"I turned twenty today" he said.
I gasped, "It's your birthday? Wait! Was that your party we were at?" I asked shocked, he nodded smiling. "Oh, sorry I didn't realise, well happy birthday" I said frowning, ok wow I so screwed up his birthday!
"Yeah it is" he said rubbing small circles in the back of my hand. I shivered again, "You think maybe I could come back to Scott's and we could talk some more?" he asked hopefully.
"Do you think that's a good idea? I mean shouldn't you just go home and mate someone else or something?" I asked, surely getting to know me would just make this worse. I know it would make it harder for me, being around him was hard work, all the time I needed to watch myself so I didn't jump him. But then again, it was probably different for him, he's so damn hot and I'm, well I'm not.
He shook his head "I need to be in your life Brook, if you don't want to be with me I still need to be around you" he said shaking his head looking pained.
"Well how the hell is that gonna work?" I asked rolling my eyes.
He smiled sadly, "I don't know, but we can try right? I can be your friend, I just need to make you happy, so I'll be whatever you need me to be" he said looking at me pleadingly. Oh god he was so sweet! Damn stupid Trey!
"Jayden, why torture yourself like that? Just go sleep with a bunch of girls and mate someone else" I suggested.
He looked at me horrified and shook his head, "Maybe later on I will, but for now I just want to get to know you, please" he asked looking at me pleadingly. My god I can't say no to that face! I nodded slightly and his face exploded into happiness as he jumped up holding out a hand for me again.
Chapter 7
I let him pull me to my feet and took his t-shirt from around my shoulders holding it out to him. He smiled and took it wrapping it back around my shoulders again, "You need it more than me, my body runs hotter than yours" he said taking my hand and putting it on his chest. God he was so warm! I was standing so close my whole body was tingling for him. "Come on then shortie, let's get you in the warm" he said wrapping his arm around my waist where it seemed to fit perfectly and helping me walk along in the dark, lifting me gently when there was something in my way or when I stumbled on something I couldn't see.
"Can you see where your going?" I asked curiously squinting through the blackness in front of me.
He chuckled "Yeah, I can see fine" he said guiding me around a big rock that I only saw when I was practically on top of it. Finally we made it out of the woods and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"I hate the woods" I said shuddering.
He laughed "The woods aren't too bad, it's only because you can't see where your going" he said giving me a little squeeze.
He let me go as we walked up to the house, I gave him back his t-shirt and took my last look at his glorious body as he pulled it on. As soon as I was through the door Mel almost jumped on me.
"What the hell hap...oh hey Jay" she said stopping as she spotted him over my shoulder.
He smiled "Hey Mel, do you think maybe I could stay for a while so Brook and I can talk for a bit?" he asked curiously. Mel looked over her shoulder and I saw Scott sitting on the sofa, he nodded and Mel turned back to Jayden.
"Sure, ok" she said a little uncomfortably, "So I'm gonna go to bed I guess, give you two some time to talk then" Mel said smirking at me, ok she obviously thought we were together and would be doing more than talking!
"Thanks, I'll be up in a bit" I said hugging her, she skipped off up the stairs.
"Ok well, could you re-lock the door once Jayden leaves?" Scott asked looking at me.
I nodded, "You ok?" I asked, he looked so sad about something.
He smiled "Yeah I'm fine Brooklyn, see you in the morning ok" he said hugging me and nodding at Jayden before skulking off towards the stairs. Ok what the hell is that about?
"He doesn't look too pleased with me" I said grimacing.
Jayden chuckled "It's not you he's pissed with, it's me, he liked you, I think he wanted to date you, if he knew you could be mated I think he would have mated you" he said shaking his head looking uncomfortable. I looked at him with wide eyes, Scott really did like me? This was just too crazy!
"Don't be stupid, god what is it with you and Mel? Scott's not interested in me, I've known him since I was three years old! He used to push me over and throw water balloons at me, he even stole my first bra and hung it from that tree out the front so everyone could see it!" I said frowning.
