Jasper Rose - Scarlet Bay (best ereader for comics TXT) 📗

my a smile curving into my face. I lowered my head, my hair sheilding my face from his view. The weight of his legs disappeared and I looked up at him through my hair. He was staring at me intently, sitting so his leg pressed against mine. My breath caught in my throat as he brought his hand up, hesitating sightly before tenderly sweeping my hair aside and holding my face softly. "You're so beautiful, Jasper."

My cheeks bloomed red and I turned my head away, my hair falling again. An annoyed growl brought my eyes to his again and he grabbed my face with both his hands, the softness of his touch contradicting the tender yet angered look in his eyes, "Don't you ever hide your face from me, Jasper Scarlet Nichols Gotha." He growled again before roughly bringing my face to his.

My eyes fluttered closed and I smiled into the kiss. Our lips worked together and it was as though sparks were flying between us. After what felt like hours of 'intimate lip-exercising' we pulled away for air. I leaned my forehead against his and let out a fluttering laugh. He smiled and I sighed contently, voicing my first thought, "You remembered my full name?"

His warm laugh filled the room and I blushed again, "How can you be so goddamn perfect?"

I laughed at him as he gave me a peck.

If only he knew. If he knew he'd think you were disgusting. I sighed quietly as I fought with myself.

Wait, can't he fucking hear m-

"If I knew what?" He raised an eyebrow at me, and my eyes widened. Fuck!

"Jasper no swearing." I whipped my head around to see my father entering the room with Xavier and Aviary behind him and I sighed in relief.

"Dad! You better explain all this shit to us now!" He grinned at my expression but Jake's parent's expressions contradicted his own with their matching tight smiles.

"Well... this might take a little while Cat, but why don't we all sit down first?"

~~*~~

I sighed, why do adults insist on tea and coffee when sitting down and telling 'stories'?

"Okay Jasper, so there's quite a lot we need to tell you -- and you too Jake." My father smiled as he finally began.

"Gah, dad, must we make it so formal and story-like?" I groaned, he is so annoying!

"Well, now that you said that, yes I do." I sighed and laughed with him. "We'll have to teach you how to control your thoughts too."

I just stared at him flatly as he grinned.

"Well, first off, Jasper, we obviously arent 'werewolves', per se. We are often refered to as that, becuase wolves are the most common of our animals, but we are simply shifters. We also don't have 'wolves', or whatever, that talk to us in our heads---yes, I remember when you brought up how weird that'd be when you were twelve."

"Hey, werewolf books are interesting!" I held up my hands and stuck my tongue out at my evil father, heart beating harder as Jake's deep chuckle reverbrated around the room.

"Anyway, there is a lot about us that humans don't know. For one, though we do have packs with Alphas and Betas, we have... well, we have 'leaders'. The Fae Royals and the Fae Council. They rule all of us. All of the Fae."

"Wait, there aren't just wer-shifters?" I raised my eyebrows, shit---vampires and leprechauns too?

He chuckled, "Yes. There are many species considered to be Fae, most common ones being fae themselves,as in fairies, elves, shifters and witches -- not the ones with warts and broomsticks. Your great aunt is a witch, by the way."

"Wait---my great aunt Sarah?!" I screeched.

"Yup!" The grin didn't leave his face, but his eyes held a hint of worry.

"Crap..." I ran a hand through my hair, but couldn't keep the grin from my face, "That's freaking awesome!"

"Hahaha, yes, I suppose it is, Cat," He smiled, but quickly grew serious. "Well, Jasper, you see, we used to have Fae Royals and the Fae council. But a man, he was shifter, fae and elf, thought that he would be 'better'. He spent years recruiting people, many of them dark witches, dark magic users, and evil shifters, known as dark shifters, they were the ones who believed the animals inside them were stronger and better, and who lived like their animals; some going as far as to... as to attack and eat other human beings and shifters," He gulped and a dark look crossed his eyes. "After years, years of he and his people hopelessly attacking the borders of the lone Fae Royal's, our last queen's, home, he finally stopped. The royal guard was niave. After a month we relaxed the border patrols and stopped watching out for them. And they didn't hesitate. They... they attacked near midnight and we weren't prepared. And they killed An- our queen." A tear escaped his eye as he recounted the story; he had been on the royal guard when our queen was lost. I cannot imagine the unjustified guilt he must be feeling. I stood up and rushed over to the recliner he was seated in, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I couldn't help the tear that escaped as I consoled my father.

