"You think he could be, don't you," she asks, sterner. "There is an excellent possibility," he admits. She can't believe what he just told her.
In shock by the words, "You can't seriously think that," She can't digest the chance of that being true.
Jazmin continues trying to deny the possibility of Alpha Aston being her mate. "Look around, Jazmin. You've met all the Alphas here. If they had been your True mate, you would've instantly known," He says, attempting to control the conversation from reaching the ears of others nearby. Maybe he is right. Is she looking at this all the wrong way? Jazmin begins to doubt herself.
There is one big question that continues to guilt-trip her.
"That's not the problem, dad! I don't know if I want a mate" Jazmin finally openly admits it in front of her dear, trusted father. It has started to wear down Jazmin. She shuns away from her father, unable to look at him.
"This is just happening far too fast for me," she pleads with exhaustion.
With a bit of remaining energy, Jazmin heads for the door, and she grabs the handle. "I apologize, dad, but I need to gather before any decisions." Her father sighs with his arms on his office chair, head hanging low.
"Take the time you need, but remember, your mate will not wait to claim you as his Jazmin!" Tears threaten to fall as Jazmin leaves the office.
Jazmin rushes to the nearest private bathroom to save herself from any nearby eyes that may see her crumble. Jazmin's flood gates break, allowing all the emotions to flow, as she slides down to the bathroom door only to meet the cold floor beneath her. She doesn't understand how something so happy makes her want to scream in denial.
Slowly, she pulls herself back together. She's unsure how much time has passed. Alpha Aston most likely arrived by now. Indeed, she thinks to herself. Knock, knock, knock, who could that possibly be?
"Jazmin, are you in there? Your parents asked me to come to find you," Claire says on the other side of the door.
Debating what she should say, the only words that would come out were, "I'll be out in a few, Claire," in a calm voice.
Jazmin picks herself up off the floor. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she didn't ruin her makeup much. She can quickly fix it, so no one is wiser about her meltdown.
As she patches her makeup to a reasonable look, Claire calls out again, "Are you okay in there, Jazmin?" she was concerned for her best friend's emotional state.
Fighting hard to choke back the emotions, she tries to remind herself to be strong. "Just give me a few more minutes, I promise that I'm okay." Jazmin attempts to reassure her humble best friend, she doesn't want her pity.
There is silence between them for a moment. "Jazmin, we need to get back to your guests." Claire pushes Jazmin to come out of hiding.
Little does Claire realize that Jazmin has an emotional war raging inside her, confusion pulls at her mentally. She can't seem to get her mind out of this fog. How does she go about doing what makes her happy, with the best intentions? She doesn't want others to feel like she is doing things out of selfishness.
Jazmin lets out a long, deep sigh, as she reaches for the doorknob. On the other side is Claire with a worried expression. At the same time, Claire shows disappointment towards Jazmin, holding her arms folded.
Jazmin stares Claire down. "I told you, I'm fine, Claire!" She says, trying to convince herself that she is. Claire huffs and squints at Jazmin, "I don't believe you one tiny bit!" Darn, she didn't take it seriously.
How does Claire convince her otherwise now? "Fine, Claire. You win this time."
Claire smirks at Jazmin with a "hmm." Jazmin crosses her fingers mentally in hopes of getting out of this conversation with Claire.
Claire breaks the silence, "we aren't done with this conversation. We will return to the topic, and for all I care, I will do anything to make you spill yourself into words, Jazmin." Claire steps out of the way to let Jazmin enter the hall.
Jazmin looks at Claire, ashamed of her, wanting to hide her feelings from her friend. "I'm just not ready to discuss anything right now. I hope you understand and respect me." She stares at Claire, waiting for her acceptance.
"Okay fine. I'll respectfully stop bugging you." Jazmin relaxes a little at her words. Jazmin follows Claire back into the action of mingling guests.
They walk into the pack house kitchen to find it bustling with staff for tonight's dinner. As significant as the kitchen is, the number of people there makes it seem more minor.
