Chapter Sixty-Two - Mason

Jessica slept for seven straight hours.

The burns on her back from the silver had vanished, but her wolf had pushed herself to the limit for the first time. She'd fought numerous lycans, and been dragged through Hell for her blood. It would take some rest, but she would be ok.

I only left her to join the pack downstairs when everyone returned. Surprisingly, I walked into a silent room. Everyone looked beat to Hell. Jamie had been strong, and tough for her age against grown wolves.

The sad part was that she seemed torn as if her lycan and human couldn’t separate themselves from one another. The link was too strong and she couldn't fight the things the lycans wanted from her.

It was sad to kill her because of it. But reasoning with her didn’t work. Even when we tried to hit her with the elixir…she tore through us like a bull in a china shop. It was a devastating moment to take a life. I thoroughly felt it was God's job to do it, but we had to protect our town. If killing was the only way, then so be it.

Jacob looked heavy when I sat down beside him at the table. There was relief in our bond, but sadness too. There were more lycans in town. Not to mention, Jacob thought Joey was his mate. The pressure on his shoulders was evident to everyone in the room.

“So, are we going to talk or sit here all day?” Seth asked, his elbow resting on the table. “Frankly, I’m tired and hungry.”

Jacob cleared his throat. “We need to eliminate as many lycans as we can in town. We may wait until tonight, get some rest, and then split up.”

Aaron cleared his throat. “How is Jessica?”

“She’s better. Still asleep, but I noticed the silver burns are gone.”

Stan sighed beside me. “Thank, God.”

I watched him put his palms on his forehead in relief. He wasn’t the only one worried about Jessica, but I knew he loved her just as much as I did.

“Are we going to talk about the other thing?” Seth asked.

I looked over at him, trying to pinpoint what ‘other thing’ he was talking about. There had been so many lately.

“What other thing?” Liam asked.

Seth sighed. “The fact that Jacob is mated to Joey? I mean, why didn’t you know that before now? You’ve known her since high school?”

Jacob sighed and leaned back against the chair. “I don’t know. I think when the elixir cured her, my wolf was able to find the bond. I don’t know about high school. Maybe it’s a right-time kind of thing. Me having a mate before would have distracted me from being alpha.”

“Like Jessica distracts Mason from being Beta?” Aaron mumbled.

I gave him a warning glance before turning toward Jacob. “What are you still doing here?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You took Joey home, why? She’s your mate. Go find her. Talk to her. If we’re waiting until tonight to find the remaining lycans, then go after her.”

He sighed. “I can’t. We have a bigger problem. We shifted in front of our town. The ones that were lycans may not remember, but I guarantee the rest will not forget all of us shifting into wolves.”

“We saved their lives,” Seth said. “I dare them to say one thing about it to me. I’ll kick all their asses.”

“We need to come up with something,” Stan said. “The townspeople have never happened upon the pack before. Not while I was a kid anyway.”

Jacob slid his palm over his face. He was tired and overwhelmed. “Being around Joey will help settle your nerves,” I whispered to him. “A quick trip won’t hurt.”

Jacob looked at me for several minutes. “I think you’re right.”

“I think so, too. Actually, I know I'm right."

Jacob stood up. “If anyone shows up here while I’m gone, call me. We’ll handle all of it together. When Jessica gets up let her know I’m proud of her.”

He left swiftly. His recognition of Jessica's fighting ability and strength made my wolf proud.

Seth chuckled first. “Joey. I never saw that coming. I can’t even see them together.”

I smiled. It felt nice to have a conversation that wasn’t centered around lycans or royal bloodlines. “Me either,” I laughed. “She talks a lot from what I can remember.”

Aaron laughed. “She was my lab partner freshman year. I can confirm that accusation.”

Jessica stirred upstairs, and I swiftly stood up. “She’s waking up. I’ll be back soon.”

She sat on the edge of our bed when I walked inside. She blinked lazily at me and rubbed her forehead. “What time is it?”

“Later,” I said, sitting beside her. “How do you feel?”

“Good,” she said. “Honestly, I feel like I could run the entire town.”

I smiled and rested my forehead against hers. “I’m so glad to hear it. I’ve been on edge waiting for you to wake up.”

“What is everyone doing?” she asked. "Are they back yet?"

“Jacob went to see Joey.”

She blinked at me. “That was real? I thought it was a fever dream?”

“Nope, she’s his mate. He went to see her. He plans for us to eliminate the other lycans tonight. Then we have to deal with the town. I’m sure they are gathering their pitchforks right now.”

She frowned. “Will they kick us out?”

“We saved their lives. I wouldn’t think so, but we did shift into giant wolves, so who knows?"

Jessica leaned her head against my shoulder. “I’m so glad this is almost finished.”

I didn’t say it, but my mind wandered to her wolf. She was of royal bloodline and that meant so much. She had so much on her plate that I didn’t want to bring it up right now.

Things would work themselves out when the time was right. We had lycans to kill tonight.

“If you’re not up for a lycan hunt tonight, everyone will understand.”

Jessica laughed. “My wolf is not going to let me sit this out. She loved fighting earlier. I can’t explain it to you. If Jamie hadn’t caught me off guard, things would have been different. Plus, it was her first try. She protected me well.”

“I know she did. She’s strong, like you.”

Jessica eyed me. “Are you trying to get lucky by complimenting me?”

“No, but is it working?” I teased.

Jessica swiftly swung her leg over my lap and sat on me. She curled her arms around my neck. “When I first moved here, I thought you were crazy for not wanting to date me because of Jacob. I almost thought it was a lie because you didn’t like me.”

I chuckled. “Jokes on you.”

“The joke was on me.” She shook her head. “I've never felt so connected to someone in my life. This pack, you, it’s been a blessing that I didn’t realize I needed. I would have slowly crawled into my apartment back home. I would have gone to work and then came back home. It was already becoming a habit. Now, here, I’m kicking lycan ass, and being someone important.”

“You are important, Jessica. Even if you weren’t any of those things, you’re important.”

She pressed her mouth against mine. “I know you think that, and I love you for it.”

I tangled my fingers into the roots of her hair and angled her mouth toward mine. “One day you’re going to realize just how special you are.”