Chapter 26 - Owen
I sat next to the infirmary bed, my hand in Jasmine’s as she lay sleeping.
It was coming up on twenty-four hours since the light swept through our territory, and she’d collapsed.
The doctors said there was nothing wrong with her.
They had done all sorts of tests, and her body was healthy and strong.
The only issue was that she wouldn’t wake up.
Renz was determined to see it as a simple case of exhaustion, but I wasn’t so sure. She just looked so still and pale. My wolf wouldn’t settle, no matter how tired I was. And I was tired. This was the first time I’d sat down in hours.
The four of us were taking shifts with Jasmine, since none of us wanted to leave her alone, and yet we had a great deal to do.
I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I’m so sorry about everything, Jasmine. I blinded myself for so long. I wish I could take it all back and treat you the way you deserved from the start.”
Jasmine’s head turned into my kiss. “You looooove me.”
Her voice was soft, sleepy, and slurred, but my heart jumped. I smoothed her hair from her face and kissed her again. “Yes, yes, I do. I love you, Jasmine. I love you more than I’ve loved anything else in my life.”
Her eyes fluttered open. At first, they were unfocused, but soon enough, they concentrated on my face. A small smile crossed her lips. “I love you, too. And I forgive you for the past.”
I laughed and kissed her again. I called the others quickly and let Jasmine tell them the good news of her being awake.
All of them promised to be over as soon as they could.
By the time we finished talking to Renz, Jasmine was more alert.
She pushed herself into a sitting position and stretched her arms and back.
“What happened? I remember feeling the need to touch my garden. It was very important. Then I did, and there was light, but I don’t recall anything after that,” she said, then her face fell, worried. She touched my cheek. “You were possessed.”
“I was,” I confirmed. I shuddered as I remembered how dark and cold that time was.
“The light brought me back. It destroyed the darkness inside of me. It went all through the territory, putting out fires and cleansing everyone who had been possessed. There were a bunch of people from Tyrell and Burgess at our borders on either side, and they saw the light come right to the edge of the territory.”
Jasmine’s eyes grew brighter. “Does that mean it’s over? The pack is safe?”
“Safe,” I confirmed. I kissed her again. “Thanks to you. You saved us all.”
Jasmine cupped her hand behind my neck and pulled me into a deeper kiss. My heart soared. Tears burned my eyes. I was so lucky. I’d wasted years resisting my draw to her. Years we could have spent together. But she had forgiven me. She loved me.
I was damn lucky, indeed.
***
Jace
Jasmine wrinkled her nose as I helped her into the tub. Her muscles were still weak, despite it being three days since she woke up. I climbed into the water behind her, carefully supporting her to ensure she didn’t slip.
“I can’t wait until my body starts cooperating again,” she sniffed angrily.
“You have to have patience with yourself,” I told her as I pulled her back into my arms. She sagged against me with a grunt. I chuckled and kissed her neck. “Funny how you can be so patient and gentle with everyone but yourself.”
Jasmine twisted slightly, frowning. “The difference, you see, if that when I’m being patient and gentle with other people, I don’t know what is going on in their heads. With me, I know exactly what is in my head, and I’m bored.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to do something to distract you.” I got a washcloth and scrubbed some soap into it so that it became creamy with suds. Then I started to wash Jasmine’s back, enjoying the way her muscles relaxed as I passed the cloth over them. Her skin was smooth and soft.
“Jace,” she moaned.
I moved the cloth around, wiping first her arms before setting it aside to rinse off her back.
Then I made her lean back on me again and started to wash her breasts.
My palms tingled with wanting to knead them, but I reminded myself that she was still weak.
If she couldn’t even bathe by herself, no way was she ready for sex.
When she moaned again, I stopped and rinsed off her chest. I set the cloth aside for now, though I’d have to wash her legs later.
“Why’d you stop?” Jasmine asked me, placing her head on my shoulder.
“Because I only agreed to let you have a full bath instead of a sponge bath, because you said it would be relaxing. If I’m firing you up, it’s not relaxing, is it?”
Jasmine tilted her face toward me and smiled. “I suppose not.”
I smoothed her hair between my fingers, thinking about the last few days.
We still had a lot of work to do. The fires had destroyed a large portion of our town, and since we were already having issues with funding building projects and sourcing lumber, it was going to be very tricky from here on out.
Fortunately, the mill that Burgess lent us had been untouched.
“There’s one good thing that has come from all of this. You’ve really inspired people to rethink their values,” I said aloud. “We’ve seen so many people open their homes to the displaced omegas.”
“That’s not because of me,” Jasmine mumbled.
I shook my head. “It is because of you. They saw how much you did for the pack. They saw that you never gave up, even when they blamed you for what happened. And now they’re seeing you for who you are, and it’s made them reassess what they thought of the other omegas.”
Jasmine was quiet for a long moment before she blew out a soft breath. “So, what you’re saying is that, because they accepted me, they’ve accepted everyone else?”
I kissed her again, lighter this time. “That is exactly what I’m saying. You’re amazing, you’ve changed things more than you can realize. And I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, kissing me back. “I’m glad to have you as my mate.”
***
Killian
It had been twelve days since Jasmine had cleansed our territory of the darkness. Already, we’d seen many improvements to the forest. The animals seemed healthier, plants were more vibrant, and best of all, there had been no further incidents of possessed pack members.
“I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure what the ancient omegas did, or how my garden fixed things,” Jasmine told me one day as I rubbed her feet.
We had gone to the city to meet with Penny, and even though Jasmine told me how happy she was that we’d done it, now that we were home, she was exhausted.
