Unrequited love is no match for secret admiration

The first time my childhood sweetheart's werewolf traits awakened, his friends called me to help calm him down. But what they didn't know was that I heard him say:

"I really don't want to waste my first time on her. A werewolf's love is for life. Whoever we mark first becomes our only mate. When Pearl gets here, I'll have to resist, even if she begs me to let her help."

But he waited and waited, and I never came.

What he didn't know was that his older brother's bodyguard had been blowing up my phone.

"Miss Jasper, the young master marked you as his mate a long time ago. Please, I'm begging you, can you come and kiss him?"

It turns out, five years ago when I died in a skiing accident, his brother saved me. He performed a blood bond, giving me half of his own werewolf lifespan to pull me back from the brink of death.

That night, I wrapped my arms around his brother's neck, my voice a low, seductive whisper. "Come on, Justin. Don't hold back. Tell me… how many years have you been secretly in love with me?"