Page 7

Jackson

I stand there, stunned, as Elijah runs up the stairs, his words ringing in my head. Jessica has her hand clamped over her mouth, too shocked to speak, but there’s one person here who doesn’t seem too shocked.

“The boy Scarlett hinted that she’s in love with. It’s not Elijah, is it?” I ask quietly. If it is a one-way thing I will understand, but if this is a mutual feeling, then it will be problematic.

“And if it is?” Amelia retorts, her eyes flashing with defiance.

“They are siblings,” I growl warningly, my eyes flashing. Amelia does her best to withstand my aura, although I can feel it weighing on her.

“Stepsiblings,” she adds, only making my rage grow.

“You may be my aunt, Amelia, but remember that I am the Alpha!” I thunder.

“Jackson… let’s talk about this calmly,” Jessica whispers.

“He is up there! Doing Goddess knows what with his sister!” I hiss, “How do you expect me to be calm about it?”

“Oh, so now they are siblings? What happened when you were just telling him they aren’t actually siblings? For heaven’s darn sake, shut that mouth and man up! If you chose to marry and mate Jessica, that’s on you! What if they turn out to be mates?” Amelia snaps, impatience bleeding into her voice.

“Please calm down. I don’t want Scarlett to hear us,” Jessica says softly. “She’s been through a lot, Jackson.”

“Is everyone forgetting that this is meant to be about what Scarlett is going through?” Indigo whispers.

And Indy is listening to all of this. Please, let’s be rational! Jessica pleads through the mind-link.

I exhale deeply. She’s correct, but right now, the rage I feel towards my son is uncontrollable. He does everything to try to sabotage me. He is doing this to hurt me for some Goddess-forsaken reason.

“I know Scarlett has been through a lot. But I blame Elijah for this. No wonder he’s been refusing to go to the Mating Ball. It’s because of this… And I don’t care if this is his messed-up assumption of what he thinks is love or not, but it doesn’t matter to me. He needs to find his Luna!” I snarl icily before I turn and storm into the lounge.

“Head to bed, honey.” I hear Jessica tell Indigo before I hear her light footsteps on the stairs.

Jessica and Amelia step into the lounge and shut the door behind themselves. Amelia comes over and sits down, looking at me as I pace angrily.

“Sit down. Ever heard if you’re angry, sit down?” Amelia scolds.

I roll my eyes, exhaling as Jessica takes my hand and leads me to the sofa. I sit down opposite Amelia, and Jessica takes a seat beside me.

“His feelings for her are strong, and vice versa. I know what I know and, unlike you, I’ve seen the look in their eyes for one another. It’s love, whether your alpha pride allows you to see that or not,” Amelia begins. She then shakes her head. “But what would you know.”

“Excuse me?” I growl.

“You didn’t even wonder why Jessica’s mark disappeared at the same time as other things happened. You only see what you want, Jackson. It has always been the case.”

I clench my jaw as she continues.

“I do think there’s a high probability that they are mates. If they are mates, then Scarlett might just be the rightful Luna. Tell me, Jackson, if that happens, then what will you do? You will be the one in the wrong then. It will only show the two of you should never have been,” she says icily. Her words sting, making my anger rise.

“That is unfair, Amelia.” I glance over at Jessica. Amelia’s words didn’t hurt me as much as they hurt her. She’s taking them to heart. I love her and I can’t imagine life without her.

“That’s an entirely different situation.”

“It isn’t, it really isn’t, Jackson,” Jessica says quietly, looking at her hands. “Aunt Amelia is right. If we can do this, we can’t really stop them. They are adults, not children anymore.”

“I don’t want them to hurt each other, especially Scarlett. We all know Elijah is a player. This could ruin our family! All because he decides to go after the one girl he never should!” I snarl.

“A player who seems to have stopped his playing ways.” Amelia stands up with a sigh. “Do you remember the first time Jessica appeared on pack grounds?”

“Of course,” I say, taking Jessica’s hand, realising she’s trembling slightly.

“Then you will remember that I openly accepted Jessica because I had a dream that a special she-wolf would come to this pack and would need to be kept secret until her time came. I told you this, remember? Even you were uncertain if accepting them was the right thing to do.”

I clench my jaw. “I was just wary because I was the Alpha. It was my responsibility to be careful.”

“Maybe, but it was I who told you that you must welcome them because when I saw Jessica and the girls, I instantly knew that the special she-wolf was Scarlett. That defiance in her eyes, that unbroken strength. Even today, no matter what she went through, I know that strength will continue to burn brightly inside of her.”

“She has always been so strong,” Jessica adds. “You said to me once you felt as if it was the Moon Goddess herself who sent you that message, right?”

Amelia nods. “I truly believe so. I don’t know how, but I know it was her who came to me in my dream, and you both know Scarlett is special. Her abilities…”

She observes us, and I nod.

“Her Alpha aura and abilities.”

