Page 15 of Jasper

“There are towels and a few toiletries in the bathroom; the apartments are always stocked with necessities. You can rest until this afternoon. I’ll come by and bring you to the cafeteria for an early dinner and we’ll meet with the guys again, plus the alphas to make sure they know what we’re planning.”

She stood in the middle of the living room. He looked at her—reallylooked at her—and realized she was wearing pajamas.

“I’ll bring clothes for you too.”

She nodded, twisting her fingers together.

He remembered that she used to do that when she was thinking too hard.

Once more he wanted to put his arms around her and kiss away the things that were worrying her.

But that was a road he wasn’t going to go down.

He was going to help her parents out—it was the least he could do for the male who’d taught him to be a wolf when his own father had failed miserably—and then he was going to get the hell back to New Jersey and try to move on.

“Right,” he grumbled. “Rest well.”

He turned on his heels and reached for the door.

“Why did you leave me?”

Melody was not reallya blunt person and she didn’t really like confrontation. At least not on her own behalf. If someone wronged a friend or family member? Hell yes, she’d stand up for them. But for herself? Rarely.

But she couldn’t let things go between her and Jasper.

She hadn’t planned to ask him about their shared past, but here she was, unloading a huge question on him while he was clearly trying to escape her presence.

The wolf part of her whined in her head, wanting to close the gap between her and her soulmate, emotionally and physically.

Jasper froze at her blurted question.

Why did you leave me?

She felt raw and exposed, like a festering wound that refused to heal. She’d thought she was healed from the harm his absence had left on her heart and soul, but seeing him had poked right through that façade.

He turned slowly, his broad shoulders taking up the doorway.

Glowering, he asked, “What?”

“Why did you leave me?”

“I had no choice.”

His arms folded slowly, mechanically, and he stared down at her with a hard edge to his eyes. He looked gorgeous and furious, an impossible combination, like some kind of dark, avenging angel.

She sniffed. She felt small and insignificant, and she didn’t like feeling that way. So she was going to put on her big girl panties and take care of this situation. Have it all out, right now, with the male who haunted her dreams like some kind of specter in an attic.

Folding her arms to mimic his posture, she straightened her shoulders and said, “How did you have no choice? You were my mate and you abandoned me without a trace. You disappeared and didn’t even say goodbye. What the hell did you think that would do to me?”

His gaze hardened even more for just a moment, and then he snarled. “Do you know anything?”

“Excuse me?”

“I left because Alpha Grimes threatened your life.”

She threw up her hands. “That’s ridiculous! Why would he do that? And why the hell are you making me pull every freaking sentence out of your mouth like they’re state secrets you can’t bear to part with? Tell me everything or go to hell.”

His eyes darkened, and little striations of amber streaked through them. A muscle in his jaw jumped as he clenched his teeth together. Then he stepped into the apartment and slammed the door shut hard enough to shake the room.

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