Jason’s POV
“I need you two to distract her” I announced to the siblings after I met them talking in the kitchen.
They give me confused looks, “why?” Anna questions.
Cassandra being at the bonfire could turn into a disaster quickly.
If my pack members find out there’s a vampire in the pack and worse she’s my mate and their Luna, things weren’t going to end well.
And my father might be there as well and I don’t want him anywhere near Cassandra.
I don’t trust he’ll even let her live.
“She’s a vampire”, I state simply hoping they could figure out the rest.
“So am I” Drake says with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.
I’m sure he didn’t like the thought of his friend not being at the celebration but I didn’t have much of a choice.
“They already know who you are” Anna tells him with a small smile as she places an arm on his shoulder.
“Jason is just trying to protect Cassandra”.
Am I?
I ponder it for a second.
No, I just don’t want any conflict to break out, it has nothing to do with Cassandra’s safety.
Nothing at all.
“Can you guys take her away from the pack house while we set up?” I ask again hoping they’ll agree.
Drake doesn’t say anything but Anna nods, “yeah of course”.
I thank them before going over to Preston’s apartment to get him.
I knock and Caroline answers the door.
“Hi Jason” she greets “Preston isn’t getting up”.
I smile and shake my head, that was so typical of him.
It’s not like he can’t wake up early but he just rather not.
“Can I come in?” I ask Caroline and she nods.
She signals me to follow her and takes me to their bedroom which was an exact replica of mine but with different decor.
“Preston, get up! Jason is here” he just groans and turns away from her.
“Haul some ass . It’s morning !” I yell and try to shake him awake.
“Fuck off asshole” he mumbles begrudgingly.
“Offensive” I mutter and Caroline laughs.
She signals me to stay quiet, she goes to a drawer and pulls out a whistle and gives me mischievous smile.
I try hard to hold back my laughter as she blows the thing so loudly I had to close my ears to avoid going deaf.
“Holy mother fucker!” Preston yells in shock as he falls off the bed.
Caroline and I begin laughing our asses off while Preston glares at us.
“Your cousin told me to do it” Caroline lies as she points accusingly at me.
“What the-, Presto I swear I didn’t do shit. It was your mate” I say and send a playful glare at Caroline.
“Who should I believe?” Preston asked as he sat up against the wall and tapping his chin to feign being deep in thought, “My mate or my dumbass cousin”.
“Excuse me?” I say in mock offense.
“The answer is obvious. Get out Jason” Preston scoffs and glares at me with his arms crossed.
Great, now I’m getting kicked out.
“Fine” I bite out all while Caroline is trying to hold back her laughter.
” but get ready quick.
We need to set up for the bonfire”.
“Whatever” I hear Preston say in an exhausted tone as I leave.
I head outside and smile when I see my pack members outside going about different activities.
“Good morning alpha Jason” I get greetings as I walk past the huge lawn of the pack house.
“Good morning”, I answer.
“Alpha! alpha!” I turn back to see some kids running towards me.
“Hey” I’m almost knocked down when they jump at me at the same time but manage to keep my balance.
“Thank you for canceling school” the girl says as she hugs my leg tightly.
I laugh, “you’re welcome”.
I had announced a sort of pack holiday because I just thought my pack needed at least a day to have a bit of rest.
No work and school.
And it was the perfect time to throw the bonfire for the pack soldiers to celebrate their successful mission.
“Can you play ball with us alpha?” One of the kids ask.
I’m aware that I have work to do but I can’t really find it in myself to say no.
Besides, I wouldn’t take too long.
I accept and end up playing a small game of keep away, of course I made it really easy for them to win.
Their parents watched from a distance with a smiles on their faces, seeming to enjoy watching me play with their pups.
“Fire!” Someone suddenly screams and the next thing I knew, I’m getting hit by a bunch of balls at the same time.
I look up in shock to see Natalie grinning ear to ear with a bunch of kids standing with her holding a bunch of balls and laughing like crazy.
“C’mon you should have given me a warning at least” I say playfully as I look over at my best friend and the kids she had brain washed.
“Now where’s the fun in that?” Natalie says with mock innocence making the kids laugh harder.
