JASPERS POV âHow do you feel?â
Vie and I were in the elevator, both of us completely drained from what had happened in the woods. Ehno was in the back of my mind, communicating with Hala. His ego had grown ten times in the frame of an hour. I had a feeling he was going to become insufferable to have inside my head for the foreseeable future.
âIâm exhausted. But I donât feel much different. You?â She replied.
âSame. I wonder what it means. Ehno said our bond is different from others.â
She yawned. âIs there anything that isnât different about us?â
âIâm starting to think not.â
She giggled as we stepped off the elevator. Her smile slipped when she looked at the door; I followed her gaze to find a folded piece of paper taped to the door.
âNot again.â She g*****d, ripping it from the wood. Unfolding it, her eyes scanned the page.
âWhat is it?â I asked curiously.
Wordlessly, she shoved the note at me, throwing open the door and stomping inside. Holding the note up I read:
Youâre not good enough. Feak. Monster. Failure. Youâll be the downfall of Silver Moon. Do us all a favor and go back to own pack. FREAK!
I frowned deeply. Inhaling, I caught a few different scents around our door. One I recognized as Emma, a maid who worked here before Warrick got rid of her. Iâd recently given her her old job back. Besides hers, there was mine and Violets, a fading sense of Gideons, and an overly sweet scent of strawberries andâ¦.coconut? But there was something else in that mix that put me off, making me wrinkle my nose. Is was much too sweet, and had a hint of chemicals. Perfume, probably.
âVie, do you know who put this here?â I asked her as I shut the door behind me. She was sitting on our bed, arms crossed.
âNo.â
âWhy did you say ânot againâ? How many of these have there been?â
âOnly one.â
âWhy didnât you tell me?â
âIâve been a little distracted Jasper.â She took a breath. âAnd it doesnât matter anyway. I donât know whoâs writing them, and I donât care. Iâve got bigger things to worry about than someone writing petty, immature notes to me.â
Her tone was dismissive, but I could tell this was really bothering her. Her jaw was clenched, her shoulders tensed. Her fists were clenched under her arms. Sitting next to her, I pulled her in for a side hug.
âYou should have told me. I can find who wrote this, make them stop.â
âI said it doesnât matter.â
âIt does.â I tilted her chin, forcing her to look at me. âSomeone is harassing you, making you feel unwanted. Thatâs not okay, Violet. I wouldnât stand for it even if it werenât directed at you.â
âTwo notes doesnât exactly qualify âharrassmentâ.â She argued.
I sighed. âWhy are you always so stubborn?â
Her l*p twitched in the hint of a smirk. âAfraid Iâll pass that trait on?â She glanced at her belly.
âGoddess, I hope not.â
We laughed together, the mood lightening a degree.
âIâm going to look into this.â I held up the note. âJust because weâre on the verge of a potential war, doesnât mean I ignore the little problems.â
âAlright. If itâll make you feel better.â She pulled away, but she looked relieved. The girl was too proud sometimes.
Getting up, I turned off the lights. Vie was already under the covers, lying on her side with her arm hanging over her stomach. I got in next to her, placing my hand on her bump, grinning when I felt tiny kicks on my palm. I scooted down the mattress, resting my forehead against her skin. Then I began to sing softly.
âBeddy-bye, butterfly, tuck into your flower, Dream butterfly dreams, âtill the morning hour.
Beddy-bye, baby bear, lay down in your den, Until the sun rises, and itâs morning again.
Beddy-bye, bunny rabbit, close your eyes and dream, Of all the games tomorrow we will play by the stream.
Beddy-Bye little squirrel, curl up in your nest, Youâve gathered acorns all day long and now itâs time to rest.
Beddy-bye slithery snake, curl up nice and tight, Weâll meet again tomorrow in the early morning light.
Beddy-bye, tiny turtle, rest inside your shell, Slowly you will fall asleep, we hope that you sleep well.
Beddy-Bye, friendly frog, letâs not a make sound, In the morning you will rabbit, and hop all around.
Beddy-Bye, little bird, though the night seems long, Soon it will be morning and weâll wake to your song.â
âThatâs so sweet.â Violet whispered. âWhat is the song called?â
âI donât know.â I admitted. âMy Mom, my biological Mom, used to sing it to me at night.â
âI love it. Will you sing it again?â
I repeated the song. And then again. I sang until Violet was sleeping deeply, the twins no longer kicking under my hand. I remained where I was, content to fall asleep near our babies.
