Chapter 14 - Renz
The morning after Jasmine’s heat, I had to leave before she woke up.
I gazed at her as she slept, slowly dressing so I didn’t disturb anyone.
Jealousy tightened my chest as the other three shifted around her, drawing closer to fill the space I used to occupy.
I wanted to crawl back into bed and snuggle close to her until she woke up so we could resume our Olympics from the previous night.
But I had work. I headed outside and met with the warriors who were part of this morning’s patrol, and we headed out. Our mission today was to check the vanishing lakes and some other areas within the territory.
We ran in a loose formation, relaxed despite the worries of what we might find.
My mind was full of last night and what sex with her had felt like.
I felt strangely unfulfilled, having knotted in the air instead of her.
While I understood the practicality of it, I wanted to have another chance, to go slower and embrace the connection more fully.
I’d had my fair share of women and never knotted in any of them. It was never something I found particularly necessary. In the past, I’d always felt satisfied afterward. And it wasn’t as though I wasn’t satisfied with Jasmine. It was just that I wanted more of her.
There was something about her. Something other than her being in heat, something I suspected was more than our marriage, too.
My second bumped my shoulder. I shook myself.
I’d gotten caught up in my thoughts so much that we’d reached the first lake without even realizing it.
I tried to focus on the site, checking the levels.
It had dropped another two feet. Our attempts at relocating the fish had caught a few snags. This wasn’t good.
The second lake was in better condition, having only dropped six inches. But it had dropped, and that wasn’t a good sign.
I was still distracted by thoughts of Jasmine.
I sent the others back to the town and went back to the first lake, staring at it intently.
After thoughts of the previous night kept invading my mind, I headed further up the mountain, trying to distract myself.
I wasn’t used to having these sorts of thoughts about a woman.
While I was glad that Jasmine was more comfortable with us, and I wanted things to keep improving, it was just a lot.
I wasn’t sure how things were going to change after this.
And what if she got pregnant? We’d all pulled out, yes, but that wasn’t really a reliable form of birth control, especially considering she was in heat.
Thoughts of Jasmine were quickly driven from my head when I reached a high cliffside peak and looked over Maplewood. The long, flat space at the base of the valley, the grasslands, had all turned black.
Fuck. Fuck!
***
Jasmine sat in the middle of our group along our side of the table in the council room. We had called our three closest neighbors: Burgess and Hammond, our allies, and Drumheller, with whom our relationship was tentative, but not hostile.
We all sat at the table, and I glanced around at the gathered alphas.
From Burgess, there were Mads, Franco, Hunter, and Xavi with their mate, Penny. All five of them looked happy but tired, and there was a distinctive scent of milk around them, indicative of their infant daughter. They didn’t bring the baby with them, of course.
From Hammond were Julian, Quentin, Chip, and Zachary. They didn’t seem too pleased to have Penny and Jasmine attending, but kept their expressions neutral.
And finally, Bridge, Paxton, Nick, and Samson came from Drumheller. They were more distinctly uncomfortable and avoided looking at our omega wives entirely.
Jace, Mads, Julian, and Bridge were the ones who spoke for each of their towns.
Jace explained what I’d found and our subsequent investigation of the grasslands.
That space had long been considered neutral territory, a sanctuary for the grassland ecosystems, since other grassland spaces were converted into crop fields.
“We haven’t had any concerns like that near Drumheller,” Bridge said, a heavy frown on his face. “How extensively did you investigate the blackened area?”
“It seems to extend in a semi-circle around our border,” Jace answered. “But we did not investigate close to any of your territories. We took samples of the dead grass and the soil and took them into the city to run some tests. We’re hoping to get results back tomorrow.”
Bridge nodded once. “We will investigate our side soon. We have had a few strange incidents that may be connected to this dark energy, but”—he glanced at Penny briefly—“I am not sure what you expect us to do about it.”
“If Tyrell has the same pattern as Burgess, you should expect more manifestations of the dark energy soon,” Mads said. “Pack members becoming violent, more animal deaths.”
At this, Julian tapped his fingers against the table. “Isn’t your marriage to the omega meant to solve these problems?”
I tensed as Jasmine flinched next to me. I put an arm around her instinctively, fighting the urge to growl. My wolf paced in my chest, agitated by the sudden negative attention on her.
“Burgess’s problems didn’t resolve instantly, either,” Owen said between clenched teeth.
