Chapter 9

'Dakota' an eerie voice whispered.

"Who are you?" I called out. "I can't see you."

I was surrounded by fog, and it was disorienting.

'I'm coming for you,' the voice continued.

Fear consumed me. Spinning in circles, I couldn't see anything past my arm.

Harshly being spun around, I was met with red eyes.

"Dakota!"

Jason was frantically shaking me awake. "Dakota, honey, are you alright?" He was smoothing my hair from my face.

Panicked, I whipped my head around the room a couple times. My chest was heaving, and I was dizzy. "Jason?"

"Yes, baby. I'm here. Relax."

Finally, I couldn't hold it in anymore. Sobbing, I fell into Jason's chest. "It was awful, Jason. Someone wanted to kill me."

Taking me in his arms, Jason stroked my hair, comforting me as I sobbed into his chest. "No one is getting near you, babygirl. You're mine." he growled possessively. "Sshh." he cooed.  Rocking back and forth, my heaving chest started to calm, the tighter he held me. "Good girl, take a deep breath."

I couldn't get the red eyes out of my head, they pierced through me. Shaking it off, I looked to Jason, who seemed worried. "I'm alright," I said, placing my hands on his chiseled chest.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Kissing my cheek, he held me for a moment. "I'm going to take a shower, then we can have some breakfast."  Gazing out the window, I realized that we slept the entire day yesterday. It didn't seem to bother Jason, but I didn't want to keep him from his responsibilities.

Rolling out of bed, he was wearing nothing but his tight boxers. Eyes widened, Jason noticed my expression. "See something you like?" he purred. Unable to bring myself to speak, he chuckled at my embarrassment. "You're more than welcome to join me," and he disappeared into the bathroom.

Breathing deep, I controlled my emotions. His body was perfect. It looked perfectly muscular, perfectly toned; he was the perfect man. Why was I so reluctant toward him? His Alpha power is unmatched, and he obviously, deeply cares for me. This perfect specimen.

Gathering my courage, I left the bed, and headed towards the bathroom door. Approaching slowly,  the swung open. Stopping dead, Jason was standing there, chest heaving, body dripping wet. His eyes were a deep brown, with yellow flecks; Jason's wolf took over. "I smell you," his wolf growled.

"Jason?"

"Jackson," he answered. Must be the name of his wolf.

"Jackson," I repeated. My back hit the bed post, "Please don't hurt me."

Softening his expression, Jackson reached a hand out, but I recoiled. "I won't hurt you, Viola."

Relaxing slightly, he could smell my wolf. That also means he smells my arousal. Cupping his face, he purred into my hand. "Can Jason come back, Jackson?"

"Did I scare you?" he asked, like a sad puppy.

"No, sweetheart. I just want to talk to Jason."

Taking a few deep breaths, Jason's eyes went back to normal. When he realized what happened, he grabbed me into a bear hug. "Dakota, oh goddess, are you alright?"

"Easy, Jason. I'm fine," I huffed out.

"He didn't hurt you?"

Checking my body, Jason was frantic. "No, Jason. He didn't hurt me....Jackson just smelled...my-uh...arousal." A low rumble came from him.

A knocking on the door caused us both to freeze. "Dakota, Jason, come down for breakfast," Diedre called.

Answering for both of us, "Coming."

Wiggling away, I headed for the door. As the door opened, it closed just as suddenly. I could feel Jason's towering form behind me. His nose was in my hair, inhaling my scent. "You go ahead downstairs, and I'll meet you there." Moving his body, I opened the door, and scurried down the hall.

The smell of breakfast hit my nose when I started down the stairs. Diedre was a genius cook. To my surprise though, she was not the one cooking this breakfast; it was Anthony.

"Oh, good morning," Diedre beamed.

"Good morning," I half-smiled.

Anthony slid a plate in front of me, "Eat up, Dakota," his deep voice said.

"Thank you." I could see how Diedre was so attracted to Anthony. Like his son, he was very attractive, even for an older man. I'm biased since Jason looks exactly like him.

"Jason in the shower?" Diedre asked.

"I think he was getting dressed," I answered.

She started snickering, "I think we all know what that means."

"No, Mom. That's not what that means," Jason's voiced sounded. He came into the kitchen, only wearing gym shorts, no shirt, and his sneakers.

"Morning, son," Anthony said, sliding a plate in front of him.

"Where's everyone?"

Looking outside, he pointed with the spatula. "Outside, training."

"Everyone understands why you aren't, dear," his mother said, reassuring her son.

"Today, I will," he resounded.

Jason stayed away from me; guilt over his face. He was probably sorry that Jackson made an appearance this morning. Shoving breakfast in his face, he walked outside to the other wolves.

"What's with him?" Anthony asked. Diedre shrugged her shoulders.

"Jackson came out earlier," I answered.

Diedre's eyes widened, and Anthony shook his head, not at all suprised. "Don't worry, Jackson isn't a bad wolf. He can be kind of aggressive; it always bothers Jason when he emerges." Obviously, his parents knew the kind of wolf Jackson could be. "He'll get his frustration out in training."

"You can spend the day with me, sweetheart," Diedre offered. "You can get to know the women in the pack, especially since you'll be the Luna."

"Oh..okay," I reluctantly responded.

Jason's mother, and I cleaned up the kitchen while Anthony went out to train with the other wolves. He may have been the former Alpha, but he still exercised with them on a daily basis. Running upstairs, I changed my clothes, and met Diedre at her SUV. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to the pack house to meet the ladies." Her bubbly personality was so hard to keep up with.

"Wait, isn't this the packhouse?"

