Chapter 40
JASE
I don’t need to drive to the village tonight since I’m going to Tyson’s cabin after a productive workday, but I do anyway, driving by my house to see if Bailey’s there.
And when I see her car in my driveway, fuck… relief practically seeps through my skin. More progress.
I want to park, rip the front door off the hinges, take her into my arms and finally fucking make her mine.
But I grip the wheel tight and force myself to keep driving, because I need to wait.
Though how long is it safe to go on like this? I’m sketched out by the fact I could start to have psychological issues like Riley had from all this waiting, so I phone Cat Savage on my way out of the village.
“Hello Jase,” she greets.
“Hey, Cat. Don’t know if you can answer this question, but … all this waiting to claim Bailey ... How long until things go screwy with my wolf?”
“Each individual alpha’s mating journey is quite… individual, Jase. Are you feeling okay?”
“I don’t want to risk anything and wind up hurting her.”
“Perhaps you should ask Erica to give you some of the remedy she made for Brody.”
I sigh.
“There’s no shame in that, Jase. They’re safe and evidently effective. But my opinion… you aren’t fighting the mating bond. You’re taking care of your mate by waiting. I believe that in itself makes this different from what happened with my nephew and Erica.”
“Thanks, Cat,” I say.
“Best of luck, Jase. Everyone’s rooting for you two.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I mutter, still feeling the sting of pack members signing Bailey’s petition.
“There will be a celebration when your mating scent hits the atmosphere, Jase. Believe it.”
***
I’m restless, like I have been, but it’s worse tonight.
I feel extra amped and I’m debating doing something about it.
Running to my house and back, maybe. Peering in some windows to see what she’s doing.
Though, with Bailey’s sense of smell, she’ll know it.
I won’t risk losing ground with her. No way do I want the progress I’ve made here to be rewound.
But is she in my bed? What’s she wearing? Is what I spilled on the sheets soaking into her skin right now? Does she smell like I’ve claimed her?
I groan, running my hand through my hair before rolling my neck and stretching my shoulders.
Yeah, coming on those sheets and hoping she’ll sleep there gave me a minute amount of relief afterward. And a little more when I drove by the house tonight.
But the relief is short-lived. My cock has been a priapic albatross around my waist since I found out she’s mine, getting heavier and more uncomfortable by the day. I gutted that apartment with extra gusto, likely disturbing all the tenants in the building in the process.
I step outside and take in the scent of the night air.
Something’s new. What’s with the moon? It’s extra bright tonight, with a yellow glow to it. Strange. There’s not supposed to be a lunar event any time soon. It looks bigger than it should.
Tyson and Mason both said the moon looked weird when magic was interfering in their lives. Is this why I’m extra-amped?
Unease prickles straight up my spine and I’m about ready to phone Mase to ask questions when I notice headlights coming this way.
It’s Bailey! I smell her well before the car gets to me and fuck… that scent. It’s like I’m bathing in it. Fuck is it addictive. It’s as if Bailey’s scent isn’t just in my nose, it’s what I’m breathing. It’s oxygen.
I run at superspeed toward those headlights, meeting her car before she gets all the way to the cabin.
“What’s wrong?” I demand as her window rolls. Her heart is racing.
She’s in a little pair of tight black shorts and a white tank top. No fucking bra. My eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.
Her hair is wet. She’s amped.
“I… I… uh…”
She’s flushed. She’s stammering, flustered.
“Can I park?” she asks.
I gesture ahead. She drives the rest of the way to the cabin, me following. And while I do, my gums are suddenly fucking aching nearly as much as my nuts. She steps out and grabs handfuls of her wet hair at the sides of her head, looking distraught. She’s barefoot.
“What’s wrong?” I ask again when I get to her.
Not just that… Bailey’s scent is at least three times as strong as it was last night. What the fuck?
“I…” She shakes her head of wet hair. “Nothing’s… uh… wrong, exactly.”
“You sure?” I ask, eyeing her from her head down to bare red painted toes before my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets locking on her rock-hard nipples.
Fuck. My eyes are Superglued to them.
“I… I didn’t mean to drive here. I don’t know why I did. I just… I couldn’t relax and I couldn’t…”
It takes supernatural effort, but I tear my eyes away from her chest. She’s pressing her hand to her heart while she blows out a big breath. “Then I saw the moon and…”
She doesn’t finish the sentence. She gives her head a shake and points at the sky. “Why do you suppose it looks like that?”
“Don’t know. Just noticed myself. Come on in. I’ll get you a drink.”
I grab her hand and walk her inside.
