Chapter 25 - Jasper

I had done my best to put on a brave face for the pack and help them get ready to move into our new homes, but I felt as though I was slowly losing my mind without my mate.

There was nowhere I could go without being reminded of her. I had tried to go to sleep the night she left, but hadn't even been able to go inside our cabin. The smell of her as I'd come through the open door had been too much to bear, and I had ultimately decided to sleep on the ground outside.

The nights following, Killian had taken pity on me and allowed me to sleep in his cabin, but the empty feeling in my heart remained.

Everyone had packed up their meager belongings and moved into the houses on the hill in Pinedale. Everyone except for me.

I sat outside on the picnic bench and wondered if I would survive. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer. I needed to see her.

Without telling anyone where I was going, I shifted and ran to Sparkle Hollow. I did my best to go unnoticed, but speed was my main objective. If I was going to be killed by their pack, I at least wanted to see her face one more time.

I slowed when I reached the edge of town, shifting back into human form and making my way quickly to the pack house. No one stopped me until I reached the courtyard. As soon as I entered it, two guards hurried forward, blocking my path to the door.

"Halt!" one man shouted, moving close to me.

"Kneel down with your hands in the air immediately!" added the second.

I could see they were moments away from shifting, but I couldn't allow a fight to happen now. Not until I had seen my mate.

"AIDEN MOONSTONE, COME OUT NOW!" I bellowed at the top of my lungs.

I knew he was still here, plotting with Alpha Lex about how to handle their joint problem: me. Well, I had plenty of ideas about that.

The two alphas came outside. They were doing their best to appear nonchalant, but I could see the tension behind their eyes.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Jasper," Aiden said. "I think our business was concluded a week ago."

"No, it isn't. I'm here for my mate," I said.

"You can't have her," Lex replied. "She doesn't belong to you."

"She doesn't belong to anyone," I growled. "But I intend to fight for her, anyway. Just you and me, Aiden. If you win, I'll leave and never return. If I win, April will be allowed to come back with me."

Aiden shook his head in disagreement with my terms while Lex ordered his wolves to vacate the courtyard. He could tell that I was beyond reason and wanted to keep his pack safe. I would commend him for that, if I weren't so furious.

"No, Jasper. I'll fight you because you seem to want that so badly, but April will stay here no matter what the outcome is," Aiden said.

I shifted without warning, and Storm bolted toward him. Lex jumped backwards out of the way as Aiden shifted as well. Our wolves collided in a mass of fur, teeth, and claws.

Due to my wolf's size and strength, I had the upper hand, and it was only a minute before I had Aiden pinned to the ground. He continued to struggle as he tried to free himself and fight back, but I was unyielding. I didn't wish to harm him, only to prove that I was stronger. If I could keep him pinned, I hoped he would yield and allow me to take April back home—if she wished.

I remained where I was, holding Aiden to the ground, when another wolf suddenly toppled me off my prey. My head hit the cobblestones in the courtyard with a resounding crash. I hadn't expected it, but Lex had joined the fray. The surprise attack had shaken me, but I rebounded.

Lex's assistance had renewed Aiden's vigor, and the two alphas' combined attacks weakened me quicker than I had anticipated. While one bit at my hind legs, the other went for my throat. It wasn't long before Lex and Aiden managed to subdue me.

I prostrated myself on the ground, admitting my defeat before shifting once more. They had won, and I planned to uphold the bargain I had initiated with them. I had told them that I would leave forever, but their vicious attacks had proven that they didn't intend to let me live out the day.

"Please," I begged. My words felt as though they were choking me as I struggled not to cry. "Before I die, all I want is to see her one last time. Please."

Lex remained in wolf form, but Aiden had shifted back so he could answer me. They both looked down at me in disgust as my foe answered.

"You think you can come to our territory and make demands of us?" he growled. "Your request is denied."

Lex hunched over, and I knew my time had ended. As I closed my eyes to await the blow that would end my life, I thought of April one last time. The way she looked at me while our bodies were intertwined, the feeling of her lips on mine, the color of her hair in the sunshine, and every moment we had spent together—it all flooded my mind.

I had expected Lex to cut my throat with his claw, so I was shocked when, instead of feeling pain, I was wrapped up in an embrace.

