by LC Taylor
He grabbed the soap and started washing me; he was tender as he ran the cloth over my body. I rinsed off, facing him taking the cloth from him. “My turn.” Smiling as I ran the soapy washcloth down the ridge of his perfect body, tracing the lines of his defined muscles. When I finished, I hugged him pressing my lips to his. The water got cold, so Jensen turned it off and stepped out. He grabbed a towel and dried off, turning to me, he wrapped me in a towel and helped me out of the shower. We brushed our teeth, as I started to leave, he picked me up and carried me.
Chapter 35
Jensen laid me down on the bed and turned on the light. He came to sit, kissing me as he scooted close, “I could stay in here with you and never leave,” he brushed a strand of hair from my face. “Me too. But we should go talk with the others... SHIT,” I jumped up, “Tessa! Jensen, she was hurt.”
“Crap, Dylan I forgot, she’s awake.” Jensen’s sad eyes searched me as though he’d hurt me by forgetting to tell me she was up. “Jensen. Oh, honey, it’s ok. I was caught up in you being awake and didn’t think to ask. I’m not mad,” I kissed him, “let’s get dressed, there is so much you’ve missed. Let’s go see Tessa and make sure Haven is okay too… Then we can talk about everything.”
“Haven?” Jensen pulled on his jeans. “Yeah, my uncle,” I pulled on a sundress and grabbed his hand, “come on, there’s a lot you don’t know.” We walked out hand in hand and headed towards my parent’s room.
I paused when I noticed Tessa sitting next to Haven in the guest room. He was still asleep, and she was holding his hand. “Tessa,” I called to her. She stood, and I ran into her embrace, “I thought I’d lost you too.”
We held each other for a moment, both emotional, Tessa stepped back breaking the hug, “No. I'm all right, I promise. Haven… he.” she took a breath, “I mean – if it weren’t for him, I’d be dead.” taking his hand, she moved closer. Jensen stared at Haven from the doorway. “Jensen, Haven is my mother’s twin brother. He saved Tessa’s life,” I explained.
“Why is he unconscious?” Jensen asked. “Haven is a witch. He gave Tessa his life force trying to heal her,” I paused waiting for his reaction. “A witch? Wait, your mom had a brother?” scratching his head baffled. “Yeah, that’s part of the story you don’t know. Apparently, my mom had a twin brother. When my grandmother’s parents found out, they took Haven from them. My grandmother was a witch Jensen; she wasn’t a shifter. Her magic was passed on to my mom and uncle. My uncle is a witch, but he didn’t get the shifter gene. My mom could do both, but we suspect she didn’t know about her witch’s magic. And my grandmother never told her about being a witch or that she had a twin brother. Haven found me and helped us get you back from Dante.” I glanced at Tessa and smiled. I turned back to Jensen waiting for it to sink in.
“So, your mom and grandmother were witches,” almost asking himself with his head cocked sideways, “So, does that make you a witch too?”
“Yes,” I stared at him briefly, turning away. I could feel his confusion through our link. “If that changes things between us I understand,” I turned to Tessa, she reached up and took my hand. I had tears in my eyes and didn’t want him to see me cry. Feeling his anger through the link as his hands spun me around to look at him.
“Dylan, NOTHING, I mean NOTHING would change how I feel about you,” he grabbed my chin forcing me to look at him, “I don’t care if you’re a witch, a wolf, or a girl. My love for you is never-ending… it’s woven deep down into the depths of my soul,” He said placing my hand on his heart. “Do you feel that? My heart beats for you, and you alone,” he leaned in pressing his lips to mine.
“Tessa, why are you crying?” I turned to see Tessa crying. “Oh god. This is such a mess, Dylan. I acted so mean to him before this all happened. Haven told me something I already knew, but hearing it from someone else made me angry,” she sniffed.
“Are you talking about how you and Jack weren’t true mates?” I asked her. “Yes, how… how did you know?”
“I asked Haven what he said to upset you. He told me about how some wolves marry knowing they aren’t each other’s right mates. He told me you and Rob weren’t true mates.” I watched her as I spoke, her tears falling harder with each word I spoke. “Wait, how would he know,” Jensen asked me.
