A few days later, Dalton knocked on the door a couple times, but nobody came to the door anymore. The knock just echoed through the house, and he opened it and called out to his brother. Dustin didn't answer right away, and he moved into the foyer, looking around cautiously, sure that his brother would jump out at him at any minute. He had an excuse for why he was there, stuff from the businesses, but that wasn't his real motivation. His real motivation was he was just there to drive the dagger in a little bit deeper.
“Dustin? Are you here?”
Finally, Dustin hollered back to his brother, and Dalton moved into the library. It looked like Dustin was already half a bottle in for the night, and he was slurring his words.
“What the hell are you doing here again, Dalton?”
Dalton smiled. He liked Dustin when he was this way. He was honest to a fault, and Dalton could glean information that would be useful later.
“I was just coming to check on you, brother. You haven't been doing so well lately, and I worry about you.”
Dustin scoffed. “You could give a rat’s ass about me, so why are you really here?”
Dalton grinned a little bigger because he had always liked the mental sparring with his brother. It was familiar, and it made him feel warm inside. It was something he could always count on: his uptight brother being upset about something that he had done.
“Well, I can see that you're just as bitter as before.”
Dustin agreed with the nod of his head. “You're damn right, I am. I don't think I'm ever going to stop being bitter about it. It’s not your fault, but you don’t have to rub it in every damn time you come over here, always asking about her.”
“People in the clan are starting to talk. Do you really think that they want a leader like this?”
His brother shrugged. “Do you really think that I care? I never did care about it like you did. I'm starting to think that you haven't been listening at all.”
“I'm listening, Dustin. One minute you are marrying a complete stranger so you can keep the alpha status and make sure that I don't get it, and now you're telling me that you don't care? You sure the hell went through a lot of stress and drama for something that you don't care about.”
“Well, it wasn’t worth it. That's what I figured out.”
“Since you are so ready to get rid of the old ball and chain, why don't you transfer her over to me? You know that it is perfectly acceptable, as long as it is a brother. I could take her off your hands, and you could worry about other things, like running the clan.”
Dustin immediately responded, and that made his brother smile even bigger.
“There you are. I was wondering when you were going to stop all this soppy crap and buck up. Why are you acting like this over a woman?”
Dustin just shook his head and growled underneath his breath.
“It’s none of your business, Dalton. You've already messed up enough of my life. I don't want you in it anymore. I don't want you coming here and giving me updates or telling me that you're going to take my wife off my hands. I don't want any of it. Whatever there was between us, whatever feelings that you think we have because we're brothers, is gone. You are not my brother. You are nothing to me, and if you come here again, we will fight, and it will end when one of us isn’t breathing. Do you understand me, Dalton? Because I’m not joking.”
Dalton was quiet for a moment. A part of him just wanted to have it out with Dustin and get it over with. It was something that was simmering between them and had been for as long as he could remember. There would certainly be no love lost.
While he was messing with Dalton's head, he had realized something. Just because Dustin didn't want to sign off on it, it didn't mean that he had to. Dalton really wanted to hurt his brother, and he knew exactly what to do. Dalton was going to have to go to the other person in the equation.
Instead of fighting with him or agreeing to this fight to the death that Dustin was so adamant on, Dalton told him that he would have no more problems from him.
“If you want me out of your life, brother, don't worry about it. I'm gone. But when you start to hear rumors about how well I'm doing, don't come find me. You won't be welcome.”
Dalton made his plans as quietly as he could. He knew that if Dustin found out about it, there would be hell to pay. He had to not only stay away from the clan and everyone that he knew, but he also needed to figure out where his sister-in-law was. If his brother was stupid enough to walk away from her, Dalton had enough sense to pick her up. There seemed to be something that his brother had not really considered, and it was surprising to Dalton. How his brother had not realized that if they had been together intimately, she was most likely pregnant with his child. Did he not care?
Dalton cared. He knew that while the people of the clan might balk at his appointment, they would soon have another choice.
Dalton was going to make the choice for everyone. He was convinced he would find a way to get what he wanted.
It didn't take long for him to find Jasmine once he figured out where to look. He went to go see the marriage broker that had gotten the two of them together. She was surprised to see him, and for one reason or another, Jamie was far more nervous than she should have been. He used that to his advantage and got all the information he needed. She was just happy to see him leave.
He wanted to ask her why she was acting the way she was, but he learned not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever had her acting that way had given him the information that he needed.
Jasmine was quite a way away from the clan, which suited him just fine because his brother had made it clear that he was not welcome there anymore. Dalton knew that the only chance he had was to be able to get it done without his brother knowing about it. When it was all said and done, Dalton hoped that his brother would find out, but only after it was too late to do anything. All he had to do was convince Jasmine that it was better to be with him than to be alone to raise the shifter child herself. It didn't seem like it should be that hard to convince her. She was in quite a pickle if what he thought was true.
