Jasmine

The flight from Miami to Charleston was just under five hours. When we landed, I was eager to get to my feet and stretch.

The last two days have been a whirlwind of activity as I got the house packed up and ready for renters while I'm gone. Anytime I leave to visit clients across the country, it gets rented pretty quick because of the proximity to the beach.

I even have regular renters who contact me anytime they plan to visit the area to see if I was out of town and if the house was available. They absolutely love my house and the facilities that are close by, which is another reason why I bought the place.

Being close to the beach was my first pro in the long list of things that attracted me to it. The next was the plaza of boutiques just a street away, which houses a grocery mart, a nail salon, and a small spa. Perfect for a woman to have close by, especially when I'm the type of person who would hate to be surrounded by people on the train just to get to the closest mall.

But none of that matters anymore. I need to focus on the future. I haven't told Harry I'm planning on selling the house yet, but I think she sensed it when we said goodbye this morning. She knew I wouldn't be coming back.

As I walk out of the gate and into the crowded airport, I straighten my back and push through the swarm of people who for some reason feel the need to huddle in on each other like idiots. I hate germs almost as much as socializing, so you can probably imagine how awful this feels for me.

When I finally clear the swarms of people, I breathe a sigh of fresh air and take a moment to centre myself. My magic is building inside me, the new surroundings causing a need to expel my nervous energy, but I can't do that right now unfortunately. No, now I need to get my bags and find the person who’s supposed to escort me to the pack.

I got an email yesterday morning advising me I would be met at the airport by a pack escort, so I didn't get lost. It felt a little weird, to be honest. I mean, I know where the pack is, and I could have gotten there perfectly fine. Although to be fair, the hassle of renting a car and returning it would have been more than I was willing to deal with when I have more important things to focus on, like finding and becoming a mate to some wolf that will want me. At least, I hope that’s what will happen.

When I approach the baggage claim carousel, I spot a man standing off to the side and watching the crowd as if looking for someone. I smirk at the sign he's holding up. It reads clear as day 'JASMINE THE WITCH.’ That's not the worst of it, though. All around the words, he's drawn pictures of broomsticks, cauldrons, and frogs.

His brown eyes stare down the people who walk by with a look of pure mischief. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was challenging the humans to call him out on it. People walk by, and their eyes are drawn to his sign before quickly moving on, giving him odd side glances as they pass like they would a crazy man, and I can’t say I blame them. The intensity with which he's looking around at the humans is a little disconcerting.

What a way to reveal to the world there are other creatures out there, with a sign that announces I'm a witch. Sure, most of the humans will think it’s just some kind of inside joke between the two of us, but we both know the truth.

I grab my bags and make my way over to the tall man, who grins crazily when a group of tourists pause to stare at his sign.

When I stop in front of him, his smile widens. "I’m guessing you’re either Jasmine, or a witch who's about to growl at me for my sign."

The light teasing nature of his voice makes me smile in response. "Yes, I'm Jasmine. I take it you're my escort back to the pack?"

He grins wildly. "That I am, young witch. Do you need some help with your bags?" he asks, looking down at my two overstuffed bags, frowning in confusion. I guess he thought I'd only be here for a day or two based on my amount of luggage.

I hike my bag over my shoulder and look down at the wheelie bag in my hand before smirking back at him. "Nope, I'm good."

The man chuckles, his pale brown eyes lighting up in amusement. "Oh, you're going to be fun to have around. The last witch we had was a bit of a bore. She was such a prima donna and pretty much made us do everything for her. I swear I saw her make a wolf take off his shirt and use it to wipe her shoes clean because one of the pups splashed mud on them."

He shakes his head in horror. "All she did the whole week she was with us, was complain about how unfair her life was. She didn't want a wolf mate and to be brutally honest, I think there were a lot of males who were glad she wasn't theirs. I do however, feel sorry for the Maine pack now. They don't know the trouble they're getting with that one." He shudders, but his voice suggests he would love to be a fly on that wall when that shit went down.

I'm a little shocked by his blunt honesty about the witch who visited before me. I don't quite know how to respond to this, especially when in a week’s time, he could very well be talking about me like this to someone else.

"Uh, I'm sorry?"

