Her Pack by Tamara White

Chapter Thirty-Nine

We comeupon Jason in a place just as Eli described. The sound of running water soothing, even before I got to see the full beauty of the moss covered rocks and firefly like bugs flittering around on the ceiling. Not all of them are fireflies though, there are some type of worms crawling along the roof, glowing soft enough to illuminate the room.

In the centre of the cavern, Jason is sitting on one of the larger rocks, his feet dangling down in the water. His toes caress the waters surface with each swing of his feet.

I think maybe Eli oversold this river. If I was the one explaining things, I would have called it a stream. In my mind a river has to be deep enough for you to dive into or go for a swim at least. I doubt the water running through here is more than ankle deep.

Eli pauses just inside the entryway, his eyes on Jason's back. He gives me a little nudge then sinks down to sit by the doorway, offering me a small smile of encouragement. He knows though that this is time to be with my mate. He's doing the best he can to offer us privacy while staying near enough to help if things get heated. Hopefully they won't but who knows. The rest of my mates must have really hurt Jason for him to walk off the way he did.

I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Hopefully Jason won't be upset that I'm interrupting his alone time. Surely he heard us stumbling down here, though. If he had a problem, he probably would have said something by now.

I walk straight to him and rest a hand on his shoulder. He reaches up and grips onto it tightly like it's a lifeline and he's barely holding on. He doesn't speak, and I don't either knowing he'll talk to me when he's ready. I can't even imagine what he's feeling.

Happiness that his mom is here at the pack with him and that she's safe. Worry that everyone thinks she's a traitor. Pain that she actually may be. And of course, loneliness at being refused the little bit of comfort he needed from me when he needed it.

His friends, people who he'd known and grown up with, made him feel like he was a traitor. When they refused to let him have time alone with me, his mate, in a time when he needed it, it must have broken a piece of him.

And to be honest, it wasn't fair of them to leave him out in the cold like that when they had no proof that he knew a thing about his mother or her traitorous thoughts. He was clearly struggling, especially after searching for her for so long. I expected them to show him more compassion than that.

Jason suddenly grips my wrist and pulls me down. I land in his lap with an oomph of surprise. When he doesn't do anything but wrap his arms around me and hold me close, I relax. I nuzzle into his chest, allowing him to take comfort in my presence.

After a few moments of him just breathing in my scent, he lets loose a deep content sigh. "I'm sorry," he murmurs softly against the top of my head, his hand stroking down my back like he's comforting me and not the other way around. "I shouldn't have left when I did, but I just couldn't stand to see the accusing glares from my friends."

My poor mate. I knew it hurt him to be treated like a pariah but the pain in his tone tells me it's much worse than I imagined.

I grip his shirt and press myself as close to him as I can, offering the only comfort I can. My presence. "I'm sorry. I wish I could have done more. They were treating you so horrible for something you didn't even do and it wasn't fair of them." I press a kiss to his chest, still angry on his behalf. I thought we were reaching a good ground between the lot of us but they turned on him so easily. It has me doubting everything again. Why can't this be so simple? Why is it so hard to navigate a relationship with them? Maybe this is why humans only date one person. It's too complex to add another person into the mix, let alone multiple people.

"It's not your problem," Jason mutters, resting his cheek on my head. "I think if I was in their position, I probably would have been just as cold, just as callous. You're everything to me and to even think there could be someone close to you who's responsible for causing you any kind of pain, well it's unfathomable to me. However, the more I think on it, the more I've started to realize that it makes a lot more sense then I care to admit. Which guts me to even think about."

I frown, surprised he thinks there could be a traitor close to us. I thought for sure he would be dead set against the idea. I mean, my money was on Sarah still being responsible somehow.

"Logically, it makes the most sense though," Jason continues, voicing his reasoning. "I imagine even the Enforcers have begun to suspect one of us is leaking information with the amount of shit that has been going on close to us. And now that my mother has been labelled a traitor, it's natural that everyone would assume I've been working with Luke all along. I could even argue it would make sense why I was desperate to find my mother and bring her to you." I lean back to look up at him in surprise. I hadn't had any of that cross my mind. And even now that he's said it, doesn't mean I believe it. "Just because it's not true, won't stop everyone from believing it though."

He smiles down at me sadly, his eyes filled with pain. "Maybe I just need to put in some extra effort to find out the real person who's been betraying us and the pack. I doubt it's any of us mates. However, no one else is close enough to you to be capable of betraying you with certain bits of information, like when we left to meet my informant. But, realistically, only we had the means to betray you for that trip. So I can't completely dismiss the idea that it is one of us who has betrayed you either."

Jason sounds matter of fact as he discusses the possibility of one of my mates being a traitor. it annoys me a little that he honestly thinks any of them could do such a thing. I would like to think I've gotten to know them well enough that I know they wouldn't do such a thing. But he's making it seem like I don't know them at all.

To be honest though, I don't think anyone has betrayed me. After hanging around with Aiden and hearing him talk about the way Jonnie's background check came up empty, I started thinking. It feels more like we're being played. Like he wants us to suspect one of my mates. To throw us off and divide us when we need to be strong. Luke is probably spying on us in a way none of us even considered.

