Feral Bonds: Claimed By Rogue Alpha Brothers
Chapter 116: Jasper’s Secrets

Chapter 116: Jasper’s Secrets

Oscar:

By the time I slipped out of Eva’s room and into the quiet hallway, my mind was racing, but not with the heat still lingering from our kiss. No, that fire had been doused the moment I heard Mallory’s broken voice from behind the door. And the expression on her face had only confirmed what I already suspected.

Something was seriously wrong.

And there was only one person who could possibly be the reason behind it.

Jasper.

Instead of the elevator, I headed for the stairs, taking two at a time. My boots almost made no sound against the plush carpeting of the hotel floor. The building was quiet, wrapped in that late-night stillness where even time seemed to slow. It was close to midnight, and most of the students and staff had already retreated to their rooms.

Except for Jasper.

Sure enough, I found him in the dimly lit lobby on the ground floor. He was sitting on the farthest couch, near the darkened window. He didn’t notice me immediately, and for a second, I stood there watching him.

He was looking like hell.

Elbows on his knees, head low, fingers tangled in his hair. His shirt was wrinkled, the top few buttons undone, and there was something raw in the way he stared at the floor, like he was battling something he didn’t know how to fight.

The only difference between him and Mallory was that he wasn’t crying.

I moved toward him and dropped onto the couch beside him. The cushions shifted under my weight, and only then did he look up.

"What did you do?" I asked bluntly. "What the hell did you do to make her cry?"

He blinked before his eyes widened just slightly. The confusion on his face was genuine and immediate. "She’s crying?"

That told me everything I needed to know.

He hadn’t meant to hurt her.

Which didn’t mean he hadn’t.

Jasper groaned and scrubbed his face with his palms like he could somehow wipe away the guilt gathering in his bones. "Shit."

"Yeah," I muttered as I rested my arms on the back of the couch. "Shit."

We sat in silence for a while. The only sounds were the soft hum of the AC and the distant clack of the receptionist typing behind the counter. No one else was around. Just two screwed-up men with mates we were trying to impress.

Eventually, Jasper let out a long, tired sigh. "I did something... that probably upset her. I didn’t realize it would make her cry."

I turned slightly, watching him with narrowed eyes. "What exactly did you do?"

He let out another breath, heavier this time, and shook his head. "We were getting close. Too close. And... I pulled away."

That was vague as hell. But I had a feeling I didn’t want the details.

"She probably thought it was because of her," he added quietly. "And I didn’t give her a reason. So yeah, I get it now. I messed up."

I stayed quiet for a moment. Processing. Watching the lines of stress carved into his face.

Then I asked the question that had been sitting at the tip of my tongue since I saw Mallory’s shattered expression.

"Why would you pull away, Jasper?"

He stiffened.

The silence lasted for a while before he finally answered. "Because she doesn’t know."

"Doesn’t know what?"

He lifted his eyes to mine, and the weight in them almost made me flinch.

"About Liliana."

My heart sank as the realization hit me hard.

Liliana was Jasper’s seven year old daughter from his first mate - the one he lost years ago.

I nearly forgot that he still hadn’t told Mallory about any of it.

"She’s my second chance," he confessed in a raw voice. "I didn’t expect to get one. And I didn’t expect it to be her. She’s so... young. So full of life. She deserves more than a broken man dragging his past behind him."

I didn’t say anything. I let him talk. Because this wasn’t something he shared easily.

"I was going to tell her," he continued. "Eventually. Just... not yet. I wanted to give us time. Let her get to know me. Not my past. Not the pain or the baggage. Just me. Jasper."

I nodded slowly, understanding more than he probably thought I could.

"She doesn’t even know I had a mate before," he admitted. "She doesn’t know about Liliana. She’s seven, Oscar. Seven."

There was a beat of silence.

"And Mallory... she’s eighteen."

When he put it that way, that part hit differently.

"I know how that sounds," Jasper said quickly, seeing the expression I wore. "I know she’s technically an adult, and the bond is real, and she’s my mate. But gods, Oscar... she’s still in her first year at the Academy. She hasn’t even figured out who she is yet. What kind of life she wants. How can I throw a child into the mix and expect her to be okay with it?"

I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"She has a right to know," I said quietly. "About Liliana. About everything."

"I know," Jasper said. "I just... I’m scared, man. What if she walks away? What if she hears the truth and decides she doesn’t want this? Doesn’t want me? I don’t think I can handle losing a second mate."

He sounded so damn tired when he said it.

And despite everything, despite the fact that I had always seen him as the man with everything under control, I saw now just how fragile he was under the surface. The man had lost a mate, was raising a child alone, and now had a bond with someone who might be too young to handle it all.

"You think I don’t understand?" I asked quietly, turning my head to him.

He frowned. "Sorry Alpha, but you don’t have a mate. And you are not dating an eighteen-year-old."

I huffed out a breath, almost laughing.

If only he knew.

If only he knew how badly I wanted to scream that I did have a mate.

That she was young. Bright. Complex. Beautiful. And absolutely, infuriatingly off-limits.

He didn’t know about Eva.

No one did.

Not yet.

So I just shook my head and said nothing, letting him think what he wanted to think. Because his struggle tonight wasn’t about me. It was about him, and the girl upstairs crying in my mate’s arms because the man she loved couldn’t say the one thing she needed to hear.

"I don’t think she wants perfect," I said softly. "I think she just wants honesty. Maybe even a little reassurance. You are scared she’ll run. But she’s up there crying because you already did."

He let out a bitter laugh. "I didn’t run."

"You didn’t stay either."

He pressed his hands to his face again, groaning. "I don’t know how to fix this."

"Start by telling her the truth," I said, standing up. "You don’t have to unload everything in one night. But give her the choice to stay. Or go. Just... don’t lie to her. Not by silence. Not by omission."

He didn’t answer right away.

So I left him there, sitting in the shadows of the lobby, hoping he would take the advice he would have given me if the roles were reversed.

Because if there was one thing I knew, it was this - Love wasn’t about perfection. It was about effort.

And if he didn’t fight for her soon, someone else just might.

Because Mallory may be young, but she wasn’t stupid.

And hearts? They don’t wait forever.

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