11

JACKSON HALE

I looked at Cayden next to me and, throwing my phone beside me, I frowned. Spencer had just called me talking weird, she started rambling on about coffee and how I know her. I think she was about to ask me out but hung up before she couldn't even say anything. I shouldn't have mentioned Diego, she seemed freaked that she was even talking to me while being with him.

This means that she feels the pull like I can. She likes me.

"I think she really likes you," Cayden says and I groan.

"What did I say about listening to my conversations?" I snap at him.

"Hey," he raised his hands in surrender. "the fucking moon goddess gave us super-hearing for situations like this."

"First off, don't use 'fucking' and 'moon goddess' in the same sentence."

"You just did." He pointed out and I growled at him only making him smirk.

"Second." I sighed heavily. "Situations like this?"

"Making a human fall in love with you when you have a mate in the near future."

"But-"

"AND most importantly, you're falling in love with her." Cayden looks at me as I pause. His face looks calm but his eyes are full of worry. I couldn't help but beat myself up for lying to him.

"Cayden... I have already fallen in love with her." I whisper and he stares at me with the same look.

Cayden sighs and falls back onto my bed, looking up at my ceiling fan. I take this chance to lie next to him looking at the same thing he is.

"Spencer is different from the others," I tell him, I could practically feel his eyes roll to the back of his head.

"Jackson Hale has never been in love with a girl, much less with a girl he's barely talked to." His raven black hair falls to the side of his temple; he looks at me with his deep brown eyes and smug lips.

"She's my mate," I admit, there was a pause of breaths with Cayden. He wasn't looking at me anymore, he was staring straight up ahead.

"How?"

"I don't know, I honestly don't care at this point. Whatever she is or the bond between us... is, I love her regardless." I told him.

"What does she smell like?" He asked and I frowned at him. "I mean... I know the smell of a mate is sacred to a werewolf, telling another would be so intimate and maybe even an act of betrayal. But... Jackson... I want to know if what you smell is the same as what I do."

"You found your mate?" I exclaim, sitting up to look at him. He couldn't look at me, anything but me. I feel the pain he feels hiding this from everyone, mostly me and Tori. The person he's mated to isn't someone the pack may be okay with. "She smells like a birthday dessert. Every time I see her, especially when I'm around her, I can smell it so clearly. Our bond is stronger than love, stronger than when you feel the touch of someone so pure- it's... hard to explain."

Cayden turns to his side, closing his eyes. "She... she smells like the moist air after it rains, I've always liked that smell. My mom would take me and Tyler out to stomp through puddles. After Tyler died, my mom stopped taking me out. I think it hurt her too much to continue the tradition. So, I just stood out on the porch while it rained and waited for that smell to come in." Cayden paused before looking me striaght in the eyes.

"When I found her," he continued, "I immediately smelled it. I found her years ago, she found me, but there was nothing we could do about it. It's wrong and I have to wait until it's right."

"Why is it wrong?" I asked confused.

"Because- because," I could see his eyes water as the tears threaten to fall.

I rested my hand on his. "You can tell me, I'm your fucking best friend." And I am, I will always be there for him no matter what.

"Because, Jackson, my mate is your little sister. It's Claire."

___

I felt her skin under my lips and a cool shiver ran down her spine. I felt sparks as she ran her fingers through my hair. My chest gently grazed hers and she grabbed my hair tighter. I kissed up her toned neck and on the sides of her jawline. My heart was beating harshly against my chest from pure excitement. My fingers lightly caress her bare naked sides earning a moan from her.

"Jackson," She whispered breathlessly in my ear. "I love you."

I gasped in pleasure. "I love you too."

I woke up from my sleep to see the darkness outside only lit up by the moon. The light shined in my room lighting up my bed. Cayden lay still beside me under the covers. I looked at the back of his head, his dark hair messily everywhere. I couldn't help but think about all our nights together before. The junk food we consumed and the human tv shows we watched. Tori is by our side to explain every reference.

I remember all the times he came crying to my house falling in my arms, I'd stroke his hair and tell him that I'm always going to be here as he told me what happened. He used to let me stay over when the stress of my father was getting too much. He'd try to make me feel better by holding me in his arms and telling me that I make my own path. To do what I want, not what my dad expects me to do.

There was the area in the wood where we'd go to shoot glass with a gun Tori bought illegally. She's pretty badass like that. Tori would pay for human things and give the boy-looking ones to us. The gun was a gift from her. That place in the woods was the place all of us went to let off steam.

I couldn't just give him up after all of that, just because he couldn't choose the person he is mated to. Even if it is my little sister. Of course, I am angry and feeling betrayed but I love them both too much to destroy this when I know how they feel. To love someone they can't have.

Cayden told me that he and Claire never touched, never kissed, never done anything. They both agreed that they should wait until she turns 18. Seeing as Cayden is already 18 and Claire has four more years until she reaches that age, I feel like it's a good plan. If they decide to get together before that then it's their choice, I can't do anything about it. I just hope they make the right decision.

Sighing, I lay back down on my pillow and look out the window on my side. Watching the stars shine, my mind fades to how beautiful Spencer is. She's all that's on my mind, the longer we're not together the more I think about her. The more I want her. To the point where I might not be able to control myself.

I think it's time for a run.

photo of Cayden