Jayden burst out laughing, "Well if that doesn't tell you he likes you nothing will" he said laughing his ass off. Ok what the hell?
"What will?" I asked curiously, what the hell was I missing from him being a pain in my ass when I was younger?
"It's standard behaviour for telling a girl how you feel, one, touch her as much as you can, so pushing you over would be where that fitted in, two, make her clothes see though so you can cop a look, hence the water balloons, but I got nothing for him stealing your bra, that's going a little too far, maybe bordering on stalkerish" he said teasingly.
I laughed and rolled my eyes, he was a really funny guy, "Right ok, well want a coffee or something?" I asked heading to the kitchen and flicking on the kettle. He came and sat on the worktop next to me smiling at me happily as I made coffee, "How do you take it?" I asked grabbing the sugar and putting two in mine with extra milk.
He smiled "Not like yours, wow I'm surprised you have any teeth left!" he said looking at me with fake horror.
I rolled my eyes and flashed him my teeth, "All mine, I like sugar, I shouldn't have it though" I said grimacing.
"Why? Your not diabetic or anything are you?" he asked looking a little concerned.
I smiled "No nothing like that, sugar's not good for you that's all" I said not wanting to get into the whole, 'your beautiful' thing if I told him I shouldn't be eating the calories.
"Well I just take milk in mine, just a little" he said nodding at the cup, "What's your boyfriends name?" he asked faking a smile as he asked but I could see that this was hurting him.
"Trey" I said almost apologetically, he seemed like a really nice guy, and I was hurting him, god I felt like shit!
"Is he in your school?" he asked taking the two cups and leading us to the lounge plopping down on the sofa.
I sat next to him, "Um no Trey's older than me" I said not really wanting to talk about this.
He looked at me interested "Yeah how old is he? Where did you two meet?" he asked, I grimaced.
"Well, Trey's twenty four and we met when I was out shopping with some friends" I said, his mouth dropped open and he looked at me shocked.
"He's seven years older than you? Wow that's a big age gap, you've been with him for four years which means you met him when you were thirteen and he was twenty right?" he asked turning his nose up slightly. I nodded "What the hell kind of twenty year old would approach a thirteen year old when she was old shopping with her friends? That's like me hitting on a thirteen year old" he said looking a little disgusted.
I smiled and rolled my eyes, "Ok like I haven't had heard that before!" I said chuckling.
He laughed "Yeah I guess you got that lecture from your Mom and Dad huh?" he said grinning a little smugly.
I nodded "Yeah, from my Mom, I never knew my Dad" I said shrugging.
He watched me looking interested "No? You mind if I ask what happened?" he asked curiously.
"No I don't mind, it was a long time ago, my Mom slept with someone on a one night stand and got pregnant, when she told him he gave her money and told her to get rid of me, she didn't, he left town, that's that" I said shrugging, ok why the hell did I just tell him all that?
He frowned, "Your Mom raised you on her own then or do you have a step dad or something?" he asked taking my hand and playing with my fingers.
I shook my head, "Just me and my Mom, she's awesome, she put herself through college while I was at school, worked in the evening's to pay the rent and still managed to be the best Mom in the world, she's
a doctor now" I said proudly.
He looked at me smiling happily, "She sounds great" he said honestly.
I nodded "What about you?" I asked.
He shrugged looking a little sad as he weaved his fingers through mine. "My Mom died when I was five, my father left just after, I was raised by my Aunt, she was my legal guardian, but she died last year" he said sadly. I gasped, god he sounds like he had a really hard life!
"Oh god Jayden, I'm sorry" I said squeezing his fingers tightly.
He smiled "It's ok, my Aunt was great, a little crazy, but great, she would have really liked you" he said smiling happily.
"She must have been nice to take on a five year old" I said honestly, he nodded smiling fondly. I guess I need to talk about the whole shifter thing now, we seem to have avoided it pretty well up until now. "So your father's Alpha of the shifters?" I asked grabbing my coffee and wrapping my hands around it trying to warm myself up.