He shrugs, seeming unconcerned as he leads me through the parking lot towards a dark-green jeep tucked away in the back. "Meh, I wouldn't worry about it. I just figured you may need a bit of warning before you get to the pack. That chick pushed a lot of our buttons, but none more so than the Alpha’s. He's already met his mate, and is just waiting for her to accept him. Bitchy McWitch Face wouldn’t respect that and tried to trick him into bed with her using magic. To put it mildly, he was not happy when he realized she had used her magic on him to try to make him fall in love with her."

My eyes widen in shock. What the fuck?! “What’s her name? You give me her name right now!"

My magic escapes with my burst of anger, pushing the guy into his car. His eyes widen, and he raises his hands in surrender. "Whoa there, little witch. Calm down."

I close my eyes and take deep breaths, trying to calm the raging storm inside me. It's hard, though. Witches are forbidden to cast love spells. They are dangerous and can mess with the fates’ plans. If your soulmate is out there, but you’ve been spelled to love someone else, or have spelled someone to love you, it can cause catastrophic damage. There are books upon books on the subject in the witches’ library in New York. I haven't been in a long time, but I still remember my teachings. My mentor showed me books about women and men who had cast love spells on people they were never meant to be with. The fates rebelled by way of electric storms, plagues, and even death in some cases.

Every book containing a love spell is only accessible to the Order. They're all kept hidden away with some of our more dangerous spells, so I don't know how this witch managed to get her hands on one, but I am determined to find out. The magic she's messing with is dangerous and could affect us all on a catastrophic scale.

After a few moments with my thoughts, I hear my escort’s feet drop to the ground. I open my eyes, feeling foolish for my slip in power.

"I'm so sorry. I just hate witches who abuse their power. My power was already on the fritz when I got off the plane, and it just boiled over. It won't happen again," I offer in the way of an apology, feeling horrible for my actions. Here I am angry at an abuse of power, and yet, I just used mine on an innocent bystander.

As much as I wish I could have controlled it, I honestly doubt I would have been able to. No matter how hard I try, my magic remains unpredictable at best. It’s always been that way.

My escort opens up the back of the car and begins piling my bags into the back, before closing it. He stays silent as he walks around to open my door for me. I climb in, feeling shittier by the minute.

He starts the car and turns to me before putting it into drive. "Look, there's no hard feelings for what just happened, I was just surprised. You sounded genuinely upset by what she had done to our Alpha. In my experience, it’s rare for a witch to actually care, so it just stunned me. It’s also my fault for dropping so much on you at once. I tend to ramble a lot. So, how about we start over?"

I smile at him gratefully, and he holds out a hand. "Hi! I'm Josh, and I'll be your werewolf escort today."

I smile and clasp his hand. "Hi Josh, I'm Jasmine. I'm a witch who has very little control over her magic. It’s nice to meet you." I chuckle, amused by his easy and refreshing attitude.

"So, I take it you've had a lot of witches come through here then?" I ask curiously. It would be nice to know whether other witches have been coming through and using their magic to manipulate the wolves. The damage a love spell could do to a wolf who still has a mate out there somewhere could be catastrophic.

He nods as he backs out of the airport parking space and merges onto the freeway, on our way to the state forest where the pack is located.

I know most of the pack lives out in the woods, just like the wolves in Maine, but I've never had the privilege to see the way they live up close and personal.

"Yeah, man, we've had over fifty witches come through here already, but so far, no matings. To be honest, I think the Order is stupid for assuming that one of you will actually bond with a wolf. Like seriously, it doesn't make sense. Why would a wolf feel a connection to a witch? Idiots, the three of them, I swear."

I clap a hand over my mouth at such heresy. We're not allowed to disobey the Order, much less blatantly call them out on their practices, even in private. But what's worse, is I find myself mentally agreeing with him.

We all follow the Order without question, because of the threat that the humans will crack down and kill us all if we don’t follow their rule.

I sit in silence, while Josh rambles the whole drive to the pack. He talks about the pack and how there have been three new births this year alone. The way he talks about children makes me feel a little nostalgic. I miss Ivy and Harry so much already.

