Page 5 of Jasper

It burned still, seven years later, to know he was out theresomewhere.

“So you’re off to Ellie’s?” her father asked.

She turned back to her parents. Her mom held out a slice of fresh bread topped with her latest sauce masterpiece. As she took it, she said, “Yep. We’re going to binge-watch movies and her mom’s making chicken wings. I think Ellie made cookies. Or maybe cupcakes.”

“She does love sweets,” her mom said with a smile. “Tell them both we said hi.”

“Be careful, kiddo,” her dad said.

“Will do. See you guys tomorrow.”

She kissed her mom on the cheek and left the house, bouncing down the steps and hitting the sidewalk.

Northbelle was a quiet mountain town that was entirely made up of their wolf pack. She glanced up as she walked, watching the sun start to dip behind the mountains. It was really beautiful here and she loved it, even if she was doomed to be without a mate forever.

Well, she had a mate, damn it, but he didn’t want her.

Just like every other male who knew the truth about her: she couldn’t shift.

It was monstrously unfair that both her parents could shift and no one in their entire family line had ever been unable to shift until Melody came along. But here she was, a wolf in her head but not in her body.

So she shouldn’t have been surprised that her childhood sweetheart, the only male who’d ever held her heart, had decided she wasn’t worth mating. That’s how it had gone ever since he’d taken off seven years ago and left her alone. No one would take a chance on mating her because they thought she was defective, and maybe she was.

If only she was free to date a human. Maybe she could fall in love and have kids and maybe they’d be able to shift.

But there was no way that Alpha Grimes would allow a human to come into the pack. He barely tolerated her as it was.

With a sigh, she took her eyes off the sky and focused on the path as she wound her way through the pack’s territory. She passed by the alphas’ home, where Alpha Daniel Grimes and his mate Aggie lived along with their son, Dario, who was a little older than Melody and had been a chief tormentor when she was younger.

Not that Jasper ever let anyone really bother her. He’d been her biggest defender. Until he wasn’t.

A few minutes later, her bestie’s house came into view. The cozy two-bedroom cottage had pretty pink flowers in hanging baskets on the porch and a cheery red door.

Always unlocked, she didn’t knock as she walked in and called out, “I smell chicken wings!”

“You know it!” Ellie yelled from the kitchen. “Come on back, babe.”

Even though she’d seen them just hours earlier, she still greeted them both with a quick hug. Chantal said, “I made lemon pepper, honey barbecue, and buffalo. And now I’m going to bed.”

“The sun hasn’t even set yet, Mom,” Ellie said.

“I already ate and besides, you know I like to scroll for a while before I go to sleep. You two enjoy yourselves.”

They said goodnight and then stared at the buffet Chantal had set for them: wings, chips, soda, and a plate with cupcakes and cookies.

“I’m starving,” Melody said.

“Me too!”

After their plates were filled, they headed into the family room where a sectional sofa was piled with pillows and blankets.

“Here’s all the movies I saved,” Ellie said. She scrolled the list and stopped on one.

“Nuh-uh, no romance movies, not even rom-coms.”

“Comeon,” Ellie said.

“I don’t want anything mushy,” she said.

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