“Favorite color?”
“Blue.”
Phoebe chuckled, “That’s a little cliché.”
Jason smiled, loving the sound of her laughter as he entwined his fingers with hers, “Maybe, but I’m leaning more toward silver these days.”
They lay together, enjoying each other’s company after a passionate session. It seemed their appetite for each other was becoming insatiable. Her reactions thrilled him, pushing him to explore more of her.
“What about you?”
“Green.”
“Really?”
“It’s calming and it’s the color of spring and life.”
“It suits you.”
“Thank you,” Phoebe snuggled closer.
Jason growled appreciation as her body pressed against his with nothing separating them. His hand caressed her curves, enjoying her bare skin under his touch. It was amazing such simple actions brought his immediate arousal.
“Jason, you are incorrigible,” Phoebe chuckled.
“You can hardly blame me when such a beautiful she-wolf is lying in my arms smelling as delicious as you,” he whispered against her neck where her scent was the strongest.
“I suppose it’s a good thing you don’t need encouragement since I don’t have any experience with that.”
Jason paused, pulling back to look at her, “You know I waited. Do you know why?”
Phoebe shook her head. She sensed there was a story, but had been too embarrassed to ask in case it was personal.
“It’s because of my mother,” Jason explained. “She and my father were fated mates. They tell you meeting your fated mate is supposed to be magical, right?”
Phoebe nodded. Her parents told her the same thing. Meeting her fated mate had been anything but magical, and she almost ruined meeting her second chance because of it.
“Well, my parents’ first meeting was one to remember,” Jason sighed. “My father didn’t wait for his fated mate. He actually had several relationships with various she-wolves in his pack and other packs. His most consistent partner was a Blue Moon warrior named Blanche.”
He paused and Phoebe waited for him to continue when he was ready.
“Anyway, a friend and ally of his had his Alpha Ceremony, so my father attended and brought Blanche with him as a sort of bodyguard and for…other things. They ducked into a bathroom and while Blanche was…satisfying my father…my mother walked-in on them.”
Phoebe gasped.
Jason kissed her forehead, “Yeah. My mother was the daughter of the pack’s Gamma but spent a lot of time at her mother’s pack with her maternal grandparents, who were Betas. She and my father never crossed paths until that moment. Of course, my mother’s eyes went right to the she-wolf going down on my father and immediately felt the pain of his betrayal.”
Jason paused, remembering the hurt in his mother’s eyes when she told him the story.
“She ran out of the room. My father knocked Blanche over trying to follow. He didn’t even know my mother’s name, her pack, nothing. He caught up to her and convinced her to give him another chance. She refused to go with him immediately because she didn’t want to travel in the same vehicle as Blanche. So my father returned home and waited. My mother arrived about a week later, and he introduced her to the pack as his mate and Luna. His parents were thrilled and so was the pack, aside from a few. About a week or so later, Blanche and two others attacked my mother.”
Phoebe stiffened, shocked by the idea wolves would actually attack their Luna.
“My mother was the daughter of a gamma and had beta blood, so she had plenty of training. Against three, on a trained warrior, she held her own as long as she could. They might have killed her if my dad’s Gamma hadn’t arrived in time.
“Needless to say, my father was furious when he saw his Luna in the hospital, and when he learned who did it he flew off the handle. He marched down to the cells where the she-wolves were imprisoned. He gave them three choices if they wanted to live: one submit to their Luna; two, transfer to another pack or; three, he would banish them to be rogues.”
Phoebe caressed his arm, sensing his disquiet and wanting to sooth him. Jason sighed, closing his eyes and reveled in her presence.
“They chose to submit. My mom had her Luna Ceremony and for a while it was fine, except after that day, my mother insisted on two guards at all times, hand-picked by her. I can’t imagine what my father thought, knowing his Luna didn’t feel safe in her own pack because of him. But that was her condition for staying. Not long after, she became pregnant with me. She was almost five months along when Blanche attacked her a second time…this time with a silver knife.”
Phoebe shuddered, looking at him. Werewolf pregnancies generally only lasted six months, so he had been nearly to term when his mother was attacked. The silver could have killed them both. Jason grimaced at the concern shimmering in her eyes.
“If it weren’t for her bodyguards, we would certainly have died,” Jason said. “My father was away for an alpha meeting. When he returned and learned what happened, he flew into a rage. According to his Beta, he didn’t even let Blanche say two words before he broke her neck with such force he nearly ripped her head off. But the damage was done. My mother never fully trusted my father nor any members of the pack after that. They were never able to properly bond with her.”
Phoebe bit her lip.
“I never wanted my mate to go through that. And I’ll never regret waiting for you. You are perfect, my angel.”
Phoebe propped herself up so she could look at him. Sympathy and concern shimmered in her eyes as if feeling his pain and disappointment from decades ago. Jason smiled. He loved that about her. Despite her rejection, her heart was open and ready to share his every hurt and insecurity. Smiling, he pulled her close, kissing her deeply.
“You don’t have to worry, angel,” he nuzzled her. “It’s been years.”
“But it still hurts,” Phoebe said, her hand resting on his chest. “Time doesn’t make pain go away. It just buries it a little deeper.”
Jason grimaced. She wasn’t wrong. After hearing his mother’s story, he resented his father for years and used Blanche as ammunition whenever they argued. It didn’t help that many of their arguments were about Jason’s abstinence.