“Gamma Natalie said we should hit your stupid face”, a boy says but got nudged by his friend and he puts his hand over his mouth.
“Sorry that was rude”, he apologizes causing me to laugh.
I just find it so funny, “No problem kid”.
The children surround me and start asking me a lot of questions like if I like pineapple on pizza or if I like plushies and stuff like that.
They also kept thanking me for canceling school.
It’s just for one day but they seem to be really happy about it.
And I’m glad to see them that way.
I’m still answering the questions when I’m suddenly attacked by a rain of balls…
again.
My best friend, my cousin and his mate start laughing loudly when I give them a warning growl.
The kids are literally rolling on the grass and laughing.
“You left me to do everything alone, you dumbass” Preston growls as he throws another ball at me which I catch midair.
“Why is everyone against me today?” I ask them before throwing the ball and hitting Caroline square in the face.
Preston growls and picks up a bunch of balls ready to get his revenge for daring to hit his mate.
“Oh, it’s on alpha!” Caroline screams and I immediately knew I was beyond screwed.
Balls came flying at me again.
I was able to catch some and dodge some but one flew in my direction and just when it was about to hit me it was caught by someone.
“Guess who’s here to join the party?” Drake cheers as he starts throwing balls at my opponents in full speed.
They grunted as the balls hit them and Caroline even fell over and played dead.
The pack members that were around were laughing their asses off like crazy from the interaction.
Cassandra would have loved to be here.
I let out a sigh wondering where the thought came from and what the hell I was thinking.
Preston and I finally leave to get stuff organized and Natalie goes to the training grounds.
By the time we get to the backyard it was pretty much almost ready.
“Good morning Alpha Jason. Good morning Beta Preston”, they greet almost in unison and we reply.
Preston and I help to set up the fire pit and drinks and Drake comes to help out as well.
When we were done Preston said he was going to go interrupt Natalie’s training sessions just to see what she’ll do.
I don’t bother warning him about the danger he’s going to be in because in my opinion experience is the best teacher.
Drake decides to go on a walk and tells me he might drop by at the training grounds later before taking Cassandra flying.
When he leaves a pack member informs me that Natalie’s mom is waiting for me inside.
Since Natalie got back she hasn’t seen her family and keeps saying she would try to make time to.
I decided that Natalie could just meet her family today.
After all it’s her we’re celebrating along with the other pack soldiers.
Natalie’s mom offered to help me with the cooking and I couldn’t be more grateful.
“Jason!”, someone practically screams the moment I walk in.
Natalie’s mom was squeezing me like a python and breathing was almost becoming a challenge.
“It’s nice to see you too, Ella”, I chuckle and hug her back.
“Where’s everyone else?” I ask, referring to the rest of her family.
“They aren’t here yet. They’ll arrive when the bonfire starts”, she informs me and I nod.
We grab some aprons and get to work on making cookies.
Usually, I’m the only one cooking and only occasionally with Natalie or my mom when she’s present so it was nice to get some help.
Preston and Caroline rush into the kitchen hand-in-hand.
“Hi Natalie’s mom”, Caroline greets loudly as she skips her way towards Natalie’s mother.
Preston also greets her.
She gives both of them hugs and they begin talking.
“Jason”, I look around but I don’t see anyone.
I continue to mix and add ingredients when I hear the voice again.
“Come here Jason”, I see an image in my head but I’m not sure what it is.
“Come Jason. The past never truly remains in the past”, this time I know what the image I’m seeing is.
I toss the spoon I’m holding and stumble backwards.
I don’t want to remember it.
“Jason!” The scream sounds right beside my ear and I groan and cover my ears.
I stumble again and almost knock down the batter.
“Jason” I look up at Ella who’s standing in front of me and checking the batter.
The voices have stopped and I sigh in relief.
“I think it’s ready to go in the oven”.
Preston and Caroline are no where to be seen so maybe they went back to their apartment but knowing them they’ll be back once the cookies are ready.
She puts the batter in a baking tray and into the oven.
The moment the cookies were ready and cooled Caroline rushed into the kitchen again.
“Yay, cookies!” She cheers as she goes to grab a cookie.
