What could go wrong?

By the time I had brought the antidote to Damon and he had successfully administered it to his pack members it was already mid-morning. Damon and I were literally more than exhausted, hungry and, quite frankly, miserable. By then I had also met more of Damon's pack members which only dampened my mood more. They, unlike Damon and the rest, were not team Jasmine, and they made it very clear with their critical analysis of my appearance, their whispered insults and snickers. But I was lucky to have Damon by my side and quite impressed by his 'handling' of the situation. By handling, I meant he brutally threatened the group of werewolves to the point where five of them had left the spare house we used for diffusing the antidote, in tears.
It would take quite a while for the antidote to kick in- three hours to be exact- and during this time Damon and I had joined the rest of his guards in patrolling the pack grounds. He and I went separately to the others, using it as a perfect opportunity to talk privately.
"This evening the next part of Lucien's game becomes unlocked. Do you think all of today's chaos will be fixed before then?" I asked in concern.
Damon shrugged and sighed deeply, answering by saying that he was not too sure himself. The guards would still be unable to patrol the pack and the guards who were not incapacitated were in short supply. Damon could not risk not being on patrol either because on top of Lucien there was also apparently a severe rogue wolf problem. Rogues who came onto the property in the hopes of stealing or murdering. Those who still lived solely as werewolves, dependent and still looking for a place to belong or hoping to jeopardize any place in which belonging was associated. It seemed that the werewolf society was more complicated than I had realised.
"You could open the package if you’d like and check the time limit on it. If it is urgent, well then, I'll let London take over from me. But for now, well I need to show my pack that I am not neglecting my duties as the Alpha. I've been missing and distant for so long and they've been nothing but patient with me." Damon uttered lowly.
Again, it had me wishing things could all go to normal again. Damon and I were currently stuck, unable to move forward, unable to progress any further than our pain from our past. It stayed there, locked in our minds, making us too cautious, too scared, too broken. I wanted to be free from it, from the ghosts of the people I'd killed, from the ghosts of my family. I was just so tired of being haunted.
"I wish... I wish we were different people sometimes." I said, more to myself than anyone else.
"I do too. But this is what we've got. Maybe someday we will be different people. Maybe we'll have other problems, heartaches, mistakes, worries. Maybe there will not be so much of death in the future. That's what I truly want. It feels as though I say goodbye to more people than I say hello. The bodies pile up and I'm scared that one day there will be no one left."
It was strange, hearing such a thing come from Damon's mouth, especially since it seemed to be a comment more suited to be said by me. Nonetheless, I agreed with him, tired of all the death too.

When the incapacitated guards had finally recovered, Damon saw to it that each of them was safely escorted back home by an able member of the pack or the families of the guards themselves. Henry, however, refused and immediately took a trip to see Damon and myself.
He appeared before the both of us with his head bent low in shame and uttered, almost on the brink of tears, "Alpha, Jasmine, I am so sorry about what I let happen. I was careless-"
Damon cut him off by saying softly, "Go and get some rest, Henry. You did your best. If there is anyone to blame, it is me. I did not prepare any of you for what Jasmine and I are up against. It seems there is a bit of trickery happening, and it involves family. So, from now on, you need to be vigilant. The people we are up against, they know our weakest points, our most intimate details."
Henry then looked up, tears threatening to fall from his eyes before he nodded and said, "Yes Alpha, I understand. I will do better next time."
Damon nodded and then dismissed him.
I looked up at him, impressed. Damon truly did deserve to be the Alpha. He ran this pack differently from how he ran his business. There was something deeper here, compassion and understanding. This was a family- his family- and it was clear just how much he cared for them. I wanted to do the same. I wanted to care as much as he did. I wanted to be a part of this family. To be loved, to belong. It seemed as though the list of the things I wanted increased as the days passed, and I could not help but wonder whether or not I’d want even more in the future. And perhaps my want for more would coincide with Damon's.