"Have you thought about whether Luke has just taken the human route and bugged us? You know like those spy movies? He's listening into our phones and computers and stuff? It could very well be the way he's finding out all he needs to. I mean we could just be talking about what we're doing and he could hear us then plan ahead from there. I mean if I was in his shoes, that's what I would do.”

Jason stares at me, a blank expression on his face. "You really think he would be so human?" Even his voice tells me he's sceptical Luke would do such a thing with how much he's gone on about hating humans and wanting to put them in their place on the food chain.

"I think that you're all so used to being wolves and hearing about his dislike of humans, that no one would even suspect Luke of being so practical. But if Aiden is right and Luke truly does have a hacker on his side keeping his location hidden, then it makes sense he would use those skills to get an advantage in spying on us too. No one would think he would do such a thing which makes it the perfect move for him. The more I think about all this, the more I realize that everyone has underestimated Luke, even myself. We all just thought of him as nothing more than a dick who's good at controlling people. I think it's safe to assume he's also smarter than we give him credit for. No one would suspect him of living like a human or behaving like a human because of how much he's made it known he hates them. It would be the perfect disguise to hide amongst the very thing he hates."

Jason mulls over my words, no doubt wondering if Luke could be crazy enough to do such a thing. But why not? I mean, it makes sense that if he's not hiding on any of the packs' lands, then he has to be somewhere we'd least suspect. And after knowing Maria was being hidden in a human insane asylum, it makes even more sense to me.

It's something I would like to discuss with Aiden later. Maybe if I explain my logic to him, it may convince him to not be so quick to dismiss some of the human hideouts that he has found Luke's signal being bounced from. Hopefully then we can narrow down our search.

"You know, as crazy as that is, that makes a hell of a lot of sense," Eli mumbles, just loud enough to echo in the cavern. "Luke is probably just crazy enough to do that. Maybe we should ask Aiden to help us search the house, see if we find any of these bugs you're talking about. At least if we do and we find some, then we'll know for sure that there's no traitor. If we don't find any though..."

He trails off and I frown, his sentence finishing in my mind. If we don't find a bug, then it means we really do have a traitor. And that means it most likely will be someone close to me. Which I don't think I can handle. I can't even entertain the possibility there could be a traitor. Even Aiden's musings aren't enough to convince me Jonnie has betrayed me. Maybe Jonnie's just a little tech savvy and cleans his phone and computer regularly?

Jason brushes the hair from my face. His face softens at the worry he sees. "Hey, don't fret. We'll figure it all out, I promise." He leans forth to press a kiss to my head, but I don't want soft attention right now. I need more, I need my mate to distract me from all the crap that is going on. To show me that even with all the drama we have going on in this world, we can still just be about one another.

I move forward and claim his lips with mine, biting his bottom lip. He jumps and pulls away, his eyes filled with shock. Hell, even I'm not sure why I bit his lip, but it felt right.

I feel the rejection from him and try not to let my hurt show. I drop my head, cursing myself for trying to make a move at the wrong moment. He's worried about his mom. He isn't even remotely thinking about anything else.

Jason lifts my chin, his hazel eyes filled with arousal. His face forms a small grin, and he leans in to claim my lips eagerly. I scramble around until my legs are wrapped around his waist, never once breaking his kiss.  My hands twine up in Jason’s hair and I grind against his body, eager to be this close with him. To lose myself in his body and forget all the crap that has happened today. That has happened since I first landed in this world.

I pull away, trying to get control of my ragged breaths. When I do, a throat clears. My gaze swings to Eli who's only a few feet away, watching us with hungry eyes. "Uh, I'm just gonna go." He points behind me but doesn't appear to be able to move straight away.

Suddenly he finds the will power to turn and I call for him to stop. "Eli, please, wait."

I glance to Jason, trying to determine if he's okay with what this would mean if Eli stayed. Hell, I'm not sure if even I'm okay with it, but my gut tells me that this is the right thing to do. If it's not, one of them will object and walk away.

Jason watches me with a wary expression. "Dani, are you sure you want him to stay? I'm not sure that's what you truly want..." He trails off, no doubt sensing that he's going to get an ear full from me.

I'd be lying if I didn't already suspect them of being closer than just friends. Not that either of them has come out and confirmed it for me, but I know I want this, at least once.

"I know what I want, Jason. I want my mates. But my concern isn't for me, it's for you two. I need to know if this is what you both want, not what you want to do to appease your mate." I tell them, trying to be completely blunt. Maybe they won't want to both be with me together. maybe that's pushing this strange relationship a step too far.

"Have you ever done something like this before?" Eli asks, gesturing vaguely between him and Jason.

"If you're asking if I've been with more than one person at a time, then the answer is no. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. And as fate would have it, I have a fair few mates who may be willing to try that first experience with me. Though if this is crossing some of boundary for you both, then I will understand. Just be honest with me, I will accept whatever you two want to do moving forward."

I won't lie and say I'm not dying to hear them accept this offer because I truly am. Though if they don't want to take this step with me, then that too is perfectly understandable. I won't push them.

Both of them cast each other worried expressions, like they're afraid this is too good to be true. When they see I'm dead serious, their expressions morph into ones of eagerness and excitement.

My heart races as they both stare at me like I'm a big juicy steak that they get to devour together.