Nate's Point of View:
"Fuck." Casper breathed out as he stretched beside me, wakening me from my sleep. I cast my eyes over his form and smiled as the tangle of memories from the night before flicked through my mind like a perfect movie I couldn't believe was my life.
"Are you feeling okay?" I asked softly, lightly bringing my hand up to his face to stroke his cheek as our eyes connected.
Casper leaned into my touch and nodded into my palm giving me a light kiss on the hand as he gave me a lazy smile. "I'm good... I'm better than good." He said lightly. "I mean, my ass hurts but it's totally worth it."
I gave a small smile, pulling him closer to me so that my hand rested on his waist as I brought our lips together again, delving into a passionate kiss that reignited the passion from the night before and made my lust flare up once more. I still couldn't believe this was happening.... That any of this was real. After everything that happened, I never truly believed Casper would love me. I was scared I would be alone for the rest of my life... but this was happening. He loved me. I loved him. Things were good.
"Did it live up to your expectation?" I asked.
Casper smiled and nodded. "It was a good first time... very romantic."
"Good?" I asked. "Only good? Not amazing? Or incredible? Or the best night of your whole life and all you can think about is doing it again?"
Casper chuckled. "It was good Nate... It was... magical.. exhilarating... everything I imagined." He pushed me flat onto the bed and moved on top of me, looking down on me as he studied me closely. "It was good... but I know you can do better." Casper lightly whispered the words against my skin as he brought his lips down to mine, gently tracing my bottom lip with his tongue as he consumed me with his taste.
"What does- what does that mean?" I asked gently pushing him away from me.
Casper looked down at me and chuckled. "You can be rough with me you know." He whispered softly. "We're werewolves. We're not delicate. You were holding back a little last night... and it was great. Perfect. For a first time... but I think we can do a little better don't you?"
To say those words shocked me was an understatement.
"I can show you how it's done if you'd like." Casper said lightly nibbling at my skin, making me shiver as he sucked at the pulse point of my neck, making my mouth open in a silent moan.
"I can- I can be forceful." I murmured out. "In a romantic way... I don't want to hurt you. Ever."
"Okay. I'll pretend the past seven years haven't happened then." Casper said with a small laugh and I groaned, pushing him off me.
"Why did you have to remind me of my stupidity?" I asked as I rolled out of bed.
"It's my biggest bit of leverage on you." Casper said with a wink.
"I really don't want to go back." I said, gazing through the window at the streets outside. Despite my few short comings and mishaps, it had been a good getting away together.
"It's okay. We've got our own little hut by the White Woods we can use to fuck whenever you want." Casper smiled at me and I threw a pillow at him.
"As soon as I get back Loki's going to want to hear everything... he can be so nosey." I rolled my eyes. "He won't stop unless he gets some gossip from me."
Casper laughed. "Brianna's the same..." He trailed off and his face betrayed a wave of sadness as he thought about his sister.
"You still don't know where Bree is?" I asked. "I thought she was supposed to be giving you updates."
"She's at one of Emily's friends packs or something." Casper said. "I think..." he sighed. "I'm worried about her. I wish she'd come home but I get why she can't... I swear as soon as I'm Alpha my parents will be banished for what they tried to do to her."
"Brianna's strong." I said walking to the other side of the bed and sitting down beside Casper. I took his hand in mine, giving it a light squeeze in reassurance. "Brianna will be fine." He looked at me and nodded and I gave him one last peck on the lips before getting up.
We packed everything up, cleaning the rooms and ensuring all our belongings had been packed away.
"I'm going to miss it here." Casper murmured as we stood in front of the small beach house. I quickly shoved our belongings into the back of my car and gave Casper a small smile. "We'll be back. I promise." We had our whole lives to travel together.
The drive back to our pack was relatively silent. Casper was asleep peacefully in the passenger seat. His lips were formed in a small smile as he dozed off and it made me feel tingly and bubbly inside. Everything that had happened during the week. We had taken our relationship to the next level and I couldn't be more ready for the future.
Right now, I didn't want to think about Hailey, or my fae father or anyone else. I wanted to think about my mate, just the two of us, happy and in love.
Casper woke up when we were crossing back into pack territory. He yawned and let out a stretch, gazing at me with soft tired eyes.
"That drive seemed quicker than I thought it would be." He said, voice raspy from sleep.
"That tends to be the case when you're not awake." I pointed out and Casper chuckled. He gazed out the window as our pack came into view and gave a soft sigh.
"I wonder what's been happening at school." He said. "They had the school dance as well. I forgot to ask how it went."
