Meeting Jade

Damon and I spent the rest of the night clinging to one another, coated in a sense of comfortable silence as we waited for the sun to rise. And when it did, he uttered out lowly, "I won't be going to work today... or any day for that matter. Not until we finish this game. It's not worth it, being apart from each other at a time when we really need one another."
I looked up at him and smiled, nodded and then began to wonder whether or not London would be in charge of looking after the company in Damon's absence.
"So, is London going to step in for you?" I asked curiously. He nodded and then explained further that he would speak to London about it, keeping the information he'd share strictly on a need to know basis.
It seemed Damon had taken so much of time away from his work and, as much as I hated to admit it, some of it was my fault. I just hoped that this would all be finished sooner than later so that Damon could continue doing what he loved, and I could... start over and attempt to begin a normal life, something I had never had the pleasure of having before.
"What are you thinking about?" Damon asked, pulling me closer to his naked chest.
I looked up and bit my lip before shaking my head and saying, "Nothing... something stupid."
Damon tilted his head and then said gently, "Humour me. I'd rather indulge in your thoughts than mine at the moment."
I sighed before explaining it to him. How I wished he could go back to work. How I wished I could start looking for work myself, to start earning my own money again. And how I just wished for some form of normality.
Damon smirked, gripped me tightly and flipping us over so he was on top of me. "Work huh? Why don't you work for me again when this is all over? A bright woman with your skillset will be such an asset to the Morningstar company."
I reached up and began gently running my fingertips through his soft hair making him shut his eyes and lean down until his head was resting against my chest and his arms were wrapped around my body.
"That sounds nice but, I'd like to work for someone else... I just think that you'd be biased against me since you love me and I'm your mate. Actually I think I'd prefer to-"
"Work for yourself? I think that's a great idea. I could help with capital, sponsorships, a building, perhaps even advertising?" He said. As always, it seemed he was reading my mind, well, most of what was going on in my mind.
"Again, that sounds nice, but I'd like to do everything-"
"By yourself. Okay, okay, I understand. And I'd be happy to offer you my full support. I'm always on team Jasmine."
This felt nice and, in a way, normal. It felt normal to talk about tomorrow like it would happen, to dream up a future we both were uncertain of. It seemed so close, almost in our reach, and yet when reality set in, it seemed normal was the farthest thing from our reach, stretching on for miles and miles in uncertainty. But our little fantasy was cut short when Damon's cellphone rang next to him on the bedside table. He huffed and shifted away from me, reaching for the phone before growling lowly, "What!"
It was at times such as these that I was happy that I was not the one on the other end of Damon's rage.
I watched him closely as he listened to the other person on the other end of the line. He nodded, stopped, tilted his head, furrowed his eyebrows and then uttered almost under his breath, "Oliver? Escaped? How the hell did this happen... help? Well where the hell was Henry when this happened? Wolfsbane? Oh Goddess. I'll be there right away."
Damon put the phone down and stared down at the floor next to him in horror before he uttered out to me, "Oliver has escaped and apparently a blond woman was seen at the time of his estimated disappearance. Damn it! It seemed he had more information than he was letting on, information that could possibly jeopardise this whole game for my brother. Fuck! I'm going to go and see how my guards are doing, apparently they were rendered incapacitated by Nightflower, a type of wolfsbane which has a sedative effect once released into the air as a sort of vapor..." He then paused, looked up at me and asked, "could you do me a favour and go to Teressa. Tell her what has happened to the guards and then bring me the antidote once she has completed it. I will need to guard the pack along with my guards who are not incapacitated. It's risky to leave the pack unguarded, especially after the stunt Lucien pulled with Jade. Speaking of, could you also make sure that she is alright? I know it's a lot to ask but... I can't really be in one million places at the same time, and this is urgent. I’d have asked Landon, but he’s not here."
I nodded frantically and replied with an, "Of course. It's not too much to ask. I want to help out. It will keep my mind off of whatever is in that package."
