Pack Ties, Blood Lies

Chapter 48 - Punishment

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A jagged flash of lightning split the sky, followed closely by the boom of thunder.

Rain began to make its way forth from the horizon, sweeping towards our rocky perch in dense grey curtains.

It was mere moments before it was upon us, reaching greedily into the cavern entrance to spatter us in fat, cold, droplets.

I pulled up my hood, too numb to try to retreat into the dry depths of the Point.

With no coat, Jack's shirt was soaked in seconds. The white material suddenly translucent and stuck to every curve and dip of his skin.

Before, I knew my eyes would be greedily locking in that image. But not now.

My brain struggled to process his words as I watched his hair became plastered to his head.

Rain soaked the lower half of my dress that wasn't covered by my coat. The icy water sapping the heat from my skin almost immediately.

"You knew I was your mate and you... gave yourself away?" The hurt couldn't be hidden from my voice, even with the angry roar of the wind almost tearing the words from my lips.

Jack looked ashamed. "I guess somewhere in an ignored recess of my mind... The tiny part of me that was still thinking... Still alive after being broken over and over, every night. That part of me wouldn't let you go. Couldn't. Even after Rebecca asked me to join her, to become Alpha of her pack. There was no way I could leave you. My heart wouldn't let me, even though I knew I couldn't have you."

"You could have waited another few years until I was of age!" I snapped. Angry that he thought staying for me was a sacrifice. "We could have been together then."

Jack levelled me with a look that was clouded with angst. "That's insane! Waiting for a child to grow up so you can shag them?" He shuddered. "I saw you as a child. I couldn't entertain the idea of you being more than that. And even if I had waited, you wouldn't recognise me even if I gave you a thousand years. I'd be the creepy teacher that came on to you. You didn't have a wolf... You didn't know that we belonged to each other."

"You knew, and it meant nothing." A tear slipped out. My heart breaking anew.

"It meant everything." Jack's eyes flashed with anger. "I know you are hurt. I know I have been a complete ass. But never for one second will I let you believe that our bond meant nothing, because you have always been everything to me. You engulfed me from the moment we met. Took over my life, drove me crazy. I had to be your teacher, your friend. Had to bury my feelings so deep that I couldn't see them just to walk around like a normal person."

Jack lay back on the rock, closing his eyes as the rain continued to pelt his already soaked body. "The deal I made with Rebecca was the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life, the most reckless. And yet... even then, I couldn't fully shake you. I knew you'd be of age by the time I saw Rebecca. In the back of my mind, I hoped that maybe you would see me by then, I guess."

The rain had begun to ease and I shivered, it was all such a mess. "And Rebecca?" I finally asked.

Jack's eyes opened to meet mine. The midnight blue of his gaze capturing me with a fiery earnestness. "She knows I am yours. In every way but one." His hand seemed to drift unconsciously over the empty spot on his throat, where a mark should be. "She was upset – rightly so – that I hid the fact I knew my mate. She said I betrayed you, and she's correct."