It ended at Midnight -Chapter 17

Jack

Moments passed, just a few but it felt like I had been standing in front of Melody for hours. There were so many thoughts racing through my brain right now and I was having trouble keeping everything straight. Normally I was really good at being able to distinguish everything and categorize it by priority but standing here with her around me was so damn distracting. I knew most of it, hell probably all of it, right now was solely due to the bond that burned between us; but it was hard to ignore it. Hard to ignore the instincts that had become so natural to us.

Yet, Jack could see what it was doing to her, he could feel her emotions rushing through the bond and into him. Her fear and anxiety tasted bitter on his tongue. It sickened him. Caused bile to rise up and settle in the back of his throat. It made his wolf itch closely on the tethers of his subconscious. This wasn’t how it was supposed to feel when you found your mate, Jack knew this. It was ingrained into every pack member, a second calling that came as natural as breathing. But her, she was different, she obviously didn’t feel the same way he did and it pissed him off. Rage bubbling below the surface of his skin.

“She isn’t right Jack. She’s not one of us. There is no wolf inside of her. The Goddess must have been wrong. This is wrong.”

My wolf growled in the crevice of my mind. His voice scratched at the darkest parts of me. He was wrong. He had to be. I could feel her, feel the magic that made my entire world spin upside down just a few nights ago. I don’t know why he couldn’t feel her the way I could but I would figure it out. I had to figure it out.

“I am serious Jack. If you are not going to do anything about her then I will. You can’t keep me locked up inside of you forever. At some point you are going to have to let me go.”

I cringed, my heart twisting itself into a million little knots. He was right about that at least. I couldn’t keep him trapped in my mind forever. If anything, my bedroom that my mother was still cleaning proved that. What was I going to do? My brain started to race, the noise and voices of the other pack members started to fill my mind. My control was slipping and I feared that’s what my wolf wanted. Hell I was standing so close to her right now, to Melody, and one slip could be very dangerous in the long run. Especially with him so dangerously aggressive right now.

“That’s right Jack. You know what I am capable of. What we are capable of. It’s what needs to be done. She’s not ours. She’s not strong enough obviously to be our mate. Just let it go. Let her go. The Goddess will see what’s right, she’ll give us a second chance.” My wolf whispered seductively behind my eyelids. The rough gravel of his voice luring me deeper.

Without thinking I reached out and touched Melody’s cheek. The softness of her skin was like velvet under my touch, and it only added to the desire my wolf hummed within me. I could feel the control slipping away even more. His threads loosening their braided fibers that I tried so hard to hold onto. I could feel her relax under my touch. Her breathing started to slow and part of me wanted to match the rhythm so desperately. Yet, my wolf kept stopping me. His invisible fingers pulling at my own. Why did this all have to be so incredibly hard? A soft moan escaped her lips, pulling me back to reality. Her eyes were closed, she looked so calm. That’s when I saw it. At first it was so subtle I thought that I was dreaming. Nothing but a mirage of my overwhelming feelings. But every time I blinked it only grew stronger, going from a soft glow to an overwhelming haze. All around her it shined. She was engulfed in the most beautifully breathtaking lilac glow I had ever seen. And it just radiated magic, pure unbridled magic. It was the kind of magic that was old and timeless and it started as a trickle through the bond until it became a raging fire.

“Jack, do you feel that? How could something so powerful come from someone so weak and insignificant? From a human?”

The words my wolf spoke were quiet and for an instance I was pretty sure he was scared. It was something I had never seen from him, this display of his own weakness. It was alarming, just as alarming as his hatred towards her. Surely he could feel her wolf now. He had to be able to feel her. And yet, behind the feat I could still catch glimpses of the anger. In an attempt to get him to reach out, to search for her wolf, I decided to make the first move. But it was weird, my wolf was right. I couldn’t feel her wolf. No matter how hard I tried it was like there was a block in her mind. A barrier that was preventing me from going any further. Just like before in the clearing it's like I could feel her wolf without actually feeling her.

“It’s because she’s not a wolf Jack. It’s like I have been telling you. I don’t know what she is but it's dark magic. We cannot trust her. She cannot be here in this pack. We have to get rid of her now!”

Seconds. That’s all it was, just seconds. I could feel all my control let go completely. Everything I tried so hard to hold on to just crumbled. My wolf took over my body and through his eyes I could see how he saw our mate. Like before she was basked in that Lilac haze but this time her entirety was dimmer. Her skin no longer felt like velvet but rather like paper. Fragile and worthless. Now I was scared too. Scared of her and scared of myself. I pulled my hand away quicker than I thought possible in my human form, startling her. Almost as quickly as the magic came it disappeared. Leaving her standing in front of me looking dazed and confused.

Nothing made sense. She didn’t make sense, nor did our bond. I couldn't be here, I couldn’t be around her. She needed to leave or I needed to. There was no way I could think with her around me. I needed to so desperately think. The panic settled into the pit of my stomach. I had to figure out something quickly. Taking the largest step back without looking crazy I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair. My lips parted in an attempt to take a bigger breath but it was a mistake. Her smell engulfed my senses. It caused alarm bells to ring all throughout my mind, like a spark of lilac fire burning my judgment and my vision.

“Jack…” My wolf growled.

Stop it! Just stop it. I screamed without making a sound. The words echoing off my mind and lashed out at the world around me. I could feel my mother look up from where she was picking up more glass. Her face was clouded with worry and it was then that I realized I didn’t only speak it to my wolf but to the rest of the pack as well. I knew in a matter of moments I would be overwhelmed by pack members asking if I was okay. This had all gotten too far out of hand.

“Jack? Is everything okay? I’m sorry if I overstepped, your mother was kind of freaking out and your sister-”

My head shot up at the sound of her voice. At my mate who wasn’t my mate. At the girl who was human, who was a wolf or at least I thought. Her innocence dancing all around her. It’s what made me snap. Snap back into a false sense of control. It was wrong of me to bring her here. I could see that now. I should have seen it the moment her wolf disappeared out in the woods. Melody had to go back to her family. maybe they would be able to figure out what was going on with her. Now I was determined. I knew what needed to be done.

“Yes. I am okay, and you need to leave.”

“What?”

I tried to ignore the pain in our bond. To ignore the feelings and questions I could feel rushing through her and into me. But I couldn’t back down. Not now. “You’re going home Melody. And that is final.”