Between Two Wolves

Jasmine paced back and forth in her room for hours. She couldn't run. Aurora was to meet her here and if she called Aurora, her mate would wonder why the shift in location. Aurora was too possessive and would never allow anyone to touch her mate in any way without Jasmine's consent. That is how she would interpret Jasmine's freakout. That is what Jasmine called it. She acted without thinking and now they knew. The man was just trying to be nice. She had trespassed onto his territory and now she was going to be punished.

She couldn't think. Her mind was a souring torrent. Aurora was the one who was good at these things. Strategy but not when she snapped and the sea of rage ran through her. BANG! Jasmine's head snapped to the door.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Again and again. Jasmine did not reply. Hoped that they would leave and look for her elsewhere. Assume she had already fled. But deep in her heart, she knew they could sniff the fear. BANG! No screaming. No voices. Just an incessant banging that seemed to roll over into the entire course of her existence. Jasmine covered her ears. Like a child, she fell to the floor.

They were torturing her. Trying to get her frazzled. That is why they did not just rip the door from its hinges, capture the woman who had attacked their alpha, and throw her in a cage. BANG! BANG! BANG! The pounding seemed to grow louder. The drum of her heart moving with it. She held her breath as tears leaked down her face.

"Stop it! Please just stop!" She screeched to the door. But when Jasmine uncovered her ears there was nothing. No sound. Air once again reached her lungs and she looked at the door with an agape stare. The booming sounds seemed to fade away from her mind. Like a memory. She rose slowly and rested her hand on the door. Nothing. She made a move to open in and to see an empty hallway.

Jasmine lifted her hands to the temples on her head. Tears once more streamed down her face. Mad. She must be going mad.

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James Barked at his men. They kept banging his body up and down on the silver table in an attempt to remove the weapon that sent a shuddering pain through the course of his body. They tried to lift it and they lifted him. The rod did not even touch his skin, it nearly just stuck to him.

"We need to find the bitch who did this." Caireen, his third, shouted. James let out a strong growl at the notion of any of these men nearing his mate. No matter what the directory said she was his. He saw the panic in her eyes when he grabbed her arm and the horror in them when she bulked in the aftermath. She hurt him out of fear. She was not a wolf and could not sense this. The tug that pulled him toward her and if she had been traveling with a lone alpha she must have gotten used to hostility from any other wolves. Had expected it.

"She is the only one who would know how to remove this," Briannon said. James curled slightly in pain. Refusing to let his men see the extent of the agony he was in. They would tear her to shreds if they did, mate or no. Briannon looked into his eyes. Saw the wariness in them. "She won't be harmed. I promise." James' first instinct was to shake his head. Briannon put a hand on his shoulder. "We will escort her to the compound unharmed." Briannon was serious. His voice stern. Caireen grunted in his disapproval.

"Just you." James whispered to Briannon. It was all he could manage through the pain. Briannon nodded his head and left.

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After hours of sitting in a rutting silence, a knock sounded at the door. Jasmine flinch. This knock was gentle, soft. "Hello." A voice sounded on the other side. It was just as kind as the knock. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

"I don't believe you." Jasmine replied. Low but she knew he could hear her.

"I promise," he said. Soft, his voice was so soft for a wolf male. It was probably a facade but she trusted it anyway. Some intrinsic part her needed to. Needed to hear kind words after three weeks alone. Jasmine opened the door. A man, tall and somewhat wary stood on the other side. He had neatly trimmed ashy blonde hair which was offset by a gruff beard. He grabbed her hand, quick but gentle. "We need to go. You need to help him."

Jasmine knew who he spoke of. Stared into his eyes and didn't see anger, just desperation. Jasmine nodded. She couldn't deny him. Didn't have the heart, even though he might very well rip hers out afterward.

He took her to the compound in his car. Miles deep into the woods beside the small town. He offered to take her red mustang, so she would be more comfortable, but she declined. She needed to leave it in case she didn't come back. A message to Aurora, I am here. His car was plain. It's interior warm and clean but it held nothing remarkable. The man didn't say a word to her on the way and she didn't say anything to him.

The compound was not that different from the one in the united kingdom. The only difference was the casualness of the people and the main building, the Alpha's home, was smaller than she had expected but was still more than any other home here. Aurora's parents' home had been an entire estate but his home, four stories she guessed, had less grandeur and seemed more cozie. The man, Briannon as the guard called him, led her to a basement. She couldn't hear the screaming until he opened the door. Soundproof then. She wondered what they needed a soundproof basement for and cringed at all the possibilities that came to mind.

James was being held down by another man. The man sensed her presence and snapped his head to growl at her but as the guttural noise came out he widened his eyes and looked back to his alpha. Tight-lipped and silent. "Can you remove it?" Briannon set his hand on her shoulder.