"I can tell you." I said simply. "Camilla probably tried to flirt with Loki, Loki probably snuck in booze and got kicked out, Chloe would have ran out after him and chastised him for his stupidity. Cayden was probably in the corner reading... or trying to talk to Kai the whole night. Kai was probably hiding in one of the school hallways, avoiding the party completely, Camilla would have probably drunk some of Loki's illegal booze and started chasing bats and Cayden would have been forced to take care of her." I finished, looking at Casper who had his mouth open, staring at me.
"You know what... that seems weirdly accurate."
I smirked in success.
"Bree would have loved it..." Casper said slightly trailing off. "I wonder how she is."
"We can go visit if you want." I said tentatively.
Casper shook his head. "The last thing I want to do is accidentally lead my parents right to her. It's better if we stay here."
I wordlessly nodded. I pulled up to the small little house by the White Woods Casper and I shared and was surprised to see our friends waiting outside. Loki was holding a large poster in his hand, grinning from ear to ear and Camilla sheepishly stood next to him, looking nervous. Cayden and Chloe were leaning against the front door, lost in conversation before both looking up at us as we pulled in.
Camilla and Loki both ran over to the car in a hurry and as I stepped out to greet my friend, I was crushed in a large bird hug before Loki roared out in delight. "Nate! I am so, so, so, happy for you!" He gushed out, holding up his sign.
I peered at the sign.
May I take your order? Or maybe your virginity?
"... what?" I asked looking at Loki.
"Congrats Bro!" He said clasping me on the shoulder. "You finally had sex! Tell me everything!"
I looked at my friend in shock. "I.... what... how..." I looked at Casper who was looking at Loki in equal shock before he turned to look at Camilla, lowering his eyes at her as she gave him a guilty look.
"I was excited okay!?" She said crossing her arms. "You're the first one in our group! I only meant to tell Cayden but then I ran into Loki and I assumed that Nate would tell him anyway so I... let it slip."
Casper mutely stared at his friend as I turned back to mine.
"So.... Spill the tea!" Loki said with a child like grin as he practically bounced up and down.
"Loki... you're not a virgin." I said.
"Virginity is a social construct!" Chloe called out from where she was leaning with Cayden and I lightly laughed before turning back to Loki. "Fine, Loki, you're dick hasn't been unused."
Loki laughed, throwing his head back. "Nate... I've never slept with my mate." He smiled at me wickedly. "You're the first to do that... so how did it feel? Was it magical? Perfect? Or was it filthy? Brutal? Dangerous? Tell me everything!"
I stared at Loki, not sure what to say.
"If you want me to go first I can." Loki said eagerly. "Let's see, Brianna is the last girl I slept with." Loki said, nodding. "She was good. We-"
"No, no, no shut up!" Casper snapped, looking at Loki whose face fell into a frown.
"I'm not talking to you!" Loki yelled out.
"Yes, but I can hear you!" Casper replied.
Loki groaned and rolled his eyes. "Nate, your mate is a drama queen." He mumbled.
"Yeah, I don't blame him." I said with a half smile. "I don't exactly want to hear about Brianna in bed either... how about you keep that to yourself okay?"
Loki looked almost crestfallen. "But you'll tell me about your own experience right?"
"No. definitely not." I replied and Loki gave another over dramatic groan.
"Chloe! Nate's being mean to me!" He shrieked out and I made eye contact with Chloe as she gave me a sympathetic smile. 'He's your problem now' She mouthed out before turning back to Cayden to continue her conversation.
"We can talk as we walk Nate." Loki said, taking my hand and dragging me away from everyone else.
I looked back to Casper and he gave me a grin before mouthing the words 'I'll see you later' before turning back to Camilla.
"So... start from the becoming. Tell me everything." Loki said.
I sighed and smiling at my friend's boisterous excitement. "It was- it was amazing." I said with a fond smile. "I mean... I screwed up once but-"
"That's to be expected." Loki said nodding. "Wait... only once?" He gave me a surprised look. "No way, you went away together for a week. Surely you screwed up more than once?"
I looked at my friend, pausing. "Are- are you being sarcastic?" I questioned
"No." Loki said with a frown before he beamed again. "I'm so proud of you Nate. Only screwing up once! That's progress!"
I laughed as we continued walking. I explained each day to Loki, telling him about the boat and the girl, my embarrassing apology and all the days that came after it. I left out the final day though. Loki had no business knowing any of that.
"Now you." I said with a smile to my friend. "How have you been?"
"Amazing!" Loki said. "Or well... okay." He frowned. "There's been a few attacks Nate... I'm sure you'll parents will want to talk to you about them... Hailey seems to be getting stronger and stronger. She's left us alone though for now..."
