A week after the Harvest Moon fiasco, Katie comes to visit me.
"Have you heard from Jasper?" she asks, chewing on a steak sandwich my dad made. I stare at her.
She's sitting in my desk chair, swiveling from side to side. Behind her, my phone sits lifeless on the desk.
I haven't heard from Jasper since he disappeared into an ambulance with his father.
Maybe I should have been the bigger wolf and sent the first text. But somehow I haven't been able to bring myself to do it.
Something still stings about the way he was ready to reject me. Why should I be the first to reach out? Why did I expect he might bother to text and see if I'm alright?
"No," I huff and lean back against my bed.
My sandwich sits on a plate on the rug between my feet–– untouched.
Am I being a baby? His dad was shot. He's probably been too busy worrying about Jericho's life to check on the guy he met at summer camp.
"Aisha texted me," I say. "Jericho is doing fine. The bullet missed the important organs and with his wolf-speed healing he'll be back at work in a week or two."
"That's good news," Katie says, chomping.
"She also said that Eleanor is locked up in the pack's holding facility but her dad hasn't been seen since the attack."
"Less good news. Still, great that Jericho is going to be fine."
"Totally." I remember the pain the pack felt when Jasper's mom died. I can't imagine what it would be like if Jericho was to go the same way.
"If his dad is in the clear, why don't you call Jasper then?"
"Has nobody ever told you not to talk with your mouth full?"
I laugh but just for a second.
"Don't you think Jasper would want to hear from you after you basically saved his dad's life and stopped Eleanor from forcing him to be her mate?"
I jerk my head up.
"Did I?" I ask. "All I did was drive the speed boat. If you guys hadn't shown up...And that flare, that was a stroke of genius. How did you all manage to get out to the boat anyway?"
"When the rogues attacked the party, Simon, Todd, and I went around the side of the house to hide. We noticed Aisha arriving late and told her what was going on."
"But how did you know where we were?"
"That was all Olivia. She saw the rogues capture you guys so she followed them to the speed boat. She found the rest of us hiding in the garage and told us what had happened to you. She'd come inside to get a jetski for herself but when Aisha and I heard what had happened we weren't about to let her go alone."
"And Todd and Simon?"
"They weren't about to let me sail off into a rogue's nest."
"What about the other rogues? It looked like there was a whole pack of them."
Katie snorts. "A whole pack of rogues. Isn't that a contradiction?"
I shrug. "There were more than just the three on the yacht."
"I guess once you guys were captured their part of the mission was complete. The party was pretty quiet by the time we left the garage. I think security probably arrested some of them."
"Well, I'm thankful to all of you. How are things with the boys?
Last time I saw you three together it looked a little tense and that was before the rogue invasion."
Katie rolls her head back and smiles.
"Tense is an understatement."
I wait a beat for her to continue but she's more interested in her sandwich than being forthcoming.
"Okay, a bit stinge-y with the details."
Katie's face turns pepto bismol pink. "Promise you won't judge?"
"After everything that's happened? Cross my heart. Of course not."
She places her plate on the desk.
"Well, they weren't happy that I'd been seeing both of them, so I asked them if they felt like they could give me up and they both said no."
I nod my approval. "Clever boys."
"And then I told them that's kind of how I feel about both of them."
"Did they accept that?"
"Not at first. They were both pretty grumpy but we've all been hanging out together this last week and, well, they've sort of agreed to let me keep seeing both of them."
My mouth drops to the floor.
"Just until I'm a hundred percent sure which is the right one."
"So you're dating two guys at once? And they're fine with it?"
Katie bites her lip and nods. "We're kids, right? Why should we have to make decisions that are going to affect the rest of our lives? We're supposed to be reckless."
"You lucky woman!" I can't help laughing, I'm totally happy for my best friend.
"You don't think we're crazy?" she asks.
"No way. It's super modern. Very progressive."
She sighs and picks up her plate again.
"It's just until we all know what's best," she says, bringing the sandwich to her mouth and taking another huge bite. "We'll have to see how things go."
Crumbs trickle from her mouth and onto her lap. I can't believe this girl is my mate-obsessed, Disney-princess-idolising bestie.
But I'm super proud and crazy happy for her.
"I think you should call Jasper," she says, once she's done eating. "I know things weren't great but after everything that's happened you're still mates."
I let my head drop between my knees.
"Maybe."
"Didn't you say he admitted it on the yacht, in front of Jericho?"
"Yeah, but only because there was a literal gun to my head."
"Still," Katie says, pushing herself toward me and placing her hands on my legs. "That took guts. Who knows how his father will react now that he's back on his feet."
"True."
I hadn't thought about that. Jericho may not have wanted Jasper to wind up mated to a psychotic girl with a gun. But he also didn't look too pleased about his son being mated to another guy.
With Eleanor out of the way, who knows what Jericho is thinking.
He could be arranging another luna-worthy mate for Jasper as we speak.
