“Right. Right. I, uh…I wanted to talk to you?” The word somehow turned into a question at the end.
“That’s nice.” She turned toward me fully. “I’m not going to talk to you.”
I gaped after her as she strode from the infirmary. I awkwardly stood there, trying to figure out what to do next. I’d been so sure that she would listen. That we could go for a walk or head back home or something. Instead, she’d blankly shut me down. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to respond to that.
“Alpha?” one of the doctors approached me. “Are you here for an update on the omegas?”
“No. No, I was looking for Jasmine,” I said, attempting and failing to hide the bewilderment in my voice.
The doctor frowned. “Alpha, I’m not sure that she should be here. This is a clinic, and it upsets people to see omegas hanging around.”
“It upsets people to see pack members coming to the infirmary, where anyone who needs medical attention is supposed to come?” I asked, my voice hardening. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s not…I didn’t mean…I apologize.” The doctor dropped his head. “Forgive me.”
With a huff, I headed out the door. This was the attitude I’d encouraged, after all. Could I really berate the doctor when that was the same thing I’d have done just a few weeks ago? I sniffed the air deeply, catching Jasmine’s scent. I followed. She was heading toward the trailer park, and I jogged to catch up with her.
I hadn’t gone far before I spied her, in the center of a ring of warriors, who loomed over her, their postures threatening.
Snippets of words drifted to me.
“Your fault.”
“Omega curse.”
“Fucking bitch.”
I didn’t bother to hear anything else. I shoved the warriors aside and snarled at them as I wrapped an arm around her waist. Jasmine jumped, then tensed. But she didn’t pull away.
“Alpha Owen,” one of them said.
I shut him up with a single glare. “Consider yourselves lucky that I’m more concerned with getting my mate away from you than punishing you the way you deserve.”
They were silent as I pulled Jasmine away. We walked swiftly. I would have slowed my pace for her, but she pushed hard, as though she was trying to escape me. We were closer to her old trailer than the house, so we went there. Maybe if we could just have a little bit of privacy to talk…
Jasmine tensed when I suggested it, but she nodded. We went to her old trailer, and surprise rippled through me as soon as I stepped inside. This place was…not worth living in. The floor sagged beneath our feet, and the furniture she’d left behind was in such bad shape that it was no wonder why nobody thought to take it.
“Is this—” I started, but she whirled on me.
“I don’t need your help.”
I focused on her again. “Pardon?”
“You with those warriors. I only played along because I didn’t want to cause trouble when the pack needs unity. But I don’t need your help. You’re a bigger asshole than any of them could be, so just leave me alone!” Jasmine’s hands clenched as she glared at me.
It was so unlike her that my jaw tightened. “That isn’t…what should I have done, just stood by?”
“You should have not been an asshole. A leopard doesn’t change its spots, and you have only been a bully ever since we were kids.” She sucked in a deep breath and jutted out her chin at me. “Let’s just agree that when my heat is in full force, we’ll fuck and then ignore each other. That’s the best way. Wedon’t talk, we don’t fight, we just do what is necessary and stop causing trouble for the others.”
I’d never heard her say fuck before. It stirred me, making me harden. My gaze dropped to her lips. Were they always so red and plump? “Would it change your mind if I told you I’m here to apologize?”
“No.”
“What if I explained why—”
“No! It’s not going to change anything.” She tapped her toes, fidgeting as she folded her arms, dropped them, then pushed her hair back from her face. Her mouth tightened, trembled, relaxed, then tightened again.
It didn’t take long for me to figure out what was going on. My cock pressed tightly against my jeans as her scent registered in a new way. I tried to breathe through my mouth, but it was no good.
