Chapter 3
A low growl escaped me before I even realized it, my instincts flaring. up. Jake‘ s anger felt like a challenge, but I quickly realized I’d gotten ahead of myself.
“Daphne, calm down. This is just a misunderstanding,” Carmen said softly, placing a gentle hand on her son’s shoulder. “We were just talking about what happened weeks ago, and Jake got upset with his brother. You know how much he looks up to you as his sister.”
I glanced at Jake, his hardened expression quickly softening, almost like a scolded puppy. I let out a sigh, nodding in understanding before excusing myself to get changed.
As I stared into the mirror, memories of how my life became entangled with the Frosts played out in my mind. Though we had grown close over the past five years, our relationship had once been purely civil. My parents were warriors, ranked third from the bottom. It was rare for us to even cross paths with the Alpha and Luna, let. alone form connections.
Everything changed when I became Jake‘ s tutor during my sophomore year. Despite being the daughter of two average warriors, my grades were always among the highest–on par with the beta‘ s children. Carmen had personally come to recruit me for tutoring, and at the time, Jasper was barely on my radar. He’d been sent to another pack for his education, far removed from our lives.
I hadn’t yet come of age, so the thought of fated mates hadn’t even crossed my mind. Back then, my only concern was teaching this thirteen–year–old kid.
Two years later, when I turned nineteen, I was on the verge of chasing. my greatest dream to become one of the King’s Wolf Knights. It had been my goal for as long as I could remember, and I was gearing up for it with everything I had. Around that time, Jake confided in me that it was his dream too. I think that’s when he truly started looking up to me. He became like the younger brother I never had, and I cherished our bond. Back then, we were just that–siblings in spirit–before this whole mate bond with Jasper complicated everything.
Jasper returned a few months later, and things between us changed. The rest was history.
I remember Jake being one of the happiest people when I became his brother’s mate, yet he was also hurt the most when he realized I couldn’t pursue my dream anymore. My path shifted, tied to Jasper s future as the next Alpha. When Jake left to enlist two years. ago, we parted on a bittersweet note. I hadn’t seen him since, and now it made sense why he was so angry–he must have just found out. about everything that had happened.
I slapped my cheeks lightly pulling myself together, and finished getting dressed. Then, I headed back to the living room.
Carmen met me with a hug the moment I walked in, her warmth melting me into her arms. “Daphne, dear, I’m so sorry for what Jasper did. No mate deserves to be treated that way. I’d completely understand if you wanted to reject him. Heck, even his father thinks you should. I just wish we could‘ ve done more for you,” she said, her voice thick with regret.
Her grief mirrored my own, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I broke down, crying on her shoulder, my sobs echoing through the room as we sat there together in silence.
After a while, Carmen asked what I planned to do now, and I told her about my attempt to reject Jasper the night before and everything that had transpired. Her expression darkened with fury as she learned of his behavior.
“That bonehead Jasper!” Jake spat, surprising me. He had grown so much. Looking at him now, I realized just how much time I had wasted enduring Jasper‘ s neglect.
“You should just dump him and come with me to the academy, Daphne,” Jake suggested, his tone serious.
“That’s a great idea, honey,” Mom chimed in. The thought tugged
A low growl escaped me before I even realized it, my instincts flaring. up. Jake‘ s anger felt like a challenge, but I quickly realized I’d gotten ahead of myself.
“Daphne, calm down. This is just a misunderstanding,” Carmen said softly, placing a gentle hand on her son’s shoulder. “We were just talking about what happened weeks ago, and Jake got upset with his brother. You know how much he looks up to you as his sister.”
I glanced at Jake, his hardened expression quickly softening, almost like a scolded puppy. I let out a sigh, nodding in understanding before excusing myself to get changed.
As I stared into the mirror, memories of how my life became entangled with the Frosts played out in my mind. Though we had grown close over the past five years, our relationship had once been purely civil. My parents were warriors, ranked third from the bottom. It was rare for us to even cross paths with the Alpha and Luna, let alone form connections.
Everything changed when I became Jake‘ s tutor during my sophomore year. Despite being the daughter of two average warriors, my grades were always among the highest–on par with the beta‘ s children. Carmen had personally come to recruit me for tutoring, and at the time, Jasper was barely on my radar. He’d been sent to another pack for his education, far removed from our lives.
I hadn’t yet come of age, so the thought of fated mates hadn’t even crossed my mind. Back then, my only concern was teaching this thirteen–year–old kid.
Two years later, when I turned nineteen, I was on the verge of chasing my greatest dream to become one of the King’s Wolf Knights. It had been my goal for as long as I could remember, and I was gearing up for it with everything I had. Around that time, Jake confided in me that it was his dream too. I think that’s when he truly started looking up to me. He became like the younger brother I never had, and I cherished our bond. Back then, we were just that–siblings in spirit–before this whole mate bond with Jasper complicated everything.
Jasper returned a few months later, and things between us changed. The rest was history.
I remember Jake being one of the happiest people when I became his brother‘ s mate, yet he was also hurt the most when he realized I couldn’t pursue my dream anymore. My path shifted, tied to Jasper s future as the next Alpha. When Jake left to enlist two years ago, we parted on a bittersweet note. I hadn’t seen him since, and now it made sense why he was so angry–he must have just found out about everything that had happened.
I slapped my cheeks lightly pulling myself together, and finished getting dressed. Then, I headed back to the living room.
Carmen met me with a hug the moment I walked in, her warmth melting me into her arms. “Daphne, dear, I‘ m so sorry for what Jasper did. No mate deserves to be treated that way. I’d completely understand if you wanted to reject him. Heck, even his father thinks you should. I just wish we could‘ ve done more for you,” she said, her voice thick with regret.
Her grief mirrored my own, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I broke down, crying on her shoulder, my sobs echoing through the room as we sat there together in silence.
After a while, Carmen asked what I planned to do now, and I told her about my attempt to reject Jasper the night before and everything that had transpired. Her expression darkened with fury as she learned of his behavior.
“That bonehead Jasper!” Jake spat, surprising me. He had grown so much. Looking at him now, I realized just how much time I had wasted enduring Jasper‘ s neglect.
“You should just dump him and come with me to the academy, Daphne,” Jake suggested, his tone serious.
“That’s a great idea, honey,” Mom chimed in. The thought tugged at me, tempting as it was, but Dad and I both shared the same concern.
“But isn’t there still three years until the next enlistment?” Dad asked. Jake’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“That’s what we thought too, but the Gamma announced they‘ re pushing it forward to next month.”
“What? Why?” I asked, shocked. They had never done this before.
Jake scratched his head. “We don’t know the exact reason. You know the new king–he’s a spontaneous guy. Maybe it’s just a whim. A handful of knights–in–training were sent out to gauge potential candidates, and one of them was me.”
“What?” We all exclaimed before congratulating him. He Wat!
young but already trusted with a mission. Then, what he said next left us even more stunned.
“No, you misunderstood. I’m only here as the Gamma‘ st messenger. He’ll be arriving in our pack in a few hours.”
“What?!” Carmen shrieked, smacking Jake‘ s shoulder. “Why didn’t you go see your dad first? How could you drop this in the middle of a serious conversation?” she scolded as we scrambled out of the house toward the Alpha‘ s office.
As we ran, a strange feeling crept over me. Something in the air had. shifted–an unseen force stirring in the shadows.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.