Chapter 16

Elizabeth Summers’ POV
Patti watched as Jasper walked away. She waited until he was completely out of sight before turning back around to face me again. She was looking at me as though I had lost my mind and I couldn’t really blame her for thinking that way.
“Now tell me, what the fuck is going on?” Patti asked.
“I am dating Jasper.” I replied.
I would have thought that was obvious at this point. If the cosy date situations didn’t show her then the way that Jasper just kissed me should have clarified the situation.
“Why would you do that? He is mean and cruel.” Patti said.
“He makes you cry all the time.” Oliver added.
“It was all a misunderstanding, he's different when you get to know him.” I said.
I wasn’t sure if I even believed what I was saying. I wasn’t sure if Jasper really was different, he had been acting differently around me ever since he worked out I was his mate but did that really matter. He had still treated me badly for years, did I really believe that he would be different now as my mate.
Maybe this was all just a ploy to get me to let him mark me then once I was marked he would go back to his old ways. This must be why Patti always calls me gullible. It was probably something to do with being an omega but I didn’t really have anyone that I could ask about this kind of thing.
“So let me get this right, you have been living with the guy for more that ten years and you only just got to know him?” Mia said as she sat down at the table next to Patti.
Patti and Oliver nodded their heads in agreement.
“Isn’t he like your adopted brother anyway, I am sure there are laws against that kind of thing.” Oliver said.
“I wasn’t actually adopted, Jasper’s parents just look after me.” I said.
I don’t even know why I said that, it wasn’t as though that would make much difference. If I wasn’t Jasper’s mate then us being together would have been seen as wrong. There was no way that I could explain him being my mate to humans though so I had to say something. They would just have to continue thinking I had randomly fallen in love with my bully overnight.
Patti shook her head.
“I think this is going to end badly but if this is really what you want then I will support you.” She said.
Oliver opened his mouth to protest but then promptly closed it again. I looked over my shoulder to see Jasper walking towards us with a massive smile on his face. He had clearly heard what we were saying, had he been listening to us the whole time? The worst part was I didn’t know if it was creepy or endearing for him to be checking up on me.
In werewolf culture it would be seen as a sign of love and devotion but I had spent a lot of time around humans. Some things were meant to be out of line and eavesdropping on your partner was definitely one of those things.
Jasper sat down opposite me at the table again. My friends started shifting uncomfortably in their seats, all except for Oliver who seemed to be trying to intimidate Jasper by staring at him. I don’t know if he expected it to work or if he was just looking for a fight. After what Oliver did to me their other night I didn’t trust him anymore.
“I was looking forward to having a romantic meal with my girlfriend but if she doesn't mind then you can all stay.” Jasper said.
“That’s ok.” I replied.
“Maybe then you will believe that I don’t want to hurt her.” Jasper said, as he passed menus around the table.
I looked down at the menu in front of me, trying not to think about the tension around the table. There were so many options and I wanted to try every single one of them. Would it be greedy of me to order more than one burger, I am sure I could eat them both.
“What do you like the look of?” Jasper asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
I heard Oliver tut but I decided it was best just to ignore him.
“I can’t decide between the chicken burger and the cheese burger.” I complained
“Well how about I get one and you get the other. That way we can share them both.” He suggested.
The sweet smile that he was giving me was almost enough to make me forget my worries from earlier. I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest as his eyes darted between my eyes and my lips. He leaned forward and was about to brush his lips against my ear when the waitress came back over to take our orders.
She must have taken the hint that Jasper wasn’t interested in her because she had already moved on to flirting with Oliver. She wrote down our orders in between fluttering her long eyelashes at him. Oliver flirted back but I got the feeling that he was only doing it to upset me or Jasper. I couldn’t tell which one of us he wanted to hurt and I really didn’t care anymore.
As she walked away from the table swaying her ass Oliver turned his attention back to us. A smirk came over his face.
“I would ask for her number but I bet you have already been with her. You have been with almost everyone in town haven’t you?” Oliver asked, there was an evil gleam in his eye as he spoke.
I felt Jasper get tense beside me.
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.” He said.
“Only a little bit though.” He said nudging Mia and laughing.
“I think you are crossing the line Oliver. There is no need to be cruel.” Patti said.
“So it’s alright for him to bully her for years but I can’t say anything back?” Oliver said, he was practically screaming.
“Not if it hurts Liz you idiot.” Patti said, I could hear the tension in her voice.
Oliver looked at me. He knew that Patti was right, I could see it in his eyes along with a healthy helping of guilt. That was good, he should feel guilty after pretending to like me for months. Then his eyes glanced over to Jasper and the guilt was quickly replaced with anger.
“Liz, I can’t believe you would take his side over mine. Maybe the two of you deserve each other.” He said.
He struck the table with his fists as he stood up. He leaned across the table towards me. I could see the tension in his jaw as he stared into my eyes with pure hatred. I didn’t know what I had done to deserve that, I had never done anything to hurt him.
“Don’t come crying to me when he dumps you for some other slut.” He said.
He didn’t even wait for my reaction before he stormed out of the restaurant. I watched him walk across the room with tears pooling in my eyes. How did I not see what Oliver was like before this.
Jasper wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. He kissed my hair softly as he whispered in my ear. He was telling me not to listen to Oliver and how much I meant to him.
I could hear his sweet words and feel his soft caresses and I wanted more than anything to believe him. The problem was that Oliver knew exactly how to hurt me, he told me all the things that my mind had already been stressing over for the last twenty four hours.
“You should ignore Oliver. He is just jealous.” Mia said.
“That’s not true, he was only pretending to like me to get back with Bev or something.” I mumbled.
“If that’s true then he is a fool but at least I won’t have to kick his ass to get him to back off.” Jasper said.
He was nuzzling my neck possessively like he wanted to mark me in front of my friends and the rest of the restaurant. I wondered what he would do if I turned away to give him better access, would he follow through and bite me right here? Why was I even thinking about that, it’s not as though I wanted him to mark me yet.
Jasper was so interested in me that he didn’t even notice when the waitress put his food down in front of him. I think he would have held on to me all the way through dinner if I hadn’t wriggled out of his grap so I could eat easier.
Once Jasper wasn’t holding onto me like a barnacle Patti and Mia relaxed a little. I could tell that they were still a little tense around Jasper because Patti had to do most of the talking but at least it was something.
Once we were finished Jasper drove Patti and Mia home before driving us back to our pack and our home. He spent the whole drive back to our pack asking me questions about myself and when we arrived he walked me to the door of my room as though this was a normal date.
“Is it ok if I give you a goodnight kiss?” He asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
As soon as the word left my lips Jasper pulled me close and pressed his lips against mine. I could feel his erection pressing against me as he pulled me closer to deepen our kiss. I could feel the desire building inside me, I wanted to touch him all over and feel him do the same to me.
That realisation terrified me. Wanting him made me feel vulnerable in a way I had never felt before. Even when he used to bully me I had never felt so totally vulnerable around him. I pulled away from him.
“I should get some sleep.” I mumbled before rushing into my room and closing the door behind me.
“Goodnight my love.” Jasper called out to me through the door.
I mumbled my own goodnight before collapsing melodramatically on the bed. This whole thing was complicated and confusing, I needed to talk to someone about it, I needed to talk to Patti alone.