel my blood boiling inside me. My wolf is prowling in my head. Markus and Lisa mean everything to me and now I’m hardly going to see them. How can I protect them when the council is going to drag me all over the world to do their dirty work?

  I should have known our lives were never going to be the same again. Nothing is ever the same again where the council is involved. I know too well why they’re doing this. They think that they’ll let other packs break me, instead of them doing their own dirty work. I’ve witnessed this all too often. But, I won’t let them defeat me. I can’t.

  ***

  I arrive back at the camp to find the full pack standing outside the Alpha’s cabin. Lisa, Markus, Kevin, Joel, and Carlos are standing on the porch. The whole pack has come together to hear my fate. I get out of the Jeep and make my way to the porch. I stand on the steps and lean against the railing for support, because no one is going to like what I have to say.

  “Well, you look okay. They haven’t beaten the crap out of you.” Carlos, the Alpha, steps forward and holds his hand out for me to shake.

  “A beating would’ve been better.” I look around my loved ones’ eyes until I stop at Lisa. My feet move of their own accord and I take her into my arms. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’ll take care of him.”

  She pulls back and looks into my eyes. Her tears threaten to spill over, her eyes glistening, making the blue look like the ocean. “Who? Markus? What’s happened?”

  Markus steps forward and wraps his arm around her, holding her tightly against his chest for comfort.

  “The council is taking me back to do their missions full time. That’s the easy part. I don’t mind working with them full time; it’s part of my job. The next part isn’t. They’re not allowing me to have any contact with the pack or you guys until they say so.”

  “No! They can’t do that.” Lisa sobs.

  “They can, honey. That’s not all. They’re making me take Kevin with me. They want me to train him and guide him on rules and what happens when they get broken.”

  “No! I won’t let you. I’ve just got him back. He isn’t going.”

  “Lisa.”

  Both Kevin and I say her name in unison, but Lisa turns to her brother in time for him to wrap her in his arms.

  “I’ll be fine. I expected some form of punishment from the council. We’d hardly see each other when you go to university, but we’ll see each other when I’m home. I’m not losing you again.”

  I turn away from Kevin and Lisa. I take Markus into my arms and slap his back a few times. “You look after our girl and I’ll be home before you know it.”

  “You better be, Dad. We need you. All of us do.”

  We pull apart and I place my hand over Markus’s cheek. “I’ll get this punishment over and done with and then I’m leaving the council full stop. They’ve messed with the wrong shifter this time.”

  I turn to see Joel sitting with his head in his hands. He’s taking this the hardest after Lisa, because I know he’ll feel the guilt of bringing Lisa’s parents’ here. I bend down in front of him and place my hand behind his neck to pull him into my chest. “It’s alright, buddy.”

  “It isn’t alright, Jasper. This is all my fault.”

  “No. No, it isn’t. As a pack, you did what you thought was right. I agree with what you did. You’re not taking the blame for this.”

  “What happens if you don’t come back, either of you? I won’t be able to live with that guilt.” He shakes his head.

  “There won’t be any guilt, because we’ll be home to you all.”

  I stand to my full height and Joel follows behind me. I pull him into my chest and his head rests on my shoulder. I haven’t seen him like this since he was a child, but I won’t stand by and let him hold guilt or blame himself for this, because I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.

  “Jasper.” I look over my shoulder to the sweet voice that I’ve come to know and love – Stracey’s.

  Stracey is our pack healer. She’s been around me and this pack for many years, and we’ve hidden our feelings from one another because she knows my background. She knows I once found my soulmate, only for her to be ripped away from me by our rogue Alpha, Damian. My soulmate was Lisa’s mother, Carmen. She was perfect. Beautiful. Kind. Everything that still makes my heart pound in my chest. I promised her that I’d look out for her daughter before she passed away after child birth. That’s what brings us to today.

  “Stracey.” Joel steps back to allow me to turn my attention to the woman I love dearly. “I was going to come and see you.”

  “I was doing a message with Chardonnay.” She speaks softly.

  I look over Stracey’s shoulder to see Chardonnay, our pack Alpha’s mate, standing with her head resting on Carlos’s shoulder. The whole pack is taking this harder than I expected. “I need to go away for a wee while. Kevin and I, we’ve been called up by the council.”

  “Okay. But you can still come home at weekends, call us, Skype, text… right?”

  Her beautiful brown eyes are my undoing and my hands cup her cheeks softly. “As a part of my punishment, we can’t contact the pack or Markus and Lisa. We can come home when the council allow it. We have this weekend with you all, but we report to the council at nine a.m. on Monday. We now belong to the council until they get fed up of us, or they think we’ve done enough to repay them for breaking the rules.”

  “You can’t let them do this, Jasper. They’ll put you into the worst cases possible. Carlos, please. You can’t allow this.” She spins out of my hands and grasps Carlos’s shirt tightly, pleading with him to do something.

  “I can’t, sweetheart. Jasper agreed to do this in order to protect the pack. I can’t go against what h
e wants, and I don’t have that power. I’m sorry.”

  “This is bullshit! What happened to protecting our own family? Jasper has put his neck on the line for each and every one of you at some point, and he’s still doing it now. If he comes out of this punishment alive, he’ll never be the same person.”

  I place my hands on Stracey’s shoulders and squeeze them softly. “I will be coming home, Strace. I promise.”

  “No!” She turns to the whole pack, tears running down her cheeks. “You’ve signed a death warrant. I can’t stand here and watch this happen, not again, Jasper. When are you going to wake up and see the council for who they really are? It’s the 21st century we live in now, not the 1900s. Your precious council only protect what and who they want. You’re one of them for Christ’s sake, and they’ve handed you to a pack of wolves.”

  “Strace…” I start to take her into my arms but she jumps back, holding herself out of the way like I could burn her with my touch. I’ve never seen her like this. She usually just accepts my missions and nods her head in silence. I get a peck on the cheek and a silent hug, but today, she’s the force I always knew she could be.

  She turns quickly and runs through the pack. I try to go after her, but Chardonnay holds me back and places her hands over my chest. “Let her come to terms with everything. I’ll talk to her.”

  I nod in defeat, sit down on the steps, and breathe out a long breath I didn’t know I was holding. Between Lisa, Joel, and Stracey, they’ve broken me before I even leave. The only one who hasn’t given me grief about this is my own son.

  “Dad. Do you fancy a run?” asks Markus.

  “Sure. That sounds good.” I jump back up to my feet and wipe my hands down my jeans to clear the dust off them. “Let’s go.”

  I head into the forest away from the pack. I can feel all of their eyes on me, but I need this space. I need this breather to run just to clear some of the tension that has built up over the last couple of hours.