He nodded looking a little annoyed, I got a sense that he didn't like his father at all. "Yeah, he's pack Alpha" he said frowning.
"How many shifters are in your pack then?" I asked curiously as I pulled my knees up to my chin.
"Well there's probably about fifty or sixty families across the towns" he said shrugging.
"Shit! Seriously? Sixty families? And your father is in charge of all of them?" I asked a little shocked.
He nodded "Yeah, the Alpha passes down through bloodlines, there's been a Phillips Alpha for the last two hundred years" he said casually.
I smiled "So that's your last name? Jayden Phillips, got any middle names?" I asked curiously.
He grinned "Yeah, Richard" he said rolling his eyes, "You don't like your middle name?" I asked smiling.
He shook his head "Nah, it's my fathers name, bit boring" he said grinning.
I laughed "Boring? My middle names Logan, that's a boy's name!" I said laughing.
He grinned "It's nice, what's your surname?" he asked happily.
"Mill's" I said yawning.
He smiled sadly, "Want me to go so you can sleep?" he offered looking like he really didn't want to leave, I shook my head, I didn't want him to go either, not yet. He grinned "So what do you like to do in your spare time? You have any hobbies or anything?" he asked looking really interested.
I smiled "I love to read, I want to be a book editor when I leave college, I like to swim, I like dancing, I love watching scary movies as long as I'm not in the house on my own after and I love to eat strawberry cheesecake" I said trailing off a list of my favourite things.
He smiled "What about things you hate?" he asked curiously.
I grimaced "I hate it when people crack their knuckles, Trey does that all the time, drives me nuts, um, I hate spiders, I hate tequila and I hate getting bit by random boys at birthday parties" I said teasingly making him laugh his ass off. God he was so hot when he laughed! I rested my head against the back of the sofa, "Tell me yours" I said closing my eyes listening to his silky sexy voice.
"I love playing football, eating, I eat a lot it's part of the shifter thing, I love old classic cars, I like to fix them in my spare time, I'm studying law, my Mom always wanted me to be a lawyer so I decided I'd do that for her" he said casually.
I snapped my eyes open to look at him, "You don't want to be a lawyer but your doing it anyway?" I asked shocked.
He shook his head frowning "No way, it's so boring, but it's what my Mom wanted for me so" he said trailing off. Oh god he is so adorable! He's studying Law because of his Mom but actually hated it?
"That's incredible Jayden, seriously, you must have really loved your Mom, It's sweet" I said honestly.
He grinned "Yeah or I'm a sucker for a sob story either way" he said laughing. I smiled, "I'm taking a weekend course in car's though, I should just about be a qualified Mechanic at the same time as I qualify as a Lawyer" he said laughing.
"Wow a car fixing Lawyer, you don't see many of those these days" I said laughing, he grinned and rolled his eyes at me.
God I was getting cold again! I could feel the heat seeping out of his body so I scooted closer to him, "I'm cold" I said quietly, he smiled and closed the distance between us wrapping his arm around me tightly. I rested my head on his shoulder and yawned again, "So what about your hates?"
I asked closing my eyes again.
"Well I don't really hate anything, I dislike rats but I don't hate them, I don't like flying too much but I can cope with it, I don't like" he said but I didn't hear anymore, he was just too comfortable and warm and safe.
Chapter 8
Jayden
I woke up with a really stiff neck, I moved my head up from the funny angle where I had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch and looked down at the angel in my arms. She was still sound asleep, curled into me happily, I smiled at how beautiful she was, she looked so peaceful and perfect. I glanced at my watch, it was just before six around about the time I usually woke up, it didn't matter what time I went to bed I only really slept for five hours at the most and was always awake by six am. It was a male shifter thing, like an internal body clock I guess, we all needed less sleep than humans, female shifters could sleep for longer. I guess it was something to do with the male being the provider, so I guess the wolf would go out looking for food for his mate, something like that anyway I don't know.