"Looks like we came in at a bad time," Jazmin says to Claire.
"Yeah, let's go find somewhere else that's quiet." They decide to go lounge around in one of the living rooms. They sit there bored out of their minds. Furthermore, they were listening to surrounding conversations.
Jazmin's brother Derek walked in when they thought things couldn't get better.
"Why do you look so glum on your birthday, Jazmin?" Derek asks. "Just anticipation of the events of tonight that may come," Jazmin responded. Derek sits down next to his sister and gives her the best big brother comfort hug he can at the given moment.
"You know what? Just think of how all of these packs alphas are about my age, maybe a little older." Jazmin looks up at Derek with confusion.
Dare she ask why he would mention that? "Why? Do you not feel ready to take over as alpha?" Jazmin asks Derek.
"Well, it's been stressful keeping up with helping out dad, so it's a smooth transition," Derek grunts as he admits with a hint of worry. Panic swells in him, as he will be turning 21 in three months. He'll have his Alpha ceremony the same week as his birthday. Typically, Alphas find their mates a year or two after being alpha. Some find them before becoming alpha, which is a rare occasion.
"Just think you'll finally get a mate once you are the alpha, unless you meet her beforehand." Derek grunts at Jazmin words.
"Don't be like that. Dad has now set up large birthday parties for the both of us in hopes of getting mates sooner." Derek nods. Ever since he turned 18, it's been year after year of invitation for neighboring packs to come. He's slightly lost hope in it.
Derek is the reason she was unsure about this mate thing. Her brother hasn't had luck with it. Who is to say she will before he does. Their dad believes it will happen. Derek starts to look sad and a little jealous of his sister. Why did the demeanor change?
"Maybe we will both find mates together soon!" Jazmin speaks in a reassuring tone to Derek. She doesn't like seeing him look so sad. He's always so upbeat and the one to bring the smile out to his little sister. She has always admired his strength growing up.
They both had enough of this mate talk. "How about we all go grab a snack?" Jazmin asks.
They quickly answer, "yes!" to her. "Okay, good because I'm starving and would rather not embarrass myself over hunger!" Jazmin says. Claire and Derek giggled at her statement.
"Lead the way, princess!" Derek stands up, extending his arm.
Claire and Jazmin both stand up, heading toward the kitchen. When Jazmin gets a mind link, 'Alpha Aston has arrived.' Those simple words stop Jazmin dead in her tracks. She lets out a startled, "oh no." Catching the attention of Derek and Claire. They look at Jazmin, confused.
"What is it?" They ask simultaneously. Jazmin turns to them with shock on her face, "He's here." This only confuses them further about why she's so scared about his arrival.
Claire is the first to speak up, "who? Alpha Aston?" She asks.
Jazmin can only respond with a simple head nod to Claire's question.
"Is there something going on we should know about Jazmin?" Derek asks. Jazmin ponders on how to reply.
"Dad believes Alpha Aston is my mate." She calmly says to them. They both gasp in shock at her statement.
"How could he be so sure of that?" Derek asks.
"He thinks that because I've already met all the other alphas attending and had no "mate bond" feelings towards them, that leaves Alpha Aston."
Jazmin begins to lose herself in deep thoughts surrounding his arrival. Derek and Claire stand. They're contemplating what to say next. Derek clears his throat.
"Jazmin, there is no way for certain that it's true. The moment of truth will be when you meet him." Claire nods in agreement.
Jazmin holds her head up with determination on her face. "I must go and meet him to be sure then, shouldn't I?" Jazmin states.
"We will be there with you. Let's go see for ourselves, Jazmin," Claire says. Snacks are going to have to wait now. Jazmin is no longer hungry; her hunger has been replaced with a queasy feeling.
"I can do this. There is no need to be afraid of him!" Jazmin tries to calm herself with reassuring words. Claire and Derek stand on each side and grab her hand as a way to comfort her. This simple action relaxed Jazmin enough. She wasn't suffering from anxiety's hold on her. She had to face this nagging fear head-on.