“Jason”, I see the image in my head again and my claws extend before immediately retracting.
“Hey bro, can I have some too?” Preston asked as he places his arm on my shoulder.
I turn and growl at his hand on my shoulder without even realizing it.
“Thanks”, he says and rushes to grab a cookie.
I raise a brow in confusion both at my actions and the fact that I don’t remember giving him any approval.
“Preston and I need to make sure the preparations are going as planned”, I tell the ladies as I take off my apron.
“We do?” Preston asks as he grabs what I think is his third cookie.
Caroline reaches for her sixth but Ella smacks her hand making her pout before pulling the tray away from them.
“You two should go find something else to do instead of finishing our cookies”, Ella scolds with crossed arms.
“One more?” Caroline asked with puppy eyes while Preston reached out for another cookie while Ella was distracted.
I shook my head at their antics, these two are going to be the death of me.
Preston and I go to check out how the preparations are going while Caroline says she was going to hang out with Drake, Anna and Cassandra.
Preston didn’t seem very happy when Caroline mentioned Cassandra but he didn’t object.
I was checking out the drinks and snacks when I heard it again.
“Jason, come here”.
I automatically crane my head to the forest behind me and I feel something urging me to go in there but it wasn’t the forest it was urging me to go into, way beyond that.
It was asking me to leave pack grounds through the forest ,the question was why?
The urge grows and I find my legs moving towards the direction.
I try to stop myself but it proves to be a challenge.
“Jason stop”.
The new voice is different.
It’s one I haven’t heard in a long time.
Since my wolf was weakened by the vampires I rarely hear him.
Our bond was savored but fortunately I could still shift.
“I can’t”, I tell him just as I enter the forest.
The images start again and that voice pulls me again.
I try as hard as I possibly could but it was becoming extremely difficult.
“Jason!
Listen to me” Jackson tells me “you need to stop”.
“Come. Come here”, the voice draws me in.
“Don’t move”
I have different voices in my head telling me what to do and I have no control on who to choose because it seems like my body has a mind of its own.
I continue to move towards the forest.
I stand still trying to compose myself and trying to gain control of my mind.
I can feel myself loosing my touch of reality as I do so.
I’m suddenly hit by something which makes me fall to the ground.
I’m still trying to gain control of my mind and I’m still trying to fight through it as I get up.
Jackson suddenly pushes which is something I don’t think he’s done before.
Despite being an alpha, he is weakened except when in wolf form so he usually preserves his energy for that.
He is still stronger than an average wolf when shifted though.
It was those images- the images of my wolf being weakened and all the pain that came with it, that kept flashing in my mind.
“Jason” I’m about to make a run for it and follow that voice but something holds me back.
Jackson tries to take control of my body which I’m surprised by.
He’s done it before but here he is fighting for dominance.
“Hello, earth to Jason”, Cassandra’s voice brings me back to reality.
Like a spell the voice immediately stopped and I couldn’t have been happier to have her there at that moment though I had no idea where she came from.
“Oh Cassandra. What are you doing here?” I ask with a raised brow just as Preston comes up behind me.
He must have been looking for me or something.
“Yeah, aren’t you meant to be out of sight?”.
The voices start in my head at that exact moment and I struggle to keep it out.
The images appear to me again.
Everything playing all over again as if I was reliving my worst nightmare.
I wouldn’t wish that for even my worst enemy.
I tried to stay in touch with reality and tried not to loose myself in my past.
I couldn’t even seem to understand what was going on around me, only the reoccurring nightmare I was forced to relive.
“The past is never really in the past, is it Jason?”
I manage to block it out for a little while, enough to ask Drake what the hell Cassandra was doing out here.
The last thing I wanted was my pack to find out her supernatural being and discover she was my mate.
Sure, very few knew that there’s a vampire in pack grounds but they believe that my father has already gotten rid of her.
Even if they do see her, the chances of them recognizing her are low since she made sure to hide her face with her hood the day we went out.
I still couldn’t risk it though.
Besides, it’s still possible to feel what she is.
I hear Preston say that I was embarrassed to be seen with her which wasn’t exactly true.
