Page 39 of Alistair

“Sooner rather than later, though.”

Jasper nodded and smiled, but inside he was hollow. Lucius sounded hopeful.

There was no hope for Jasper. That door had closed for him seven years ago.

He pulled into Maggie’s apartment complex and parked a few spaces away so he could keep an eye on the alpha and his mate.

Lucius’s phone buzzed, and he lifted it from the cupholder.

“Text from Alistair:I’m going to stay for a while, settle in guys.”

Jasper groaned. He was happy for the alpha elephant, but seeing others find their soulmates made bitterness seep around the edges of his heart. He hated feeling like shit anytime someone got their happily ever after.

“Man, I wish I’d brought something to eat,” Lucius said. “I don’t want to really think about how long they’re going to be.”

“Let’s just hope they don’t fall asleep afterward,” Jasper said. He pressed the button on the side of the seat, the motor whirring as the back reclined.

“Facts. You want to grab a drink tomorrow night? A few of us from the security team are going out after the park closes.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Anything to put off the inevitable staring at the walls of his bedroom until he eventually fell asleep to dreams of what could have been if his life didn’t suck in every conceivable way.

He hated the feelings that coursed through him.

“You ever think about asking your alpha to arrange a mate for you?” Lucius asked.

“Sometimes.”

“I think about it too. I know that Caesar would bring females from other prides to the park for any of us to meet.”

“Why don’t you?” Jasper tilted his head to look at the big male.

“Because I don’t want to think about my soulmate never getting her own happily ever after, you know? If I take a mate who’s not my soulmate, then even if I meet my soulmate, I’ll be tied to someone else. What if that means she never gets to be happy for the whole rest of her life?”

Jasper rolled that thought around.

“Good point. I think about taking a mate who’s not my soulmate, but then my wolf snarls at me and I realize I’d rather be single than mess around with fate.”

Lucius put the radio on and they settled in to keep an eye on Maggie’s apartment and the happy couple inside.

Jasper would keep his fingers crossed that Lucius would find his soulmate soon and get the next chapter of his life started.

It wasn’t in the cards for Jasper, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want it to happen to anyone else. Even if it did make his wolf go all green-eyed and want to run back to the pack he walked away from.

And the female with the violet eyes.

Maggie was tired, but she was excited to spend an entire weekend with Alistair and not have to leave to come back to her place. She packed a bag and changed into comfortable clothes, while he put the shirt and pants of his tux back on.

“It’s freaking late,” she said with a yawn.

He slung his jacket over his shoulder and held out his hand. “I wish I could stay here, I have an early morning with the animals.”

“No sleeping in for you, huh?”

He grunted. “I should probably assign one of the others since itislate, and we did just share our love for each other. Seems like a very good reason to sleep in late and celebrate.”

“Ooh, celebrate? Like with sexy stuff?”

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