JACOB

The pain is insurmountable.

I came to Texas once again to explore my connection with Skylar since my mother had refused to approve of Jayden as my prospect - on the basis that I supposedly had feelings for the blonde Alpha, not on Jayden's merit as a partner for me.

He was suspended from Ravenwood for fighting with Skylar, I mean attacking him, and I am here trying to salvage our bond and possibly move towards healing and convincing my mother that she was wrong. I harbor no feelings for Skylar whatsoever.

Of course, once I arrived here and Skylar recited the poem he wrote for me, I was entrapped by his spell and couldn't help but kiss (him) the night away.

Now it's Saturday night, after a trip to the local mall, I met Mandy - Skylar's ex-girlfriend - only to discover that Shawn raised her as his child. She literally calls him 'dad'. Her real father was killed in a freak accident not much longer after she was born.

Yes, while I remained fatherless in Colorado, Shawn was busy here, raising another man's child as his own. As if he hadn't caused me enough pain already, now I find this out as well. Yet another trauma for my already traumatized childhood. Who needs a father anyway? *eye roll*

I cried so hard I vomited. It was not a pretty picture. First, I was rushed out of the mall where we were - Seth, Skylar, and I - and then Seth drove us back to the Stronghold manor.

Seth and Skylar cared for me while I cried nonstop for a long while. I couldn't stop even if my life depended on it. I was in so much pain that I couldn't hold myself together. It was a living nightmare that I could not wake up from, no matter how hard I tried.

Eventually, Seth left me to his brother's care, returning to his room, and Skylar stayed with me all through the night, comforting me. He tried to tell me that Shawn was the one who missed out on an incredible son, but I was in too much pain to pay attention to him.

I just cried until there were no more tears left, then I hiccuped, and threw up... Skylar wouldn't leave my side through it all, even when it got nasty. He held my head over the toilet and cleared my hair of any contamination.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth, but ate no dinner nor did I talk to the Alpha couple after I arrived from the mall. I just stayed in my guest room with Skylar until I drifted off to sleep sometime around 3 am.

'Why didn't he want me?'

'What have I done to deserve this?'

'Why couldn't he be my dad instead of Mandy's - or even at the same time, for that matter?'

There were no answers to these questions, though I still asked them all to Skylar, who was heartbroken for my sake. He did his best by my side, was there for me all night long, and refused to leave me when I was throwing up.

Ironically, the only thing that was actually comforting to me was his scent. Just to sleep next to Skylar is the best thing ever. I can't explain how much his scent comforts me. It's like magic.

On Sunday, we woke up late, as expected, after such a heavy night. By the time I showered and got dressed, it was already time for lunch, and I was starving.

Naturally, Skylar woke up by my side and then went to his room for a shower and a change of clothes. Later that day, the five of us were eating lunch in the dining room, and I had yet to explain myself to my hosts.

"I am sorry for not being a good guest, Luna. I didn't have it in me to talk to anybody last night. I apologize for that." I told her, sounding remorseful.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Jake. Seth explained to us what happened at the mall and I am sorry you found out about Mandy the way you did. There is no excuse for Shawn abandoning you, so I will not comment any further." She declared with her nurturing tone. I do appreciate her motherly figure while I am away from mine. Her feminine wisdom is much needed in this house of men.

"What she said." Frederick said, looking at me with pity in his eyes.

"I don't think Texas likes me very much. Every time I come here, something bad happens." I said, trying to sound humorous but failing spectacularly.

"Texas has nothing to do with deadbeat dads. Texas loves you and wishes that you never leave." Skylar interjected, being assertive. He looked at me in such a way that I was spellbound by his sweet gaze.

Both his parents looked surprised by his declaration. I don't think he was talking about Texas... *laughs nervously*

"I hope you feel better soon. I am waiting for my rematch." Dahlia told me, referring to the fact that the last time I was here, we played Charades and Seth and I won against her and Skylar.