“But I’m certain that Grandma was right,” Jasmine continued. “Whatever they did, it was linked to the plants. They absorbed the light, and so could fight against the darkness. They were probably activated by the darkness approaching, just like the rest of the signs from the ancient Omegas.”
I rubbed my thumb over the ball of her foot. “I have a different theory.”
Jasmine cocked her head, lifting one brow in question.
“Yes, plants absorb light, but they also connect you to your grandmother. The other gardens didn’t grow, just the ones that you saved from your grandmother’s garden. Her last words were for you to look after it, right?”
“Yes,” Jasmine said slowly.
I gave one nod. “And all of those plants are the hardy sort, like mint, that keep growing and spreading. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if your garden contains the same herbs and flowers that the ancient Omegas had. And that’s why it was you. Because you were the guardian of the garden.”
Jasmine smiled at me. “Maybe one day we’ll find enough evidence to prove that. It does sound lovely, doesn’t it? That my garden connected me to all my ancestors, and that’s why I was able to release the light stored inside of them.”
“That’s exactly what I think happened,” I told her.
The old tome that the priestess had found, the one that gave Jasmine the idea of making the tea that eventually freed Jace, Renz, and me from our possession, had been spared in the fire.
The college hadn’t been touched, which meant all our ceremonial equipment survived.
In two nights, we’d have a celebration of thanks to the Goddess for seeing us through.
I had a feeling she wasn’t going to attend this time. She’d given us what we needed already.
“When things are settled, and we don’t have so much left to rebuild, I’ll put together a team to help comb through all our old texts. Digitizing them as well as searching for any information about the ancient omegas,” I promised. “You deserve to know more about your heritage.”
Jasmine smiled at me. She lay on the couch, her feet in my lap. Her long hair fanned over the pillow, and one hand rested on her stomach. Her lovely dark eyes were half-shut, clearly drifting off to sleep.
It struck me how incredibly grateful I was that she could relax around me.
Even just a few months ago, that wouldn’t have been the case.
And as ashamed as it made me, I wouldn’t have cared.
Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
My heart swelled with the knowledge that she was here, that we were bound together, and with the darkness gone, nobody would threaten our happiness again.
“I love you,” I told her.
Jasmine smiled and opened one eye all the way while letting the other shut. “Oh? I think you’ve told me that two or three times today already,” she teased lightly. “But I like hearing it. I love you, too.”
“I have to tell you every chance I get,” I reminded her.
She stretched and pushed herself up, then scooted around and put her head in my lap. “I know you love me. I’m very grateful for your love.”
“I should be the one saying that.”
“I’m allowed to be grateful, too,” she shot back. “And I’m grateful that you want to help me learn more about my heritage, too. I’m sure my grandmother figured something out. That’s why she had the herb garden. That’s why she was such a good midwife.”
I stroked my fingers through her hair. I could have told her that I loved her again.
I could have told her that she deserved everything that had been taken from her, and I was determined to give her the world.
I could have told her many things, but she wouldn’t have heard me. She was already fast asleep.
***
Renz
Three weeks after Jasmine woke up, she was strong enough to work in her garden.
It was my day off from alpha duties, so I joined her.
Once she started working in the dirt, a smile spread across her face, and her eyes lit up in all the ways I’d missed.
I smiled at her as I worked around the plants from her grandmother’s garden.
The poor things had been through a lot, first being mistreated, then overharvested.
“Hello, you,” Jasmine sang sweetly to the freshly budding seedlings in the garden she worked on. “Aren’t you just the most precious things?”
“They aren’t,” I said.
Jasmine sent me a dark glare. “Excuse you?”
I grinned at her, rounding the box to peck a kiss on her lips. “You are. You are the most precious—” I paused, then shook my head. “Forget that. They are the most precious things. You are the most precious person.”
She tried to pretend to be mad as she poked my chest. “Good save.”
I watched her work for a bit longer before I went to get the heavy watering can. She directed me on which to water and how much. “So how long before the plants are ready to start being harvested again?”
“It depends. Some of them will be a few weeks, others will be months. Some of them I’ll probably want to let grow for at least a year before I start harvesting.” Jasmine leaned back on her heels and wiped the sweat from her brow.
Spring had melted into summer, hot and busy.
The flooded fields had all dried out, and we had planted them.
We were working hard to rebuild the lost buildings, trading labor and supplies with Burgess.
Hammond had pulled back now that the crisis was over and we were in the rebuilding process, and Drumheller had been less than communicative in all our attempts to negotiate with them.
Right now, though, things were looking up. Summer weather would keep us in good health, even those who were forced to live in tents for the time being.
“You’re looking pensive,” Jasmine said, putting her hand on my face. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just thinking about everyone who was displaced by the fires.
As fast as we’re building, it’s still going to be months before everyone has a roof over their heads again.
I was just thinking, we have all this space.
The five of us each have our own room.” I leaned into her touch.
“Maybe we should live in a tent, instead.”
Jasmine nodded for me to continue.
“We could move all our stuff to storage, move a few small families into the dorm, and as part of this project, build ourselves a new house. It seems fitting to have a different setup, now that we’re married. Something where we have more space to be together, if that makes sense.”
A smile slowly spread over her face. “Oh, my Renz. You, who were so rebellious, are now thinking about the sacrifices that you can make for the good of the pack.”
I kissed her palm. “To be fair, it’s inherently selfish. I want my bedroom to have a door that leads right to yours.”
Jasmine laughed and threw her arms around me. “I love you.”
I buried my face into her neck, enjoying her scent. “I love you, too. And I can’t wait to build our future.”