Chapter 40 Lines Drawn
Monday was my first day back at practice. Jackson headed for the men’s training field the second we arrived, but even with distance between us the bond still hummed under my skin like a live wire.
The moment I stepped onto the track, the wolves noticed.
Heads snapped up from stretches and warm-up drills. Nostrils flared wide. One guy stumbled mid-stride and nearly went down. Another dropped a baton with a sharp clatter. Somewhere behind me someone muttered, “Holy shit.”
I kept walking with my shoulders loose and my face blank while I scanned the group.
Naomi wasn’t there. Cassidy was missing too. I noticed, filed it away, and forced myself to focus on practice.
The next two hours were nothing but drills and controlled aggression. By the time Coach blew the final whistle my body was tired in a way that felt useful again.
I showered quickly afterward. When I came out of the athletics center, hair still damp, Jackson was already waiting. He took my bag without asking, and we walked to the science building together.
The moment we entered the main hallway, conversations faltered. One wolf after another caught our scent, and within seconds half the corridor was watching us. Some curious. Some wary. A few openly hostile.
Lia stood halfway down the corridor, leaning against the wall like she’d been waiting. Her gaze landed on us, then immediately settled on Jackson. She straightened, a smile spreading across her face as she started toward us.
“Jackson.” She seemed genuinely happy to see him. “I missed—”
The words died abruptly. She scented the air, then looked from Jackson’s neck to mine. The smile vanished. For one heartbeat, she simply stared. Then she recovered.
“Wow.” A soft laugh. “I definitely didn't see that coming. Congratulations.”
Her gaze shifted to me, and the smile returned.
“Harper. I'm so happy for you. Really.”
She wasn't. We both knew it.
“Thanks,” I said.
She glanced briefly around the hallway before lowering her voice. “Jackson... does your father know?”
The concern in her voice sounded genuine.
Thomas's opinion of cat shifters wasn't exactly a secret inside the pack, and Lia had spent most of her life watching Jackson navigate his father.
The question made sense. But before he could answer, Rick and Jason rounded the corner.
They caught the scent and broke into matching grins.
“No way,” Rick laughed, clapping Jackson hard on the shoulder. “About damn time.”
Jason shook his head. “I was wondering how long it would take.”
Jackson rolled his eyes.
Lia stepped back, still smiling as they pulled her into the conversation. But every time her gaze drifted back to us, that faint worried look lingered. My cat noted every flicker.
I said nothing, while Jackson’s thumb traced slow circles against my spine.
We made it into Environmental Science with a minute to spare. I spent the lecture catching up, scribbling notes and filling gaps. A few curious glances came our way, but no one spoke.
Class ended and we stepped back into the hallway just as Cassidy came barreling toward us, nearly taking out a pair of freshmen on the way.
“Harper!” She slammed into a hug. “There you are. I missed you.”
I staggered back a step. “Cassidy—”
She pulled away enough to look me over, eyes bright. “You disappeared on me, you terrifying bitch.”
“We texted.”
"Texting is not the same thing." She jabbed a finger into my shoulder. "And before you say anything, I wasn’t at practice this morning because I had a doctor’s appointment. Not because I was avoiding you. Obviously.”
I blinked. “I didn’t think—”
“Good.” Only then did she notice Jackson. “Oh. Hi, Jackson.”
“Cassidy.”
Her gaze drifted past us toward the hallway.
“Is it just me, or are half the people in here staring at you two?”
“Maybe we're blocking the hallway,” I said.
Cassidy studied us for another second, clearly unconvinced. Then she grinned.
“Anyway. There’s a Halloween party this Saturday after State, and you’re coming. I’ve been dealing with Coach Miller alone for a week and I’m owed.”
“No.”
“You’re coming.”
“I didn’t agree to that.”
“Perfect, you’re in,” she said, already walking backward. “Wear something cute. Or slutty. Preferably both. I’ll see you at lunch!”
She vanished into the crowd.
Jackson stared after her. “Does she ever let you finish a sentence?”
“Rarely.”
He huffed a quiet laugh and we kept walking, his hand settling at the small of my back.
The rest of the day moved quickly between lectures and strength training. Cassidy found me multiple times, still pushing the Halloween party like it was the only thing keeping her alive. I let her talk. It was easier than arguing.
By the time strength training ended I was tired, but a quiet anticipation sat underneath it. Jackson wanted to show me an apartment he’d found for us, and my cat was insufferably pleased about the idea.
We left the athletics building together and headed across the parking lot toward his truck.
The anticipation vanished the second I saw Thomas leaning against a black SUV parked beside Jackson’s truck.
I stopped walking.
For a second, the parking lot seemed to narrow around him.
I studied his face in photographs for years, but this was the first time face-to-face in ten years.
He looked older. Harder. Silver threaded his dark hair, lines cut deep around his mouth, but the cold authority was exactly the same.
The kind of man who made the air feel thinner simply by standing there.
My cat went very still. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t react. I wasn’t thirteen anymore. I was older, taller, trained, and I had already killed three of his. The preparation held.
Ten years, and he didn’t even look at me.
Thomas’s eyes locked on Jackson with pure fury as he pushed off the SUV and stalked closer.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” he hissed, voice low. He glanced at passing students, then continued tighter. “You refused Selene and cost this pack the Crescent Peak alliance. Two years of negotiations, gone. And this is why?”
Jackson didn’t move. “I made my choice.”
“Your choice?” Thomas let out a harsh breath. “You threw away the strongest alliance this pack has ever been offered so you could bond yourself to a fucking cat?”
