hapter 149
KASMINE.
We had to move. There was a tightening in my gut and a pull of dread that refused to loosen.
I didn’t trust Kester. Perhaps he must have followed us last night without us knowing. Or he even had someone do the following. Maybe that was how he got to know our location.
We had left as soon as Jake returned from getting me some new clothes, a toothbrush, toiletries, and little thoughtful things he knew I’d be needing that made me want to cry because he knew without being told.
See why I had to love Jake? He was gentle in ways I didn’t know I craved. Attentive in moments most people would overlook. He was so kind, loving and caring.
The new motel was small, almost tucked away from the world, sitting quietly on the edge of nowhere, and it was really far from the previous one.
Since we moved here, I felt more at peace. It was almost seven PM, and there have been no calls or
Kester yet.
Good.
texts from
I shifted beneath the thin motel sheets and winced. My body no longer felt like my own. I was cold and achy. My limbs were heavy like I’d been stitched together with lead. The pressure in my head was building, and my stomach twisted with a cocktail of nausea and hunger.
God, I needed help. Real help. A doctor. A hospital. Something stronger than Jake’s kindness and this four–wall cocoon we were hiding in.
“Jake?” I murmured, propping myself up on my elbows. The room tilted slightly. My throat was dry, and my skin felt too tight for my bones.
He didn’t answer immediately.
“Uh… yeah, babe,” he finally said with his voice far off and his eyes still glued to the phone screen while his thumb froze mid–scroll.
He’d been like that since last night. Completely absorbed in whatever was on that phone–his body here, but his mind… somewhere else.
He hadn’t touched me. He barely even offered a smile. Hadn’t even looked me in the eye for more than a second. And that hurt more than I was ready to admit.
And worst of it all, he seemed… Troubled?
I don’t know, but it seems my hormones are really messing with me. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe he just had some personal stuff to deal with. Maybe… Maybe I just need rest? Food? Medication? Warmth? God, the kind of warmth jake wasn’t offering.
I felt like yelling and crying already. I was at the peak of my frustration.
“What are you doing? You’ve been on your phone all night and all day,” I asked tiredly.
“Uh… It’s… It’s nothing, babe,” He dropped the phone on the bed beside him a little too quickly, like he was guilty. “It’s nothing Just–personal stuff” He tried to smile, but the comers of his mouth barely twitched. I saw a bead of sweat form at his temple.
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Chapter 1:40
He was tense. I could feel it.
“What is going on with you? You’ve not been yourself all day. Talk to me,” I sat up and leaned forward, the room spinning just slightly again. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
His jaw was clenched, and his fingers curled tightly into the edge of the mattress.
He was hiding something. And it wasn’t small.
“It’s nothing, honey. Let’s just… What would you like to eat?” He changed the topic.
I didn’t respond to Jake’s change of subject. I just reached for my phone instead, my hands trembling a little. The screen lit up.
one notification. A news headline.
I saw one
I blinked. Read it again. Karina Wes Karmen was apprehended by the Crisis Intervention Team during a private
raid.
I sat up straighter, ignoring the pounding in my skull.
“Jake. Karina,” I said slowly, “she was taken by the CIT.”
He finally turned to look at me with furrowed brows as he reached for the phone, “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. “That’s… that’s bad. Really bad.”
There was something in his voice that wasn’t shock or curiosity. It was resignation.
I stared at him. “Why is it bad?” I asked softly. Even though never expected Karina to be into drugs, her arrest carme as a relief for reasons I didn’t even know.
He muttered something under his breath. Although I didn’t quite hear him, it sounded more like her arrest opening up a whole can of worms.
Before I could ask him to clarify what he meant, he spoke again, “Did you know Alpha Kester duped Alpha Kex of 150 million?”
The number made my chest go cold. “What?”
Why wasn’t I even surprised? Kester could go to any length to take anyone down. One hundred fifty million was fair compared to what I know Kester was capable of.
Jake nodded, rubbing his jaw as he stared at the wall like it could explain the chaos he was narrating, “No one. knows about it just yet. Kex is keeping it under for now; otherwise, his investors will go wild.”
I stared at him like I didn’t know him. “Jake… If it’s still a secret, how did you know about it?”
He didn’t look at me. “I have a source,” he said too quickly, as if he had just realized he had said something he shouldn’t say. “Reliable. Very close to this whole thing.”
I narrowed my eyes, a sinking feeling building behind my ribs. “What kind of source?” I asked. “You’re not even a part of his world.”
Jake hesitated just for a breath and then gave a nervous chuckle. “Babe, please. I have friends in high places. You know that.”
No, I didn’t. The way he said it felt off.
He stood up a bit too fast, “I’ll get us something to eat, okay? You just–rest. You look pale.”
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Chapter 149
And before I could argue some more, he walked out the door and slammed it shut.
“I don’t like him, Kasmine,” I was almost startled by the voice of my wolf, Zera, when she spoke. But I’ll get used
to it soon.
“Zara, don’t worry. He’s a good guy. You’d get to like him soon enough, okay?” I murmured, chuckling half- heartedly as I tried to lay back down.
“No. I don’t want to like him,” she snapped. “I want our mate. You’re running, Kasmine. But you can’t run forever.” She preached like she’d been doing all night. And sincerely, each time she said those words, they struck deeper than I’d care to admit.
Because she wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t run forever.
“I know, Zera,” I whispered, “1 know. But it’s not that simple. Kester and L. we’re poison together.”
“You want him to reject us,” Zera said bitterly. “But you know he’ll never do that. I felt him last night. I saw him. I know him, Kasmine. He’d burn down the world just to be with you. And his wolf? There is not a chance in hell that he will let us go. Not even with a fight.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as my heart skipped several beats. Again, she wasn’t wrong.
I felt sorry for her. She didn’t deserve to be brought into the chaos I and Kester had created for ourselves. But it is what it is. She’d have to bear with me until I knew what to do and how to get Kester to reject me.
“Don’t worry, Zera. Everything will be…” I was saying when she cut me off and yelled.
“Mate! Mate!” She kept chanting, and before I could process what she meant, it hit me. That strong, possessive, thick, dominating scent I had perceived last night. It struck me strong and hard, and it was drawing nearer and
nearer.
I stumbled out of bed, one hand gripping the dresser to stealy myself as my knees threatened to give out. My skin flushed hot, then cold, tingling all over as though I’d been doused in fever.
It was Kester.
And something told me that this time, he wasn’t leaving without me.
