chapter 2
Half an hour earlier, the bodyguard had called and revealed a truth Noah had deliberately kept from me.
"Miss Jasper, do you remember five years ago? When the second young master, Noah, took you skiing and you fell into that ravine?"
"The eldest young master, Justin, led the search party. It took us three days and three nights to find you, buried under the snow. You were frozen solid, like a statue of ice. You weren't breathing."
"Master Justin told Noah that a werewolf can give half of his lifespan to his mate through a blood bond on the night of a full moon. It's another form of marking. Once performed, that person becomes their eternal mate."
"But Noah he refused. He couldn't bear to let you die, he just held your body and sobbed, but he wouldn't do it."
"In the end, it was Master Justin who saved you. As luck would have it, that night was a full moon. To save you, he performed the blood bond himself, giving you half of his life. In doing so, he marked you. For the rest of his life, you are the only one he can ever be with."
"Noah begged him never to tell you. For the past five years, Master Justin has endured every full moon alone. He never disturbed you, and he forbade any of us from ever revealing what he did."
"But tonight tonight is different. He's been gravely injured, his life is on the line. And with the full moon he won't make it without you. Please, I'm begging you. Can you come help him?"
My mind went completely blank.
I had died once? Five years ago, I had actually died?
Noah, the boy who had cherished me my whole life, refused to sacrifice for me. But his brother, Justinthe cold, intimidating man everyone called the Ice Kinghad pulled me back from death's door.
Even so, my heart had been stubborn. "I'm sorry," I had told the bodyguard. "Noah needs me more tonight."
I was willing to be ungrateful, to ignore the man who saved me, all to rush to Noah's side. And my reward? To be called a pathetic lapdog. A worthless toy.
God, I was such a fool.
I deserved to be treated like dirt.
But not anymore.
I scrubbed away the humiliating tears, my knuckles white as I clutched my phone. "Is it too late to repay my debt?" I asked the bodyguard, my voice shaking. "If Justin really needs me tonight I'll be there. And I'll give him everything he needs."
The bodyguard's voice was choked with relief. "It's not too late! Not at all! Miss Jasper, I'm sending you the location right now. If the master wasn't so badly hurt, if his life wasn't on the line, I would never have disobeyed his orders. The family punishments are severe."
I understood. Justin probably just wanted to save my life, not to have me clinging to him forever out of obligation.
And I just wanted to repay the debt.
It wasn't about being heartbroken by the younger brother and immediately running into the arms of the older one. It was just a debt.