“Because….” she took a deep breath, “he’s my destined mate.” She put her head down, “I knew the minute he walked in. They say you know when you meet your destined mate, and it’s true, I did. I couldn’t accept what he was saying. I’ve mourned Rob for so long, and I couldn’t believe fate would be so cruel to make me suffer through something like that. I refused to hear him out when he told me in the house before we left. I stormed out, yelling at him to stay away and leave me alone,” she was sobbing now.
“Oh Tessa, you deserve to be happy. Rob would want that for you,” kneeling beside her, I tried to comfort her. “But he won’t wake up Dylan. What if I’ve lost my chance?” her sadness struck me to the core. “Fate wouldn’t do that to you again. He’ll wake up. He wouldn’t leave you like that,” I gripped her shoulder and squeezed, “come down with us. You should eat too.”
“No. I can’t leave him” she shook her head. I knew I wouldn’t win this fight, “Fine, I’ll have something brought up to you. He didn’t save your life for you to wither away.” I turned and took Jensen’s hand in mine, “We’ll be right downstairs if you need anything, ok?”
“Ok. Thank you. Jensen, take care of her. She’s like my daughter.”
“Don’t worry Tessa, I love her with everything I am,” he smiled and walked me out into the hall shutting the door.
Chapter 36
We found everyone gathered around the table. Cassandra turned to us as we walked in. “Glad to see you two up. Did you see Tessa?” she asked. “Yes, she told me about Haven,” I looked at Cassandra, “how are you taking the news?”
“I always knew my brother and Tessa weren’t destined mates. Rob knew too, but he loved her,” she smiled, “he’d want her happy. He was aware that there was always a chance that one day they could find their destined mates. But they were friends and loved each other. I told Tessa not to give this opportunity up. That when you find your destined mate, you should hold on to them. Life is too short.” A tear rolled down her face.
“When Rob died, and Tessa didn’t lose herself, I knew then what Rob shared with me before marrying her was true. Dylan, when your destined mate dies, and you’ve bonded with them – you can go mad, feral.” She looked between Jensen and me.
“Wait, so why didn’t you lose yourself,” I didn’t understand how she didn’t go feral after losing Jensen’s dad if that was true. “My children kept me here. If it weren’t for Kai and Jensen, I would’ve gone crazy after Jack died. I almost lost myself to my animal side several times, but my children kept my wolf grounded. She didn’t want to leave them unprotected. If I didn’t have them……. Well, I would have surely gone feral and would have needed to be put down.”
“Will you ever love again? Or is there just one destined mate for us out there?” I asked, “not because I ever see leaving or losing Jensen, but it doesn’t seem fair you’ll never feel love again.”
“I can love again, but it wouldn’t be like was with my destined mate, I only got one of those,” she smiled, “I haven’t had the interest or need for love, my kids are all I need.”
“Hello,” Cater spoke as he entered, “am I interrupting.”
“Perfect timing,” Cassandra turned to him, “Jensen, this is Carter Hadley, he’s the pack beta.” Jensen grabbed his hand in a firm handshake. “Where is Dante?” he asked Carter. “He’s still chained up outside. I have two of my enforcers guarding him,” Jensen tensed up beside me, “don’t worry, it’s not Joe or Mike, they’re still chained up too. I’m not sure what to do with them; they seem remorseful and insist that they were only following orders. As far as the Dante matter, the pack would like to see him banished from the area. I told them it was up to Dylan.”
Jensen couldn’t hide his surprise, “why Dylan?” he asked, “She shouldn’t have to make that decision.”
“Well, Dylan is the one who forced Dante into submission. And according to pack law, that makes her our new Alpha.”
“WAIT, stop saying I’m an Alpha,” I yelled, “Carter, that is your right, not mine.” Jensen was shaking his head, staring at me with wonder. “Babe, he’s right. Pack law states whoever forces the Alpha into submission or kills him assumes the role as their new leader,” he smiled and glanced at Carter. Carter looked to me, “Dylan, you’re our alpha now. It’s your decision, and we’ll gladly follow you. Jensen, are you going to have an issue with me being her second? I’ll step down if you do.”