"Don't worry, Luna. I won't leave Texas until I mop the floor with you and Skylar." I teased her, playfully. Frederick gasped in shock at my choice of words.

Later that afternoon, Skylar took me to the waterfalls that named this town. It was a very long walk until we reached there, but it was worth it. A beautiful cascade of crystalline water flowed into a river that was primed to be bathed in - if we weren't in November, that is.

He stretched a towel on the grass near the river shore so we could rest after that mile-long walk and admire the waterfalls.

"I am so sorry for yesterday. I don't think I need to explain why I never told you about Mandy before, but I need you to know that I never made her any promises. She knows I have to find a partner at Ravenwood and that person will be my Luna one day." Skylar declared, incisively.

He opened a bottle of wine he stole from his parents' cellar and poured some into the glasses he brought for the occasion. I wouldn't say no to a glass of wine, though it's not my beverage of choice. I am a beer man.

I do know why he never brought her up before and it's not like the two of us have been dating for a long time - if we can call it that, to be honest, with Jayden in the picture I am more confused than ever before. Anyway, there was more important stuff to cover in the short time that we spent together so far. I wasn't even concerned about ex-girlfriends and could never imagine one of them was "my sister". *bitch, please*

"Would you like her to be your Luna if you had the choice?" I asked him, paying close attention to his reaction to my question.

"Before I went to Ravenwood, sure. She was the one for me, no doubt about it. But now I am in love with you. There's no person better for me than you." He was quick to reply, raising his glass to mine so we could cheer the occasion.

I couldn't help but get flustered by his response. Skylar speaks with such conviction, so assertive that it makes it impossible for anyone NOT to believe in him and what he is saying.

"To us." He cheered with his glass of wine.

"To us." I agreed, seeing that I had no choice other than to go along.

The wine is delicious. Expensive, as expected with these people, it's like I could taste the grape. Yummy.

"I don't know where you get your confidence. Once you set your sight on me, you have never wavered. It's like you were hit with the cupid's arrow or something." I commented, baffled by his resolve.

"I might as well have been because once I realized what was right in front of me, every day I have come to love you more." He declared and I swooned. There was something in his eyes that made me believe the sincerity of his speech. A twinkle if you will.

It's like I could feel his love for me irradiating from his body. It's infectious. And so exciting for me. It's next to impossible not to get swept away by him. He is dreamy.

As we drank wine, Skylar and I talked about our journey here and how he never felt so confident about his feelings for anyone as he does about me. He never stutters, he is direct and self-assured.

I do love his confidence because it's something I have to constantly work on myself. I need to keep reminding myself that I am worthy of being with someone like him. Or Jayden, for that matter.

Even if my father didn't want me, it was his loss. Not mine. I am worthy of being with Skylar Stronghold, should I so choose.

We didn't bring any towels - apart from the one on the ground where we were sitting - but Skylar said that if I dared him, he would jump into the river naked. I told him not today. I don't want him to expose himself to me on a dare. Plus, it's not that cold. We are in Texas, not Colorado.

It's not that I am afraid I won't be able to resist him if I saw him naked, I just don't want to tempt fate. I am in no place to be intimate with anybody right now, much less in a location I am not familiar with.

Be that as it may, we still kissed. I couldn't help but want to taste his lips once again. It was so great the last time, it remains great now. I have a distinct feeling that our bond, if I can call it that, will only grow from now on.

Ed Sheeran once famously sang: 'All I want is the taste that your lips allow' and I understand what he meant by that perfectly. It's all I want right now, his kisses. I have never been kissed like the way Skylar touches my lips, the chemistry is undeniable.

After we emptied the bottle of wine, we returned to the manor where the night promised us to have a good, clean, family fun. [Don't drink and drive, people, we are werewolves therefore our reflexes are much faster than humans and it takes a lot for us to get drunk]

Seth and I played against Dahlia and Skylar while Frederick was locked in his office working, even though it was Sunday. We had so much fun playing games that for the longest time, I did not pay attention to my surroundings or the wealth and power of the Strongholds. I played with them as a family. A loving family, even if their patriarch is a workaholic. Nobody's perfect.

