Page 67 of Pack Fever

I bellowed out a harrowing cry.

I gave her CPR, but deep down, I knew it was too late. It felt as if barbed wire was around my chest, cutting into me, destroying me. Angrily, I wiped my tears away but kept going.

“Wake up, Mom, you gotta wake up.”

She never did.

I fell backward on my ass, sobbing uncontrollably. Somehow, I got to my feet and staggered over to my uncle, who lay face down in a pool of his own blood, unmoving.

Cold realization collided with me.

As a young Alpha, society viewed us like ticking time bombs of aggression, of instability. While our bodies adjusted to becoming an Alpha, while our scents developed, we were treated as dangerous. At any sign of showing a loss of control, we were locked up until we passed puberty.

If they saw me now… I groaned, hugging myself, stumbling back against the wall, staring at the two dead bodies.

They’d blame me, I know it. And once I was locked up, they’d never release me. I’d been seen as a broken Alpha.

“Jasper,” a soft female voice calls to me.

I shake my head clear of the thoughts clinging to me. It takes a few moments for those old cobwebs to leave me.

Danica’s lying on top of me, staring at me with a worried frown. Her hand is on my cheek, stroking me.

“Is everything okay? You kinda spaced out and didn’t seem to hear me speaking. Scared me for a bit there.”

My gaze finds comfort in her tender voice, in her touch. It’s as though I’ve somehow found the final puzzle piece I’ve been missing in my life.

“Sorry about that. Exhaustion can play havoc with me sometimes.” I push a smile onto my lips, even if my insides are taut as a band about to snap at a past I’ve tried so hard to put behind me. “What were you asking, gorgeous?”

“You were just telling me about your asshole uncle, then stopped.” She studies me, and I can’t help but smile for real at the sincerity in her gaze.

“Well, it got worse between us, to the point where he wouldn’t accept me, especially when he’d take it out on my mother when she interfered. So, I ended up running away at sixteen and ended up living on the streets for a while… until I found an Alpha outreach shelter that ran a boxing center. They gave me shelter, and I became their top fighter.”

“Oh shit, Jasper, I’m so sorry. My heart hurts to think of you all alone. What about your mom? She would have been beside herself.”

I feel brittle, but as much as I intend to share with Danica, some things even I struggle to reveal. The pain is still raw after all this time.

“She passed a short time afterward.” I shrug. “Anyway, let’s talk about something more beautiful, like you.”

She giggles, and I absolutely adore that sound. I see the movement behind her eyes, as if she’s dying to ask more questions, but never does. I appreciate that more than she realizes.

“Life’s sometimes brutally cruel, but I like to think that maybe she’s leading us in a better direction than the hand we were dealt,” she says softly.

I crank my head up and steal a kiss from this beauty.

“I must have done something incredible in my past life to have the universe deliver you to me.”

She bursts out laughing. “God, that sounds like the worst pick-up line.”

I laugh with her, though deep down, I mean every damn word, no matter how cliche it sounded.

Chapter

Sixteen

DANICA

My sleep’s been off.

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