I brushed her hair away from her face, god how the hell am I gonna pull this off just being friends with her? My whole body was screaming for her, but if it was either put myself through agony of watching her with someone else everyday just so I could be close to her or cut her out of my life completely. There was only really one option, and although it would hurt like hell and be the hardest thing I will ever have to do, the other option would kill me, I know it would.
I had to be around her, I told her last night I would find someone else later on but that just wasn't gonna happen. I wouldn't even be able to look at another girl now, she was my everything, it was either her or no one, that's what a mating was, a pairing for life. It's typical of me though to choose someone who I can't be with. I decide never to get mated then end up mating with a girl I shouldn't even be able to mate with in the first place, the bond turns out to be one sided so she doesn't feel anything for me, and on top of that she has a serious boyfriend! Fuck my life!
I heard someone coming down the stairs, I glanced over my shoulder to see Scott look over. I smiled sadly and moved so I could grip her tighter, I moved my body off of the couch and eased her down onto her back as I slipped my arm out from under her. I stood up and looked at her, hating the fact that I had to leave but I had left a raging party at my house last night, I dread to think of what the place will look like today! My wolf growled, he didn't want to leave her, especially with Scott now that I knew he wanted her. I bent down and kissed her forehead, ignoring the blast of desire that pulsed over me making me want to rip her clothes off and take her right on the couch.
I stood up and walked into the kitchen to talk to Scott. "Hey" I said a little sheepishly, he smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes, I wasn't forgiven.
"Hey" he said putting some toast in the toaster.
"Scott man, I'm sorry, I swear I couldn't help it, I didn't know who she was, I literally lost control and mated her" I said shaking my head still not able to comprehend the need for her.
"It's ok, I just don't understand how you say it happened, how could you just need her like that? It's not an urge to mark someone, it a decision, you must have decided to mark her" he said shrugging obviously still really pissed off.
I shook my head "Scott, I walked out of the bathroom and my canines extended, I almost mated her instantly but I managed to hold off long enough to let her past me into the bathroom then when she came out it was twice as bad, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up, my teeth were out longer than they had ever been before, it was her voice that tipped me over the edge, I was fighting it, I wasn't doing well, but then she spoke and I snapped, that was it I swear" I s
aid honestly.
He looked at me a little shocked, "I've never heard of that" he said shaking his head.
"I've never heard of a shifter mating a human before either" I said confused. Maybe I should go speak to my father about this see what he says. "Listen I need to go back to mine, I left the party going on last night, I'll be back later once I've cleared up, if she wakes up before I'm back can you give her my number and ask her to call me?" I asked feeling like a piece of shit that I had him doing my dirty work for me when he was totally pissed with me right now.
He nodded "Sure, make sure you're there with her when she dump's that asshole she's seeing, just watch him ok, Mel said he's a real piece of shit, she said he can be an ass to her but she wouldn't elaborate" he said. My wolf jumped wanting to rip his head off just in case he would ever hurt her or anything, I pushed him back. She's not dumping him anyway so he would have no need to get angry with her.
"She's not dumping him, she doesn't want to be with me" I said casually trying to pretend like she wasn't ripping my heart out.
He gasped "What? How?" he asked shocked, I smiled sadly.
"I guess the mating didn't work with her because she's human, it only works for shifters by the look of it, so she wants to stay with her boyfriend and I'll have to be content with being her friend" I said trying not to show the pain of the words.
Scott slapped my shoulder as a supportive gesture, "Shit Jayden that sucks! You really mated with her, like a proper mating? And it has no effect on her?" he asked shaking his head in disbelief.
"Mine's a proper mating, I'd do anything for her, I'll even watch her make a life with her boyfriend if that's what she wants, not much else I can do" I said honestly. "I better go, keep an eye on her for me, I'll be back, and Scott I'm really sorry man" I said apologetically.
He smiled sympathetically, obviously deciding that a lifetime of unrequited love is enough punishment for stealing a girl he wanted to fuck. "It's ok Jay, I'm sorry man, shit I bet you wish you'd not mated her now huh?" he asked grimacing slightly.