Chapter 0187

“What!” I shriek, scrambling to my knees and knocking the fruit and bread out of my lap.

“Shh!” Jackson hisses, turning back towards me and holding out a hand, looking at me like I’m

crazy. “Don’t be an idiot, Ari! If we’re waiting for dawn to move into the ravine, others are too! And

they will come for us! Just…be quiet, all right!?”

“Jackson!” I whisper, full of rage, ignoring his words and getting to my feet, striding towards him,

“you are not leaving me here!”

He huffs a little laugh, clearly implying that I couldn’t stop him if I tried. “Yeah, Ari, I am.”

“You are not!” I put my hands on his chest and shove, angry.

“I’ll be back!” he says, not budging an inch. “I promise, all right? I’m not abandoning you – I’ll be

back at dawn, I’ll help you. I just…”

And I go still as I see his head turn again, back the way we came, back to where…

Well, back to where he imagines she is.

His mate, alone.

His mate, frightened in the wilderness, needing his help.

And then even though I assured him that she’s safe, that there’s nothing wrong, he can’t leave it.

“Jackson,” I beg, wrapping my fists in his shirt and staring up at him. “Please, please don’t do this.”

“I have to, Ari,” he says through his teeth, frustrated with me. “She’s my mate.”

“She’s fine!” I insist again, tightening my fists, trying to will him to believe me.

“I know that you believe that,” Jackson snaps, shaking his head. “But Ari, I smelled her, I could taste

her fear on the air – I swear it, something happened to her.”

“And she got through it!” I insist. “Didn’t it go away!? Didn’t the fear like…dissipate!?”

“Yeah,” he concedes, “but what if that’s because she got hurt? What if she’s unconscious?” He

scowls, stepping away from me roughly, suddenly angry. “I never should have let you drag me away

from there. I should have stayed –“

“You should not have stayed!” I snap, getting pissed in my own right now, because Jackson – he’s

being foolish. “She’s fine! She doesn’t need you to go searching for her – she needs you to stay

here, so you can be ready to cross at first light!”

“How the fuck do you know that, Ari!?” Jackson growls, stepping towards me, looming over me. And

I realize, quite suddenly, that this is a fight – a real fight. And if I’m not careful, I could make this

Alpha snap, that it could get violent –

But I dismiss the thought, instantly. Because my mate – he won’t hurt me. His body, his biology

won’t let him hurt me.

Except…well, except if he doesn’t know who I am.

I push it all away, stepping into his space now, unable to help it. “I know that she’s safe the way I’ve

always known, Jacks,” I reply, my voice low with my own anger in response to his. “Have I ever

betrayed you? Have you ever not been able to trust me? Have –“

“I probably shouldn’t have been trusting you this entire time!” Jackson suddenly exclaims, throwing

up his hands in the air. “I don’t know why I do! I mean, is this your magical gift, Clark!? Making me

act like a god damn idiot!? Making me constantly, consistently turn away from my mate and just

believe you that one day you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on!?”

“You trust me because you know I’m trustworthy!” I snap, putting my hands on my hips. “What was

all of that about friendship earlier!? About not abandoning me because I’m the only one who’s been

nice to you?”

“And what is that about, Clark?” Jackson says, his voice a little more dangerous now as he steps

closer to me, moving so close that his chest bounces against mine, making me fall back a step. I

regain my footing fast, scowling at him, suddenly livid that he’d bully me like that – use his larger

form to intimidate him.