Dalton arrived in the middle of the night, and instead of going to see her immediately, he got a hotel for the evening. He was still trying to figure out what exactly he was going to say. They had only met once, and it had not gone as well as he would have liked. Dalton tried not to worry about it too much. He made his plan for the next day and did his best to get some shut eye.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jasmine was used to being back home, though she didn't like it any better than she had before. It had been as humiliating as she thought it would be, explaining to her family that even though so much had been paid for her, the man she was supposed to marry had not wanted her. It would have killed her less if she hadn't wanted him so badly.
Jasmine knew the truth was, she had fallen for her husband. It hadn't seemed like such a horrible thing until she realized that he didn't want her. In reality, she had been devastated, and there was nothing she could do to make it better. She couldn't make the man love her even if she wanted to.
After a couple of months, Jasmine realized something else as well. Not only was she without a husband, but she was also pregnant with a baby that wasn't even human, and she was all alone. The pregnancy came as a surprise because they had only been together the one night. Jasmine knew that it was all that it took, but she couldn't imagine she was actually pregnant.
It sent her into a deep depression. Not only had she lost the man that she loved, but now she was going to have to raise his child alone as well. It seemed like adding insult to injury, and Jasmine still hadn’t told anyone about the baby. She didn't know who to tell, anyway. It was going to be a great shame on her family. She had already been refused and found unfit as a bride. Now she was going to be unfit as a mother as well.
She was in the midst of trying to figure out what she was going to do when she was told that somebody was waiting for her at the door. Jasmine had been so convinced tha
t it was going to be Dustin that she had run downstairs with hope in her heart. Unfortunately, she was wrong. It was his brother Dalton instead, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
“Dalton? I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?”
She remembered the warning that Dustin had given her about his brother. While she’d been willing to trust him because he was family, Dustin had made it clear that there was no trusting him. Although Dustin wasn't there now. He didn't want to be with her, so why should she care what he said? She wanted someone to talk to, someone that knew what was going on and what Dustin was, and what her kid could be.
Her family left her to give them privacy after they offered him something to drink. Dalton was eager to talk about what it was he was there for. She could only imagine that it wasn't going to be good news. She was afraid that something had happened to Dustin, and that was one of the first questions that she asked. Jasmine wished that she didn't care, but of course, she did. Just because he didn't want her didn't mean she felt the same way.
“I am here to see how you are doing. I’ve been worried about you.”
“See how I'm doing? I'm doing fine. Why would you ask that?”
“Well, considering my brother so callously sent you away.”
She pressed her lips together because Jasmine didn't like to hear it described like that. She had been the queen of their people at some point, but now she was nothing.
“I didn't know everybody knew about that.”
“It's kind of hard not to notice that you left. You always filled the room with such a lightness. I hope you don't mind me saying, but my brother was an idiot.”
She smiled at Dalton and wondered why she didn't remember him being so charming. Maybe if she had married someone a bit more laid back like Dalton, she would still be married.
“Well, I thank you for checking on me, but I am doing just fine. Your brother made his decision for whatever reason, and I just have to accept it.”
“And what about his child? Have you accepted that you're going to have to raise it on your own?”
Her face fell a little bit, and Jasmine wished that she could hide her emotions better. How did he know such a thing when she had been so careful not to tell anyone?
“I didn't realize that it was so obvious.”
“Like I said before, it's hard to not notice that you were missing. You have to know that you left an impression on me.”
Jasmine could feel tears rising, and she tried to fight it back. The last thing she needed to do was lose it right then. This was her brother-in-law after all and he would assuredly report back to Dustin about her, wouldn’t he?
“Well, I'm doing fine. I keep hoping that your brother will come to his senses, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.”
“My brother has already moved on.”
And just like that, in one sentence, her whole life was ruined once again and all the hope that she had was taken away.
“I see.”
“Like I said, my brother is an idiot.”
She shrugged like it didn't matter, but inside, she was dying, and she just wanted Dalton to leave so she could cry in peace.
“Thank you, Dalton. I'm not sure that it is the kind of news that I wanted to hear, but at least I know the truth. Was there anything else?”
He grinned at her, which seemed so out of place when she was hurting so badly.
“I actually wanted to run something by you. It seems like we are both in a pickle, and I think we can help each other.”
Jasmine had a weird feeling that she wasn't going to necessarily like what he said next, but at that point, what did she have to lose? She had lost her dignity, and though Dalton did not fully understand the situation, he seemed to know quite well that she was afraid to raise the child herself. It wasn't even human; how could she do it when she knew little about their species?
“At this point, Dalton, I am certainly open to suggestions.”