First of all, even if she does come, I’ll avoid her like a plague and secondly she’s beautiful at least so that’s a bonus point I can work with.
“It’s not because I’m embarrassed to be seen with her”, I growl at him before I can stop myself.
A subtle frown takes over my features as I wondered why the hell I growled at him.
It wasn’t something I would normally do especially not to Preston.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Preston didn’t seem offended by my actions like I expected him to be.
In fact, he really didn’t seem to notice.
When Anna asks me why I don’t want Cassandra to be at the bonfire I try to gently explain that my pack members are not going to like having a vampire around.
Only it didn’t come out gentle at all, my choice of words were hostile and snappy and I surprised even myself.
Anna also doesn’t seem offended and just waves a dismissive hand as she explains that she gave Cassandra a potion to hide her supernatural identity.
I feel relief wash through me, no one would hurt her if they don’t know.
Why do I even give a shit if they hurt her?
“COME NOW!”
This time it was more of a command but before I could even take a step in the direction I was being called to, Jackson takes control of my body without warning.
Cassandra looks in our direction with a confused expression and I wondered if she noticed it wasn’t me she was looking at. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
I struggle and I’m able to take over from Jackson before scoffing and walking away with Preston following behind me.
He was talking my ear off but I couldn’t understand shit he was saying not because I wasn’t listening but because my brain couldn’t seem to process it.
It felt like some thick fog had covered my mind and was stripping me of my control.
“It tastes so nice. Guess you aren’t so useless after all”.
His voice.
The same voice that has haunted me for years drifted across my mind.
Jackson took a back seat, I couldn’t feel or hear him anymore.
It was like he was also reacting to the voice we had just heard after all that voice caused us to loose so much.
“Jay” Preston calls to get my attention as he puts his arm on my shoulder.
Out of sheer reflex, I toss him and he hits one of the trees before falling to the ground with a groan.
He looks up at me with more surprise than anger.
He raised a brow as if silently asking me to justify my actions.
“Shit, sorry Presto” I apologize as I help him up.
I didn’t justify my actions because I literally cannot.
It just happened.
Preston doesn’t seem angry as we make our way to the bonfire he just continues talking like nothing happened .
The backyard is already filled with our pack members who are walking around doing various activities as music blasted in the air.
Natalie spots us from across the yard where she is talking with some pack soldiers.
She smiles and makes her way over to us before jumping at me first and squeezing the hell out of me.
She equally hugs Preston just as tight causing him to gasp for breath.
“Thanks guys”.
Preston and I help ourselves to some snacks while Natalie goes back to the soldiers.
Preston was devouring the cookies Ella and I made earlier and Caroline had come to join in as well.
Soon it was time to give a speech so I walked up to the makeshift stage.
The moment I begin to give the speech I hear the voice in my head again.
“Can’t shift? What a pity”.
“I like hearing your screams. Music to my ears”.
“I just love your taste, Jason”.
“The past will never remain in the past. COME HERE!”
I try to stay composed to make it look like I was perfectly fine as I had an internal battle.
It seems to work as no one looks at me with a worried or curious look.
“Jason, don’t listen” Jackson warns me.
He takes over but I quickly push him back.
This goes on for quite sometime.
I hope no one notices.
It seemed my prayers were answered since no one seemed to have noticed but I caught a particular pair of silver eyes watching me with curiosity and worry.
Cassandra.
I head off the stage once the speech was done and stood at the tree line of the forest.
My head was aching and it didn’t seem to be working properly as it felt almost completely fogged.
An urge is dragging me towards the forest and out of pack grounds but deep down there’s a bad feeling.
“COME HERE”, I moved my foot in an attempt to return to the forest.
I tried to fight it but the feeling had become extremely intense and the ache in my head had gotten ten times worse.
“I’ve got it” Jackson says the moment he takes over.
He must feel the bad energy too because he isn’t letting me fight him and his keeping me away from the woods.
“Hey Jason, I got you s’mores”, Cassandra showed up as she handed the s’mores over to Jackson.
I was convinced that she had brought me those s’mores by accident.
Jackson and Cassandra both go back and forth for a while and I conclude that Jackson is a lot nicer to her than I’ll ever be.