When I woke up, it was with a start. Someone was knocking loudly at the door. The clock above the fireplace read six forty five. Rubbing a hand over my face, I rolled out of bed, glancing at my mate. She hadnât moved an inch all night. Dragging my feet, I opened the door to a anxious-looking Ashwell.
âIs there a reason youâre banging on my door this early?â I grouched at him.
âA very good one.â he spoke quickly. âYou need to get downstairs. And you should wake Violet too.â
I was instantly more awake. âWhat happened?â
I left the door open, gesturing for him to come in. Leaning over the bed, I shook Vieâs shoulder. Her eyes peeked open, her expression annoyed.
âWhat!â She whined.
âAshwell is here. Somethings happened.â I explained. She sat up, finding him standing a few feet from the bed.
âWhatâs going on?â
He spoke to Violet. âYour brother is here.â
âGarrett?â
âHeâs waiting outside of the border. Heâs demanding to be let into the pack. And heâs angry, very angry.â
Violet threw the covers off, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. I was in the closet, throwing on fresh clothes, and tossed her a light jacket and a pair of running shoes. Slipping on a pair of my own, the three of us left the room, getting into the elevator.
âDid he say why heâs here?â I asked Ashwell.
âNot in so many words.â
âWhat did he say?â Violet demanded.
âHe said, and I quote, âGet that motherfucker out here. Today is the day he dies.'â His face was filled with questions. And Iâm positive mine was too. I shared a look with my mate.
âHe couldnât possibly remember.â She said slowly.
âMind catching me up?â Ashwell nudged me as the doors opened. I quickly told him a summarized version of the history between Garrett and I and Sophia. I explained about Gideon erasing their memories before we came to Silver Moon as well. He whistled lowly when I finished.
âDamn. Sounds like it might have been the best option.â
âI canât think of any other reason he would come here looking for a fight.â I sighed.
âWell, you did do the deed with his girlfriend.â
âShut up, Ashwell.â
âIâm just saying, Iâd want to mess up your face too. Even more, considering she turned out to be his mate.â
âAshwell.â I gave him a look, which he studiously ignored.
âDid anybody think to get my Grandpa?â Violet stepped between us, rolling her eyes.
âI did.â
We turned around, seeing King and Gideon hurrying up to us. Violet sighed in relief.
âI thought he should be made aware, since itâs family.â King explained.
âGood thing you did.â Gideon said. âLetâs go see what this is about.â
My Gamma led us through the pack, past the rural areas and into the woods. We took the path through, walking about twenty minutes. I could start to make voices ahead; One of them was much louder than the rest, and far more agitated. Coming to the a break on the trees, we came upon a group of six warriors. Three of them were attempting to talk to Garrett on the other side. The others stood back, eyeing him warily.
âGarrett.â Gideon called his name, getting his attention. His eyes scanned his grandfather, then moved onto King. Then Ashwell. Then Violet, and finally, rested on me. An unnerving grin spread across his face.
âWell, well. You actually came. I thought youâd send more goons to get rid of me.â Garrett said.
âThey have orders not to cross the border.â I replied.
âAnd why canât I get in?â He growled.
âI placed a protective shield around the pack.â Gideon told him. âGarrett, what are you doing here?â
âDidnât the dumbass there tell you?â He jerked his chin towards Ashwell. âIâm here for Jasper.â
âWhy?â Violet stepped forward. âWhat did Jasper do?â
âLike you donât know!â He yelled at her.
âGarrett.â Gideon walked to the edge of the border, the warriors backing off. âWhat do you think he did?â His tone said he knew the answer, just waiting for Garrett to confirm it aloud.
âHe slept with Sophia!â He snarled. âBut thatâs not the only reason Iâm here.â
âGarrett, listen-â
âShut the f**k up Violet! Youâre no better than your mate! I know what you did. I know what all of you did!â
âWhat did we do?â Gideonâs calm exterior seemed to only fuel the anger coming from his grandson. He stepped as close as he could, raising his fist, and slamming it forward. It stopped mere inches from Gideonâs chest, hitting the invisible wall that separated them.
