Jasper's Soul Mate (18+)

Chapter 8: Alpha

 "Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack."

"I hope you don't mind sharing a bed," I say to Jasper once we're in our room. He would take up more than half with his brawny size—the thought shouldn't appeal to me so much. He looks at the queen size bed and grimaces.

I take the reaction as him not wanting to share and begin to grab pillows from the mattress, as well as the extra sheet that was folded at the bottom. Jasper comes up behind me and stops me with a scarred hand on my arm. "Don't."

I turn my head and find he's standing so close that I can feel his breath against my skin. I put down the bedding and turn completely around to face him. He shivers under my gaze and takes a step back.

"Your back. I-I will sleep on the floor," he says, grabbing just the sheet I had gathered and laying it on the floor.

I watch him with confusion—until bare flesh flashes before my eyes as he starts stripping. I turn away and clear my throat, heat creeping up my neck. "Um, you really don't have to sleep on the floor."

Jasper makes a noise of disagreement. "M-My wolf, he wants to protect you."

I look at him. He stands completely naked. With great difficulty, I keep my eyes focused on his face—for a moment. The scarring on his body distracts me with its obnoxious, horrific obstruction. He's a masterpiece of ruin and strength, the fact makes him more hypnotic.

Scars beneath his belly button carry my gaze further down his torso and to the thick, veined shaft hanging between his thighs. I blush hard because his cock is just glorious.

"Why?" I ask Jasper, desperate to distract my wandering thoughts.

He locks eyes with me. "I... don't know."

I'm about to nod my head and wave off the conversation when a violent shudder racks Jasper's body and his eyes slam shut. When they open back up, it's just in time for me to watch as molten gold seems to bleed from his dark pupils and consumes his irises. I let out a shaky breath and back away.

As usual, that action warrants a warning growl from the shifter in front of me. "It's not safe here," he grunts, eyes flashing back to normal and then returning to their luminous color—like man and beast are warring over control. This time it's obvious that Jasper's human side is fighting much harder. Though he's straining with pent tension, only his eyes take on any change.

Seeing the eerie battle once again has me concerned. His human side and wolf are supposed to be intertwined—working as one. Not fighting each other. But I realize in that moment that what differentiates all the other times he's lost control, and now, is he actually spoke to me. And all while his beast side was at the surface.

When the back of my knees hit my bed, I slowly get into it. Like the bathroom situation earlier today, Jasper's eyes don't leave me for a second. I'm just glad my pants are up this time.

"If someone enters... I can't promise I won't attack," he admits, tone grave and raspy.

"No one will come in," I assure him. I shut off the lamp next to my bed and am surprised to find that even in the dark, Jasper's eyes glow.

I'm not sure when I finally passed out, but I know that those golden depths didn't leave me for a second.

****

Growling so fierce and deafening is what causes me to wake with a jolt. I sit up quickly, looking for Jasper in the last place I saw him. His bedding lies in the middle of the floor—untouched.