“Wait a FUCKING second. I don’t get a say in this? I don’t want to be the ALPHA. Ok. Nothing personal. Jesus. I just found out who or what I am. I have a few more days of school, and…….” I shook my head, “this is too much. Can’t Jensen just do it? He’s already an Alpha.” I paced the room. “Well, we can figure something out,” Carter replied seemingly bewildered by my reaction.
“I might have a suggestion,” Cassandra interrupted, “why don’t we join the two packs. Then Dylan and Jensen can run the pack together with you as their second.”
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea. We need to get the pack to vote on it, but I’m sure they would be okay with the decision. There aren’t many of us left, and Mystic Valley has more to offer than Flint River. It would expand our territories, giving both packs the chance to grow. I’ll see what they say,” he pointed towards me, “Jensen, you have yourself a special mate. She saved you and brought our packs together.”
Kai glanced over my shoulder from her seat at the table, her eyes wide with disbelief. I turned to look, to see Carly storming up the driveway. Several of the pack members were hollering and moving towards her, looking as though they were ready to shift.
“Oh shit!” I bolted from my seat and out the door. Barely touching the steps as I made it into the yard, “Stop, don’t hurt her!” I threw my hands out at the men closing in on her. “Carly, what are you doing here?” I grabbed her into a hug.
“What am I doing here? Are you serious Dylan? You disappeared for five days…. You didn’t return my calls and these two idiots,” she motioned between Kai and Cassandra who’d come out to see what all the commotion was, “kept telling me you had the flu. The fucking FLU... Seriously??!!”
She was pissed. She was waving her hands around in the air as she took in the scene around her, “You sure don’t look sick. What the fuck is going on and who the hell are these people.”
“You’re right, Carly, I’m sorry,” I grabbed her hand and started towards the house, “come with me, I have a lot to tell you.” Jensen walked behind me, snickering as I tried to calm her down. As we made our way to the porch, I spotted Kai. She had moved towards the porch and was on the steps staring into the yard. I followed her gaze, noting that it landed on Carter.
She caught me staring and shrugged her shoulders, “I’m gonna see if Cater needs any help,” she stood as we neared the steps, slowly making her way towards where he was standing in the yard. He looked up as he was talking with some other guys, and smiled when he saw her walking towards him.
I glanced over at Carly, who looked shell-shocked. “Dylan, where did all these gorgeous guys come from? Did you join a sexy guys cult or something…?” Her voice trailed off as her eyes found Paul’s. The corner of his lips lifted into a smile as she brushed passed him, their bodies making the slightest of contact. “Who is that…?” Carly craned her neck attempting to get one last look at Paul.
He was shirtless, displaying his perfectly toned body as he moved toward Carter in the yard. “He’s so yummy looking, like a smooth piece of caramel….and you KNOW I love me some caramel.”
Laughing, I pulled her into the house, “Come on Carly, we’ve got a lot to talk about... And if I’m right, you will want to hear it all.”
Chapter 37
The next week went by in a blur. The pack members from Flint River agreed to combine with ours – not that ours was a large pack. We only had Tessa, Kai, Cassandra, Me, Jensen, Haven, Roxy and even Carly – even though she was human. But, if my suspicions are right, she’d bond to a ‘particular’ wolf in no time.
Flint River had 20 members, including Mike and Joe. We decided not to punish them for obeying their former Alpha’s orders. Removed as pack enforcers, Mike and Joe were ordered to take sensitivity classes at the local college.
Grateful for me sparing them, they vowed to redeem themselves. Redemption wasn’t necessary, I was happy they were so willing to take the class – plus I think they liked being around college girls.
Haven was still unconscious, and Tessa never left his side. She hesitantly disappeared to shower and eat when Roxy would relieve her.
Jensen, Kai and I opted not to take part in the graduation ceremony. After everything, I knew I couldn’t walk across the stage without my dad there to greet me, and they understood.
We watched graduation from the safety of the forest. It was the first time I got to see Jensen in his wolf, and he was beautiful. His fur was the color of onyx, the shade offsetting his sea blue eyes, making them look like rare gemstones. We stood there, enamored with the sight of each other’s wolf. After the shock and awe wore off from our first shift together, we watched as Megan, Drake, and all our high school classmates graduated. I felt a small twinge of sorrow, as I thought about my parents missing out on this momentous day.
