The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 183

Laila’s POV

I must have had a really good dream, because when I started to rouse from my sleep, I felt content and warm, better than I had in

a very, very long time. This had to be the best night sleep I’d had since I had left the pack house all those years ago.

Then, in a flash, I remembered why.

Jason.

My eyes snapped open, as my heart dropped down into the pit of my stomach.

To my surprise, my face was pressed into a pillow. My arm was outstretched across the empty bed.

Jason wasn’t here. Had I imagined him staying last night?

No, I was sure that he did. In his arms, I had felt safe enough to fall asleep. I never would have been able to otherwise.

But if he wasn’t here? Where was he? Did he sneak out?

And could I really blame him if he had. He was mated to another woman. He never should have stayed the night here, much less

in my bed.

What had I been thinking? I should have kicked him out the minute we arrived here.

But, the truth was, I found comfort in his presence. I had been so scared last night that I hadn’t been thinking straight. Just being near Jason had given me comfort.

Now, in the light of the morning dawn, I felt more myself, and the dread from last night pressed down onto me.

I had been chased. Jason had saved me. Jason had stayed here.

So many problems now lingered on my mind and I didn’t know where to begin addressing them.

My stomach grumbled. Okay. I could start solving things after breakfast.

Pushing back the covers, I dragged myself out of bed and shuffled toward the door. The minute I opened it, the smell of blueberry pancakes came wafting directly to my nose.

My stomach growled again, louder.

Who could possibly be making pancakes? I already knew the answer.

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I sneaked down the stairs and into the hallway. At the door to the kitchen, I peered around the opening, and there Jason was, standing at the stove. He was humming to himself. A box of pancake mix sat on the counter to one side of him, a stack of pancakes on a plate on the other.

I’d been trying to be quiet, but he must have sensed me. “Come and eat,” he said. “I saw you had mix in the pantry, so I hope you don’t mind that I cooked these up.”

“I don’t mind…” I said, because I was hungry, even if it was extremely inappropriate for him to be here right now. He’d already stayed the night though. The worst had already occurred. What would be the point in kicking him out now? Especially when he went to all this trouble.

I sat down on one of the stools that were set against the side of the kitchen island. Jason finished flipping the last of the Pancakes before adding it to the stack. Then, he turned off the stove, and delivered the stack to me. There were already two plates arranged where I was sitting, with butter and syrup nearby.

“We should probably talk,” I said, the guilt starting to rise again inside of me, even in the face of such delicious–looking food.

“Eat first. Then we’ll talk.”

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I couldn’t argue with that. For the next few minutes, I devoured my half of the pancakes – they tasted as good as they looked. Sitting on the stool beside me, Jason ate the rest with almost as much fervor. We both must have been very hungry.

With the food done, I pushed my plate away and said to him, “You shouldn’t have stayed last night.”

He shrugged. “I’m more concerned about who was chasing you, and why.”

I could agree that was alarming, but, “You are mated, Jason, and you spent the night here with me. Brittany isn’t going to like that.”

“You needed my help. That takes priority.”

“You should have left me here.”

“You didn’t feel safe.”

“My safety isn’t your responsibility,” I said.

“I’m not going to feel bad about this,” Jason replied. “No matter what you say, I’m not going to regret what I did. I protected you. I will never regret that.”

I sighed a little, unsure what to say to that. Secretly, I was pleased that he would take my protection so seriously, even if I hadn’t asked for it. I condemned that feeling inside of me, knowing it was impossible and unwelcome. He shouldn’t be my protector. He had his own mate now, and soon, his own family.

He should stay away from me.

“Is there anyone you can think of that would want to hurt you?” Jason asked. “I gave you that box of files. Maybe someone was watching…”

“Well, I…” I cleared my throat, nervous to tell him the full truth. In hindsight, it had been so foolish to go see Adelaide alone. Jason would have come if I had asked him too. I was sure of that now, but in the moment, I hadn’t considered it. I hadn’t thought

myself in any danger.

I had been too confident.

“What is it?” he asked me.

“I went to visit Aunt Adelaide. I thought she might know something.”

Jason went very still. “Is she a suspect in your parents‘ death?”

“I think so.”

Fire sparked in his eyes. “You went to visit your aunt, who you suspected… And you didn’t call me? Didn’t I offer to go with you? Didn’t I say I would help you? How could you be so reckless?”

“Why would I have called you?”

“I said I would help you.”

“Yes, but why? We are nothing to each other, Jason. You are mated to someone else, and I’m engaged. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I’m not doing this because I feel like I owe you.”

“Then why?”

He looked at me,

his gaze penetrating deep down into me, like he could see down into the heart of me. “You know why.”

A flash of heat rose in my cheeks. “No, I don’t,” I said, but that was I lie.

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Jason and I were connected in ways he didn’t understand, but I did. I knew our history. I knew the connections that time and Jason himself had tried to sever, that still held on by a thread, binding us. I had tried to ignore them so many times, but since that moments of shared bliss his office, all of my hesitations – all of the walls I had built to protect myself – had been slowly tearing down, piece by piece

The feelings were harder to ignore now, despite everything.

Jason reached out and gently took my hand. I could have pulled away, but I didn’t. I was trapped in this moment, in these feelings with him, for better or for worse.

My own heart thundered loudly in my ears. Everything else fell away. Only Jason and I existed in the entire world right at this moment, as he drew my hand toward him and placed my palm flat on his chest, right over his heart.

Underneath, his heart raced nearly as fast as my own.

“Tell me you don’t feel this,” he said. “My heart races for you, Vanessa. You, and no one else.” ↑

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