Page 32 of Jasper

“How will we find them?” Damien asked.

“Glen’s working on it. He’s hacking into the public utilities to track any vehicles that were around the perimeter of town.” Ludo stared past his comrades to the woods beyond. He wouldn’t feel secure in his leadership of the pack until anyone trying to take over was taken out, completely and entirely. And that meant getting Finn, his mate, and their daughter back.

And the male who’d come to set them free.

“Gather the pack at the alpha’s house for a meeting. I’m going to make a new law.”

“What law is that?” Mark asked, falling into step beside him as he headed away from the prison and toward the house that he’d taken over.

“No non-shifters in the pack, period. Only full-shifting wolves. The second part of the new law is that anyone who attempts to escape punishment by the alpha will be executed publicly.”

“Nice,” Mark said. “So we just need to find them.”

“We will,” Ludo said confidently. He opened the house’s back door and then looked over his shoulder. “Find someone to clean the fucking bedroom—it reeks of blood and death. And get me Glen. I want to know how he’s coming in his search.”

The males all nodded and hurried about their duties save for Mark, who followed him inside and into the office. “You lead thehunt when we figure out where Finn and his family are,” Ludo said. “I want the male who helped them too.”

“Jasper?”

“Yes.”

With a dismissive nod, Ludo sat at the large dark-wood desk and spread his fingers over the smooth surface. A public execution and new laws were just the ticket to get the pack to fall in line, from the most dominant, powerful males to the lowest, weakest ones.

He was finally where he was destined to be.

Jasper rinsed the soap from his chest and stared at his gorgeous mate as she yawned and rubbed shampoo into her long, dark hair.

He was pretty damn tired too, but also exhilarated.

She’d woken him up with her talented mouth, and he’d repaid the favor in spades by driving her to several crashing climaxes before he’d fucked her hard and fast in the shower.

He felt like he was making up for lost time.

They’d always been good together, even when they were teenagers and learning how to make each other happy. It was sweeter now, better than it had ever been.

“I’m freaking starving,” she said as the suds slipped from her hair and coursed down her curves.

“Me too,” he said. He slid the shower door open and stepped onto the mat. After grabbing a towel, he patted his skin dry and then anchored it around his waist to wait for her to be finished. “We can get breakfast in the cafeteria.”

“I should probably meet with my parents. Both of us should.”

She peeked at him for a moment and then tilted her head back to finish rinsing. He grabbed a towel for her as she turned off the water, then found another one under the sink so she could twist her hair up in it.

“I’ll call the apartment and see if they want to meet in the employee cafeteria.”

“Okay,” she said.

He’d sent a note to the store in the marketplace and asked for Anke, who ran the store with her mate Zeger, to send clothes for Melody because she didn’t have much but the few things he’d gotten for her before they’d headed to Northbelle to save her parents. They’d been kind enough to send over a stack of clothes and undergarments.

While they dressed, he said, “So we didn’t really talk last night.”

She grinned and pulled a short-sleeved tee over her head. Anke had also included a zippered pouch with hair and makeup products, and while he dressed, Melody twisted her hair into a long braid and secured it with a stretchy elastic covered with fabric.

“I guess not,” she said. “What should we tackle first? My parents, where we’re living, or the fact we didn’t use protection at all?”

His brows lifted at the last one. No, they hadn’t used protection, and they hadn’t really even talked about it. “Are you okay with it if you get pregnant?”

“Of course,” she said. “I always pictured having a big family since I’m an only child, and we used to talk about that.”

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