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Chapter 7

Jasmine's POV

When I woke up on Sunday morning I was really excited about the date with Axel. I found my mom alone in the kitchen as I went down for breakfast. She could see that I was anxious and she told me that everything will be okay.

“But mom, what if I embarrass myself so much that he will run away screaming ‘Stay away from her!’”

“Sweety, nothing like that will happen. You won’t embarrass yourself, have some self confidence.”

“Honestly mom, I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’ve never felt this way before. I feel this pull and it scares me.”

“No need to be scared of your feelings, everything will work out just fine.”

I hugged my mom tightly and after that I decided to make some toast. As I was putting on some butter I just collapsed. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was my mom's worried face as she screamed for my dad.

*I was in an unknown place. Everything was black. Suddenly my eyes snapped open, but I wasn’t me. I was someone else, a man. I had no idea what he looked like.

*“Did it work, my King?” - someone asked, but I couldn’t see anybody. All I saw was a gray wall in front of me.

*“Yes. I can feel her.” - who is he talking about?

*“Hello sweetheart. It’s nice to finally meet you, though it’s a shame I can’t see you. Not yet anyway.”

*I was totally confused, is he talking about me? It doesn’t feel like a dream. It’s real, but how?

*“Yes, sweetheart, I’m talking about you and I can assure you that everything you see, hear, feel is real.”

*“Who are you?”

*“I won’t expose my identity yet. All you need to know right now is that I exist. Until later sweetheart.”

This was the moment I woke up. I looked around and saw that I was in the hospital, my family was in the room. I felt just fine, not like a person who just fainted, because I didn’t. But what the hell was that then?

“How are you feeling?” - my mom asked.

“I feel fine, but it was strange. I had a vision, or something like that. I was a man, but I don’t know who he was.”

As I finished I saw my parents were as white as snow. Something is really really wrong here.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Everything is fine. Let’s go, the doctor said we can leave when you wake up. You should cancel the date and rest at home.”

“I won’t cancel it mom, I feel fine.”

When the time came I started getting ready. I couldn’t do it without music. This time I chose Didn’t I, by OneRepublic. I put on a casual summer dress, light make-up and I curled my hair. Just as I was putting on my shoes the doorbell rang. As I descended the stairs I saw Axel standing in the hall waiting for me. When he saw me he started to smile, showing his dimples and I almost started to drool at the sight. I quickly composed myself not wanting to make a fool of myself.

“Hello Jasmine. Ready to go?”

“Hi, yes I’m ready.”

In the car there was silence, so I asked him where we were going, but he didn’t tell me, claiming it wouldn't be a surprise. There was a clearing in the woods and a picnic was set up with all kinds of delicious food.

“Did you make all this?”

“Yes I did. I love cooking. My mom taught me saying I need to impress my ma…I mean my date with my cooking skills.”

“It’s really good.” - he wanted to say something else instead of ‘my date’, but I didn’t question him.

I got to know him better. His middle name is Benjamin; he’s 24; his favorite animals are wolves and he hates mushrooms. We saw some storm clouds in the distance, so we decided to leave to be safe. Unfortunately the car didn’t start.

“Your house is too far away to walk and reach before the storm. Mine is only ten minutes away if we walk.”

“Okay.” - I was nervous, going to his house meant I would meet his family. It’s too much for a first date, but I didn’t have a choice. The storm was approaching fast.

Axel's POV

I prepared everything for the date. I cooked a variety of dishes, not knowing what she likes. She was beautiful in that dress. As we arrived I could see that she liked the idea of a picnic. I was glad I didn’t take her to a fancy restaurant. Her middle name is Hope, which I didn’t know until now. She’s studying to be a vet; however in this town that means to take care of pack members in wolf form if someone is injured and can’t shift back, because it can do more harm than good. Speaking of which, I have to ask around how she got accepted.

For some reason the car wouldn’t start and the storm was coming fast. I had no choice, but to invite her to the pack house.

“Listen up everyone! I have a guest coming over, she’s human and doesn’t know about werewolves. Nobody shifts or does anything inhuman in front of her.”

“Yes, Alpha!” - they chorused back.

This was not the way I wanted her to meet my family. I saw from her expression that this was too soon, but she didn’t have a choice. I know she’ll have lots of questions about why so many people live together in one house. I hoped she wouldn’t think that I’m in some cult. However, being a werewolf to some extent means to be in a cult. Ugh, things just started to get better between us and this evening we might get back to square one. Knowing my family, something will definitely go wrong. I’m not worried about my father, but there’s my mom and the twins. If those three gang up together to embarrass me, which they will, I won't be able to look in the eye of Jasmine anymore.

The pack house just came into sight, when big raindrops started to fall, and the wind picked up. There was a big lightning then a loud boom of thunder immediately after it. I had no time to process what just happened as Jasmine was clinging to me like a koala bear, not wanting to let go.

“What’s wrong?” - I asked her.

“I hate thunderstorms. When I was four a lightning struck a tree in our garden and it fell on our house, most importantly on my room while I was inside. There were branches everywhere and rain was pouring down on me. My parents heard the crash and they found me trapped in the corner as I couldn’t get out because of the branches. Ever since then I can’t be left alone when there's a storm or I would get panic attacks.”

When she finished her story I realized that I was standing in one place and by now it was raining hard. Not wasting any more time I started to sprint to the house, making sure I’m still running at human speed. Just as I reached the front door there was another huge lightning and a loud thunder then an ear-splitting scream that came from Jasmine. At that exact moment the door opened and my mom was standing there looking extremely pissed off. She must have thought I hurt her or something, so I knew I had a lot of explaining to do. I just hoped I would get the chance to do so before she starts yelling and makes me sleep in ‘the dog house’.

And yes, ‘the dog house’ is an actual place in the pack. It was founded by the women in the pack decades ago for their mates if they did something the women didn’t like. Many Alphas before me tried to demolish it, but that never ended well for them. The Lunas would always find out about it and they didn’t have sex with their mates until they made up for that mistake. Even though it only means the night on the day the punishment was made it’s still humiliating. Especially for high-ranking wolves. Males who have pregnant mates end up sleeping there more often than other wolves.

I have never spent a day in 24 years there and I don’t want to start now. What would others think of me? Even the thought made me shudder. I sighed internally and prepared for the worst. I had to face my mom alone. I knew that my father wouldn't intervene for obvious reasons.

“Be prepared Damon, shit is about to get real.”

“It’s all your fault. You were the one who didn't get mate inside sooner.”

“How is this my fault? I can’t control the weather.”

“You were the one who froze when she jumped into our arms, not me. You wasted precious seconds.”

Well, this is fantastic. Even my wolf is mad at me, giving me a headache before my mom could even start. With that thought I blocked him out and stepped inside the pack house.

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