[Jasmine's POV]
As I drove home, Gareth’s scent surrounded me. I tried to focus on it instead of the shocking news that my father had been arrested.
Worry and fear shot through me, threatening to overwhelm my already frayed nerves.
Maybe my mother was mistaken. My father was a good man. This had to be some sort of misunderstanding.
His arrest just didn’t feel real. It couldn’t be true.
With trembling hands, I managed to stumble out of my car. By my front door, I caught a glimpse of myself in the window. My long, honey-colored hair was disheveled, my lips were red and swollen from Gareth’s kisses, and the outline of my breasts was visible through his white shirt.
My appearance was the least of my worries, though.
I rushed into my house and found my mother at the kitchen table, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Her eyelids were puffy from crying, and she was wiping at her red-tipped nose.
I’d never seen her look so…broken.
“Oh, Mom,” I whispered.
Immediately, I ran to her, grabbing a box of tissues on my way. I hugged her trembling body close, and my stomach jolted when I noticed that she was ice cold.
After I wiped her face and nose, I grabbed her hands and eventually got her to calm down enough to tell me what happened.
“Y-your dad was accused of embezzling ten million dollars from one of the Lycan King’s companies,” she said in a shaky voice, her lower lip trembling.
My mind flashed to not even an hour ago. Gareth's hands and lips exploring my body. My mother had no idea how close I’d been to letting the Lycan King bed me.
I shook my head vehemently. “No, that isn't possible,” I replied, my voice firm. “Dad would never do something like that! He’s never stolen anything in his life, let alone that exorbitant amount of money.” I paused and frowned. “He’s not even that high in the company to access that kind of money.” I stared unseeingly at the wall as my mind worked furiously. I gasped. “He was framed! He must have been made into the scapegoat to cover up someone else’s crime.”
From the resigned look on my mother’s face, I could tell that she had already come to the same conclusion.
“There’s nothing we can do right now,” she murmured hopelessly, and her hand trembled as she grabbed another tissue. “The Lycans will keep him in jail until there’s proof that he didn’t steal the money. I’ve been making a few calls to his work colleagues and his boss, but all of them were very unhelpful.”
“They don’t want to investigate because they’re glad the crime wasn’t pinned on them,” I guessed and rubbed my mom’s back.
“And all of his co-workers, even his boss, don’t hold that much weight at the company.” My mom’s shoulder slumped. “There’s nothing anyone can do about it.”
“Well, he must have some sort of bail, right?” I asked. “Isn’t everyone entitled to one?”
My mother snorted. “Oh, he had one alright. To the tune of ten million dollars. Coincidentally, the exact amount of money he was accused of stealing.”
My mouth dropped. “No! We could never scrape that kind of money together. Not in a million years.”
“I know.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes as the full weight of our situation fell onto my shoulders. Special moments with my dad flashed into my mind. Him teaching me how to ride a bike. Eating a midnight snack of chocolate ice cream on the couch with him. The way he always believed I could achieve my dreams, no matter how impossible they seemed.
What if my dad was imprisoned for the rest of his life?
I refused to even think about that possibility.
“We’re going to find a way to get him out,” I told my mother with determination.
My mother nodded, but I could tell that her mate being in jail had sucked all of the hope from her body.
My phone began to ring, blaring out a sappy love song. My stomach dropped.
There was only one person who had that ringtone. I didn’t have the heart to change it after he broke up with me.
Elliot.
Why the hell was he calling me? Shouldn’t he be dancing the night away with his future wife?
“I have to take this,” I muttered to my mom and stepped out of the kitchen. “Hello?” I answered tentatively.
“Jasmine,” Elliot breathed out in apparent relief. “I just heard about your father. I wanted to call and see how you’re doing. Things must be so hard for you and your mother right now.” His voice was full of sympathy.
My body relaxed automatically from hearing his voice. For so long, Elliot had been my safe space. I didn’t know how to just turn that off. How did you force yourself to stop caring for someone? How did you make yourself fall out of love?
“I’ve come up with a solution, Jasmine,” Elliot continued, startling me out of my thoughts. “I know how to get your dad out of prison.”
My heart rose with hope. “Really? Tell me!”
“I need to tell you in person,” my ex-mate said. “I’m actually at your house right now. Will you come talk to me?”
Feeling hopeful for the first time since I heard the news about my dad, I ran to the front door.
Elliot was waiting outside with his hands in his pockets. When our gazes met, my heart skipped a beat. Even though he chose a life of power over me, my wolf was howling with need at just the sight of him. Our mating bond was still intact, and that meant that our wolves craved each other to the point where the intense need became painful.
And it wasn’t just my wolf that still wanted him. Elliot had been my best friend when we were together. He knew my hopes, dreams, and even my secrets.
Until Elliot broke up with me to marry another woman.
He was standing under the faint glow of the streetlight, still wearing his black tux from his party. His brown hair was slightly disheveled, but that just made him look even more handsome.
“I will pay off your dad’s debt,” Elliot told me without preamble.
Shock flowed through me. “Elliot…do you know how much it is?”
“Ten million,” he replied without skipping a beat. “I have the funds.”
“I…I don’t know what to say,” I admitted.
“I’ll pay off his debt if you do something for me.”
My stomach stiffened as I studied his expression. “What do you want me to do?”
Elliot looked me directly in the eyes. “I want you to quit school and become my full-time secret mistress.”
A silence fell between us as I processed his words. My eyes widened, and my wolf howled in pain as I realized what he was asking of me.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes,” he answered, unabashed.
My eyes pricked with tears, and I put my hands in my pockets so he wouldn’t see that they were trembling. How could he ask me such a thing? Elliot wanted me to give up my life to…serve him? He wanted to be Alpha while I occasionally kept his bed warm?
“You want to have your cake and eat it too?” I hissed, my sadness growing into hot anger.
“Essentially, yes.” He shrugged.
“I would never agree to something like that,” I snapped. “I have too much respect for myself, and not to mention, your fiancée, to stoop so low. It would have to be a cold day in hell for me to accept your offer.”
I took a step back, wanting to distance myself from the man I thought I knew better than anyone.
Guess I was wrong.
A smug smile bloomed across his face. “You refuse my offer now, but when you see how your old man is being treated in prison, your tune will change real quick. Then, you’ll be crawling to me for help.”
With that, he spun on his heel and walked to his fancy sports car.
My hands clenched into fists as I watched him drive away, hating how much his request had affected me.
For a long time, I stayed on my porch alone, trying to come up with a way to bail out my dad that didn’t involve sacrificing all of my morals. My head pounded with pain from the effort, but I persisted.
A slight breeze began, and I shivered since I was only in a thin shirt.
Gareth’s shirt.
I froze.
Gareth was the Lycan King. Maybe I could bargain with him to release my father.
But what could I offer the man who had everything? I didn’t even have any money or valuables to barter with.
The answer came to me as I recalled his insistent lips on mine.
I had one thing that I could give him.
My body.