Chapter 5 - Tara
It takes me a little while to cool down after Jasper leaves. Correction, after I slammed the door in his face.
I don’t know what possesses me to be this bold. Yes, I’m good friends with Lacey. But like he always loves reminding me, I’m still just a human living in an area full of supernaturals.
If it came down to it, who would they have allegiance to, him or me?
Honestly, it should be me. Jasper clearly has no problem lying to his fellow Alphas about how ‘open’ he is. He clearly has a whole lot of issues—that I already knew.
But I’m not stupid. If he wanted to kick me out of this place, he probably could.
They’ve all known him a lot longer than they’ve known me.
But still, he makes me so mad! I can’t help but slam the door in his face or tell him to go to hell; he brings out the absolute worst side of me.
I dry my hair, apply some light makeup to my face, and get dressed.
I stare at myself in the mirror as the white light streams in through the windows. It’s almost like I don’t recognize myself.
Who is this person staring back at me?
Something’s different, something’s changing. And if it wasn’t already clear before, I need to stay as far away from Jasper as possible.
I text my group chat with Lacey, Danielle, and Monroe.
Do you guys wanna meet for lunch?
Yes!! Lacey responds, I know the perfect spot in the closest town.
I’m relieved when Lacey suggests a restaurant and not hers or Ellis’ packs. I feel like getting out, and I don’t feel like any kind of run-in with Jasper. Not again.
I swing my satchel over my shoulder and slowly creak my cabin door open.
Part of me expects to see Jasper there. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were hanging around nearby in his wolf form, waiting to ambush me again.
When I see that the coast is clear, I let out a sigh of relief and make my way toward the restaurant Lacey sent on our group chat.
The weather is beautiful, with a perfect afternoon of bright sun and gentle breeze.
I look up at the canopying trees above me, mesmerized by a couple of birds circling beneath the sun-dappled light that streams in.
But my smile so quickly turns sour.
What if Jasper, out of anger, does get me excommunicated from here?
He could do it. I shudder as I imagine returning to my old human town again.
I imagine returning to my job at the gas station, telling everyone that I went away for a while but that I’m back for good.
I hate the way people look at me there, the way they know me as the loner who lost her parents and was raised by her grandma, who’s now dead.
There’s nothing left for me there; my life is here now. I have to make this work.
Suddenly, I hear the faint sound of rustling behind me, and snap my head back.
Nothing.
But why does it feel like I’m being watched?
Instinctively, I grab my phone and send my location to my group chat, just in case.
Am I going crazy?
I walk a little further and as I do, hear rustling again, accompanied by the snap of a twig—I turn. I almost call out, but decide against it and keep my hand firmly on top of my phone.
If I were ‘with’ Jasper, would I still feel the need to be scared anymore, or would all that go away?
If Jasper got together with me, then there would be no doubt that I’d belong here.
I shake my head, violently rejecting the thought.
His plan is ridiculous. And the way he presented it to me as though he thought it was the best thing in the world. As though I was surely going to agree.
I smirk. Well, I showed him.
No, he doesn’t get to bully me, treat me like crap, and then manipulate me like this to get his way.
Sorry. Not going to work. Maybe he treats his pack mates that way, but it’s not happening with me.
Eventually, I reach the restaurant. It’s a cute wooden building with flowers and vines snaking around its frame, and a large outdoor patio where people are absentmindedly chatting and eating.
Suddenly, I’m very hungry.
“There she is!” Danielle calls.
My head turns, and I spot Lacey, Danielle, and Monroe leaning against the side of the building. I smile.
“Am I late? How did you all get here before me?”
“We were in the neighborhood,” Monroe says.
We join in a group hug.
“Well, that and having magic helps,” Danielle chimes.
I shake my head. “You don’t know what I’d give to be able to have magic like you do. There’s a bunch of people I’d love to curse.”
Well, one person actually. One very particularly evil, non-human shifter.
Lacey laughs. “Hey, I hear you, girl.”
“Wow!” Danielle gawks. “Someone must have pissed you off, you’re looking tense.”
“More tense than usual,” Monroe agrees.
I sigh, unsure what I can say. “I think I’m just hungry,” I nod at the outdoor patio. “Let’s eat.”
Just as we’re about to head inside, I hear that rustling again. This time it’s closer, louder, my insides turn. I’m about to scream, and then Lacey is smiling at someone behind me.
