We Conquer Thee

Embrace it

Jason entered the room not long after I finished drinking my tea. He lacked a shirt and wore shorts that sat low on his hips. I gripped the cup and focused my gaze on the countertop. His hair was dripping from the rainfall and though the heat was nearly gone I still felt some of its effects. 

"I just need to go change real quick and then we'll start talking."

"Sounds good," I mumbled. I didn't make any moves and waited for him to leave the room. The tension was released from my body when I felt the lack of his presence. I slouched in the chair and rested my head on the counter. 

Why can't the wolf in me be on the same side as me with this? I still haven't told Jason I've been putting on an act.. though it has been faltering on occasion. Sometimes I do genuinely enjoy something he does or his company. His wolf now bares a small patch of white, a symbol of our bond. 

I heard the soft sounds of footfall and looked back to see Jason coming down the stairs. He now wore a plain white shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants. Though he was more clothed than before I still found myself fighting against the attraction I had. I glared back at the counter and awaited his first words. 

I listened as he moved around in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water. He placed it with a soft clank on the counter before he finally began speaking. The silence was becoming unnerving with the sound of my racing heart in my ears.

"The Alpha and I had a meeting with Juliet over your upcoming training, we decided on her since you two are good friends and Ash has taken a liking to her."

I nodded.

"During her training as a scout, we've found that she was strong enough to have a gift like the Luna."

I perked up at that," She did? What can she do?" 

Juliet had shown immense improvements since joining this pack. She has a strong instinct to protect. Her hunting and tracking skills are better than some of the top scouts in this pack and fellow pack members are drawn to her leadership.

"That's for her to tell you. It's still a work-in-progress kind of thing. Since most wolves don't have the chance to possess such abilities we have a lot of learning to do, though the Luna believes every wolf has an ability we have yet to really discover that from training."

"Fair enough. I'm glad to hear she's doing well but we seem to be at a disagreement regarding the training. I only wanted it to be Ash and I plus Juliet, no one else. Yet here she is telling me that Seth will be joining us." The more I spoke the stronger the feelings returned from the encounter with her earlier. The lust for my mate was replaced with a need to release this pent-up aggression.

"He has every right to ask for his mate to be there." Jason stood up and looked at me with hard eyes. Tension began to steadily increase and I could tell that he didn't like how I spoke.

I pushed off the seat after I began feeling confined by the counter. Something within me was threatening to push forward.. something I knew too well. I gripped the chair in front of me in a desperate attempt to hold back my anger. I took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"Understood. I just feel like we won't be able to reach our full potential if he keeps running to his mate when it gets a bit difficult.. I think you may have forgotten but he wasn't much help during our escape because he can't handle a little hard work." I spoke through my teeth.

Jason sighed and crossed his arms, "It's fine to need a little support for something like this. We don't know all he's endured through his time with that pack and he could be experiencing some trauma."

His words nearly sent me over the edge. When I first came here I was nearly attacked by this pack, then I was tricked into joining and raped by my own mate. I lived with an abusive grieving father and I witnessed my mother being murdered. I had no support from anyone and I was forced to learn how to get through it alone.