He drew in a shaky breath and looked back up at me, smiling at me, "There's more I have to tell you, hon, but any questions about 'werewolfism'."

I stared at him flatly, "No dad, no questions. At all." I punched him in the arm before swaying back to my seat and grinning at him, "Yeah I got quite a few obviously, you mind if I just shoot and you answer as quickly as you can?" I laughed as he nodded with a smile. "Uh... our coats, do the colours have to do with anything?"

"Nope. Any shifter can be any colour, though usually the colours of all their animals are the same, and it is often their hair colour."

I grinned, "Sweet, well..."

~~*~~

10 minutes of questions later I still felt like I didn't know everything. I had forgotten Aviary and Xaviar hadbeen there while my father and I were talking, but they had put in a lot with my queries.

"What's the deal with rogues?"

He grinned, "I knew this was coming. Well... rogues are depicted as evil, horrible creatures in stories, yes?"

"Yeah, I've read 2 or 3 books in which rogues aren't coming to eat all the little nice pack members, I think. And you know how many actual werewolf books I've read..."

His chuckled, "Well, yes, some rogues are evil. But 'rogues' in themselves aren't evil. They are exactly the same as wolves in packs, except they've either been kicked out, run away, were born without a pack, or were orphaned before ever knowing about their pack. They could be evil or they could be saints, just as packs, or individual wolves in packs, could be either evil or 'good'. It's purely dependent on the person themselves, not the way the fates have left them."

I smiled, "Good." Suddenly something came to mind and I sighed worriedly, "Dad... um, who is in our pack?"

"Well Cat, do you want a list or what?" He laughed again, well sorry I'm worried as to who my 'family' is!

"Nothing to be worried about Scar." Jake winked at me and I couldn't help my blush.

"Dad, please teach me how to stop thinking... aloud."

"Actually, Jasper, I didn't hear it that time." He jerked his head towards Jake with a grin. "He's in your head."

I growled, turning my head to the hottie next to me -- the hottie who had put his legs back in lap, did I mention? "Paul! Get the frig-sticks out of my head!"

His grin widened, "But I like it in your head. And 'frig-sticks'? Really?"

I smiled at myself, strugling to keep the angry glare plastered on my face, "Yeah, there're adults here!" At that I looked over to our parents, Xaviar and dad were sharing a knowing look and Aviary was just smiling at us with one of those 'aww' looks. I blushed again.

"Hmm, 5 consecutive blushes... I'm pretty sure that'd be a record shortie." His smile made my heart flutter and I almost smiled. Until I processed what he said.

"You asshole! I'm 5"7'! I am so not short!" I punched him in the arm as he doubled over with laughter and another blush found it's way to my cheeks.

"As funny as I' finding your bickerings, do you want to know who's in our pack or not? You'll be meeting them all for dinner this arvie, but you have met some of them before." My father cut off Jake's laughter and my embarrassment as I quickly nodded. "Well... there aren't thousands of people in our packs like there are in books, but we do have quite a few... So, you're going to be very pissed, as a lot of your school friends are in our pack..."

I cut him off with a gasp, "What?! Who? Oh shit, please tell me it's not Mariane!"

My father chuckled, "No, your great friend Melissa isn't in our pack... in fact, you know how I mentioned nearly everyone has some kind of fae in them? Well she doesn't have any traits."

"Hah! Suck to her then!" I giggle and glance over at my - now laughing - beau. Wait what? Beau?! God, I have issues. Glancing back up at Paul I narrow my eyes, "Don't even mention it Jake."

"I wasn't going to say anything." My heart flutters as he smiles, not smirks, simply smiles. He's so-

"If you lovebirds would stop google-eyeing each other, do you want to know who's in the pack or would you rather save it for tonight when you meet them?" My father grins as I roll my eyes, before realizing what he'd said.

"I'm meeting them tonight?!"

Imprint

Text: Freya Baynes
Publication Date: 04-24-2013

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To all book lovers.