* * *
Outside, the patio was strung with blue and white Christmas lights and paper lanterns. His mother had wheeled out the old piano and amused herself by playing dance songs for the younger pups until their bedtime. Later, they would rely on the sound system to play songs from a playlist for the older pups and adults.
Though it was his birthday, Jason stepped out of the packhouse alone to accept the pack’s congratulations. Ignoring the she-wolves eager for his attention, he spent most of the night with his sister, Luke and Ben. Halfway through the night, his father took him aside.
“Aren’t you going to ask any of these fine ladies to dance?”
“I have no reason to.”
“Now son, it isn’t polite to ignore such beauties.”
“None of them are as beautiful as my mate.”
“Oh? You met her?” his father was confused.
A wolf could scent its mate as soon as both awakened. Since alphas awakened early, it was usually several years before they found their mates. All the she-wolves at the party were from neighboring packs, so Jason met most of them already.
“Not yet, but I know she’s out there.”
“Well…yes,” his father sighed, disappointed. “It’s not good for a young virile male to ignore his urges. It’s okay to explore while you’re young. How else will you know what you like?”
“Like you did with Blanche?”
His father’s mouth dropped, “How did you…your mother.”
“Embarrassed? You should be.”
His father growled warning, but Lobo was already on guard. Jason’s wolf practically laughed at their father’s attempt to be intimidating.
“How could you do that to her?”
“I visited that pack a dozen times before and never scented her. She was always visiting her maternal grandparents. If I had known…I wouldn’t have…It was a mistake.”
“A mistake? So what is your excuse for keeping that slut around after you found your mate?” Jason challenged. “She even attacked and almost killed her once and you didn’t think she would try again? She almost killed both me and mom! Was that a mistake too?”
His father bowed his head, no doubt being berated by his own wolf. Because of his father’s actions, they had almost lost their mate. Though their mate lived, she refused to have any intimacy with them, going as far as to isolate herself during her heat cycles rather than seek him out. Lucille’s conception and birth was practically an accident as Norah’s heat coincided with a large celebration and she failed to recognize the warning signs.
“I won’t make your mistakes.”
“And how will you know what you like?” his father asked. “What will you tell your mate?”
Jason snorted, “What I like? Tell me, since you like blow jobs so much, how often has mother done that for you?”
His father’s face grew bright red as Jason walked away.
* * *
That was only the first of several arguments. Jason was sure his father probably pleaded with his mother to talk to him and explain what had happened, but she had already done that. She saw no reason to convince Jason to change his mind if he wanted to wait for his mate.
Though his mother never said as much, Jason suspected the event traumatized her more than she let on. Even after Blanche was disposed of, Norah maintained her guards and insisted on a guard for Jason when he was a toddler. Jason never understood why there was always a large warrior around until much later or why his mother slept in a separate bedroom.
His father struggled to be in her good graces, giving her gifts of every sort: flowers, chocolates, jewelry, but he could never give her what she really wanted…to go back in time before they had met and do things differently. The forced separation from his mate definitely had an effect on his father as the years progressed.
He lost weight as well as authority. It became more obvious after Jason gained his wolf. As Lobo grew stronger and more dominant, his father’s aura withdrew even more.
Werewolves aged slowly, but Jason’s father seemed to age every day before finally succumbing. It was painful to see a once powerful Alpha waste away in his bed, but Jason had become bitter waiting for his own mate and didn’t have sympathy to spare for a father he gave up on.
Thinking back on it now, Jason supposed he should have taken the opportunity to find closure. But he let the moment slip away. Even though his mother had distanced herself in life, she was at his father’s bedside until the end, as was Lucille. Their father had showered her with affection, treating her like his princess. Lucille probably still didn’t know why Jason had stubbornly kept his distance.
Phoebe stroked his cheek, stirring him from his thoughts. She smiled as if knowing his pains. Jason stared at her. Phoebe had been rejected by her first mate. He had been told it was like having one’s heart ripped out. How could she survive and still have such an open heart ready to take on another’s pain while hers lingered?
Pulling her close, he kissed her deeply. She responded by grinding against him and his nostrils flared with the scent of her arousal. Growling, he tightened his embrace and rolled them over so she was under him. She was so warm, loving and perfect.
“Angel…”
“Shh.” Phoebe caressed his face. “Whatever mistakes your father made…he was proud of you for being better than him. I’m sure of it.”
Jason groaned, capturing her mouth fiercely. He needed her. He would give everything to erase her past pain. Phoebe moaned, welcoming his hunger and possessive need. Her body welcomed him as he thrust inside her. Her back ached and her hips rose to meet his. She rocked with him.
“Angel,” he groaned, “tell me what you need.”
“…Faster…harder…”
Growling, his pace increased.
“…My angel.”
‘Have him mark us,’ Máni suddenly spoke.
‘What? But…’
‘He needs to mark us now!’
“Jason,” Phoebe moaned, clinging to him. “M-mark me.”
“What?” his surprise almost made his pace falter.
“Mark me. Mark me now.”
He groaned as his face dipped low, nipping at her marking spot, “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Phoebe cried out his name as his teeth sunk into her neck. Her body suddenly seemed charged with lightning as the bond snapped into place, binding them. He licked the wound clean with a groan.
‘Now him! Mark him!’ Máni desperately cried.
Phoebe sank her teeth into his neck and felt him shudder as the bond completed its connection and they reached their climax together. Lazily, she licked his wound clean before both fell into contented sleep completely spent.