40: Self-invite
**Jasmine**
If I’d known how reckless my old friends were going to become, perhaps I wouldn’t have left them to their own devices in the first place. All of their actions thus far had a detrimental consequence to both Landon and me. We were now so far behind and so out of touch with Macy’s location that I honestly felt like tearing my hair out.
"Any leads so far?" I asked Landon as I chewed on a doughnut. We'd stopped for some gas, and I made it my duty to find us food as soon as we arrived at the gas station. Landon shook his head, still inside the car, on his computer while I just leaned against the door, enjoying the air outside. Driving was an absolute pain in the ass and by now, I was exhausted. Until now we’d spent our days on the road, chasing Andrew. Now, however, we needed to stop, take a break and figure out where both he and Macy would be. Landon had done a marvellous job intercepting Andrew's calls, texts, emails, gathering information from traffic cams, surveillance footage and ultimately providing me with directions to get to him. Not once did we have a hiccup and, the more we spent time with each other, the more I realised what a splendid team we both made. He was absolutely professional... most of the time, and I was absolutely professional as well... some of the time.
After I'd had my third doughnut, I crawled back into the car and opened up a soda, bringing the cool bottle to my lips and then drinking the sweet liquid. "I can't believe they were so careless," Landon sighed, furiously typing away.
"You and me both, Landon, you and me both. Perhaps they were right when they said they needed me. After all we were a system of interdependent parts."
Landon chuckled and said, "Did you really ever need anyone in your life, Jasmine? You and I are doing fine without them."
His former comment froze me right in the middle of my attempt to sip at my cola.
"I needed lots of people in my life..." I said softly.
Landon paused for a moment before looking up at me and then saying, "But you seem so independent. I never pegged you as the type to need anyone."
I chuckled and said, "Emotionally, I've always needed people. Despite my previous attempts at pushing people away, I always just seemed to draw them nearer. The truth is that I'm nothing without my compassion. It's what drives me and keeps me moving forward."
He smiled. "You're a born and bred protector. It's quite a good trait for someone with the Alpha gene."
“Alpha gene?”
He shrugged and said, "I don't know much about it, you'd have to ask another alpha wolf."
I was left quite curious. I'd never really thought about my strange black fur. To me it was just fur, and I was just a werewolf. But now that Landon mentioned the topic, it did have me curious. Though I was sure my curiosity wouldn’t be satisfied anytime soon.
Suddenly, Landon's eyes widened, and he started typing furiously. It was an action only performed when he actually found something worthwhile, and I did my best to keep silent and let him continue working. For a while he furrowed his eyebrows and bit at his lip, deep in concentration.
"Jasmine," he began, finally taking his eyes off of the screen of the computer. "I think I've found something good!"
I motioned for him to tell me what he was so excited about, and he clicked his knuckles before saying, "He is going to an event this weekend."
"Event? Why on earth would he be going to an event with everything that’s going on?"
“Well, from what I gather, it’s a gala. An extravagant one at that.” He paused, read further and then his breath hitched as he said, “And it’s being sponsored by the Morningstar Advertising company.”
I was about to ask more questions as shock consumed me, but he shushed me, before reading some more on the screen. Then, he froze and craned his neck, turning to face me with a worried expression on his face.
"Apparently Damon wants to order a hit."
I stared at him in confusion, then asked, "On who?"
He took a gulp.
"You."
I waited exactly five minutes before bursting into laughter. "Wow! That's a good one Landon! A hit... on me? Wow."
But my laughter was cut short when Landon's face remained in its frozen state of concern.
"Oh… y-you're serious?"
He nodded and placed his hand over his mouth. I placed mine under my chin. I was not offended that Damon was requesting a hit on me. Instead, I found myself curious, once more. And so, I sat next to Landon, taking a moment to think. It took me a while, but eventually, I put it together. It was most probably the only way he would be able to get both Andrew and Macy to go to the gala. I also realised that Andrew could not have had any clue that we were mates. Despite me smelling of Damon, they had never ever had a face-to-face encounter in order for him to catch a scent. A gala was also ingenious as there would be too many scents for him to hone in on anyone in particular, as long as they kept some distance. It was a great plan, but it was still missing something vital− me.
"Hey, Landon, if I told you you'd have to see Jared perhaps one last time to save Macy, what would you say?"
He looked up at me slowly, gave it a thought and then sighed, "I'd say okay. But only because you're asking, and only because it's Macy."
I smiled at him brightly and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.
"Not... breathing!" He wheezed, but I carried on hugging him, until he removed my arms from his body. His face became stern, and he folded his arms. "So, how do you propose we attend this event? It's strictly invite only."
I shook my head and gave a little laugh. "Ever heard of something called a self-invite? Just leave it to me."
I could see a hesitant look appear on his face, but after a deep sigh, it turned into one of reluctance and then finally, complacency.
“Right, so, we need to prepare then. Saturday is two days away, and from what I’ve read, we’ll need to be flying to Italy to the Barsotti manor. Not only that but you will need a dress and perhaps a trip to the salon? You look awful Jasmine.”
I smacked him on the head, before starting the engine. “Oh, I’m sorry that I’ve been going through hell over the past few days. Maybe I should have scheduled in a manicure in between searching for my kidnapped friend and keeping tabs on my mate.”
He chuckled, then paused and asked, “Will you be alright… seeing Damon there?”
In all honesty I’d been missing him terribly, and just the thought of seeing him again made me feel giddy. “Yeah, I’ll be alright,” I said, trying to play it cool despite the growing blush on my face.
Landon chuckled before saying, “Judging by that red tinge on your cheeks, I think you might be more than alright. Do you and Damon have… *feelings* for each other?”
I blushed and looked away from him, keeping my eyes on the road in front of me. “Of course not! I-it’s just hot in here.”
“Keep telling yourself that, and maybe it will help you sleep better at night. But we all know the truth.”
I stayed silent, unable to even muster up the strength to deny anything.
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