Page 35 of Kidnapped By the Alpha

Chapter 19 - Jasper

Seeing how April was able to encourage and uplift the pack had been an eye-opening experience the past few days. There was still a good deal of aggression within the ranks, but overall, huge improvements had been made.

Meal times, especially, had become almost celebratory. With the increase in help from the men in the pack, the women had been able to put their attentions toward cooking a wider range of foods. Nutrition among the entire pack had increased now that they had access to better ingredients, and everyone’s health had taken a turn for the better.

We also hadn’t needed a doctor to deal with sickness since April had arrived. She’d discovered that one of the women had experience with healing herbs and had relieved her of her cleaning duties so that she could focus on foraging and creating tinctures and salves for the pack.

April had prioritized the bathing of the children and women, and without being told to do so, the men had followed suit.

Where once there was a dirty, ruthless, listless pack, I now saw a thriving one.

As much as I was enjoying the positive changes in the pack, I knew that my work was far from done. If I wanted to keep things going this way—if I wanted to keep April—I would need to make things right with other groups as well.

My mate’s old pack was my first stop.

“Killian,” I said, drawing him aside from the main group, “have a minute?”

“Of course, Jasper,” he replied, following me to his cabin.

“I need you to go to Sparkle Hollow, alone, to drop off a message from me,” I told him.

Killian paled at my request. I knew exactly how big of a risk I was asking him to take, but I had no choice. I couldn’t count on anyone else to manage the task without being seen and captured.

“What do you need me to tell them?” he asked. “Can’t it be done over the phone?”

“I need to make sure they get the message, and I can’t be certain that they’d allow me to speak if I called. The last thing we need is to escalate things any further,” I explained.

“Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it,” Killian said.

I scrawled my message quickly.

Alpha Lex McCloud,

I received a message from Alpha Aiden of the Moonstone Pack. I assure you that April Rose is alive and well. She is now the luna of the Dark Moon wolves.

Although we wish for her to remain here, our pack would like to acknowledge our past mistakes, especially regarding the kidnapping of a Sparkle Hollow wolf. The mistakes of the past cannot be easily rectified, but we wish for a temporary truce to investigate how best to create a lasting peace between us.

Alpha Jasper Sanders

“That should do it,” I said, handing the rolled-up scroll to Killian. “Make sure you get it onto Alpha Lex’s desk without being seen.”

“What are you going to do next?” he asked, tucking the message into his inner pocket.

I sighed. My own mission might turn out to be just as dangerous as his was bound to be.

“I’m heading into Pinedale to speak with Alpha Nile,” I said. “It’s time he knew the truth about who I am, and what we’re doing here.”

Killian grasped my arm, showing his solidarity with my plan. Not once had he questioned my leadership or any of my methods. He was a true friend.

As Killian departed, I made my way to find my luna. If I tried to leave again without telling April where I was going, there was no doubt in my mind that she would try to follow me.

She was busy cleaning when I entered our cabin, but she paused and greeted me with a smile. I sat at the table to rest my feet while we spoke.

“Hi,” she said. “I figured I’d tidy up while I waited for the little ones to finish their naps. A few of us are taking them all for a hike this afternoon. Did you want to join us?”

“I actually need to go into town,” I told her.

“Did you need some company?”

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