Chapter 376: Chapter 376

376 When the Clock Strikes Midnight

Sandra yawned loudly, throwing her head onto the desk in agonizing boredom, “If I see another request to go collecting firewood from no-man’s-land, I’ll personally go out to their homes and give them a smacking,” the hunter groaned.

The crimson-eyed beta alpha next to her chuckled whilst going through a different pile of documents of his own, “It’s important that there be fuel for the people to cook. Those applications allow those that aren’t a part of the pack to sign in for the next expedition into the woods. It’s safer than trying to do it on your own, plus it’s free compared to hiring hunters,” Jason replied.

Sandra sighed and lifted her head once more, taking in the appearance of the quiet empty office they were working in, “What happened with your usual help though? It’s rare to have you working late like this with no one around to help, not to mention this workload is insane. I’d say you were preparing all this work as an excuse for me to help you with it.”

“I wasn’t preparing it for you if that’s what you’re asking. Though now that I think of it, that would have been a good strategy to get me into spending more time with you. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?” Jason smirked, “We’ve been having less and less time to ourselves.

It just seemed like the right opportunity for me. Caden took Kyle out for a run. I had thought the boy had gained some respect by now, but Caden still likes to tease him like the person he was given to torture a month ago.”

Finally turning her attention back to the documents in front of her, Sandra flipped over to the next and grimaced at the heading, ‘Request to join Hunting Party In One Month’s Advance. Target Animal: Stag.’

Sandra sighed, “Has he forgiven him yet?”

Jason was stunned by the question, “No, he hasn’t... He doesn’t feel like torturing him anymore though. He’s passed that. Have you forgiven Kyle?”

Sandra stopped skimming through the document before her and placed it down... ‘Dear Alpha King Emperor Supreme and Mighty, Steel Cole: After teaching my daughter to use a bow, I request that she join the next...’ the document went...

.....

“Katie asked me to take care of him while she was gone. You know how much I respect the girl. Back then, when I saw her eyes with barely a shred of animosity towards Kyle, I thought, ‘It’s probably better that way.’

Before I knew it, I had found it in my heart to forgive Kyle as well. After all, he has devoted his life to serving Katie now. We can’t hold on to that hatred or else it will eat us from the inside out.”

Jason paused to think over her words, “What do we do for Ashley then?”

“We visit her grave and leave flowers. Speak to her as much as we can with the hopes that the words will reach her from beyond the grave,” the girl replied, turning back to the papers in her hand, “I know I have been doing that. It’s the only way I could get over the guilt of forgiving Kyle.”

“You’ve thought about it a lot, haven’t you?” Jason asked. His attention on his work was long gone and he was now staring at the hunter before him.

Sandra’s dark brown locks were trimmed to shoulder-length, giving her a more dangerous appearance. However, to this beta alpha, she only looked more beautiful. Her neck was also much more exposed now. ‘Restrain yourself,’ he would tell his wolf.

“Yes, I have... Ah, another request to collect wood,” the girl rubbed her temples, having moved on to another document in her pile, “What do they need all that firewood for anyways? It feels excessive.”

Stealing a glance at the clock on the wall that showed that it was nearing midnight, Jason stood up and approached the girl. He offered her his hand, “Would you fancy a walk with me? To clear our minds.”

Sandra eyed the pile of work they still had to go through, then figured she needed the refreshment. The offer was far too enticing for the hunter to pass up.

Smiling, she took his hand and accepted his request, following him out the door. The alpha led the girl through the back exit of the palace and into the gardens where the air was cool and the atmosphere was quiet and calm.

Sandra wondered where everyone was, but another look at the time confirmed they were probably asleep already. She’d spent so much time with Jason that she hadn’t noticed when time drifted by. ‘Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess,’ she thought to herself.

The air in the gardens was cool and refreshing and cleared Sandra’s mind. As the breeze blew through her hair, relaxing her exhausted mind, her thoughts wandered about the different memories of the past month.

Without Katie around, she’d found comfort in spending time with Jason when she got the chance, training every chance she got and monitoring Kyle’s progress.

The relentless ticking of time cannot be slowed and after what had felt like an eternity for the silent alpha, the clock finally struck midnight.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around Sandra from behind. The pair had walked into the gardens, guided by the warm yellow lighting that was neatly placed through the beautiful plant life. They’d come closer to the famous Royal gazebo.

Normally, Sandra would leap out of his grip and smack him for scaring her, but this time was different, sparks went through her body and sent shivers down her spine. Her knees went weak by the mere action... ‘I knew it,’ Jason thought to himself.

‘Oh, so today’s that day!!!’ Sandra mentally screamed. Not even her hours of research into how the mate pull worked could have prepared her for what was happening right now. Her thoughts were quickly getting muddled and replaced by one thought alone.

“Jason,” her voice called him softly, “What’s going...”

“You’re my mate, Sandra,” he replied.

The girl’s heartbeat kicked into overdrive, “What...?” Hearing it from him was different from her numerous speculations. Not to mention the tone of his voice. He’d never heard Jason sound so serious before. And Jason also made it a habit never to lie to her, which wiped the rest of her doubts from her mind.

Sandra was speechless, clueless about how she was supposed to feel about this. She’d kept her distance from Jason with a fear that had slowly turned to a certainty that she would never be his. On the other hand, Jason had made sure to keep her closer and to keep her in sight.

“I’ve always suspected. It had to be you. I couldn’t shake the feeling. I just had to wait for you to turn eighteen,” the man whispered into her ear.

Sandra brought her hand to the werewolf’s arms around her and gasped. Jason was shaking... moments later, emotions flooded her mind. Emotions that didn’t belong to her.

A flood of confusion, sorrow, relief, pain, longing, love... so many at once. She could tell they weren’t her own and she’d felt the presence of Jason’s mind so many times that she could easily tell whose emotions these were.

He was holding onto her like she could vanish at any moment, just like Katie had left Cole a month ago, “Hey, I’m right here.”