Seth trying to interpret "Dazed and Confused" and Skylar trying to convey "Fatal Attraction" were a sight to behold. I never laughed so hard in my life.

Around one in the morning, I crashed in my suite where Skylar once again asked to sleep. At this point, why deny the best sleep of my life by his side? All it takes for me to sleep is him holding me close and his sweet scent intoxicating my nostrils in the best way possible.

On Monday, I woke up from a nightmare that Mandy and Skylar got back together and they laughed at me for believing that someone like him could ever fall in love with someone like me. I was shaking from the horrible sensation I felt and my bed companion felt it immediately.

"Are you okay? You're shaking!" He got up into a sitting position on the bed to ask me, sounding concerned.

"I am, sorry, just had an awful nightmare where you got back together with your ex-girlfriend and laughed at me for believing someone like you could ever fall in love with someone like me." I blurted, honestly. Skylar gasped in shock at this.

"What? Why would I do that? Why would I lie to you?" He pondered, distraught.

"I don't know, Sky. It sounds like you two had a history together. Who knows?" I replied, ever so perturbed by this whole thing.

Skylar breathed out a frustrated sigh, then looked directly at me, piercing my eyes with his penetrating gaze.

"Jacob, my darling, my love. When you are gray and old, I am going to love you.

When you are away at college and life tries to tear us apart, I am going to love you.

Whenever you tell me that you are not good enough for me, I am going to love you even harder.

When you get on my last nerve, or when you call me out on my bullshit, I am going to love you like you have never been loved before. And I am going to make you believe in my love for you.

When you are having doubts, I will squash them with tenderness.

When you are low, I will be your high.

When you are poor, I will be your sugar daddy. *laugh*

When you are sick, I will heal you.

When you are down, I will bring you back up where you belong.

When your belly swells from carrying our pup, I will love you with the power of a thousand suns. And when you think you are overweight, I am going to tell you that you never looked more handsome.

There is no force greater on Earth than the love I feel for you...

And when in doubt, tell me because it'll be my pleasure to remind you of the universal truth that you should never forget. I am hopelessly in love with you. You are the one for me. Everything that I lived so far was only to deliver me to you. I fully believe that. You were the one that I was meant to find.

So, if you are in doubt, please remember... I will love you until the day that I die."

Oh. My. Goddess.

I am gobsmacked that he just poured his heart out to me in such an impromptu way.

It was so heartfelt that I melted into a puddle. Game. Over.

I jumped on top of the Alpha and laid a kiss on him that neither of us will ever forget. I am baffled. I am mesmerized. I am so beyond impressed by him that one could imagine he was swapped by aliens or something... who is this boy that is so hellbent on conquering my heart?

Well, checkmate.

*removes Skylar's shirt*

*kisses his neck*

*playfully nibbles his earlobes*

Skylar suspends me from his body then rolls over mine to lift my shirt off and kisses my neck passionately. I move to wrap my arms around him as he kisses me voraciously. Both of us drunk in each other's pheromones, eagerly wanting to get closer and closer.

https://youtu.be/oBoQ7TG5BMw

A|N: BOOM!

Maybe that was even better than the poem, just not as rhythmic.

What will happen next?

Would you like to know?

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OFF: I had no idea about this song, but I was checking a video on social media of a BL show (I am addicted to them now) and I was hooked. I knew I had to use it in my book.

I have been writing for two and half years now, but I never wrote quite like that. This book is bringing me back to my poet vibes. I don't know what's happening.

You don't want to miss what happens next. If I were you, I would sign up for my Patreon account and read it now! It's only $4 and you get instant access to five chapters ahead. Maybe even more.

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Next is "A Very Bad Fun Idea".

Love,

Léo.