"Jasper could be going through it right now," Katie says.
"I guess I'm so used to Jasper pulling away. How do I know he just doesn't want to hear from me?"
"Trust the Moon Gods," she says with a twinkle in her eye. "Or if not, trust me. It's harder than you'd imagine to give up a mate."
I sigh. Maybe Katie is right. But the thought of having Jasper reject me all over again is too much to bear.
"You going to finish that?" Katie asks, pointing at my sandwich.
I snort-laugh. "It's all yours."
An hour later, Katie has to get home. Her mother––who finally decided on wallpaper for the living room––texts to say the decorators are done. She wants Katie to see the finished product.
"You can come round now," she says, hugging me at the door.
"I can't wait!"
"What about tomorrow? Come for dinner?"
"Sure," I say.
Katie steps outside but glances back. "Call him, Max. You won't regret it" Once she's gone, I head back up to my room. My phone is still sitting on my desk.
Just call him!
I march to my desk and pick up the phone. The screen is black and I stare at it, willing myself to unlock it.
"Ah!" I scream as it buzzes, lighting up. I fumble and nearly drop it.
But once the initial shock has passed, I hold it in a shaky hand and stare wide-eyed at the screen.
There's a text from Jasper. I unlock the phone and there, under my one text, he's finally sent a response.
"We should talk. Can you come to the house?"
"I've been to this house more times in the last few weeks than I ever have in my life," Mom says. The gates to Jasper's mansion swing open gracefully.
I'm sad I won't get to see Katie's new house today. But she was totally understanding when she heard that Jasper had asked me to come around.
"Why did you say Jasper asked you to visit?" Mom inquires.
I chew on the inside of my cheek and try to think of a good reason. I should have come up with one by now. Stupid.
"I think he just wants to say sorry about what happened at the party."
Outside my window the manicured trees whoosh by.
"You haven't told me much about that night."
"It was all kind of a blur," I say. "One second we were at a party and the next the rogues were attacking."
Mom sighs and slows the car a little as we approach the house. I'm sure she'd be a lot more worked up if she knew what had really happened.
But I want to spare her and dad the worry. At least, that's what I'm telling myself.
"I'm just glad you were safe. What did they want, do you think?"
Again, I should have come up with better lies by now. I've managed to get away with a vague explanation so far but Mom is starting to get suspicious.
"I'm not sure."
We pull up out front and I unbuckle my seat belt, reaching for the door handle.
"Why does he want to apologize to you in particular, sweetie?"
Mom asks and I freeze.
"What?"
"Is he asking everyone to visit in person? Seems like that would take a really long time."
"I don't know, Mom," I moan.
"And you were hiding in the garage the whole time, right?"
I roll my eyes, but inside I'm panicking.
"Maybe he just feels bad because he invited me."
"In that case, it's a very nice gesture. He must be an extremely caring young man."
I scoff. Why didn't I take a taxi?
"I guess it's because we're…" I don't know how to finish this sentence.
"You're what, sweetie?"
I may be having a heart attack, or at least this is what I imagine one feels like.
"We're friends," I say, shrugging. "Me and Jasper are...friends."
It's not exactly the truth, but it's closer than I've come before.
"I didn't know that," she says.
"He didn't just want my help with the Aisha thing because I was her friend. Jasper and I...we hung out a bit, at the festival."
"Oh."
My fingers clasp tightly on the door handle. Heat rises in my cheeks.
Mom is staring at me. Her eyes have gone all glossy like they do during the soppy part of her rom-coms. Why is she looking at me like that?
Finally, she smiles.
"Well, he's very lucky to have a friend like you."
"Uh––thanks," I say. "Can I go now?"
Mom nods and I finally open the door.
"Mom," I say, glancing back. "Love you."
"Love you too, sweetie. Always."
I think Mom might be on the verge of shedding a tear, so as quickly as possible, I shut the door and head for the house.
With my shoulders hunched and my hands in my pockets, I wait for Melissa to answer the doorbell.
"This is becoming a habit," she says, grinning as she ushers me inside.
She's right. This house is weirdly familiar to me now, in a way I never thought it would be. I don't even look twice at the oversized abstract art on the walls, or the fireplace encased in a glass box.
"Is Jasper in his room?" I ask.
"Yes, but there's someone else who'd like to speak to you first."
"There is?" Gulp.
Melissa guides me through the house to a stairway I've never been up before. She walks a step ahead of me onto the second floor.
I walk down a corridor, with a glass wall on one side looking out toward the ocean, and a row of doors on the other.
We come to a stop at a dark green door. Melissa knocks––two sharp taps with her knuckles––before turning the handle and leading me inside.
Instantly, my shoulders pull back and my spine straightens. Alpha Jericho rises from his chair and places his hands flat on his desk.
"Alpha...Jericho," I stammer, bowing my head instinctively.
"Hello, Max."