Jasmine looked up to him and nodded slowly. Guilt flooded through her as she watched James writhing. He was just being kind and she had done this to him. She stepped toward James cautiously. She cringed back every time a new scream was slashed through the air. Finally, she reached him and gently tugged at the tip of the weapon. It released him. She put the tool back into her pocket. The man that had been holding his alpha down marked the move. Reaping air back into his lungs James' eyes slid towards her and then back to Briannon. He made a jerk of his head and Briannon was behind her in an instant. "Let me escort you out." He didn't touch her just moved forward to guide her. She didn't fight back. Just followed. She expected him to bring her to another sub-level torcher chamber but then they went up the stairs past skidding maids. On the third floor, he opened the door to a large bedroom. She looked back at him confused but he gave her no answer to her unsaid question. Just close the door, leaving her alone.

Jasmine laid down on the bed that faced the door. It had a soft scent of cologne. Everything on the bed was in various shades of Brown, just like the rest of the room. The cushioning felt heavenly compared the various motels she had stayed at over the past two years. Jasmine didn't let herself worry about what was to come. It was unavoidable either way. This was already better than what she had imagined. She just closed her eyes and fell asleep enjoying the canopy bed.

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James looked up at Caireen. His face was solemn. "I understand." Caireen didn't need to elaborate. His head hung low in shame. "She seems so fragile, so scared." James didn't want to think of what awful things Caireen wanted to do to his mate for hurting him.

"Briannon has brought her to my room." James said. A statement with a question hanging over it.

"You shouldn't. Wait to learn more about her mate." Caireen said. James Growled at the word. She was no one's mate but his. "Maybe he is why she seems so...afraid."

"A woman. She is mated to a woman." James grunted. Caireen raised his brow. They had seen men mated to each other. One of the packs bordering theirs was headed by two mated male alphas, and were stronger for it, but never two females. They knew it happened but still couldn't fathom it. Briannon would have to ask more about this supposed mate. He needed to know what manner of female she was before deciding on how he would approach her. She would come for Jasmine eventually. He didn't doubt that.

"You should speak to your sister." Caireen suggested.

"What for?" James asked. His breathing had mellowed. The pain only now a heat within his chest.

"She has studied these things. Knows them well." He said.

James scoffed. "My sister's scholarly fascination within the matters of mating does not make her fit council."

"Don't be a bastard and just ask her. You know she'd be squealing in a situation like this." Caireen shrugged, "Divulge her."

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She arrived in the town. Had been walking on the near-empty sidewalks unnoticed by any cars that would pass by. She had found casual clothing. High waisted denim shorts, a white tee, converse, and black and red flannel. Nothing to draw much attention. She used the map on her phone to reach the motel. The kind woman at the front desk told her that Jasmine was out.

Aurora waited in the lobby. For one hour, then two, and then six had passed by. The sun had long since set and she was getting anxious. The moon calling out that inner aggression, even if it wasn't at its peak. Aurora left the lobby and circled the motel. Jasmine scent was strongest in the side parking lot. Their red mustang parked in the middle of the small lot. There was another smell there too. A male wolf. Aurora subdued her rage at that and calmed herself. Her fist clenched and her breathing slow and calculated. Jasmine was smart. Aurora had taught her how to hide. How sneak passed and pretend to be just another ignorant human. How had she been caught?

Jasmine knew not to attract attention to herself. Knew her name was in that directory. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. Aurora had planned to leave the territory as soon as they reunited. Didn't want any more fighting than necessary. She was so tired of fighting but that didn't change the fact that her mate was captured.

Aurora followed the scent through the parking lot. A car, they had taken her in a car. She could tell by the faintness of the scent. As if it was being pulled into the wind.

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James hadn't dared go up to his rooms. Didn't know what he would say to her. He paced in his foyer instead. His second lazily lying on the mahogany couch. "Just talk to her. The bond should make things flow naturally. That is what happened to me." Briannon said. James shot him a glare. He didn't need to tell briannon that his situation was different. "I could see them." Briannon said, "She is already marked." James shot his head up.

"Where?"

"Her left shoulder. A woman's bite is much easier to hide than a man's, I suppose." Briannon said. James growled.

"How long?" James asked. He dreaded the answer.

"Two years. They met in London. Aurora is an Alpha as well."

James repeated the name, "Aurora." Slowly. It disturbed him how sweet the name felt on his lips. "Aurora," he repeated. "Why did she leave her pack?"

"Her parents passed the position of Alpha over to her younger brother after the mating." James wasn't surprised. Part of his heart saddened for the stranger. He had seen for himself how hard it was for a woman to fight to gain a position. His training to be Alpha had been grueling, to say the least, to only imagine what she had been forced to do, as a woman. James visibly cringed. Then to have all taken away, for loving something.

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know. She does not have to report to the directory. She is on her own." Briannon sighed. He too felt sympathy for the girl. "What will we say to her? About Jasmine." James sat down staring at nothing. "She is powerful and known to be aggressive."

"But she doesn't deserve this." James said. He was yet to understand the mating. If it had been real and if it was, what that meant for himself.