“Jasper,” she calls. “What are you doing here?”
Great.
“You didn’t know that The Wild Bush was my favorite spot?”
I scowl at him and then at the restaurant sign. Now this place is tainted. Forever.
“I didn’t take you as an afternoon restaurant kind of guy,” Danielle says.
He laughs. “Alphas need to unwind, too.”
Then he gives Sawyer, Danielle, and Monroe each a hug before nodding at me.
“Tara,” he says, so politely as though I hadn’t just slammed the door in his face a few hours prior. As though he hadn’t just kissed me out of the blue.
How does he do that? Act so normal?
“Jasper,” I say as neutrally as I can.
“I’m sorry,” he continues. “I don’t mean to interrupt, I see you guys got a whole girls' lunch thing going on.”
“Hey,” Lacey responds. “You’re welcome to join.”
I shoot her a look that she doesn’t register, a panicked, uncomfortable, don’t you dare suggest that look.
Of course, she doesn’t realize what’s going on. If I didn’t know any better, I also might think that Jasper is just some charming Alpha like the other two.
“Hey, Penelope mentioned that she saw you in the witches’ market the other day,” Monroe says.
I freeze, an unwelcome tsunami of nerves crashing through my stomach.
But Monroe isn’t looking at me, just at Jasper. I watch for any signs of discomfort on his face, but detect none.
Damn, he’s good. Annoyingly so.
“Oh, she did?”
“Yeah! I asked her what you were doing there, and then she had to run. What were you doing there?”
He shrugs. “Can’t a shifter enjoy a witches’ market every now and then? The Moon fruit you guys sell is just perfection.”
Jasper makes a ‘chef’s kiss’ motion with his hand and mouth, and the girls are laughing.
I stifle an eye roll.
I thought the witches were meant to hate him? I thought they all knew what a prejudiced piece of crap he is.
So why is he able to charm Danielle and Monroe so well? None of it makes sense.
Whatever it is, I’m done watching.
“I’m pretty hungry,” I murmur, awkwardly.
“I’m distracting you guys, I’m sorry,” Jasper says, before turning to look at me. “Do you mind if I steal Tara for a moment?”
Lacey, Danielle, and Monroe exchange a few confused glances, although they don’t look as shocked as I’d expect.
Do they really trust him that much?
“Well, that’s up to Tara,” Lacey says. “Tara?”
So, I have two options here: say no, and look like an asshole for being rude to the charming, Moon fruit-loving Alpha. Not to mention, risk of being questioned on why I was so rude to said Alpha.
Or.
I say yes, let him talk at me for a couple of minutes, and then tell him I’m leaving.
The last thing I want is to be left alone with this crazy and, at this point, stalkerish shifter, but hey, life doesn’t exactly always give us what we want.
“Sure,” I say, looking at Lacey and then reluctantly making eye contact with Jasper.
I tell the girls that I’ll be back in a few and follow Jasper as he leads me into the woods, toward a more secluded area.
“Where are you taking me?” I groan.
“Just out of earshot,” he says. “I know how nosy our community likes to be.”
I shake my head, then I notice the way that his back muscles curve beneath his shirt as he walks.
He could probably knock me over with one flick of his pinkie.
I shake my head again.
Don’t let him mess with you, Tara.
He settles on a spot surrounded by an army of trees. I scan the area for exits, that’s what a supernatural would do, right?
Gosh, I feel bad for anyone going into battle against him.
“You know,” I say. “Stalking me, and crashing lunch is a new low, even for you.”
He folds his arms and smiles. “I was not stalking you, Tara.”
“What else do you call following without consent? And another thing—"
“Yes?”
I lose my train of thought. He’s watching me with eyes that are very faintly amused, as though he’s watching his favorite TV show or a small, clumsy pet.
I’ll show him amused.
“I know this is all some big joke to you, or a game, or whatever, but it’s completely unacceptable for you to behave this way.
First, you kiss me, then you try to convince me to get into a fake relationship with you, and now you’re following me?
I know you know what good behavior is and isn’t.
Well, maybe you don’t. But this is so unbelievably shady! Even for you.”
I want to say more, but I’m out of breath. I try my hardest to calm myself down, but it’s not working.
“You’re right,” he says.
“What?”
I lean against the closest tree to steady myself. I know I’m right, but why is he looking at me like that?
“And you’ve treated me so terribly this whole time, why would you even think that I’d want to help you?”
