Chapter 32

Jasper Hartford’s POV
The pain hit me the second I opened my eyes. My head was pounding and even the slightest movement was enough to send sharp tendrils of pain through my whole brain. What was wrong with me? My head had never hurt like this before, was there something wrong with me? Had some witch put a spell on me or something?
‘No, this my dear human is what is known as a hangover,’ Garnet said, laughing at my expense. What the heck? That couldn’t be true, I didn’t think I had that much to drink last night. I started to filter through my memories from last night, my memory was pretty fussy but I could remember parts of what had happened.
I remembered playing drinking games with Lizzy and her friends. I remember them leaving us and some pack members joining us but then things started to get really hazy. I remember Lizzy whispering something in my ear then I did something. Oh my goddess, I picked her up and claimed her like a fricking caveman in front of half the pack members our age. I couldn’t remember anything else after that.
A wave of nausea hit me and I don’t think it had anything to do with the hangover. I couldn’t remember what happened after I carried Lizzy out of the party. The fear that I could have done something to make her feel uncomfortable was almost too much to bear. She seemed to be resting soundly in my arms but how would she feel about me when she opened her eyes.
‘Calm down you idiot. Adam saw how drunk you were and drove us home. You passed out in the back seat of his car.’ Garnet reassured me. My whole body relaxed as I realised that I hadn’t done anything to hurt Lizzy in my intoxicated state. I wrapped my arm around her waist and nuzzled into her hair, letting her delicious scent envelop me.
The question remained however, how did I even get drunk in the first place. I am an alpha, I have drunk a lot more than I did last night in the past without it having any effect on me. There was no reason that I should have ended up getting drunk last night, it didn’t make sense.
‘How did I end up getting stuck with such a stupid human. You aren’t an alpha anymore,’ Garnet was starting to piss me off. Why didn’t he just tell me what he meant, why did he insist on insulting me while talking in riddles?
‘I’m an omega that means you are also an omega. By the time our mate's wolf wakes up you will have the same physical strength as any other omega,’ he told me this as though I hadn’t noticed the changes already. In truth I had noticed that I was getting weaker. I wasn’t an idiot, I knew exactly what it meant but I was in heavy denial.
Marking Lizzy would make me stronger but I couldn’t mark her for my own selfish reasons. If my parents found out how weak I was getting then she would have no choice and I couldn’t do that to her. We were so close, I just had to keep my secret for a few more hours. If today went well then I would mark her tonight.
It felt like I had a whole kaleidoscope of butterflies in my stomach. The thought of sinking my teeth into her neck made my wolf howl but I was more excited about what came after. Belonging to each other forever in every way, that was what I really wanted.
I pulled her closer and moulded my body into her, enjoying the heat coming from her sleeping body and tingling sensation where my skin touched hers. Lizzy let out a soft moan as she stirred from her sleep. She turned around to look at me.
She looked so incredibly beautiful. She was still half asleep, her eyes were only half open and her lips were parted slightly and so tempting. I ran my tongue over my bottom lip as I leaned in closer.
“Jasper, how are you feeling?” She asked.
“I am never drinking again,” I complained. Lizzy giggled, spinning around to face me and burying her face in my chest. I ran my fingers through her hair, taking comfort in her presence. The healing power of our bond was working in my favour, my headache was already starting to clear.
I pressed my lips against hers, running my tongue over her lips and into her mouth. Lizzy gripped me tighter and moaned into my mouth. I wanted so badly to keep kissing her but I could feel someone trying to reach me through mindlink. I broke our kiss and allowed the mindlink through.
‘I am sorry to bother you, I thought we were going to speak to your mom about my bond. I am waiting outside but I can come back later’ Adam said.
‘I will be right down,’ I replied before closing mindlink. Jumping out of bed I filled Lizzy in on what was happening as I frantically got ready to meet Adam.
“I am coming with you,” she replied. She threw the covers back off her body, revealing her skimpy nightdress. She normally came to bed wearing pyjama bottoms and a baggy t-shirt. The one night that I was completely out of it is the one night that she wore a form fitting satin nightdress. I can’t believe I didn’t remember this, she looked incredible.
My feet moved towards her on their own accord. I wanted her in my arms so badly I could almost taste it. She had her back to me as she looked through our wardrobe to find something to wear so she couldn’t see my stalking up behind her.
Garnet purred in my head, encouraging me to keep going.
“Don’t even think about it Jazzy, we don’t have time for that.” Lizzy said, without even turning around to look at me. I mumbled a few curses in frustration before continuing to get ready.
“Are you sure you want to come with me?” I asked, pulling my jeans on. I walked into the adjoining bathroom without looking in Lizzy’s direction and started brushing my teeth.
“Of course. If Adam wants to get Patti to forgive him then he is going to need my help,” she replied. She walked into the bathroom after me without realising that I was topless. She paused in the doorway, her eyes raked over my whole body. She looked as though she was practically drooling. A smile came over my face, I was loving the effect I was having on her.
“Do you like what you see?” I asked. A blush came over her checks and she tried to move past me to get her toothbrush. I stopped her by wrapping one arm around her waist. I reached over and passed her the toothbrush. She tried not to look at me as she got on with brushing her teeth.
“I am glad because I am all yours,” I whispered in her ear. She didn’t say anything in response but her blush deepend to the extent that her ears even turned pink. She was adorable when she got embarrassed.
By the time we got downstairs Adam was pacing along the hallway. The anxiety was coming off him in waves and I could smell his adrenaline. He looked as though he hadn’t slept much last night. I had a feeling that he had spent most of the night worrying there was something wrong with his bond to his mate.
I led Adam and Lizzy through the house till we reached the door to my mom’s office. My mom heard our approach and opened the door for us before we had time to knock. She smiled at me as she escorted us into the room.
“How can I help you?” She asked once we were all seated next to her desk. Her smile was comforting as she looked over at each of us in turn. She was a good luna, I hoped that I would be able to fill the role as well as has after she stepped down.
“I think there might be something wrong with my bond to my mate,” Adam said. My mom nodded her head and motioned for him to continue.
“I feel drawn to her, there are faint tingles and her scent is nice but none of it is as strong as it should be.” Adam looked as though he was on the verge of tears. He had wanted his mate for so long, saved all of his firsts for her. He must be devastated at the thought there might be something wrong.
My mom poured Adam a glass of water, sliding it over to him along with a tissue. Adam clutched the tissue although he refused to let the tears collecting in his eyes fall.
“I have heard of this before. The good news is that she is your second chance mate. The fact that you can feel the bond with her means that your first fated mate has marked someone else. You are lucky that you haven’t met her before, if you had this process would be incredibly painful.” My mom told Adam. Lizzy gripped my arm tightly while tears started falling freely down Adam’s face.
“Is that it? Am I stuck with a broken bond forever?” Adam asked between sobs. He was resting his head on his hands as he cried. Forget the bond being broken, he looked broken.
“No, not at all. There are two ways to fully activate your bond with your second chance mate. You can either find and reject your original mate or you can mark and mate your second chance mate.” She answered.