Just as Jackson introduces himself to her as my wolf I hear the voice again.
This time it comes with a different image.
It wasn’t an image from my past but an image from my future if I refuse to obey.
Preston and Natalie are lying lifeless on the floor soaked in blood while also surrounded by multiple dead bodies from my pack members.
The moment I see the image, any hesitation in me leaves and all I can think about is ensuring it doesn’t happen.
I push through Jackson and immediately take off into the forest.
I don’t know where I’m supposed to go, I just follow where my mind urges me to.
All I know is that I was attempting to leave pack grounds because that’s where I was being urged to.
I hear Cassandra scream my name but I don’t let my steps falter.
I increase my pace hoping to throw her off track.
I didn’t want her to stop me, my pack could have consequences to pay.
I was taken by surprise the moment Cassandra knocks me down and straddles me.
She grabs my chin forcing me to look in her eyes and I stare back at her in shock, not expecting her actions.
“What’s wrong?”
Third Person POV
“Fuck!” Queen Lucinda yelled in pure rage as the dark mist surrounding her disappeared.
It wasn’t a very queenly thing to say but she was enraged.
King Alexander looked over at his wife in worry wondering what had gone wrong.
He waves his hand and the fire that burned on the candles used to perform the ritual were immediately put out.
“What’s wrong darling?” He asks her with concern as he walks over to where she sat on the carpet and helped her up.
The still fuming witch let herself lean almost completely on her husband as she grabbed the front of his shirt.
“That bitch”, she mumbled in rage.
“Cassandra spoil your plans?” Lauren asked mockingly.
The Luna looked over at the couple with nothing but pure hatred.
The vampire prince couldn’t care less about the situation as he sipped on the reddish liquid in his wine glass.
As long as their plans failed there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
“Everything was going well until she intervened”, Lucinda was still obviously fuming not happy about her plans going up in flames.
“I thought the spell was supposed to mask Jason’s reactions. How did she know something was wrong with him?” Alexander asked his wife softly as he clung to her tighter.
“It did. No one else saw it, just Cassandra”, Lucinda answered looking deep in thought.
Luna Lauren leaned forward and looked deep in thought as well.
Her eyes suddenly widened in realization.
“Hold on… you don’t think?”.
This time the vampire prince decides to speak up knowing exactly where her thoughts were heading.
“That’s impossible”.
“It’s the only reasonable explanation”, Lauren counters as she glares at Duke who equally matches her stare.
“Start to think of it, mates are emotionally connected”, Lucinda speaks up.
“I’ve never heard of a vampire and werewolf being mates”, his features turn to a slight frown at the possibility.
“But think about it, it makes the prophecy add up. A vampire and a werewolf”, Lauren points out.
“And what about witch?” Duke asks “it’s a part of the prophecy as well”.
“Maybe the witch power would be some kind of gift or something”, Alexander shrugs.
“Maybe”, his wife mumbles back.
After a short moment of silence as the supernatural rulers planned on their next move and the prince of vampires enjoyed his drink unbothered, Lauren suddenly asks “how did you even get into Jason’s mind?”.
“Jason’s past really isn’t in his past, at least not in his mind. He is still buried in pain and regret and I can use that against him” Lucinda said as a smirk played on her lips.
“I just needed to use images from his past and a voice from his past as well. It affected him enough to throw his Beta at a tree”she laughed wickedly.
Lucinda looks at Duke, giving him a knowing look and the glass he was holding instantly falls to the floor and shatters to pieces, spilling its reddish content as he looked over at her in pure shock.
“You remember don’t you, Prince Duke” Duke just stood there frozen as he stared at her wide eyed.
He didn’t want to remember it.
He didn’t want to remember the suffering he had brought upon an innocent werewolf pup.
Lucinda let a mocking smirk stretch her lips as she observed Duke’s reaction while her husband and the Luna looked on in curiosity.
“We need a new game plan”, Lucinda spoke again as she chose to ignore Duke’s lack of words.
She wanted to move fast, she needed that power and soon she’ll have it.
All of it.
So this chapter was a bit chaotic.
Hope you still liked it, if you did please show some support.
Big things are coming up from this point onwards.