Chapter 12
Elizabeth Summers’ POV
Jasper was holding his hand out towards me. He had just told the whole pack that I was his mate and now he was expecting me to run into his arms. I wanted to run away, I wanted to run into the forest and never come back but I knew that would only make things worse for everyone.
It would embarrass the alpha and luna and undermine Jasper’s position as alpha when he took over. I couldn’t do that to them, they were the only family I knew. Besides, Jasper’s wolf was an alpha so if I ran from him he would be compelled to chase me and when he inevitably caught me he wouldn’t be able to stop his wolf from marking me.
The best thing I could do right now was to go along with what he wanted. I would talk to him about how I felt later, but right now I needed to play along for the good of the pack.
I walked towards Jasper and brought my hand up to meet his. He interlaced his fingers with mine as I took my place by his side. He smiled at me before turning back towards the rest of the pack.
“Although I will respect the pack’s laws and not mark her until she reaches eighteen I couldn’t keep this happy news from you any longer.” He said.
He let go of my hand. He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me towards him. He looked into my eyes for a few moments before leaning in and pressing his lips against mine. His kiss felt soft and tender, it might actually have been enjoyable if it wasn't for the fact that the whole pack was watching us.
When he pulled away from me I noticed to my relief that most of the pack was no longer looking at us. They had gone back to their conversations, I guess they felt as uncomfortable about Jasper’s actions as I was. Jasper was still holding me tightly, I tried to escape from his grip but he just held onto me tighter.
“You can let go of me now.” I said.
“I am never letting you go.” He said. He buried his face in my neck, breathing deeply of my scent.
“That isn’t what I meant. I just thought you might want to speak to your friends.” I said, trying a different approach.
“Oh I see, you want me to show you off to my friends.” He said, a huge smile plastered over his face.
It wasn’t exactly what I meant but I could tell he wasn’t going to leave me alone any time soon so I may as well go along with it. At least if I was part of the crowd I would feel less like I was an artefact on display in a museum.
He kept one hand around my waist as he walked me over to where Nico and Adam were standing with Bev and a few of the other cheerleaders. Nico was making a poor attempt at trying to seduce one of the cheerleaders while Adam laughed at his attempts.
“Hi, luna.” Adam said as we approached them.
“Hi.” I replied, giving him a little nervous wave then cursing myself for being such an awkward geek.
Now that Jasper had admitted to the pack and me that I was his mate it all seemed so obvious. His sudden change in attitude towards me and the reason I felt so safe around Adam. I felt like an idiot for not working this out sooner. Did that mean that I really was as naive as my friends claimed I was?
“So you two are mates then?” Helen, one of the cheerleaders asked.
“Yes, I am the luckiest man alive.” Jasper said, kissing me on the cheek.
I had never seen this softer side of Jasper, a side that until today I didn’t believe could possibly exist. It didn’t matter though, no matter how nice he was to me right now I knew it was all fake. He had bullied me since I arrived at the alpha’s house. I don’t know if that was through jealousy at the attention his parents gave me or just because he could.
Whatever it was that caused him to bully me was irrelevant. All that really mattered was that I couldn’t just forget about the way he used to treat me. He had a lot of things to make up for if he was ever going to get me to forgive him.
“I am not sure lucky is the right word.” Bev said, flicking her hair at Jasper.
“Whatever you want to say, just say it.” Jasper said, rolling his eyes.
“You are very unlucky. I am clearly hotter than she is and I would make a much better luna.” Bev said.
I wasn’t surprised by her words, I had heard much worse insults coming out of her mouth over the years. Everyone else around us looked shocked by the way Bev spoke to me with the exception of Jasper.
Jasper growled at Bev. His anger was clear on his face. He held me closer to his body with one arm while his other hand was clenched into a fist at his side.
“None of what you said is true. I couldn't think of anyone that would make a better luna than Lizzy.” Jasper said.
Bev laughed.
“She is nothing. She is just a worthless, weak omega. She is so ugly that I bet she hasn’t even had a boyfriend before.” Bev said.
Ok, that hurt. Mostly because I know it is true, nobody had ever shown an interest in me before. I was nearly eighteen years old and I have never had a boyfriend or even been on a date before. The only person who even asked me on a date was only doing so to upset Jasper or make Bev jealous. She was right, I was pathetic.
I looked around. Everyone around the room had stopped what they were doing and were now paying attention to our conversation. I felt like crying, I was used to being bullied but usually that only happened to me at school. Not in front of the whole pack.
“You couldn’t be more wrong if you tried and if you ever disrespect your future luna again I will see to it that you never set foot in this pack again.” Jasper said.
“Fine but don’t come running to me when you work out that I was right.” Bev said. She flicked her hair and walked away. Everyone around the room went back to their conversations.
“You should have kicked her out of the pack anyway. I didn’t like how she spoke about Liz.” Adam said.
“I agree but her parents are friends with my parents. I don’t want to upset them unless I really have to.” Jasper replied.
For the rest of the party Jasper kept me by his side. He spent some time talking to his friends before moving around the party and talking to the rest of the guests. By the end of the night I was starting to feel a bit like a show dog. Jasper was doing all of the talking, I was just there to look good on his arm and laugh in the right places. Was this what my life would be like if I accepted him as my mate?
The last of Jasper’s guests left shortly after 1am. Jasper was talking to his parents and I was relieved to have a bit of time to myself. I wasn’t used to being around so many people, it was exhausting. I would be so glad to get into my night clothes and read until I fell asleep. I wondered if anybody would notice if I snuck off to bed right now.
I looked around me, the house was such a mess. There were plates of half eaten food and empty glasses everywhere. I guess the omega side of me was much too strong as I couldn’t go to bed and leave the house looking like a crime scene. I started walking around picking up some of the mess.
“Lizzy what are you doing?” Jasper asked when he noticed me picking up plates from the table nearby.
“I am helping to tidy up.” I said.
“No way. You are not an omega anymore, you are my luna.” Jasper said.
He took the plates out of my hand and gave them to the nearest omega. The omega gave me a dirty look then stomped into the kitchen. Jasper either ignored this or didn’t notice. He put his arm around my shoulder and walked me over to where his parents were standing.
“So does this mean that you will be moving into Jasper’s room now?” His mom asked me.
“Of course she is.” Jasper replied.
“I am not sure that I am ready for that.” I said, shifting my weight anxiously from foot to foot.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to accept him as my mate yet but I was absolutely sure that I wasn’t ready to share a room or a bed with him. I still wasn’t even convinced that this wasn’t an elaborate ploy just to get into my pants.
“Lizzy, I promise that I won’t do anything you don’t want. I just want you near me.” Jasper said. He pulled me closer so that I was resting against his shoulder as he gently stroked my hair.
“I know that but I am not ready.” I said.
“I understand. Maybe if we got to know each other better. Could I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?” Jasper asked.
I nodded my head in agreement.
Jasper gave me a huge smile and wrapped his arms around me. We talked for a few minutes about where he was going to take me before he walked me to my room. I could tell from the way he looked at me and held me in his arms that he didn’t want to leave.
“I should probably get some rest.” I hinted.
“Goodnight luna.” He replied.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. He held me there for a moment before breaking contact and walking away to his own room.