“Not only does she have the power of an alpha, something that is unheard of in our kind, a female with such an ability? It’s a miracle. But the ability to slow down another’s healing when she inflicts a wound… She is something special. Her large, silver-grey wolf that is so pure and unreal,” she continues. “Have you not noticed since her arrival to this village that the rogue attacks have decreased until recently? A blessing. She is special, and her coming to this pack, out of all others, all the way from up north, must mean something.”

“I don’t get your point,” I say icily.

“All I’m saying is we have the Goddess’s given gift amongst us, and she needs to walk whatever path she deems right. If that path takes her to Elijah, then you cannot stand in her way. Let the Goddess and the wolf she has blessed do as they deem correct. We are simply pawns in a bigger picture. Never forget that,” Amelia says firmly.

Our eyes meet, and for a moment that eerie wisdom she always held returns. One that always fills me with guilt. That night she said I couldn’t go on that mission and sent her own son in my place. Did she know he wouldn’t make it? I squash the thought.

“And if they do end up being mates?” Jessica asks quietly, looking at me. I frown, Things will become rather complicated.

“More like, if they are not mates, then I don’t think they should be together, and that is final,” I say, standing up, my tone clipped. I am beyond angry at Elijah and feel disappointed in Scarlett, too. How could she do this?

Jessica frowns slightly as she stands up, her heart thundering violently.

“This time, I won’t side with you. I don’t think you’re right, Jackson,” she says softly. I look down at her, not expecting that. Hurt flashes in my eyes as she slowly backs away and goes and stands beside Amelia.

“We met each other first. Why should we compromise that for them? They were raised as siblings! What is wrong with wanting to protect my family?!” I snap, making her flinch. She grips Amelia’s arm, but despite the tremble in her body, her eyes flash as she looks back into mine.

“Because you are being selfish.”

Jessica

“Jackson Westwood, you are only thinking of yourself right now! I know they were raised as siblings, but look back at them! When did Elijah ever treat Scarlett as a sister? He didn’t. Yes, he and Indigo bonded, but there was never anything between the elder two. He never called me mother or anything close. Now looking back, he used to get angry with Scarlett calling you Dad as well! I heard him myself, threatening her to stop calling you Dad, not that she listened.” I try to get through to him.

Jackson simply shakes his head.

“My point is maybe he had feelings for her that he never understood long before now,” I reason. It’s all beginning to make sense to me now. Jackson frowns, glaring at Aunt Amelia as if she’s the reason behind my thoughts.

Jackson shakes his head. “I will not approve of this. Not now, not ever. I swear, Elijah can choose between his Alpha position and Scarlett because I will not allow him to have both!” he snarls.

Fear rears its ugly head inside of me as I stare at him, shocked, hurt flitting through me. Does what others think matter so much to him? Shouldn’t our children’s happiness come first?

Don’t they deserve to be loved? Doesn’t Scarlett deserve it?

But I’m too scared to say anything else and Jackson leaves the room, but for Scarlett, I have to try. I take a shuddering breath, telling myself I can do this as I run after him wanting an answer. My eyes are blurred with tears when I reach him, stopping him from leaving the house.

“Jackson, why are you doing this?” I whisper. “Does their happiness not matter? How can you be so heartless?” He looks down at me, hurt flicking through his eyes.

“Heartless? I thought you would understand, Jessica. I’ve raised the girls as my own. To me there’s no difference between the three. In my eyes, they are siblings, regardless of everything. But if you can’t see that or my reasons, then this conversation is over,” he says quietly before he walks away, leaving me standing there shocked.

Guilt fills me as Jackson leaves the house, slamming the door behind him. I run my hand through my hair. Why is everything coming undone? Amelia sighs, shaking her head, as she steps out of the lounge.

“Leave him. Alphas are prideful buttheads. You can’t get through their thick skulls. Come, let’s have some tea,” Aunt Amelia says. I smile despite myself. Aunt Amelia surely has a way with things. She is strong and so in control of her emotions. I admire her. “Now go drop some ice to Scarlett. I’m sure Elijah will help her with it.”

I nod, hurrying to the freezer, taking two large bags and then head out of the room. I knock on the door, mind-linking Elijah.

Umm, Elijah, I have brought more ice…

Thanks, leave it outside the bathroom door. I’ll grab it.

Ok, I reply hesitantly.

I place the bags down, glancing at the door. Although I want to understand, it is still shocking to just think of the two of them together. How long has it been going on? Have they… I feel embarrassed just thinking of them being intimate, but he is in the bathroom with her…

I shake my head and quickly leave, closing the bedroom door behind me. I pause outside Indigo’s door, but hearing no sound I head downstairs again where Aunt Amelia already has milk on for boil.

The silence is comforting in the kitchen, but something Jackson said makes me look at the older woman.

“But what if he actually puts that condition to Elijah?” I ask worriedly as I pass Aunt Amelia the tea bags.

“Oh? Well, let him,” Aunt Amelia says, looking out of the window as the first rays of the morning sun shine through the trees. “Where there is a will, there is always a way.”

A smile crosses her lips, confidence clear in her every word. And somehow, I believe it.