Chapter 678 - I never stopped loving you

Chapter 678: Chapter 678 - I never stopped loving you

"So think what you like, because I already told you the truth."

Jasmine’s voice came out raw, scraped clean of pride. Her eyes burned with tears she refused to let fall, though a few had already escaped, tracking silver lines down her cheeks.

"You were the last person I ever thought would show interest in me. And I was desperate to stay in this pack."

The admission hung in the air, ugly and honest. She didn’t care anymore, didn’t care that she sounded pathetic, that she was laying her soul bare for a man who might not even want it.

The Blood Moon Festival loomed ahead, a merciless force that would reshape everything, and she had no shield against it. Everything would change.

New pack members would arrive, bright-eyed and hopeful. Old ones would leave, torn from their homes by the cruel hand of fate. She-wolves without mates would be forced to change packs, if their fated mates weren’t from Grimroot.

And she-wolves from other packs would be thrilled to join the Grimroot pack, eager for the prestige and power that came with it.

This had been the whispered fear among the she-wolves for months. The topic that surfaced in quiet corners, in hushed voices, in the dead of night when no one else was listening.

Jasmine had been privy to those conversations, had held trembling hands and offered empty reassurances while hiding her own terror.

Ever since the Blood Moon Festival was rumored, months before the shaman confirmed the date, she had been desperate. Desperate to hold onto her position in the children’s lives. Desperate to stay.

She had done everything Olivia told her, swallowed every humiliation, played every game, all for the chance to marry Voren and remain here.

The other warriors had kept their distance, even Kael. They all knew Olivia had sung it to anyone who would listen, that Jasmine was meant for Voren. So they stayed away, treating her like a prize already claimed.

Then Seraphine appeared, and everything crumbled.

Her attention had drifted to Corvine, before he even became the Alpha. He was warm, kind, everything Voren wasn’t. She had misread his kindness as interest, his friendship as something more. A foolish mistake.

Now the thing she feared most was closing in, and she had nothing. No security, no promise, and no future.

"That’s the same reason I wanted Corvine too." Her voice cracked, the words spilling out like blood from an open wound. "Because he was going to join this pack. And compared to you, he was so warm that I misread his actions." She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue. "If that’s my sin, then I’ll take the punishment of a sinner. I’ll leave for another pack if I’m mated out of this one."

She wiped her tears with aggressive swipes of her hand, angry at herself for crying, for caring, for being so desperate. She turned to leave, her fingers finding the cool metal of the doorknob.

Then Kael’s fingers pressed over hers.

He flipped her around, his hands finding her waist, pulling her into the safety of his arms. The movement stole the breath from her lungs. Her heart slammed against her ribs, a wild, frantic rhythm.

This was the first time she had been this close to him. The heat of his body seeped through her clothes, warming her skin. His scent filled her nose, clean and masculine, everything she had ever imagined.

The attraction between them crackled in the air like electricity. So why was he resisting? Why was he fighting something that felt so inevitable?

"Jasmine." His voice was low, rough, like gravel scraping against stone. "Don’t be like this. Please. Let me explain."

All along, he had thought she only wanted a family. That her desperation came from her upbringing as a lone wolf, from the loneliness that had carved hollows into her heart. He never imagined it could be more than that.

Yes, she was the closest to all the pack leaders. She held vital information, knew secrets that could tear them apart if they ever fell into the wrong hands.

If she was mated to someone outside the pack and left in anger, she could become something far more dangerous than an enemy. She could become a weapon.

"I never stopped loving you." The confession came out broken, like a dam finally cracking under the pressure. "As for being cold, I don’t know what to do about that."

His jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath his skin. "King Voren picked me up when I was the weakest warrior. He trained me, shaped me, turned me into what I am today. He invested so much in me that I fear disappointing him."

His voice dropped, barely above a whisper. "That’s why I kept my distance from she-wolves. Why I never dared to give you the slightest idea that you had a place in my heart. Especially when you were announced as the Alpha’s woman."

Jasmine’s breath caught, her heart stuttering in her chest.

"When the King came to activate the mindlink for his queen, though they didn’t have those titles yet, I took the chance to tell him about my feelings for you." A bitter smile twisted his lips. "He gave me the go-ahead. Told me to pursue you. But I never thought you’d love another man so quickly."

His arms instinctively tightened around her, pulling her closer, as if he was afraid she might disappear.

"Jasmine, I’m afraid of being hurt again." The words came out raw, vulnerable, stripped of every defense he’d ever built. "I’m afraid of considering the possibility of being with you, only to watch you be mated to someone more powerful than me. Someone who can give you more than I ever could. And I’m afraid of having my heart broken again."

He paused, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths. "So please. I’m begging you. Give me three days."

Jasmine cried harder. The tears came freely now, hot and endless, streaming down her face. He loved her, but he wasn’t ready to commit. He wasn’t ready to secure her the way Voren had secured Seraphine. The way Corvine had secured Liah.

"Your response is still the same." Her voice was hollow, empty. "You’re just saying it differently." She pushed against his chest, trying to break free. "Please let go of me."

Kael closed his eyes. He breathed her in, drawing her scent deep into his lungs. He knew she was hurting. Knew that letting her leave like this would open a door for dark thoughts to take root in her heart.

Voices that whispered of revenge, of betrayal, of everything she could become if she let the pain consume her.

"No." His voice was firm, but gentle. "Stay with me for a while. Okay?" ℯℯ𝘭.

His hand moved to her hair, fingers threading through the red strands with impossible tenderness. He pressed his lips to her forehead, a kiss so soft it barely registered.

"Just relax." His breath warmed her skin. "If we’re meant to be, Jasmine, then nothing will ever break us apart."

"But you’ll accept the moon goddess’s choice even if it’s not me."

The words were pointed, sharp, but she had stopped resisting. Her body remained pressed against his, her heart still pounding, but something in her had quieted. Something had settled.

Kael only smiled. A soft, knowing smile that curved his lips and softened the hard lines of his face. He drew her scent in again, letting it fill him, calm him, anchor him.

What he said next was enough to quiet the storm raging in her heart.