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Word Count: 2457

~Thea

His fingers were only inches from touching me.

Had he touched me, I am not sure what would have happened. Was he advancing on the attraction between us? Was he going to pull me close and kiss me until I was out of breath? I had no idea...

And I didn't get the opportunity to know, before someone slapped their hands down on my shoulders.

The look on Jasper's face was what I saw first, as he retracted his hand. For a moment, it looked like he awoken from a trance, finally snapping back into reality. Then, he throws an angry look at the person behind me.

"Did I interrupt something?"

I wanted to yell yes. Because that voice belonged to Tayten, and I admit it really did annoy me that I didn't find out what Jasper wanted. Now, he seems to have recovered his senses, and it seems as if he isn't going along with his plan suddenly. 

Jasper shook his head slowly. "What do you want?"

Tayten moved around me until she was beside me, draping her arm over me. It seems to be her favourite thing to do.

"I just came to make you aware that I am going back home-"

Thank the Goddess...

"I'm not sure when I will be back...It depends on how things are back in time," she informs us. Jasper almost looks relieved by the idea of Tayten leaving, and honestly I am too. Now hopefully I can escape both her and stalker like Jasper.

Jasper wouldn't say a word me about what he was about to do in the kitchen as we drove toward the Desire Pack. After he promised he would tell me later, in a better situation, I didn't question it.

Quite frankly, I am nervous. The Desire Pack is not for the fainthearted.

"What should I expect there?" I ask Jasper, as we started to slip into the climate of that Pack. Rifts in the Pack Quarter climate are common, but due to the Desire and Love Pack proximity, the cold seeps into both their communities. The difference is that there is no snow where we are going. Just ice. Lot's of sleet and ice.

Jasper seems to think for a moment. "To put it bluntly, a lot of horny people."

I blanch at his words. Rumours of the Desire Pack spur obviously from its name. In school, we were told to watch out for old creatures who use magic to disguise themselves beautifully, luring people to use them for sex. Disgusting, but apparently the curse is as old as Phantom Wolves.

"Everyone?" I ask uneasily.

Jasper shakes his head. "Mainly the younger people. Sex is a way of life over there, a sport. If you find the right people, you could probably avoid those under the spell of their true nature."

Find the right people. I think I can do that.

Time passed quickly, with assistance from Jasper's powers. The downside was that instantly I was hungry, but that was washed away by the sight of the Pack we were approaching.

The distance between where Jasper's small community is, and the Desire Pack is small, but the drive still dragged us into the beginning of night. However, in this to our benefit. Everywhere you looked, bright lights lit up the entirety of almost every space. The sight was dazzling, as some flickered and while others sparkled. Never have I see anything like it.

The entrance to most Pack's lead into smaller town, before reaching a larger city toward the middle to end. This Pack did no such thing, expanding into a large concrete wonderland of mile high skyscrapers and endless sidewalks.

"This place is crazy," I murmur, glancing at Jasper.

His face dances with the vivid colours-red, green, blue-from the lights. Despite the striking magnificence of this place, Jasper looks somehow disheartened.

"This entire Pack is a city. Finding rural areas like in the Devotion Pack is very rare, and really can only be found at the far edges of the Pack. From your Uncle's letter, he lives in an apartment in a wealthy part of the city," Jasper tells me.

What Jasper plans to do when I am no longer his burden, I am not sure. The idea of him not actually letting me go, after seeing that book has my heart beating a little faster, and my fingers tapping uneasily on my thighs.

I see notice Jasper watching me. "Why did you actually take up this strangers offer?"

The urge to cringe uncomfortably was strong, but instead I uphold my calm composure. If he knew now what I found, then perhaps he would resort to something drastic, something I can't combat.

"When I was living in the Devotion Pack, I was always asking for a miracle. Nothing in my life was making sense, and now that I have an opportunity to do something new with my life...So who would I be to turn it down?" I say. My excuse isn't much of a lie. In fact, I meant every word that I said, and I knew Jasper believed me.

The time was getting very late by my standards, but it almost seemed as though the Pack was just coming to life. People were walking across store fronts, dressed in incredible outfits of glittering spender, with most being unnervingly risque.

Jasper seems to notice my expression of awe. "They fondly call this the Night Pack, because most people sleep during the day, and come to life at night."

"Don't they have to work?" I question.

People walked in and out of brightly lit stores, of all types. All the owners dressed their store fronts well, and it almost seemed like there was a competition between them all to look the most stupendous and almost inconceivable. The people however, look just as breathtaking...

"If they all live by night, then they all work by night," Jasper explains. "And their fashion is a lot more flirty to fit their nature. Especially since they do not follow the Moon Goddesses religion."

The more we drove, the better everything began to look. Eventually, I stopped believing it could get better, but each block proved me wrong.

"I want to explore," I tell him, wishing I was anywhere in this Pack other than the car. All I want to do is get out on those streets and see what it has to offer. Because by the looks of it, everyone here looks finally happy, and I have to admit I am a little jealous.

"Maybe later," Jasper murmurs.

Apparently my Uncle's apartment was at the top of a building made primarily of a scarce amount of steel and a lot of glass. He must be very wealthy, considering the state of the place, and the type of people that were walking in and out.

Stepping out of the car, letter clutched in my hand, I am surrounded by a bustle of people and extremely bright lights.

"Wait up!" Jasper called, as I wandered into the crowd, awed by everything.

I expected it to be skin shivering cold, and although I could do with a sweater, it was milder than I thought. Perhaps it was all the people around, the hot energy they seemed to pass between them.