Once the door is shut, she leans against it, biting her lip. Now her eyes are sizing me up. Her gaze stops and locks on my crotch, which has me reaching for the nearest wall to brace myself.
Fuck, her tits look incredible in that tank top. And hot damn, I’ll eventually have unrestricted access to them.
I back away slowly, fingers tingling, gums aching, my wolf restless under the surface. Beyond restless.
Yeah, if I want to make sure I don’t lose out on a chance to get my hands on the most perfect breasts in the world soon, I need to muster more from that well of self-control that’s gone bone fucking dry.
She says, “I’m not usually affected by the moon, but did you see it?
And something’s happening in here.” She slaps her chest repeatedly while saying, “I felt so warm, so odd, like feverish but not…and I…” She swallows.
“I took a cool shower, but then I found myself in my car driving here and I… like… I got here superfast. One second I’m pulling out of your driveway and then it was like…
” She snaps her fingers then throws both hands up. “I’m already here.”
My phone dings the sound for the council group chat.
It dings again.
I don’t know how much time passes while we stare at one another.
Another ding.
Both our heads swivel to the kitchen table where the phone sits.
“Isn’t that the council group chat sound?” she asks.
Of course she knows what that sounds like on my phone. I make my feet move and lift my phone. And skimming the messages from Joel and Linc … it all makes sense.
“Feeling tingly and odd, how?” I ask.
She winces.
“Bailey?”
“Uh… just… odd…” She shrugs and fixes her glasses.
She’s fibbing. She’s aroused.
“This looks like some sort of spontaneous lunar event,” I tell her. “One that could have some females going into heat.”
“Uh oh,” Bailey breathes.
“Yep,” I say and reach for the bottle of pills on the fridge.
I twist the cap off. These beige gel caps reek. I don’t know what the fuck is in them, but I need to take one. My hands are shaky as I shove one in my mouth.
“What’s that?”
It goes down rough and sticks in my throat, so I thump my chest with a closed fist and try to swallow. Still stuck. I twist the cold water on and drink from the tap.
Wiping my mouth, I look at my mate who’s standing right here just two feet away, smelling incredible. Her chest is rising and falling quickly. She’s practically panting and her eyes are laser-focused on me.
Shit. We’re in trouble here.
I open the bottle again and swallow two more.
“Is that what Brody’s taking?” she asks.
“Rye passed ‘em to me today in case I need them and fuck… I need them now. The lunar event is affecting you, Bay. Your scent is stronger. Better. It’s unfuckingbelievable.”
It’s killing me slowly is what it’s doing.
My canines are elongated right now, just slightly, but my gums are aching almost as much as my nuts.
These pills better work fast.
She takes the bottle from me and reads it. “You were only supposed to take one.”
“Maybe you should go. Sorry, I…”
Her mouth drops open…fuck it’s a beautiful mouth.
She gasps. “Jason! Your eyes are glowing. They’re… almost the same color as the moon.”
“You better go,” I rasp. “Don’t know how long it’ll take for these things to kick in.”
Also don’t know how much more self-control I’ve got.
“Maybe I don’t wanna go,” she whispers, looking on the verge of tears.
I shake my head. “The moon’s affecting both of us, baby.”
“I…” She takes a step toward me.
I take a step back. “Go back to the house, Bailey. Please.”
“But...”
“Your scent is fuckin’ with me. I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back if you’re here.”
“But Jason…”
I growl in frustration and this brings forth a big surge of her scent. Her eyes are huge. She clenches her thighs and pulls her lips tight.
“You have to go,” I say.
“I was wearing a scent-dulling fragrance Dani gave me for the last few days. But I took a shower and I haven’t put any on yet.”
No wonder I’ve been able to marginally hold my shit together.
So much for me thinking it was sheer willpower.
But now? With the lack of that stuff Danica gave her dulling her scent and with the addition of the moon intensifying both her scent as well as my need, I need her out of here before I do something I can’t take back.
“Fuck!” I clip and start to pace. “You need to go, Bailey.”
Everything inside me wants to grab her, pin her, bite her, fucking knot her.
“Jason…” She whispers. “I… I think I–”
“Don’t say it!” I cut her off.
The look of devastation on her face sends me to my knees.
She moves in close. Too fucking close. She’s standing right in front of me.
“Jase?”
Before I can calculate, I’ve got her hips in my hands and I’m leaning forward, inhaling her skin, my nose buried in her crotch.
“Fuck…” I groan.
Bailey doesn’t pull away. She whimpers and her fingers slide into my hair.
Having her hands on me, hearing that beautiful sound from her mouth…