âYou erased my memory.â He pointed a finger at Gideon. âAnd you,â He pointed at Violet, âKnew about it, and covered for him! Even Mom and Dad knew!â
âThatâs not true!â Violet cried. âYou agreed to it! Youâre the one who went to Grandpaâs house.â
âLiar!â
She threw her hands up, turning away from him.
âAnd there she goes, acting like a b***h again.â Garrett clapped his hands in mock applause. âItâs something youâre really good at Violet.â
âGarrett, youâre acting like an idiot.â I snapped at him. His eyes turned on me, hate filling them.
âYouâre words donât mean s**t to me.â He spat on the ground. âYou turned my sister, my twin, against me. You had her cover for you like the p***y you are, trying to cover up what you did.â
âIf you really remembered what happened, you would know thatâs not true.â I said.
âWhen did you get your memory back?â Gideon asked him.
âLast night.â He stepped back, scoffing. âYou seem irritated Grandpa. Worried about why your magic wore off? Maybe youâve lost your touch. Or maybe youâve always been s**t at it.â
âWhat about Sophia?â Gideon continued, ignoring the jibes.
âOh yeah, she got her memory back. Begged and begged for me to forgive her, like she wasnât a lying slut.â
Violet swung around. âWhat did you do?â
âWhat do you think?! I rejected the b***h!â
My gasp echoed Vieâs. Gideon stared at his grandson as if he hadnât heard him correctly.
âYouâ¦You rejected her? How could you do that!â Violet screamed.
âEasy. I said the words, and then kicked her a*s to the curb.â Garrett laughed, the sound sending a shiver down my spine. âAt least she was smart enough to accept the rejection. Now I can focus on you.â He looked at me. âYou turned my whole family against me. You convinced them to erase my memory, make me pretend to love that w***e. All because it was easier for you not to accept the consequences of your actions.â
âGarrett, Sophia loves you.â I tried to reason with him.
âYeah?â He shot back. âDid she love me when she was filled with your d**k?! Did she love me when she was moaning your name while you f****d her?!â
I paused, my head c*****g to the side. I replayed the memory of my encounter with Sophia that night.
âThat never happened.â I told him. âShe never said my name.â
Gideon looked at me sharply. I nodded at him, letting him know I was sure of what I was saying. Garrett, on the other hand, went red in the face.
âf*****g liar, I saw you two! I heard you two!â
âReally? What exactly did you see?â I smirked at him. Violet grabbed my arm.
âWhat the f**k Jasper?! Donât f*****g egg him on!â She hissed at me.
âRelax.â I whispered low, for her ears only.
âDonât f*****g tell me to relax!â
I moved away from her, feeling shitty about stressing her out. But if Gideon and I were thinking the same thing, I had to know. I stepped to the border, leaning in. My expression was smug, cocky.
âCome on Garrett. What did you see me doing with Sophia? It must be eating at you.â I chuckled.
Garretts face was now a light shade of purple, a vien in his forehead throbbing.
âYou know what I think? I think you just didnât want to be with her anymore. I think you made this whole thing up as an excuse to reject her. Because I know I would remember a night with Sophia.â I made my face thoughtful. âYeah, I definitely would. With those legs⦠and that a*sâ¦â
âYou son of a b***h!â He ran at me. His fists pounded against the shield over and over and over again. âI saw her on top of you! I saw her enjoying it! I heard her saying your name instead of mine!â He clawed at the wall, desperate to get through to me. âHow dare you talk like that in front of my sister! Youâre a piece of s**t, Iâll kill you! Iâll rip your f*****g throat out!â
âIâd let you.â I said. Garrettâs attack paused. âIf any of that had actually happened. Youâre being played Garrett. Someone tampered with your memory.â
I heard a sigh of relief behind me, making a mental note to apologize to Vie afterwards.
His laugh echoed. âOh thatâs rich! But Iâm done playing your games Jasper. Iâm done talking. Letâs say you come to my side, and weâll see who walks away?â
âI donât think so. But youâre invited into my pack.â
He grinned, stepping over the line. I turned away, hearing his body drop.
âBring him back with us. I want him confined until I get ahold of Dimitri.â I told King. Wrapping an arm around my mate, I led her back to the path in the woods.