I slowed slightly, observing Jasmine. I’d seen her often enough through the years, but I’d never really looked at her before. She was a plus-sized woman, tall and round and soft. Her hair was dark brown, so dark it looked black in most light. Her eyes were black, too, a large, liquid black that made her look doe-eyed.
She was quite beautiful, I had to admit that. Last night, when she brought up sex, my reaction caught me off guard. I felt that, of course, we were going to have sex eventually. Not yet, but soon. In fact, that was the one part of this upcoming marriage I found appealing.
I shook those thoughts from my head. “Jasmine.”
She jumped and whirled toward me. The other omega paled, bowed, and scurried away. I strode over to my betrothed, noting how she took tiny shuffling steps back from me. I scowled. “You better not be planning to run away. The Goddess declared our marriage, and there will be consequences to breaking her command.”
Jasmine shook her head. “I wasn’t planning anything like that. I thought I’d grab my things from my house and bring them back. I’ll obey the Goddess.”
I frowned at her. “But you don’t want this.”
“Neither do you.”
My frown deepened, and I folded my arms. What did she mean by that?
“As long as the three of you make an effort not to be cruel, I can endure,” she said, looking past me. Her cheeks took on a faint pink hue.
I let out a huff. Why did she have to be so confusing? “The three of us?”
Her lips pursed, then she lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “I’m not so naïve as to think that it’s a possibility for Owen. I’m not going to ask the impossible of him.”
My wolf growled, wanting to defend my friend, but then I thought of the tension that had been radiating from him ever since last night. I really couldn’t argue with her, so I only shrugged. When she continued to just stand there, watching me, I gestured down the street.
“Well? Let’s go get your things, already.”
Jasmine winced. “You’re coming with me?”
I folded my arms. “Were you planning on actually doing something else?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Jasmine hesitated, opening her mouth, then shut it and shook her head. We walked in silence through to the other side of town. I frowned more deeply the longer we walked. Why would she plan to do all of this on foot instead of using a car? She must have been lying to me about what her plans had been. That was the only explanation.
When we reached her house, I was surprised to find that it wasn’t a house at all. It was an old trailer, with a patchwork of boards nailed onto the side, under which was a hole. The inside was terrible. The floor sagged, the furniture was repaired with duct tape, and there appeared to be only a camping stove to cook with.
“This is how you live?” I asked, startled by what bad condition it was in.
“I can’t afford rent. So, I just took over this place. Technically, I think I’m squatting. I never got official approval to take over the trailer.” Her shoulders hunched as she went through a sheet hanging in a doorway. I followed her. Inside was a bedroom, with a single, narrow mattress and two laundry baskets, one with clean-looking clothes, the other dirty. The closet held stacks of worn-out books.
“Do you have a suitcase to pack your things in?” I asked.
She reached behind her books and grabbed a plastic garbage bag. “I’m bringing the clothes back this time. I’ll make other trips for the rest of my stuff.”
“I’ll arrange for someone—”
“Please don’t.”
I frowned at her.
Jasmine stuffed the clean clothes into the garbage bag, her shoulders hunched. “I’d rather not have anyone mess with my things. I don’t have a job right now, so I have plenty of time to do it myself. You and the others have enough alpha stuff to take care of without this.”
Silently, I watched her work. I could put some books in the baskets and carry them back for her. But did she really live like this? We weren’t doing well as a town, but this…this trailershould be condemned. It wasn’t safe for habitation. It was likely that she lived here because she relied on the pack stipend, if she didn’t have a job.
But why didn’t she have a job?
Ultimately, this was the responsibility of me and the other alphas. Even if she was an omega. Even if she was Jasmine Philips. We probably should have been aware of this, though I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to ask us for help.
