63.

-HER-

As soon as she notices me beside Jake, a frown climbs on her face. She stalks into the office as if she owns the place and asks, “Why do you have a human in your office, Jake?”

“Why are you here?” Jake asks her instead. I am instantly aware of tension in the air. Jake looks visibly tense while Tiffany has her nose scrunched.

“Why? I came to check on you like I always do,” She purrs while nearing his table, looking at him seclusively. I am sitting close enough to Jake to see his jaw clenched and a muscle in his jaw ticking. He doesn’t seem very happy to see Tiffany.

Brooke had already warned me about Tiffany and told me a great deal about her. Most of the things that I had heard about Tiffany were not good. She seems to have a bad reputation in the pack and I was soon starting to realize why.

“You don’t need to do that,” Jake tells her coldly. The frown on her face deepened.

“Because you’ve got this filthy human with you? Goddess, she isn’t even pretty,” Her comment instantly makes me feel self-conscious. Maybe, she is right?

“LEAVE!” Jake growls at the shew-wolf. A wave of power washes over me. Instinctively I feel like cowering away. Fear creeps inside me. I see the same effect on Tiffany but she seems to be fighting it.

“Who’s she, Jake?” She asks instead. Her eyes are now fixed on me. She is glaring at me. I never had any kind of interaction with Tiffany but she already seems to hate me.

“She’s my mate. Now leave,” Jake grumbles. Tiffany leaves but not before glaring daggers at me. I am shocked at this interaction but Jake distracts me soon.

“Why was she here?” I ask him after some moments but he dismisses my question by grumbling something incomprehensible under his breath. After failing to get anything out of him, I give up.

Around 10 Jake finishes work in the office and we head out. A lot of people have already gathered for hiking. I spot Lisa and spend my time with her when Jake disappears to get some of his duties done.

I see him soon before the expedition starts. Davis and Brook catch up with us midway and together, we set off deeper into the woods. Mostly young people are participating in this event. Everyone seems to be having fun.

Jake introduces me to some of his other pack members. They seem to be really happy to meet me. I am surprised that no one seems to care about me being a human. Lisa already knows everyone. I am not surprised at this because she’s good at socializing anyway.

We stop several times on the way to take breaks. Davis would try to annoy me now and then.

“Doesn’t she bore you to death?” Davis complains at one point when he fails to get a reaction out of me. Jake rolls his eyes at his brother before we continue on our way. Soon we reach the clearing where everything has been set.

We are supposed to spend the night in the camps and everything has been arranged accordingly. Jake has to leave my side again to check on things. Others keep me busy then. The people at the pack are very accepting of me and it makes me feel at home.

I am having fun with people in the pack. I need to thank Jake later to bring me to the place. Although it isn’t long when my eyes would drift to our surroundings and try to spot his tall figure. But he isn’t anywhere to be seen.

I couldn’t help but get agitated at his absence slowly. He had told me that it wouldn’t take him long then where was he? It had been more than half an hour. I excuse myself from the people and look around the camp.

I start to feel deeply disappointed when he is nowhere to be found. I try to call him but there isn’t any signal in the woods. I don’t know how long I have spent looking around the huge camping place. At one point, I think of giving up and going back. Although, my impatience is constantly telling me to look for him.

When I have reached the other end of the camp, I know I have to go back. When I am about to turn around and trace the way back, I hear a familiar voice. It’s Tiffany’s.

“I cannot believe it,” I hear her speak at some distance.

“I don’t really feel like talking to you anymore. Just leave me alone already,” When I hear Jake’s voice, I stop in my tracks. My heart instantly starts to palpitate while I listen to them.

“You know the council will never accept her. She’s a human,” Tiffany’s determined voice speaks next. My heart drops when I realize that they’re talking about me, “She isn’t capable of being the beta female. She never would be and you know that very well. It’s getting obvious who’s better for you day by day, Jake!”

“It’s my mate, of course,” Jake speaks back.

“That’s a delusion you’re living in and you know that. There’s a reason why the council had recommended me to you and you know that she would be thrown out anyway,” Tiffany continues. Meanwhile, I am frozen on my tracks. I don’t know how to react to her words. My mind is suddenly finding it hard to process her words. The meaning squeezed out of her words is too bitter for me to accept.

She is better than me.

“Be careful with that tongue of yours. I can rip it out anytime I want,” Jake growls back at Tiffany but she continues anyway, “Do whatever you want but you cannot deny the truth, Jake. She may be your mate but she’s incapable in every way. She would be a disaster like our Luna,”

“How dare you speak of your Luna like that!” Jake’s growl is louder and animalistic this time. It has me trembling. I am constantly trying to blink back my tears. My stomach is churning, making me sick.

“Alright, alright but you know what I mean. She is human. If you reject her, she wouldn’t be hurt that much. Our pack doesn’t have to have such an incompetent beta female like her. It would be a sham-“ She’s interrupted by a crackling sound of a slap.

A gasp leaves my mouth at this and I instantly regret it. Before I could run away, Jake steps out from behind the last line of tents. As soon as his eyes fall on me, he freezes. Tiffany steps beside him and instantly notices me as well.

I don’t miss how one of her cheeks is blazing red, probably due to the slap.

“There she is, the downfall of our pack,” She grits. I spin on my heels and walk away. I could feel Jake following me. He’s constantly calling my name but I cannot hear him anymore. The truth of Tiffany’s words has deafened me forever.

**...
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