He paused for a moment like he was trying to decide how best to say it, and she waited patiently, although it was rather tricky. He looked like he wasn't going to tell her, and after a minute, she finally asked him to just spit it out.
“You're really building this up, Dalton, and I don't know what to think.”
“Honestly, it's a little hard for me to say it out loud. I don't want you to take it the wrong way, so please hear me out, okay?”
She agreed, but the tension in her body was magnified. What was it that he was going to ask her that he was so nervous about? Dalton didn't seem like the type of guy that got nervous, so of course that made her wonder what was going to be said next.
Finally, he just came out with it, and she could understand why he had taken so long to say it. It was so off the wall that at first, she laughed.
He did not take the humor in it and growled at her. When Dustin had done it, it was always a good thing and usually a sexual need that wasn't being fulfilled. This growl was different. It made her stop in her tracks.
“What?”
“Look, I know that it's probably not what you wanted, considering you thought you were going to be marrying an alpha and an alpha I am not, but we can legally get married because I'm his brother. You wouldn't have to be single the rest of your life or until he died; you could move on with your life, and your child would have a father. I shouldn't have to stress to you how important it is, especially for shifter children. There is a lot they will need to be taught, and you are correct to think that it would be quite hard for you as a human to do so properly.”
“I can't marry you, Dalton.”
The frown was back, and he asked her why.
There was no easy way to say it, so she just came out with it.
“I can't do it because I love your brother. I love Dustin, even if he doesn't love me.”
“That's all well and good, but how are you going to raise your child alone? Like I said, I know this is not what you wanted, but I feel like it's my duty to at least offer. There is a great shame in what he has done, not to mention my nephew should be raised with his own kind. Just think about it, all right? You don't have to give me an answer right away. Just tell me that you'll think about it.”
She agreed that she would, however, it was almost impossible. The idea of being with anybody else did not sit well with her at all.
Dalton left not long after he got there, but there was certainly chaos in his wake. It wasn't the sort of chaos that a person could see, but it was the type that she could feel. Jasmine didn't know how her life was ever going to be normal again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dustin was running a little late that evening because there was a lot that had to be done. There were two elderly deaths that week, and they both needed a proper sendoff, which came from him. He never did like to do those sorts of things, but he knew that it was necessary. Dustin, at that point, was doing what he had to do, and somehow, he was making it through. He still missed Jasmine, but he was surviving.
He kept hoping that something would change and he would get her back, but he knew that it wouldn't be an option. She was with her family, where she should have been the whole time. He kept telling himself that he had done the right thing, releasing her from a marriage that she didn't want, but it didn't mean that it was easy. It also didn't mean he wasn’t regretting the decision every single moment of the day.
Dustin was flying as fast as he could just so he could get there to see her in time. He wouldn’t be able to sleep if he didn’t get to see her. Those brief moments of weakness that he allowed himself were really what got him through days like the one he’d just had.
He was coming in fast, so he didn’t pick up anything strange until he landed. It was then that he smelled something, sensed that something was off. He wasn’t the only shifter there. The humans were easy to pick up, but it was the other shifter that threw him off. Who was there, and why?
Dustin immediately went into protective mode. He was sure that someone wa
s there to harm her, and when he saw who it was, his rage knew no bounds.
What the hell was his brother doing there?
Instead of running forward, punching his brother, and finding out what the hell he was doing there, he watched in abstract horror as the two hugged. She was smiling at Dalton, and she had agreed to something. Dustin’s brother had on one of his charming smiles.
Then they were kissing, and Dustin thought he was going to lose it. It wasn't like Jasmine was starting it, but she wasn't stopping it either.
He stood there for several moments watching them, and it wasn't long before she broke the touch and he was able to breathe a bit better. While Dustin knew he was the one that chose to send her away, he never would have imagined that Dalton would have tried to get her.
Dustin was torn. He didn't know what to do. This was all because of him. If he wouldn't have sent her away, then she never would have run into the arms of his brother. He couldn't just stand by and watch her ruin her life in such a way. He had to warn her, although he had already warned her before and she hadn't paid attention.
He tried his best to stay where he was. He knew that going and confronting his brother right then was going to do nothing but complicate issues further. He had no false sense of security. He knew what would happen if his brother was involved with her. It would not end well for her at all.
Next thing he knew, he was walking towards her house and knocking on the door. Dustin knew that he had no right to be there, but he kept telling himself that he didn't have a choice.
He didn't even bother knocking, just kicked the door in and moved upstairs towards her bedroom. He had no real idea what he was going to do when he got there, just that he had to stop whatever was going on. There was no world where the two of them could be together and he would be okay with it.
Alpha Shifter Bride Service: (A Paranormal Romance Series) Page 9
