Page 97 of Ruthless Alpha Beast

What I saw has been slowly fading away.

And while it is depicted on the tapestry beneath my fingertips, it can’t compare to the real thing I saw in my mind’s vision.

There’s gotta be something I was missing, another clue of some sort.

As I try my hardest and inevitably come up with nothing, my mind starts to wander.

I see Jasper. Staring at me beneath the stars.

I sigh.

So badly, I wanted him to reach out and touch me. I craved his hands and his lips. The way he touches me always sets me on fire. It’s like he knows my body better than I do.

I shake my head, open my eyes, and straighten myself out. I’m not thinking about this right now.

Where the hell is my self-control?

I close my eyes again.

I press my palms harder against the tapestry, willing it to give me something—anything. But the only thing I feel is the silky texture beneath my fingertips, stubbornly silent. No pull. No spark. No echo of what I saw before.

“Useless,” I mutter, dragging my hands down the fabric.

The silence of the council hall reminds me of how foolish this all feels.

I’m sitting here, alone in the middle of the day, trying to summon a vision I had by chance over a week ago. It’s like I was blessed with a magical insight that the universe has decided I’m no longer worthy of.

Maybe I should give up.

I slump back into the chair, and my eyes forcibly open.

I’m not a quitter. Never have been. But this feels like I’m chasing dead ends.

Like I’m trying to prove myself, and for what?

I gaze for a few moments at the light streaming in through the hall’s windows.

I imagine Jasper sitting here, directing his men, and making important decisions with that important frown plastered across his face.

I smile to myself.

That frown, the one he does when he’s being official,serious, Alpha Jasper.

It’s amusing because in reality, he really is so un-serious.

I’ve seen so many new sides of him… My thoughts trail off.

I’m not getting anywhere, am I?

Think, Tara.What other thing is there that you could do to get this vision to come?

I’ve already asked the witches, and they told me that when it comes to magical visions, it can sometimes help to put yourself in the same place, with the same things around you, in order to help evoke what you saw.

They said that often works for them, but they have no idea what would work for a human.

Fair enough.

But their experience is all I’ve got, and so if they think it might work, then it’s worth a shot.