Chapter 43

Jasper Hartford’s POV
Adam seemed to do everything wrong when it came to his mate but I couldn’t fault his results. He has only been trying to win over his human mate for a few weeks and already he has her marked. So why was this so difficult for me? Lizzy seemed happy enough to be in a relationship with me but she didn’t seem to want me to mark her.
Lizzy was tending to her friend, making sure that she was comfortable on the bed. Adam was laying on the bed beside his mate and refusing to let go of her hand. Patti was already sleeping and she probably wouldn’t wake up again until the morning, at the earliest. It could be up to a month before her wolf would make herself known but she would start to notice changes in her body a lot sooner than that.
Lizzy was adjusting the pillows under Patti’s head when my mom came running into the room with the pack’s doctor at her side. The young doctor tried to approach Patti but Adam growled at him in warning.
“Adam, you are going to have to let the doctor check on your mate,” my mother scolded him. Her tone brought back memories, I hadn’t seen her this mad for a long time. I had to suppress the shudder that was running down my spine. I wasn’t sure what made her so mad, if it was the way Adam acted or that Lizzy’s party had been disrupted.
Adam mumbled an apology then backed up slightly to give the doctor space to work. The doctor started examining Patti instantly, taking her blood pressure and temperature before checking her pupils and muscle reactions. He worked quickly and cautiously, glancing towards Adam every so often to make sure he wasn’t going to get attacked.
Lizzy buried her face into my chest as she held me close. She was nervous although I wasn’t sure why, turning your mate wasn’t like turning a random human. It was extremely rare for something to go wrong. I wasn’t worried about Patti but I was happy to have my mate in my arms, seeking comfort from me. I ran my fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head, whispering words of reassurance to her.
“Everything looks normal.” The doctor said, after a few minutes. He moved away from the bed quickly to put some distance between himself and Patti. Lizzy breathed a sigh of relief while Adam snuggled up to Patti on the bed.
‘Let’s get out of here and give them some space,’ I told Lizzy over mindlink. She seemed reluctant to leave her friend alone but she followed me out of the room anyway.
I led her back downstairs to take part in the party that was being thrown in her honour. The party was now in full swing, there were pack members everywhere. Some of them were here hoping to meet their mates but others were more interested in mine and Lizzy’s relationship.
There was a lot of gossip flying around the room. Everyone was wondering what impact Lizzy’s omega status would have on her position as my mate. Some of the older pack members and some of the women I had slept with in the past thought I should reject her in favour of a more suitable mate. Their words had little impact on me but Lizzy was also hearing their gossip and she wasn’t taking it so well. I could feel the tension in her shoulders as I held her.
‘Don’t listen to them. They are just jealous.’ I reassured her. She didn’t seem convinced by my words but her worry was short lived. A lot of people wanted to talk to us, the constant interruptions meant she didn’t have time to overthink things and get upset. After we got stopped by a few groups of wolves to congratulate us, she seemed to forget all about the gossip going on around us.
We made our way slowly over towards where my father was standing with his beta and a few other pack members. They were talking about some mixer my father wanted to put on for the packs in our area. When he saw us approaching, he stopped talking and turned towards us. A large smile spread across his face, as though he hadn’t just seen us yesterday.
“There’s the future alpha and his beautiful luna. I wondered where you two had got to, I thought you might come back to the party marked and mated.” At first I thought my father was tipsy but as he spoke I realised he wasn’t, he was playing to an audience. His voice was louder than the one he usually used during conversations and he was glancing towards someone who was standing in the corner of the room.
“When are they going to take over the pack?” My father’s beta asked. While he was speaking I followed my father’s gaze to the corner of the room where Frankie was standing beside his parents and his sister.
So this was some kind of sting operation. They were trying to use Lizzy’s party in order to work out who Frankie was working with. I know that Lizzy wasn’t interested in parties but it would have been nice if at least some of the people here were actually at this party for her benefit.
Both my wolf and I were pissed off, she was going to be the next alpha of this pack and she wasn’t being respected like one. I didn’t want to ruin Lizzy’s party more than it was already being ruined, so I tried my best to hide my annoyance. I was, however, going to give my father a piece of my mind over this stunt the next time I saw him.
“I am hoping that he will agree to take over shortly after graduation.” My father replied. They both glanced over towards where Frankie was standing and frowned.
They had clearly thought that the information they were relaying would be enough for Frankie to feel the need to contact the pack he was working with immediately. They had miscalculated. This wasn’t exactly news, many packs handed the title over to their children as soon as they had met their mates. I smiled at Lizzy, I was so glad their plan hadn’t worked, I was sick of the way people treated my mate. She deserved better.
“You still want to go ahead with that, even though his mate is wolfless.” The beta’s words echoed around the suddenly silent room. Some people inhaled sharply while everyone else just stood, frozen in place with their shock written all over their faces.
Lizzy glanced around the room, everyone was staring at her and I could see the pain in her eyes. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Frankie running out of the room with a couple of the pack’s warriors following a short distance behind him. I didn’t give a shit about that now, I was much too annoyed with my father. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut a moment longer.
“How dare you talk about my mate like that?” I shouted.
“How dare you talk to your alpha like that?” My father shouted back with equal disdain.
“I am not talking to you as the alpha of this pack, I am talking to you as my father.” I growled.
“I am not going to have this argument in front of the whole pack.” My father’s eyes burned with anger as he spoke to me. I wanted to argue back, tell him that what they did was very public and was disrespectful to both Lizzy and I but my thoughts were interrupted. Frankie was being dragged back into the room by two warriors, he was kicking and screaming as he tried in vain to escape their grasp. There was a third warrior following them with a phone in his hand.
“What the hell is going on here?” Frankie’s mom shouted as she stomped over towards my father. She must be incredibly angry for her to talk to her alpha like that. Nobody spoke to an alpha like that and got away with it. Her mate looked horrified, he knew how much danger she was in and he was trying to pull her back. She viciously pushed him away and turned her attention back towards my father.
“Your son is a traitor.” My father growled.
“You’re lying, my son would never do anything like that.” She said, her face almost looked smug. As though she knew more about what was going on than she should.
“No, I have all the evidence that I need of yours and your son’s betrayal. Working out who you were working with was just a bonus.” It was now my father’s turn to look smug.
“Tell me it isn’t true,” he mate stepped forward. He was trying to pull her backwards into his embrace. She let herself be pulled into his arms but she didn’t answer his question. Maybe she was sick of lying to those around her.
“Why would you do something like that?” He looked distraught. He had just learnt that his mate had been lying to him, I couldn’t begin to understand how that must feel. Far from being sympathetic, his mate reacted by rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
“I did it to give our children a future, particularly our daughter. You know what happens to female omegas in our pack. She will be turning eighteen in a year, so I had to do something.” She sounded exasperated, this was clearly an argument that they had often.
“What happens next, alpha?” He asked.
My father explained what would happen to Frankie and his mom. The whole pack was listening as the process was explained, even though they knew as much as I did that the two of them would likely be made to leave the pack after their trial.
As he finished speaking, the warriors took the prisoners away and my father turned his attention to Lizzy. He apologised for the way he involved her in the plan to expose our traitors. Lizzy graciously accepted his apology, desperate to get the attention away from her. People hung around for a few minutes longer, hoping to hear some more gossip. As they drifted away the party started to pick up again.
It wasn’t long before everyone was enjoying themselves, the pack drama had revitalised everyone and the sound of laughter filled the air. Even Lizzy seemed to be having a good time now that some of the attention had moved away from her. I on the other hand was more interested in what would happen tonight, I was eager to get some more time alone with Lizzy.