Chapter 38

Chapter 38

JASPER

J asper hadn’t bothered grabbing his things when he stormed out of the club the night before. And when Ferus had spotted him coming out of Alastair’s office and called out to him, Jasper had turned on him savagely enough the other Wolf had whimpered like a frightened pup and quickly moved out of his way. Jasper hadn’t bothered to stop even for a moment until he was out of the club, kept going even after he’d made the change and shifted to his Wolf. Then he was running, running through the city, leaving all that anger and pain behind him.

He’d run for hours. Run until he’d barely been able to make it back home, almost too exhausted to shift back and change into fresh clothes.

And now?

The evening sun was still hovering far above the horizon, but Jasper couldn’t wait any longer. He had to do something to fix this, had to restore whatever balance they still had. If there was a chance, even a remote chance, that he could make this right…

Come on, you stupid sun. He glared up at the sky as though he could threaten the sun to set a little faster. But it took its time, tendrils of light clinging to the day as though fighting against the coming night. Finally, when the very last tip of the sun’s orb rested just above the horizon, Jasper steeled himself.

Close enough.

Raising a hand to Alastair’s front door, he knocked. And knocked again.

No answer. Was he still asleep? How long after sunset did it take for Vamps to wake up, anyway? How long was he going to have to wait out here, standing awkwardly on their doorstep?

Jasper raised his hand to knock again, but before he could, the door clicked and opened.

“Boss?” he called, poking his head into the dark room.

“Come in. Close the door.”

Well, Alastair hadn’t immediately told him to fuck off. That was something, at least. A good sign, maybe. Jasper ducked inside, trying to let in as little of the remaining sunlight as possible, and shut the door behind him. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark of the townhouse.

With the sun barely dipping below the horizon, it was a surprise to find Alastair fully awake. In the dim light, with the blackout curtains drawn tight against the sunlight and only one lamp lighting the room, it was hard to see too well. But it looked as though Alastair hadn’t been to sleep at all.

He sat on the couch, still dressed in the suit he had worn to work the night before. His shirt was unbuttoned and opened to the waist, and his belt lay on the ground at his feet, as though he’d attempted to get undressed and simply stopped. He held a glass of amber whiskey cupped tight in one hand. An empty bottle sat on the table in front of him.

“Hello, puppy,” Alastair said, raising the glass in greeting before taking a long drink. “Let me guess—you’re here to beg for your job back?”

“I wouldn’t say beg,” Jasper answered with a shrug.

Alastair smirked.

“Good,” he said. “You won’t need to. You’re not fired.”

The stiff knot in Jasper’s chest loosened a fraction.

“And,” Alastair continued, staring into the amber liquid in his cup as he swirled it, “you’ll be happy to hear that I no longer have the authority to fire you, starting today. Ferus, and Ferus alone, now holds that power.”

His stomach sank.

“Are you leaving The Last Drop?” Jasper asked.

Alastair glanced up quickly.

“Fuck’s sake… no . I’m not leaving my fucking club. But as far as your employment goes, only Ferus can fire you from this point on. Officially, he’s your new boss. Since apparently I can’t be trusted with it, according to him.”

Jasper snorted.

“So…. If that’s all you came here for, you can go now,” Alastair said, gesturing toward the door. “Run on home, puppy.”

Jasper didn’t move.

“Where’s Fey?” he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking around the empty townhouse. Her scent was nowhere in the air tonight.

“Family dinner,” Alastair answered, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. Jasper noticed it trembled, ever so slightly. “With her sisters. She’ll be back later tonight.”

Jasper frowned, staring at the Vampire on the couch before him. His hand was definitely shaking. And he looked gaunt. Paler even than normal. “No offense, boss, but you look like shit.”

Alastair smirked. “Such a flatterer.” The smile faded so quickly Jasper could have convinced himself he imagined it. Alastair ran a hand over his face, groaning. “I need to feed. I was supposed to the night we went to see my family, but…”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Wait you… you don’t feed from Fey?”

The look of disgust that flashed in Alastair’s eyes before he shook his head was very curious. Very curious indeed.

“I just assumed that you did,” Jasper explained with a shrug. “That’s what Vampires do, right?”

Alastair kept shaking his head.

“It’s complicated,” he muttered. “This whole thing is too fucking complicated.”

“She won’t let you?” Jasper asked.

Alastair’s laugh was entirely devoid of humor .

“No, puppy. She’d let me. But I won’t do it.” He sighed, tipping his head back. “We don’t feed on anyone stronger than we are. I can’t feed from Fey. But I can’t…” He paused and took a long drink, draining his glass. “I can’t bring myself to feed from anyone else, so…”

“So, this is your solution?” Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing around the dark room. “You’re going to sit in the dark and, what, starve yourself to death?”

Alastair didn’t answer.

Right. For a moment, there, he’d forgotten how stubborn the Vampire could be.

With a frustrated sigh, Jasper reached down to grab the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head.

“What in all hell do you think you’re doing?” Alastair asked, raising an eyebrow as Jasper folded his shirt and placed it on the couch.

“This is my last clean white shirt,” Jasper explained. “And I don’t want to get blood on it.”

Alastair’s face remained impassive. Blank.

“That doesn’t answer my question, puppy,” he said.

“I’m not as powerful as you are, right?” Jasper asked. It wasn’t even a question that needed asking. No Shifter in the realm could rival a Vampire. Especially not a Vampire like Alastair.

Alastair just blinked in response.