Damon agreed and got off of me, leaving the bed stark naked and then heading towards the shower. I, on the other hand began wondering what exactly it was that Oliver knew. Perhaps, it was their location. That would be the only reasonable explanation for the blond woman- Macy no doubt- kidnapping him from here. I didn't blame her; Oliver did not seem the least bit trustworthy with secrets. In fact, he was probably the shadiest person I had yet met, and that was saying something considering my previous line of work.
Once Damon had finished his shower, I got up from the bed, cloaked myself in the sheets and headed over to the shower myself. By the time I was finished, Damon had already left, leaving nothing but a messy cupboard and a pile of clothes on the floor. Clearly this *was* an urgent matter, and I treated it as such, changing into the first two items in my own cupboard: a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, hoping that it would suffice, especially since I was going to be running up and down and would probably come face to face with some of Damon's pack members.
I then ran downstairs, greeted Chester who sleepily greeted back and then made my way out of the house and towards Teressa's which I vaguely remembered the journey to. It didn't take me long though with me using a half- transformation and apparent alpha-wolf speed to limit my travelling time. I wondered, as I knocked on the door if Teressa was actually awake considering how early it was in the morning. Apparently, she was, as she greeted me with a bright, beaming face and offered me a hug.
"It's good to see you, Jasmine." She said before inviting me inside.
I looked up at her, cleared my throat, and then said, "Damon- I mean Alpha Damon said that I should tell you that there's been an incident with the guards. They've been exposed to something called Nightflower. Dam- I mean Alpha Damon, fuck this is tricky- is asking for a cure... urgently."
Her eyes widened and immediately she nodded and said, "Of course, right away!"
She then paused and said, "But first, would you like to go and see Jade? She's downstairs and conscious. I'm sure she'll be glad to see another face other than mine."
I smiled and nodded, quite nervous to see Jade myself. We hadn't met before and I just hoped her personality was not one that screamed 'bitchy' because I honestly wanted her to live.
Teressa led me downstairs towards the basement and my heart dropped completely as we made it to the last step and her voice filled the room.
"Teressa, is that you?" She asked. Her voice was sweet and gentle, a stark contrast to mine. It was so melodic that it bounced off of the walls softly and then dissipated.
"Yes, it's me, but I've brought along the Alpha's mate. She's the one who helped save you." And by the time she had completed her sentence, we were standing right in front of Jade who was now sitting on the surgical table, dressed in different clothes and with a book in her hand. She looked up and when she did my breath hitched at the sight of her beauty. A smile began forming on her face as she met my eyes.
"Wow, are you not beautiful," She uttered, almost stealing the words from my mind.
I smiled back at her, deciding that I already liked her and held out a hand. "Hello, my name is Jasmine, Jasmine Spectra."
She took my hand in hers and kept it there for a while as she continued to analyse my face.
"Jasmine Spectra... you look so familiar. I'm sorry, but have we met before?" She asked.
I raised my brow and shook my head in the negative. I'd recall seeing such a beautiful face.
"Strange... even your energy seems familiar... as though you and I have met before. Even those eyes... icy and yet there's this intense fire behind them, almost threatening to burn me away right here. It's quite intimidating, if I do say so myself." She uttered almost whispering the last few words as she stared more deeply into my eyes. I gulped down and looked away, slightly self-conscious.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out. I'm Jade by the way, but I'm sure you know that by now. My mother used to be the pack healer before we moved away-"
"And now I run the whole healing shindig." Teressa said beaming and as a way to re-establish her presence. Her effort was successful as Jade and I turned our attention towards her. She then placed her hands behind her back, tapped her feet against the floor and then began to speak. "Say, why don't you ladies help me with the cure? It would be a good way for me to get to know you, Jasmine, and a good way for Jasmine to get to know you, Jade."
Jade looked at me, and I looked at her. We had a momentary conversation with only eye contact before we both turned towards Teressa and nodded. It would do me well to see a few tricks regarding werewolf magic. At least, that was what I thought. It was not until Jade and I had burned the sage three times over that I figured that perhaps she and I were not suited to healing at all. Our incapability to be useful eventually forced Teressa to demote us both to merely reading the ingredients to her and watching her carefully.