“We are working on what Jasmine’s special purpose is in our pack.
So far our research hasn’t turned up much.
” He paused, then tilted his head. “You know, if the pattern holds, then both of your towns will be facing similar problems soon. You should start researching your own omega histories and begin making changes.”
“You assume that it’s going to be a problem,” Julian replied. “Maybe if your omega fulfills her purpose properly, it will take care of this dark energy in its entirety.”
Owen pushed himself to his feet as the rest of us gritted our teeth. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Julian gave him a cold look. “Just what I said. It’s not us that the Goddess has visited, and Burgess has been free of all its dark energy. If Tyrell is having so much difficulty, one can only assume it’s the fault of your own omega.”
“This is not her fault,” Owen said sharply.
I tightened my arm around Jasmine. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Burgess alphas gathering closer around Penny. Of course. Julian’s remarks might not be directed at Penny, but by slinging mud at omegas, some was bound to land on her.
“Casting blame on omegas is what got this whole nonsense started in the first place,” Jace said.
Julian’s fingers kept drumming. “They are the ones that laid this curse down in the first place.”
“Not a curse,” Mads interrupted. “A warning. One that we all had best heed. The Goddess may very well come to Hammond next and assign an omega for your marriage. I believe that these marriages are largely meant to force a perspective change in our packs. If we all treated our omegas the way they deserve, with respect, then it wouldn’t be necessary to force marriages. ”
It occurred to me that I wasn’t mad about the forced marriage anymore. If anything, I was happy that Jasmine was in our lives now. Would we have ended up with her regardless, if we hadn’t been such bullies and idiots?
Julian dropped the discussion, though he didn’t seem convinced. I hoped that the other alphas took our words to heart. It would certainly cause a lot less turmoil if they could change their omegas’ social position before the darkness started to attack them.
The conversation didn’t last much longer after that. It was agreed that each pack would check out the areas closest to them outside of their territory for any of the blackened vegetation, then the alphas of Hammond and Drumheller both left.
Jasmine leaned into me as she let out a tense breath. “That was more intense than I thought it would be.”
Burgess’s four alphas had stayed behind with Penny. She headed toward us, and her four alphas tensed, glaring specifically at me. I kept my arm around Jasmine, attempting to keep my expression smooth.
I didn’t blame them, really. Last year, when Penny was still new to everything, I had the bright idea that I was going to test just how solid their relationship was, so I’d flirted with her.
Penny had been completely oblivious to my flirtations, but the four alphas hadn’t been.
They’d been so jealous that it convinced me their bond wasn’t just because of a Goddess-forced marriage.
Penny pulled Jasmine into a tight hug. “How are you holding up?”
The Burgess alphas fell back a step, giving them space, and I reluctantly did the same. Owen, Killian, and Jace hovered nearby. It wasn’t that we saw Penny as a threat, but her mates, on the other hand…
Well, I didn’t think they’d do anything. It was just the fact that they could if they wanted to.
“I’m doing alright,” Jasmine said slowly. “Worried, of course. And I think Alpha Julian might be right. I’ve been so caught up with trying to figure myself out that I’ve forgotten that I should be looking into my heritage.”
Penny shook her head. “Don’t let him get under your skin. This is still new for you. I’ll share with you the resources I found during my research. And I would be more than happy if you wanted to send me materials from your history to look for something that might help.”
My wolf huffed lightly. It didn’t like the idea of giving outsiders potentially sensitive information.
“Besides that,” Penny continued, “we should meet up more. It’s tough going from omega to alpha’s wife. Let me give you my number, in case you want to talk. Especially about things that alphas, being alphas, won’t understand.”
“Like what?” I yelped, offended.
Penny gave me a cool look. “Like what it’s like to be married to alphas.”
That brought me up short, then I snorted. “Fair point.”
Jasmine handed her phone over.
“That’s a good idea,” Owen agreed. “I’ll start compiling information on our past omegas and send it over, too. In the meantime, do you have any idea how we might bring back possessed pack members?”
Penny nodded as she typed her number into Jasmine’s phone. “In fact, I do.”
“And I have an idea, too,” Franco said. “One that might help Jasmine be integrated more into your pack.”
Penny gave her husband a suspicious look and put her hands on her hips. “It’s a party, isn’t it? You want them to throw a party and invite us and the other packs.”
Franco grinned. “Not at all. I want us to throw a party.”