"Oh, no," she giggled, "this is Jason's house." Flipping back to the house, I couldn't believe my ears. No way is that the truth. "Some of the wolves train here because Jason has equipment, and there's plenty of room."

"Ah," I answered. Honestly, I wasn't sure what else to say aside from that.

Climbing into her vehicle, it was about a 30 minute drive to the pack house. When we drove up, it was just as immense, and beautiful as Jason's house. The front had beautiful, colorful bushes, white front doors, brick steps, 3 stories, and an immense yard both front, and back.

"Come on, honey. The ladies are waiting."

Going inside behind her, I could hear the chatter of women, and some men. Walking into the kitchen, everyone turned to us.

"Oh, Diedre, so good to see you."

"Good morning, Luna."

"How are you?"

"Now, now, ladies. You know I'm not the  Luna anymore. This is Dakota, she is Jason's mate."

"Dakota Mayfield?" They seemed horrified.

"Daughter of Don, and Karin Mayfield? Devon Mayfield's younger sister?"

"Yes, this is her."

Waving sheepishly, I smiled slightly at them.

A girl around my age came up to me, "My name is Anica, how are you?"

"I'm okay. This is slightly overwhelming," I admitted.

"Don't worry about them. Their the mothers of some of the wolves. Warriors are outside training."

"Dakota, this is Alyssa Brooks, Willie's mother. And this is Anica, his sister."

"Nice to meet you both." Shaking their hands, I hoped they didn't see me as some sort of liability to their pack.

"I'm Tamara, Andrew's mother. This is my daughter, Sadie." Shaking Tamara's hand, Sadie was less than enthusiastic to even interact with me. Just looking at the way she was dressed, I could tell that she was the resident pack slut. Her scent had hints of sage, and cinnamon; something I should look out for. I wonder if Jason ever slept with her. "Tamara, show some respect to the Future Luna." Scoffing at her mother, she walked off. "I'm sorry, Dakota. She's a rebellious one."

"Oh, no. That's alright. I don't expect everyone to like me right away. Being the daughter of a former Alpha, I sort of expect to earn everyone's respect."

All the women shook their heads in agreement. That is the one thing I took from my father's lessons growing up. Once introductions were done, all the women took off in their respective directions. Anica stayed behind with me.

"I'll show you around," she offered.

"Sure."

Going outside, there was a big pool, hot tub, and an entrance to the lower level which was the expansive gym. When the tour was over, Anica, and I laid out on the lounge chairs by the pool. The sun was warm on our skin, and it felt so good.

"By the way, you shouldn't worry about Sadie."

Turning to Anica, I was puzzled by her statement. "Why would I worry about Sadie?"

Covering her mouth in haste, she spilled a secret she didn't mean to. "Nothing. It's nothing," she quickly said.

"No, tell me Anica. Why would I worry about Sadie?" I started to panic.

Sitting up, I followed suit. "All I'm going to say that Jason is loyal, and a good wolf. Don't let anyone tell you differently."  My chest started heaving, and I grew angry at the thought of someone else touching my mate. "Take it easy, Dakota. You have nothing to worry about."

Diedre came to the back door, calling out to me. "Oh, Dakota, honey, Jason is on the phone for you."

Breathing a sigh of relief, I bounded inside to the phone.

"Hello?"

"It's Jason."

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. The pack house can be slightly overwhelming."

"Um...I'm okay. I made a friend."

"That's good. I'll see you when you get home. Bye."

"By--" The other end of the phone went dead before I could even finish.

My heart was breaking. Jason went from wanting me, to not caring about whether I was around him or not. When we get back to the house, I'm just going to tell him to reject me, and I can go home in shame. I don't care anymore.

A bubbly voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Ready to head back?"

"M-hmm," I answered.

"Are you okay, honey?"

It was hard for me to hold the tears in, but I managed. I didn't want his Mother to see me that way. "Yes, I am. I'm ready to go."

Driving back seemed interminable. Frankly, I didn't want to see Jason. I knew this was too good to be true.

Willie was walking out with some others when I walked in. "Oh, hey, Luna Dakota. Jason wanted me to tell you that he was going to be in the shower, and he wants you to wait in his room."

"Thanks, Willie." Smiling slightly, I continued to walk past him. "Please just call me Dakota."

Willie smilled at me. "Give Jason some time. He cares about you."

Nodding at him, I continued inside.

Going inside, it seemed that everyone cleared out. Not even Anthony was here, and Diedre left. They must have a house nearby. Being the Alpha it makes sense that he has his own house, people just tend to stay here all the time. Maybe he cleared everyone out because he doesn't want any witnesses when he rejects me.

Before I even walked up the stairs, I could smell Jason's sweat scent. He smelled so good. All my thoughts were swirling around my head; do I go to his room, or do I go to my own room, and lock myself in?

Stopping at his door, I can hear the water running in the bathroom. My hand was almost on the doorknob when I couldn't do it. Continuing to my room, I closed the door. Sliding down, tears started to flow; I don't want Jason to reject me.

Gathering my courage, I walked back to his room. Upon opening the door, I saw Sadie, naked in Jason's bed, just when he opened the door to the bathroom, clad only in a towel.

My chest was heaving, and my tears were unstoppable. I couldn't contain my scream at Sadie's smiling face. Jason had a horrified look on his face; he tried to approach me, but I ran down the hall back to my room, slamming the door shut.

"Dakota!" Jason yelled, "Dakota, wait!"

Dropping to my knees, all I could do was scream, and pull at my hair.

"Baby, please open the door. It's not what you think!"

No words left me. All I could hear were my sobs.

I've been rejected.