“So.” Jasper spread his arms wide and grinned. “Why not feed from me?”

The seconds ticked by as Alastair stared at him, his face giving away nothing. Each passing second standing there, shirtless, got a little more humiliating.

“I’m not going to beg, if that’s what you’re waiting for,” Jasper told him.

“You don’t know what you’re offering,” Alastair said, finally.

“Does it matter?” he asked, rolling his shoulders. “You need to feed. And… here I am. You can feed from me, right?”

Alastair shifted forward on the couch, setting his glass down heavily on the table.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked in a low voice. “Why offer this?”

Jasper sucked in a breath. He could make a joke, like he always did. He could shrug it off again. He could keep pretending, keep ignoring that pull he felt. Or he could finally face it and stop burying it in a tipsy haze.

“You know why,” he said, finally.

Mine . The word rolled through his mind, through his entire being, again and again as he stared at the Vampire before him.

Alastair stood.

For a second, Jasper thought he might kick him out. Or, at the very least, try to fire him again. Alastair approached him slowly, eyes locked on his. It was pure instinct that had Jasper stepping backward, moving away until his back hit the wall.

“Are you sure about this?” Alastair asked. He commanded such a presence standing in front of him like this, and Jasper now regretted taking off his shirt. Maybe getting it a little bloody would have been preferable to this. To feeling this exposed. Not trusting himself to speak, Jasper nodded.

Why was his heart beating so quickly? Alastair reached out and traced a single finger down the side of Jasper’s neck, and his heart hammered unfathomably loudly in his chest.

“It will hurt,” Alastair told him. Jasper nodded, his mouth dry.

“I can take a little pain,” he said. His voice hitched as he said it.

The corner of Alastair’s lips twitched up into a smile.

“Good to know,” he said, reaching out to hold the back of Jasper’s head. Then, fast as a viper, he struck, fangs sinking into Jasper’s throat.

The force of the bite was a shock. Jasper sucked in air. And it did hurt, initially. Two sharp points of pain, where Alastair’s fangs sunk into him. But then…

Jasper’s hands clenched at his sides, back pressed hard against the wall, and a shudder went through him as Alastair began to feed.

This wasn’t pain. Jasper swore and squeezed his eyes shut on the next swallow, the sensation going straight through his body and down his cock.

This wasn’t pain at all.

Every instinct in him screamed to touch the Vampire feeding from him. He wanted to reach out and run his hands over Alastair’s chest and down his back. He wanted to grip his shoulders and pull him even closer.

He wanted…

Alastair’s hand on the back of his head tightened, pulling Jasper closer to him, pressing him back against the wall with a force that was almost painful.

Jasper swore as their hips touched.

There was no hiding how hard he was as Alastair pressed against him. No hiding his body’s reaction to this. To him.

But Alastair didn’t stop. He didn’t even seem to notice. Mouth pressed tight to Jasper’s neck, he growled deep in his throat, moving against him, rolling their hips together.

Too much. Too much sensation, too much pleasure, and Alastair just kept feeding, mouth pulling long, slow gulps of blood from Jasper’s body.

It was all too much, and he was going…

“Stop,” Jasper gasped.

The response was immediate. That wonderful sensation suddenly gone as Alastair pulled his head back, releasing his neck.

“Are you alright?” Alastair asked in a husky voice, looking concerned. There was blood on his lips.

Jasper almost laughed.

“I’m fine,” he said, swallowing hard. Alastair’s hand still cradled the back of his head, his touch almost gentle now. “I just… I need a second.”

Alastair frowned, confused. “Did I hurt you?” he asked.

Jasper closed his eyes, shaking his head. He couldn’t look Alastair in the eye and say it aloud.

“Then what?—”

“If you keep going, I’m going to come,” Jasper interrupted with a nasal laugh. “I just… I just need a second to calm down, okay?"

Alastair stilled, then glanced down, seeming to only now realize how they were standing. Jasper, who he’d clutched tight against his body, their legs entwined. Jasper’s cock, hard and pulsing against Alastair’s thigh.

“I see,” Alastair said. He licked his lips. He didn’t move away. Instead, to Jasper’s horror, he leaned back down, mouth hovering over the bite.

“Boss, please,” Jasper whimpered.

“You’re still bleeding. I need to seal the wound,” Alastair told him, sounding amused. His tongue traced the bite, and Jasper bit back a groan.

“Oh,” Jasper murmured. He’d gripped the back of Alastair’s shirt without realizing, and slowly forced himself to let go when Alastair began to move away.

“Was that…” Jasper swallowed, hard. “Did you get enough?”

“For now,” Alastair answered. He already looked better, face flushed, eyes bright. He traced the bite on Jasper’s neck, now sealed, with the tip of his finger.

“Is it… is it always like… that?” Jasper asked.

Alastair chuckled darkly. “No, puppy. No, it’s not. That was… different from what I’m used to.”

Mine , that voice insisted inside him. Goddess, he was a mess. He needed a drink. He needed to come. He needed to get the fuck out of here.

“I should go,” Jasper said. “I’m probably late for my shift tonight, and my boss is a real asshole, so?—”

Alastair leaned down and kissed him. A soft, chaste kiss that tasted metallic and left him dizzy.

“Thank you, puppy,” Alastair whispered, against his lips. “You have no idea how much I needed this. From you.”

Heart beating too fast, too many emotions to understand swirling in his head, Jasper could only nod.

“Of course, boss. Anytime.”