Jasper came up beside me, looking around nervously. How could he not be excited by this? The atmosphere. All I want to do is run into the nearest night club, which was playing great dance music, and get lost in the night with everyone else.

"You're getting caught up. Remember why you are here," the Alpha murmurs into my ear, his breath hot against my neck.

He is right. As much as I want to excuse his words of reason, I need to go meet my Uncle, so Jasper can leave right now. Then, maybe I would have time to check out the town.

Inside the apartment building, was just as magnificent as the outside. I think it was the massive chandelier that was completely unnecessary for a place like this. It seems like the Desire Pack respects the saying, bigger is better.

"We need to get to the eighteenth floor," Jasper tells me, making me frown.

That is high up...Am I afraid of heights? I mean, there has never been a time in my life where I have had to consider such a fear, so maybe not. Luckily, Jasper reassured me that there would be an elevator, instead of stairs.

We walk across the marble floor, which was polished so exceptionally, I could almost see myself in it. No one was around until we were in the elevator with a woman wearing a white fur jacket and thigh high boots with a threatening heel. I stare at the fur nervously, wondering what she had killed to get it.

Jasper leans down, whispering in my ear. "It's faux."

Wishing I knew what he meant, I sidled a little closer to Jasper, still unsure about the women.

We got off on the right floor, and wandered down the hallway to where my Uncle's room was meant to be. Except when we knocked on the door, nothing happened. No one answered. Jasper and I exchanged looks uneasily, as we waited for something to answer the door.

"Maybe he is out right now," I say, although he looks speculative.

Suddenly his neighbour opens her door, making both me and Jasper jump dramatically. She looks apprehensive of our presence. "What are you two doing?"

"We are looking for a man who lived here. We believe his name is-"

"No one has lived there for a few moments. Sorry," she says, before slamming her door shut. I almost didn't catch what she said because of the thickness of her Desire Pack accent. But when I understood them, my heart sunk.

Jasper looks at me sympathetically, as I throw the letter angrily onto the ground. A lie...It was all a lie and Jasper was right.

Not once did he say I told you so, but I couldn't look at him. All I want to do is cry and scream and curse my own stupidity. Without a single word to Jasper I take off at a run down the hallway, to the elevator.

"Thea, it's okay!"

The elevator door closed before Jasper could get in, and I descended down the building. Hands in my hair, I wonder how I could have made such a stupid mistake. If Luca was still my boyfriend, he would have been so mad...

No, don't think about him.

As the elevator door opened, Jasper was standing directly on the outside, a grim expression written all across his face.

"Don't use your magic around me," I grumble, pushing past him.

He follows me outside, but I push into the crush of people heading down the street. I want some time alone, so when I lose Jasper within the flood, I was instantly relieved. Despite it being a hot, bustling mess of people, no one here will in any way judge me...

Some gasp as I forcefully push past them, hoping tears aren't falling from my eyes.

I must have lost Jasper completely at this point, as when I glance over my shoulder, he is nowhere to be seen. What a relief...

Walking down the street, with the throng of people, was an experience in itself.  Many of them were dressed so intimidatingly, it blew my mind. But my looks were quite different from most of them, causing rogue looks to be cast my way, as people wonder exactly why I am here.

Suddenly, a woman reaches out and snags my arm, pulling me to a stop.

She wore the shortest red, leather skirt I have seen, with a cropped top of black lace, showing me the bra I really didn't want to be faced with. Tattoos snaked across her stomach, with silver piercings in her nose and eyebrows. It was frightening.

"Hey gorgeous. Want some fun? Our boys are waiting inside..." she drawls, in a voice meant to be sexy. Glancing at the shop she was referring to 'inside' as, was none other than a strip club.

I wrestle from her grasp. "No thanks."

Keeping a fast pace, I continue walking down the street. With that experience, my heart is racing and I am starting to think less of my fake Uncle, and more of how I am going to get out of here...

The feeling of being claustrophobic suddenly hit, forcing me to find the edge of the crowd. No one seemed to notice me, as I began to pant. Maybe I shouldn't have run away from Jasper like that...Maybe I should have thought things through first.

Again, I was grabbed. This time, I was thrust into an alleyway, caught in the grip of darkness, so no one even saw I had disappeared.

"Well aren't you pretty," someone seethes in my ear. And I know then, I really shouldn't have left Jasper behind.

❤️••❤️

Want more and don't want to wait!? More of Jasper is available for purchase on Radish!

Also check out the next book in the series, Malik! (:

🌹••🌹

If you're annoyed by Thea this chapter, then I'm sorry, you probably don't know how to put yourself in a characters shoes. If I was Thea, I would never trust a half dead guy with a book about me. Never.

Obviously a writer sees differently from a reader, because I writer knows how a character assists the plot, while a reader sees only what they want to. I get that...But guys, think rationally, not like someone who reads Werewolf books every day.

Also, if you guys really thought they were going touch, you clearly don't know how I work. I just wanted to put a little scare in yah ;)

I'm a savage, I know.

You guys really want it to happen, but let me tell you, you'll be waiting awhile. I'm wanting a real romance to form between them first. I like the flirting, and the bond a couple can have in a Werewolf story, before they even know they are mates.

I feel like it makes them seem more real, and their relationship a lot more fun, because it has time to develop.

On Radish, they have just touched, and we are up to Chapter Thirty.

And yes, there's been a sexy scene between then, which you'll figure out how it works when we get to it.

Trust me, when it happens, it will be great. It will also be on a cliffhanger, because...Me.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Like I can't wait for my other Bae to arrive (:

Snapchat: midikacrane

Radish: Midika

~Midika 💜🐼