"... It says a pinch of powered witch hazel flowers." I uttered to Teressa. She nodded and then walked towards a cabinet in the corner of the kitchen. From it she retrieved a jar of a yellowish powder. She set it down next to the stove, opened the jar and then took out a pinch of it in her fingers and gently sprinkled it into the pot boiling on the stove and began stirring. Jade, who I learnt had a severe case of verbal diarrhea, took this as an opportunity to ask a few more questions.
"So how did you two meet in any case?" She asked twirling her hair absentmindedly and then coming closer to me to touch my hair.
"Well I used to work with him-"
"Ooh, office romance?"
I chuckled at this and said, "Hell no. I disliked him for a long period of time. In fact, we almost hated each other towards the beginning of our relationship. It got worse when he turned me-"
"Holy shit! You were turned... but you're an alpha wolf?"
I shrugged and replied with, "Apparently I'm descended from alpha wolves. That's what I've been hearing anyway."
She nodded in understanding, as if somehow, somewhere it all made sense to her.
"I see. You're quite interesting, you know. Nothing like Damon's mother or grandmother. You have this dominance about you that has me quivering, like you could snap my neck within two seconds. But still, there's a gentleness to you. The way you smile brings it to life. It's familiar as well, and quite beautiful. Damon is really lucky!"
"I think it's me who's lucky to have him. He is... well, quite a good person. He has a good heart; he's understanding and kind and gentle. He gives me just a little sense of hope."
"That's good to hear. I'm glad he inherited his mother's kind heart. For a while my mother and I feared he'd end up like his dad. Her dying wish was that it would never be the case."
Teressa now took the opportunity to speak as she said, "Jasmine stopped that from happening to him. For a while the pack had the same concern. Damon grew distant and harsh after the death of his parents. But when Jasmine made her appearance into his life... well there was nothing other than her in his head. I remember the exact day he came home with the news that he'd found his mate. He had this deep excitement dancing across his eyes which he could not even try to mask by his cold, stern facial expression. He was just so hopeful, it had us all hopeful as well. So maybe now you can understand our excitement when we saw you yesterday, Jasmine. The way you two stood together, hand in hand and in love, it was beautiful. It made us feel as though for once we were looking at two people who loved and respected one another deeply, something never before witnessed in the relationships between previous alphas and their L- I mean mates. I think you could be very good for us Jasmine, and I look forward to being led by you and Damon, together."
Never before had I ever really thought of something like this- leading a pack with Damon. In fact, I had not even truly come to terms with the concept of living with him... it all seemed so soon. Everything was moving so quickly, and I was not sure I was able to keep up. Then, at the same time it was all moving so slowly, halted by Lucien. Perhaps there was no such thing as being ready for all of this. Perhaps I was just in the habit of over thinking. Or perhaps I was scared of acknowledging the fact that loving Damon came with a pack, a home and love, things I'd never indulged in before.
"You seem to be deep in thought there Jasmine. Something on your mind?"
I shook my head no at Jade who still, even now stared at my face in hopes of figuring out where she'd seen me before. But still, I doubted that we had ever met, not even once.
"Right, cure's ready!" Teressa announced, pouring the liquid into a small bottle. "You need to keep the guards in a room and leave this bottle open. The fragrance will diffuse and counteract the wolfsbane."
"Oh! I want to go with you Jasmine!" Jade yelled out as I took the bottle from Teressa.
Teressa sighed and uttered out, "Goddess, you're just as annoying as you were back when we were younger. Honestly, I told you that you need to stay inside for a few days. The wolfsbane is not out of your system yet. Your skin is sensitive, and your werewolf abilities have not returned. Now, can you listen for once in your life Jade?"
Jade crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "Goddess, I just wanted to see what Damon looks like after all these years."
Teressa turned towards me with wide eyes and whispered under her breath, "For your own safety staying here seems like the best option. Your mouth is too big for you not to piss Jasmine off with some comment of yours."
"What was that?" She uttered, unable to hear with her non-werewolf senses. I however did hear and was quite amused at the comment. Perhaps it would be safer for Jade to keep inside. As I told Damon before, I was quite possessive over him, and if Jade made the wrong type of comment, she would have wished the wolfsbane had killed her.
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Was this chapter important? Indeed, quite important. You'll see why later on.
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