Had I died so quickly that I hadn't felt it and had now entered the afterlife?

I opened my eyes to see that I was still in the courtyard at Sparkle Hollow. At the bottom of my vision was brown hair with blond tints reflecting the sunlight.

"April," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her as she knelt in front of me.

"I'm here," she whispered back.

She stood up, turning her back to me and facing my attackers.

"This wolf is my true mate," she said. "You will not hurt him."

"April, you need to move so we can finish this," Aiden commanded her sternly.

"Didn't you hear me? You. Will not. Hurt him," she enunciated, fixing the alphas with a glare.

Lex had shifted back into his human form, and their lunas had joined the courtyard to hear April speak.

"I see in front of me the biggest hypocrites the werewolf community has ever seen," she spat. "Not that long ago, you welcomed Aiden with open arms, even though he has committed atrocities that equal what Jasper has done. I have just told you that he is my true mate, and still, you won't even spare his life. I am sickened to see this kind of thinking oversee your packs."

I saw Grace and Madi raise their eyebrows and give each other knowing looks.

"Both of you know that this is wrong," April said to the men, not backing down. "Haven't you learned anything from your lunas?"

I couldn't believe April was standing her ground in front of these men—alphas—who could end her without breaking a sweat. I was in awe of her bravery but even more so of the fact that she had somehow fallen in love with someone as broken as me. Only a true love would have been willing to go as far as she was going, to take my side and protect me from my own certain death.

If we somehow managed to make it out of this alive, I wouldn't let a single day pass without making certain she knew how special and loved she was.

Neither of the alphas was responding to her censure, and I knew our time together might be short. There was nothing else I could do but be honest about my feelings, if only so that April would know before I died.

"I love you, April," I said.

I had never said those words to another living soul, but I meant them. This powerful, compassionate, exhilarating, bold woman had changed my life.

April turned away from the alphas, and when our eyes met, my world became clear. It was only her. She was my everything. Her eyes welled with tears as she knelt down and wrapped her arms around me.

"I love you, Jasper," she whispered.

Those four words nearly gave me the strength to scoop her up and take her away from this place. I would leave everything behind if it meant I could be with her. But I knew that in my weakened state, it wouldn't take long for Aiden and Lex to overtake me.

I pulled her against me, breathing in her scent as I willed myself to be strong enough to let her go.

"They aren't going to let you leave, and I can't live without you," I told her. "It's over. I've made too many mistakes for them to forgive. You need to go back inside so they can finish this."

"Never," she said fiercely. "I will never leave your side. They'll have to kill me, too."

"You know I won't allow that to happen. But if there is another life after this one, I'll find you," I promised.

April held back a sob, and I closed my eyes so that my own sorrow wouldn't leak out. I only needed to be strong for a few more minutes. Strong enough so she would agree to leave.

"Go inside," I whispered. "Please."

I opened my eyes, beseeching Aiden and Lex to get her away from here. If she had to watch me die, I didn't think either of us could bear it.

"You really do love each other, don't you?" Aiden said, realization written on his face. "I thought it was a ploy to get us to give in to your demands, but I can see it."

It seemed that he had taken April's lecture to heart. He was finally seeing that my repentance was as real as his own had been.

"Maybe we should let them go," Madi said. She had come forward to stand by his side.

The two of them gave each other a knowing look before turning to their Sparkle Hollow counterparts. They only spoke a few words to each other in hushed tones before Lex turned to address us.

"There is no alliance between the wolves of Sparkle Hollow and Moonstone with the Dark Moon Pack," Lex said. "We will not attack you if we aren't provoked, and we expect the same in return."

I stared at him in shock as I realized what his announcement meant. "We can go?" I asked in disbelief.

April whirled her head around. She had been so focused on me that I wasn't sure she had heard the conversation that had led up to this moment.

"Don't make us regret it," Aiden said.

"Can you walk?" April asked me.

"For you? I can run," I assured her.

We stood unsteadily and left the courtyard as quickly as we could manage. By the time we reached the edge of town, I had recovered my strength, and we decided to shift so that we could run together back to Pinedale.

"Let's go home," April said.

"I'm already home," I said.

I looked into her auburn eyes as she shifted and knew it was true. All this time, I had thought home was a place, but I had found it right here with my luna.