Damon kicked at a stone absently, sending it flying into the distance, and as I watched it tumble down in the dirt, I saw Jade, practically running towards us with Teressa chasing after her, furious.
*Oh God, this was going to be interesting.*
Damon eventually saw her as well and stared at the chaotic athletic performance in amusement and severe confusion.
"Is that... Jade?"
I sighed and placed my fingers against the bridge of my nose in frustration. "It would appear so."
"Damon!" She yelled out as she neared the both of us. And then, all of a sudden, her body was colliding with my mate's and the blood in my veins began to boil at an unimaginable temperature.
Damon yelped out when their bodies hit the ground and then looked down at her with a bright smile on his face. He was definitely sleeping on the couch.
"Jade, it's good to see you." He said.
She stared up at him, a deep blush making its way onto her face before she uttered out, "Good Goddess, you look so gorgeous."
And that was my cue.
I neared the two and began trying to get Jade off of Damon, trying my utmost best not to just strangle her then and there. "Right I think that's enough touching."
Jade giggled and she looked at me and pinched my cheeks, "Someone's jealous. Don't worry, I'm not here to steal your Damon away from you. He's just so damn good to look at. I could literally spend the whole day looking at him and never get tired. Goddess, that face, that body, that-"
"Jade! What the hell is wrong with you!" Teressa yelled as she finally caught up to us. Her skin was flushed red and she was panting... and on the brink of killing Jade as well.
Jade smirked mischievously and she said, "I just wanted to see Damon..."
"Great, well you saw him, now please go back with Teressa," I said, grabbing at Damon's arm and holding it tightly in mine. I saw Damon smirk at this, but he chose to remain silent, watching this little show before him.
Jade pouted and then asked Damon, innocently, "Damon, do you want me to go?"
It was becoming more and more clearer exactly why Lucien decided to kidnap this 'lovely' young woman. And it was at this point that I decided that I no longer liked Jade. Her claims as 'harmless' were clearly false.
I looked up at Damon and he looked down at me with wide eyes.
"Yes, Damon. Do you want her to go?"
Damon hesitated for a moment before nodding to himself and then saying to her, "Jade, it was great to see you. But Jasmine and I are hungry, so we are going to go and get something to eat. I suggest you get back to recovering so that you may leave as soon as possible."
Jade's face fell immediately and if I was being honest, I smiled internally. Damon never ceased to make me proud.
"Now," He said as he placed his hand on mine which was wrapped around his arm, "if you'll excuse us."
And with this he and I began walking away from Jade who was in for an earful from Teressa.
Once we were a few steps away from them I asked, "Are we really going to eat? I'm not hungry."
Damon frowned and said lowly, "Jasmine, you and I are not going to argue about this. You are going to eat. Even if I have to force feed you."
I cleared my throat and asked, aggressively, "Are you telling me what to do?"
Damon shook his head, "No, I'm not telling you what to do. I'm threatening you, because you clearly don't like looking after yourself when you're stressed. Honestly, sometimes you're such a child."
And it was probably not the best thing he could have said at the time. Immediately I removed my hand from his arm and huffed angrily.
"Well then, this child is not going to help you. I'm going back home, and you are not going to follow me. I am then going to open the package myself and start playing the next stage of the game *without* you!"
Damon's face fell and he called out after me, pleading with me to come back and telling me multiple times how sorry he was. But I did not plan on budging. Not when I now had the perfect opportunity to try not to get Damon involved in what I assumed to be my turn to play. I saw how awful the game was already, and it was no doubt going to get worse. I had no intention on dragging him down in this next stage. Call it stubbornness, but I lived to protect him. Besides, he had more than enough on his plate. It would be a quick in and out on my part. I’d figure out the clue, partake in what was expected, and then be back before Damon even noticed that I had left.
*Honestly, what could go wrong?*
---
Who's ready for the next round of Lucien's game? There are only one more round after this next one, and then the final stage. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are finally nearing the end of this novel!
Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending all my love!