His gaze finally flicked to me. It was dismissive and disgusted, like I was something foul stuck to his son’s shoe.
He didn’t recognize me. Good.
“Problems like this can be handled,” he said, softer now, almost conversational. The words were careful for any human ears, but the meaning was razor sharp. “Quietly and cleanly, before they cause any more damage.”
Jackson went dangerously still, protective rage flaring hot through the bond.
“Did you just threaten my mate?” His voice dropped into that low, alpha register that carried power even when it sounded human.
A few heads turned.
Thomas held his stare, fury and calculation warring on his face. Then he forced a thin, cold smile.
“We’ll discuss this at home, son.” The command sat clear underneath. “Be there tonight. No excuses.”
Jackson didn’t answer. Thomas held his stare for another long second, then stepped in close enough that only they could hear him.
“Don’t make me come find you.” His eyes flicked to me one last time, cold and assessing, before he climbed into the SUV and drove off without looking back.
Jackson watched him go, body rigid beside mine. His hand closed around mine, grip almost too tight, and he pulled me against his side. Rage still rolled through the bond.
“Come on.”
We crossed the lot together, aware of the lingering eyes. The second the truck doors closed, he let out a sharp breath and stared straight ahead.
“I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are.”
His head snapped toward me. “Harper—”
“Listen to me.” The anger pouring through the bond was almost painful. “If you disappear he’ll start digging. If you refuse outright he’ll know something’s wrong.”
“He already knows something’s wrong.”
“Not this.” I held his gaze. “We’re not ready yet.”
The words tasted bitter. Ten years, and I still wasn’t ready.
“He wants a conversation,” I said. “Give him one. Buy us time.”
Jackson’s jaw tightened. “I don’t want to sit across from him and pretend everything is normal. First time I’ve seen him since you told me what he did to you, and I wanted to rip his throat out right there.”
I laid my hand over his. “I know. But if showing up buys us another week, you show up.”
He exhaled hard through his nose, then put the truck in drive. “Fine. I’ll go.”
The rage and protectiveness rolling off him pressed against my ribs. I squeezed his hand. We had just stood in front of the man who destroyed my world, and now we were driving across campus to look at an apartment like normal people. It felt surreal. Almost obscene.
Between traffic lights, he told me about his mother’s trust fund. It wasn’t pack money. It was hers alone, set up years ago and completely untouchable by Thomas. That was how he had afforded to rent the house with the guys, and how he could afford this.
The apartment was on the third floor of a converted building ten minutes from campus. It was empty. Bare floors, white walls, high ceilings, and big windows that let in a lot of light. A small balcony at the back overlooked the woods.
“It’s not huge,” Jackson said once the landlord stepped out. “But it’s ours. No roommates. No eyes on us.”
I walked slowly through the rooms. My cat liked it.
Liked the idea of a den that belonged only to us.
I stepped out onto the balcony, noting the sight lines out of habit, checking what could be seen from the ground and the tree line.
I could feel Jackson watching me the entire time.
He stayed a few steps behind, hands in his pockets, giving me space to take it in.
“Well?” he asked after a while.
I turned back. “It’s good. I like it.”
Relief crossed his face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
We signed the papers on the spot. Four days until we could move in.
As we headed back to the parking lot, Jackson's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and frowned.
“It's Agata,” he said. “The light fixture in her living room is flickering again. She wants me to take a look.”
I nodded. After what had just happened with Thomas, the idea of him going back into pack territory sat wrong, but Agata was different. She had always been kind to him.
“I'll drop you at home first,” he said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Then I'll head to pack territory. I'll be back later tonight.”
Jackson didn’t get back until well after ten. I was sprawled on the couch with Artemis kneading my stomach like dough, purring loud. The girls were out.
I heard the front door open and close. A few seconds later he appeared in the living room doorway, looking exhausted.
He dropped onto the couch and pulled me against his chest without a word, burying his face in my hair for a second. Artemis grumbled at the disruption but relocated to the armrest.
“How bad?” I asked.
“Bad.” His voice was rough. “He had plenty to say about the mating. About the alliance. About me throwing everything away for a cat. I let him talk himself out, then told him straight. If anything happens to you, I’ll burn his world to the ground.”
“How did he take it?”
“He didn’t.” A short beat. “But he heard it. He’s not going to move yet. He needs me too much and he knows it. That doesn’t mean he’s giving up. He’s just waiting.”
I nodded. It bought us time.
"And Agata?" I asked.
“She heard about us,” he said. “Couldn’t wait to meet you. She said she’s been waiting for someone to finally drag me out of my own head.” He was quiet for a long moment. “There’s more.”
I waited.
“We got talking about how my father became alpha. Agata told me about his older brother, Christopher. He was strong, healthy. Then one morning he simply didn’t wake up.
They said it was a brain aneurysm. His mate, Tessa, died a few days later when the bond broke, and they left behind their six-year-old son, Noah. ”
Jackson’s hand tightened on my hip.
“I was only four, so I barely remember any of it. Thomas promised to raise Noah as the future alpha. Instead, he dumped him in the pack house. Five days after the funeral, Noah disappeared.”
I stared at him, turning the pieces over in my head. A healthy alpha died unexpectedly. His mate followed soon after. Their young son vanished. And Thomas became alpha. That was a lot of coincidence for one family.
"Where is he now?"
Jackson’s expression went hard. “No one knows. But Agata thinks Thomas does.”