He shrugs. “I don’t.”
I let out a heavy sigh. Whatever new tactic he’s got going on is messing with my head.
Folding my arms across my chest, I avoid looking at his stupid winter ocean-eyes.
“I know that you don’t want to help me, Tara, and I don’t blame you.” his voice is low and careful—uncomfortably earnest. “The only reason for you getting into this fake relationship would be that it benefits you. Don’t you want to stay here? Don’t you want to be fully a part of this community?”
I nod my head. “Yes, I do, but not if it’s with you.”
He steps a little closer. “But that’s not the point.
We’d only have to be out together in public from time to time, be convincing enough that we like one another, and it doesn’t have to be over the top.
I’ll be off handling pack stuff most of the time anyway.
I always have people wanting to speak to me about one thing or the other, and while I’m away, you can enjoy your life. ”
I stay quiet.
I don’t know.
“Think about it,” he says. “Your life here will be completely reformed; you’ll truly be a part of something. Part of a community. You’ll be at the center of pack events and have a hand in the administration of things. Shifters will listen to you. You could really change things for yourself!”
As he says all this, one thing he mentions sticks.
Shifters will listen to you.
I don’t care so much about administering events. Yes, I’d like to feel accepted by this community, but that’s not worth dealing with someone like him.
Shifters listening to me, however?
I think about all the things Monroe and Danielle have told me about the shifters’ prejudice toward witches.
I’ve heard things myself, not just from Jasper’s pack, but from other shifters I’ve come across in town.
Witches have been called all sorts of names, blamed for the curse on the land. When will it stop?
I think about the prejudice I’ve experienced, and then imagine what it must be like for a whole coven of misunderstood witches who just happen to live nearby.
“The shifters will listen to me?” I repeat.
“Yes,” he says. “It’ll take some time, of course, but an Alpha’s approval is a very, very big deal.”
I frown, avoiding his gaze.
What if I can improve the standing of not only witches among the packs but of humans in general, too?
Not like I foresee a bunch more humans moving here, or even being allowed to do so. But what if, for some reason, they do discover the supernaturals? What if there’s some future war?
If I do this and improve the image of my kind in the eyes of the supernaturals, maybe all that could be avoided.
There’s an anxious churning in my stomach as I realize the significance of the opportunity I’m presented with.
I could improve the standing of witches and of humans, and secure a new home, which will mean I’d never have to go back to my old town ever again.
“So?” Jasper asks. “What do you think?”
I look at him, assessing his stupid, self-righteous, chiseled face.
I hate how much his proposal makes sense. I bet he thinks he’s got me, trapped me real good.
Ugh.
I don’t want to give him the satisfaction, I don’t want to see him again, let alone have to live with him!
Is being in a relationship with him, even if fake, something that I can actually stomach?
I’m not sure.
I want to tell him to go to hell again, but then I think of my new friends, Danielle and Monroe. They give so much to the packs despite the way some of them still treat them.
And why do they do it? They do it for the greater good.
I take a deep breath. It’s the hardest thing to do, but sometimes, you do have to do things for the greater good.
Sometimes, you have to put others before yourself.
“I think this plan is completely insane,” I say. “I also think that you can’t just come up to me like you did the other day and kiss me out of the blue like that. I had to spend a good time scrubbing the taste out of my mouth.”
I didn’t. But he doesn’t need to know that.
“Fine,” he says. “I promise I won’t do that again. You’ll have control. This is a deal we’ll navigate together.”
Together. Hate the idea of that with him, but control, on the other hand, sounds pretty nice.
“Fine,” I respond.
He cocks his head a little. “Is that a deal?”
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but “yes, that’s a deal.”
He walks toward me, and my stomach begins to flutter as though a whole army of butterflies has just been let loose in my abdomen. I want to back away, but I’m against a tree, and there’s not much further to go.
As he looms above me, he outstretches his hand.
He smells like firewood and cologne. He looks so smug, I want to bat his stupidly big hand away, but I don’t.
Begrudgingly, I place my hand in his and force myself to shake.
As I do, I’m zapped by something.
What the hell was that?
It’s the strangest feeling, some underlying current that sparks along my bloodstream.
An electric shock.
I snap my hand back immediately. His face is unmoved, so I assume that the strange electricity was only felt on my end.
That’s the last time I’ll touch his hand.
I want to tell him this, but it’s hard to think straight.