Jasper's Soul Mate (18+)

Chapter 12: Farewell

Rebecca

Mondays suck. When I woke up to an empty spot next to me—where Jasper's warmth was usually but hadn't been for the second time in a row—I should've known the statement was going to be all too true.

I'd walked to the infirmary, not seeing Jasper on the way there, and had immediately been sucked into work as soon as I entered the cold building.

Now, as I'm washing my hands and preparing to have lunch, I seem to have become the target of a glaring she-wolf. I flick the water off of my hands when I'm finished and turn to leave the building, but ever brooding Chace is standing in the doorway.

"Rebecca, may I have a word?" He says the question in a way that makes it a demand. Typical Chace. If his features weren't more blank than usual, and his eyes not glowing, I might have denied his 'request.'

As soon as I'm about respond snarkily, Griya moves in. She's been lingering around the infirmary for the better part of the day, her sights on me and her point clear. She does not like me.

Ever since the day that Jasper became Alpha, I get a strange feeling when I'm around her—a niggling, discomfort that stabs like a knife in my gut. I wasn't sure what snapped.

Until now. Griya clasps Chace's arm in a shockingly rough grip. I know it's intimate by the fire in her eyes and the edgy urgency of her words. "We need to talk."

However, her move is a bold one that catches me off guard, more so when she pulls Chace. Or tries to. His form doesn't budge an inch aside from the angry tick in his jaw.

I skew my gaze to the small window to my left and look out at the expansive property the pack house sits on. It only makes the notion that I'm trapped in this room with a quarreling couple even clearer—they're blocking the only exit to this side of the infirmary.

A low rumble catches my attention after long, the thing is, it's not emitting from Chace.

It seems as though Griya has turned hostile. I can't help but feel like she's gone off the edge that had tinged her voice. When I look at them again, I see that her cold eyes are pinned to Chace's.

She turns to demanding, instead of asking. "Chace. Now."

The man doesn't relent. And it's not a surprise—what is, is that Griya thought for even a second talking to a former Alpha like she was would somehow turn out well for her.

Eyes blazing, Chace meets her hostile glare with one of his own. "I have no duty to you, Griya. We're no longer bound," he growls, sharp teeth bared and threateningly close to her face.

Things click into place as soon as the reprimand reaches my ears. And it seems that it's all it takes to remind Griya of the hierarchy here because she scampers off seconds later. If she were in her shifted form, I have no doubt that her tail would have been between her legs.

My fleeting smugness at the thought is short lived. Chace's bright eyes transfer to the last person in the room once the other is gone. Me.

I never would have guessed that being under the fiery glare of shapeshifting beings would be my fate at every turn, but I suppose my fate could have panned out much worse.

Meekly, I bounce my gaze around the room to any place but him.

"Rebecca." It's a curt demand that suggests I follow behind him as he leaves. So I do.

Chace is perched with his back against the solid building of the infirmary when I come out. His face is calmer than before, but still angry...and tired.