I nodded. We didn't have long now until Casper's 18th birthday. I didn't want to discuss Hailey now though.
"How was the dance?" I asked instead.
"Ah." Loki gave me a sheepish look. "Yeah I was only there for about fifteen minutes... I got kicked out. Apparently teachers don't fall for the 'disguising vodka as water trick'" Loki shrugged and I gave a feint smile.
We ended up walking back to my house, my original house, where my parents lived and I stopped when I saw my mother outside, anxiously pacing up and down our front lawn. Her eyes lit up in shock when she saw me and she ran over to us.
"Nate!" She called out in a frantic panic.
My blood went cold when I saw the distressed state my mother was in. "Another attack?" I asked.
"No, not an attack." My mother's voice was quiet, small. She swallowed and darted her eyes around anxiously. "Nate.... Nate something's gone missing."
"I- what?" I asked.
"We've lost something Nate! Something important! Have you- have you seen..." She trailed off, her hands pulling at her hair as her eyes shut in undisguised terror.
Understanding dawned on me. I had stolen the car.
"Mum..." I said carefully. "I didn't know if would panic you so much but-"
"You have it? You took it?" My mother's eyes grew wide as she searched my face quickly.
"I- I mean, I didn't think it would be a big deal. I mean, we never use it... we tend to walk everywhere... or run. We're wolves... you know?"
My mother blinked a few times. "What- what are you talking about?" She asked.
I blinked at my mother. "The- the car... what are you talking about?" I whispered. I peered through the front door into our house and saw what I could only describe as a total and utter wreck. Glass was shattered all over the floor, paper thrown everywhere, books scattered around. The furniture looked as if it had been moved. My mother had definitely not lost a car.
"What are you looking for?" I asked. Searching my mother's desperate face a bad, nagging feeling ate away at me. Something was seriously wrong.
"A birth certificate Nate." My mother whispered. "I lost a birth certificate."
I held eye contact with her. "One of ours?" I questioned.
She bit her lip and shook her head.
There was silence between us.
"Jade." I eventually whispered out.
My mother froze, eyes as wide as saucers as she stared at me in horror.
"You- you- you." Her stuttering trailed off. I could hear her heart beat accelerating and I swallowed and took a breath.
"I found the certificate mum." I whispered. "But I didn't take it."
From what I gathered, Casper hadn't taken it either. He told me after he read it and told Camilla and Cayden about it, he had put it back. Casper wasn't stupid enough to take something that important and damaging.
"Who is she?" I asked eventually.
My mother looked shaken, wrecked, diminished as if a storm of considerable magnitude had blown away her spirit. Her aura was dimmed, overshadowed by her fear and anxiety as her breaths were laboured and raw. There was a rare vulnerability in her gaze, speaking to the depths of this secret she had been carrying, a burden that she was scared to free herself from.
"Jade- Jade-" She swallowed, heart hammering before closing her eyes. "My first born daughter." She said eventually, shooting the words out as if they were poison. Dangerous. "She's... she's the product of an affair with my ex... when she was born I got rid of her. Gave her to a witch to take care of... and now... the birth certificate is missing." My mother whispered the last part.
I understood why. This was bad.
"Does dad know... about Jade?" I asked.
My mother nodded, blinking back tears that appeared in her eyes. "I told him... the night of our mating. I didn't want secrets... and then we had you on the way... our own child." She gave me a watering smile and I felt guilty knowing that wasn't entirely true.
"Someone took this certificate... someone knows this secret. He- he can't know this secret." My mother's voice was clawed, cracking as she spoke.
I understood exactly why this was bad. My fae father needed their oldest child with him to remain in power. i assume he had also thought it was me, like I had for most of my life. If he was the one who had stolen the birth certificate, it would mean that he knew of a child older than me who he needed instead. It would mean that Jade, wherever she was, would be in terrible danger.
"Nate, promise me you didn't take the birth certificate."
I looked at her worried gaze, her eyes fearful and scared and her body shaking from frantic hysteria.
"I didn't take the certificate mum. I promise."
I hadn't taken it, but I had a bad feeling about who had.
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Ahhhhhhhh who do you think took it????
I can't believe this is chapter 46!! Not long to go now! I suspect the book will be about 60 chapters!!
I loveeeeee Loki so much! He always makes me laugh. i can't wait until he finds his own mate (wink, wink). It's pretty obvious who it's going to be though in my opinion.
Anyway, let me know what you thinkkkk!!!!!
- Christinaaa :)))