As a twenty-five-year old woman in this society, I am considered a social outcast for not having children. I would give anything to be barefoot and pregnant in a relationship with a man I loved wholeheartedly, but things just hadn’t worked out that way for me.

A tear slips down my cheek, and I hastily wipe it away before Josh notices. The last thing I need right now is to meet new people with tear-stained cheeks.

We drive deep into the forest, the road becoming more of a dirt track as we get further into the middle of the forest until we finally reach a clearing. The trees have been cut down, leaving stumps as chairs for people to sit and chat. Others are gathered, going about doing their daily chores, and you can see small children watching on in awe as a man hacks away at a tree on the edge of the clearing. This whole area must have been cleared by the wolves because there is no way they could get heavy machinery up here.

Log cabins line each side of the clearing leading up to one massive house. Josh speaks up, gesturing to the buildings as we pass. “We have these main cabins along here, and that one up there is the pack house. We use it mostly for meetings and for guests. Not to mention through the trees, we have smaller cabins built for the wolves who prefer a little more privacy, or our guests who are not used to our ways.”

I nod, still in awe of my surroundings, as Josh parks the Jeep. He climbs out before going around to grab my bags out. He begins carrying them towards the pack house, refusing to hand them over.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking your bags up to the pack house. You just stay close to me, so you don't get bombarded by the pack. I'm pretty sure all the males are eager to just sniff you out and get it over with already. We're all getting tired of the influx of females who don't seem to give a damn about the pack. Even the Alpha is getting testier with each arrival that comes through."

Okay, great. Just what I need to hear. The Alpha isn't happy that I'm here. I'm already off to a great start, and I haven’t even met the man yet. And now knowing what the last witch did, I doubt our meeting will go well.

As we approach the pack house, men stop what they're doing to stare at me, some of them inhaling deeply as I pass. Surprisingly, it doesn't bother me, but I jerk to a stop when a pair of eyes stand out from the rest, captivating me. Bright violet and alluring.

I study the man, my heart racing. I don't know why I'm having such a weird reaction to him, but I can feel it in my bones. This compulsion, this need to get to know him. Black hair and a strong upper body draw me in.

I turn to ask Josh who he is, but when I look around, Josh has moved a few feet ahead. I turn back around to find the violet-eyed stranger gone. I let out a sigh of annoyance and disappointment. Maybe that's what finding your mate is supposed to feel like? I’ve heard it’s a powerful and overwhelming feeling.

Damn. Maybe I'll see him around another time. I just feel like I have to know him. Like if I don’t, I am missing out on something important.

I jog to catch up to Josh, who's talking to a man on the front steps of the pack house, his back turned to me. His broad shoulders and muscled arms capture my gaze as I climb the steps onto the porch landing.

The man’s voice rises and I am beyond shocked that I recognize it, a gasp slipping between my lips. It can’t be!

He turns at the sound of my gasp and my face pales at the sight before me.

Son of a mother fucking bitch!

I don't think, I just react. My feet stomp up the last three steps until I am face to face with him, and meet his surprised blue eyes.

"Jasmine? What are you–?"

Slap! The sound of my hand hitting his face reverberates through the woods, and I swear everything goes silent.

I look up into his eyes and feel a hatred I never knew possible. "You are fucking lucky I am here to find a potential mate, or I would rip your heart out and feed it to your pack!" I spit, venom coating my words.

His face furrows, and I want to punch him for acting confused. How dare he pretend not to remember?

He holds his hands up in a show of surrender and tries to approach me, but I summon my magic to my hands, ready to zap him if he even thinks of touching me.

He senses the charge over my skin and stays just out of reach. "Jasmine, what's going on? Why are you acting this way?"

"Why am I acting this way?! Benji, you left me! I was in love with you, and you fucking left! Do you know what my mother did to me after you left us?" His mouth opens, but I don't give him a chance to respond. "She bound my fucking powers! For a whole year, I couldn't access that part of me! Do you have any idea what that's like? To have such a vital part of yourself just ripped away?! Unable to do anything? It almost fucking killed me, you son of a bitch!"

I'm breathing hard, and I take a few steps away from him, turn tail and run away as fast as I can. Not because of him, but of what I’m afraid my magic will do.