No. It’s not possible.
Jasper stares at me, waiting for some sort of reaction, but I keep my expression impassive. He must be joking with me.
Mind readers don’t exist…
“We do exist, quite frankly,” Jasper says casually, raising a darkened eyebrow at me. I flinch.
“Listen, I have many powers and the reason why is something I can't discuss with you right now. Which is why…”
“You’re a Phantom Wolf?” I blurt out.
Instantly, Jasper’s face darkens. I don’t know why I mentioned it, but it seems to be the only possible way to get a reaction out of him.
My reasoning behind it isn’t just because of the mind reading business.
“I said, we can’t talk about it here,” Jasper repeats, his jaw tightening.
I was right and no matter how hard my conscious, realistic thoughts try to tell me that Phantom Wolves don’t exist, something in the back of my mind hints at the opposite.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but trust me, you need to take this drink,” he mutters, suddenly sliding a glass of red wine across the tabletop.
Where had that come from? I don’t remember seeing the bartender conjure it up.
I hold the stem of the glass warily between my fingertips.
“After what you’ve just told me, I think I won’t take this drink from you,” I tell him shakily, without breaking his relentless eye contact.
“Drink, it’s not spiked,” Jasper insists.
This man is either telling the truth, which is on the high end of the spectrum, or he’s crazy, and wants any reason to get away with spiking my drink.
I stare at the inside of the glass that is filled with swirls of red, foreign wine. It looks so tempting, but I still don't trust Jasper.
“You’re not really a Phantom Wolf though. I’ve heard they are deformed creatures that only come out at night,” I tell him, glancing around for my nearest escape route.
Jasper suddenly holds his hand up, showing me something I never noticed before: a silver ring, practically burning into his skin.
It looks so familiar, aside from the markings engraved in it: Commander of the Night.
“If you drink this, I’ll explain everything,” Jasper promises.
My mind swirls with unanswered questions and crazy, delusional men. He claims to read my mind, and has done a good job of it thus far, although my mind doesn’t seem to grasp the impossible idea.
As I take a sip of the cool liquid, I wonder if that’s his plan.
Give me alcohol so I’m calmer when he breaks it to me that he’s a mass-murdering Phantom, or something much worse.
Instead, as I lower the glass, the wine is gone and has been replaced with a thick, black liquid.
My glass falls from my hand in fright, shattering on the tabletop. Rather than splashing across the wood, the liquid vanishes.
“Did you poison me?” I growl, stumbling off my chair.
Jasper stands looking slightly solemn with his choices, but still grasps my arm firmly.
“No, it’s not poison. Just stay here and wait for the effects to set in,” he says softly, but I rip away from him.
“You’re crazy…” I mutter. The effects of whatever I drank start to form a haze around the edges of my vision.
Again, Jasper makes a reach for me, but I dodge him.
He sighs. “Please, Lexia, it’s in your best interest.”
His words carry away as I find myself stumbling across the dance floor, hardly controlling my own feet anymore.
I can’t leave here until I have completed the mission, which means I need to find Noah.
Emerging from the crowd, my eyes land on Noah, the man I came here for, and I realize the opportunity to approach him is perfect.
No one is near him as he stares out of the wide window at the end of the room, observing the night.
“Alpha Noah,” I slur, a stupid smile on my face.
He turns, green eyes seeking out my own. He doesn’t recognize me, which doesn’t surprise me. I would be worried if he did.
His eyes seem to light up when he sees me, obviously somewhat interested in what I have to say.
Although, I’m sure he’s used to women coming up to him all the time.
“Yes?” Noah says, turning to face me.
“You’re very attractive,” I stutter, everyone around us seeming to vanish. All I see is the confusion in his eyes.
Complete the mission. Get out of here before the drugs render me useless.
Before I can stop myself, part of my brain is suddenly controlled by whatever magic Jasper wields.
I fall into Noah, who catches me adeptly.
“Are you okay?” He asks, his voice rough and husky. An Alpha, especially one of Harmony, would jump at any occasion to assist someone.
His hands feel strange on my arms as he tries to steady me.
If I had control over myself right now, I would turn around and run in the opposite direction. This mission needs to be completed, or I’ll never be able to look Adrian in the eye again.
“I think I like you.” The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them.
He smiles, showing me he is rather handsome.
“Someone’s drunk.” I brush my finger against his chin. To my dismay, he doesn't object.
Is this what Jasper wants? At least I can confirm Alpha Noah is not my mate.
His hands are on my waist, as if he’s having a hard time controlling himself. Suddenly, he leans down, mouth by my ear.
“I want to take you to bed,” he whispers.
Usually girls throw themselves at other Alphas, such as Malik, the Alpha of Love, and Isaiah, the Alpha of Passion.
They don’t want the Alpha of Loyalty or Harmony in bed with them.
Complete the mission. Get out of here before the drugs render me useless. Everything is spinning and my eyes feel like they want to close.
He grabs my hand and turns me toward the exit, but stops abruptly at the sight of another Alpha in front of him.
Unsure of what he’s doing, I tilt my head around his body to see through the cloudy haze of swirling drunkenness.
“Where are you going?” Grayson questions Noah, as if I don’t exist. When did he get here? I can’t really see him properly, but I know it’s him.
The dark suit, disheveled hair, and silver eyes blur together in color, but the aura he seems to emit makes sense to my body. I hate that fact.
“Grayson… I was… ah…”
“Sorry to interrupt you. Were you two going somewhere?” Grayson asks while looking straight at me.
I rub my eyes, wishing I didn’t feel like vomiting straight onto the floor.
“Just upstairs.” Upstairs. Everyone at this party knows what upstairs means.
If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, Grayson’s face seems to shutter at the utterance of the word.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he says darkly.
“Why not?” Noah questions, sounding a little frustrated with Grayson’s interference.
Noah goes to push past him, dragging me along with him, but Grayson pushes his shoulder back. Hard.
“I said, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Like a switch, my vision seems to have repaired itself enough to witness the anger on Grayson’s face.
I’ve never seen him like this before, even after I declined his offer. Such a dark, menacing expression directed at Noah.
“What’s your problem?” Noah questions, his voice raised in annoyance.
“I warned you and you didn’t listen.” What is he doing?
It’s none of Grayson’s business what I do, and at this point, he’s ruining my mission. I step up right between the two threatening Alphas.
“Grayson, back off,” I growl.
Something sparks in his eyes. Something that expresses his rank as Alpha better than I could ever explain.
“Yeah man, or show this entire place what you really are,” Noah says, his voice taunting. What he really is?
Noah pushes me out of the way gently, but the movement is devastating with my drunken feet.
I stumble away, giving the two Alphas the perfect space to confront each other.
Complete the mission. Get out of here before the drugs render me useless.
“I don’t think you understand the mistake you’re making,” Grayson says.
Despite the obvious anger radiating under his skin, he’s as impassive as ever, facing the situation like a true Alpha.
I know a fight is about to ensue. “Stop!” I yell over the music.
Not many people take notice, but the two men do. At that exact moment, the drugs hit me like a truck, and I stumble a little on my feet.
“I think I’m going to pass out…”
I don’t know whose arms I land in until I force my heavy lids open to see a pair of frightened silver eyes looking straight back at me.