However, relief washed over me when I glanced at the individuals watching with me; they helped fill the hole left by their death. When we made it back home, Jensen and I settled onto the couch.
“What should we do now we’re done with school?” Jensen wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in as he kissed my forehead. “Well, my mom left me the bookstore, so I think I’ll just stay here. I don’t want to go to college on a campus; I’ll probably just take classes online, what about you?” I worried he’d want to leave, and I held my breath fearful of his response not wanting to be apart.
“Nah, my mom told me that my dad had set up a trust fund right after they mated – he’d always hoped to have pups. There’s enough money in the account for Kai and me to live without having to work or going to college if we choose. But college isn’t what I want. I’ve wanted to open a body shop. I like working with my hands,” to prove his point his hands slid up my thigh, “plus, I can’t be apart from you – ever if I have my say in the matter.”
“What about Kai? I can’t handle her or Carly leaving,” I looked out the front window to see her walking up the steps. “I doubt she will go anywhere either – school was never her thing.” he looked at her as she sauntered into the living room. “What’s up bitches,” she grunted as she flung herself into a chair.
“We were talking about our plans now that we’re officially high school graduates,” grabbing my drink I tipped it up quenching my thirst. “Nope, not going to college. I told mom I was done with school,” she kicked her feet up on the coffee table, “plus, Carter said I could come work for him at his nursery. He needs help now that his business is taking off. Moving to Mystic Valley was the best thing to happen to him.”
“Something tells me that moving here wasn’t the best thing that happened to him,” I cast a sidelong glance at her. “What. It’s not like that; we’re just… friends” she sounded unsure. “Ok, Sis, whatever you say,” Jensen threw a pillow at her, “but for the record, I like Carter.”
Tessa walked in the front door. “Hey, guys. How're the new graduates doing?” the smile forced, but her eyes gave way to the truth. She carried the weight of a thousand men on her shoulders since Haven still hadn’t woken up.
“We’re great! No more school. You going to sit with Haven?” I knew the answer but hoped she would take time for herself. Tessa finally moved into the house with me once things got settled.
In fact, everyone had moved in, including Cassandra.
There were enough rooms in this place to house a small army. Tessa took my parents room, and I had insisted that she stay in there – she was the closest thing I had to my mother. We moved Haven into her room a few days after she got settled, and it was easier for her to stay with him. Besides, Roxy had moved into the bedroom she’d been in since she was here most of the time anyway. She was a tattoo artist and worked nights, fitting given her appearance. Tessa and her split time caring for Haven, they believed he’d wake up.
“Yeah, I’m gonna grab something to eat and head upstairs. Love you guys” she said walking into the kitchen. “I wish he would wake up. Not just for Roxy, but for her. I can see it in her eyes; she loves him already,” Kai said. “Yeah, I know,” I glanced up the stairs as Tessa made her way up them.
“Totally, 100% in love with you,” I turned to him and pressed my lips to his. “I love you too babe” he smiled into my lips. “God. I’m going outside to see if Carter needs me, you two lovebirds are making me gag,” Kai made a gagging gesture as she left the room. “I bet you are,” I waggled my eyebrows at her. “Shut up” she threw her middle finger up as she bowed and ducked out the front door.
Glancing again at the empty stairwell, my mind drifted to Tessa. She deserved happiness, and it was breaking my heart to see her sad – hell, the sadness consumed me sometimes. We’d both recently found Haven and had hardly any time to get to know him. He was the last blood link I had to my mom. I needed him to wake up just as much as she did.
Chapter 38
Tessa padded over to where Haven laid in his comatose state. She set her things down and took her seat in the chair placed at the bedside. When she wasn’t reading out loud to him, she curled up against him in the bed. She prayed that if her voice wouldn’t soothe him out of unconsciousness, her body heat would.
Cleansing his body daily with a warmed washcloth, Tessa ensured his well-being. She even had Jensen help her change him into some clean clothes. It was awkward for Jensen to strip Haven’s pants off, but he was just too heavy for Tessa. So, he sucked it up and shoved aside his discomfort, helping her do it.