Chapter 386-Mate!

Jaguar:

Verity had decided to wear a pink gown, and she looked absolutely stunning in it.

She was so beautiful that my heart nearly stopped the moment I saw her.

The dress hugged her curvy body perfectly, and her hair looked even better curled.

She had styled it beautifully, with a few braids twisted together at the back of her head while the rest fell loose.

But all of that kept slipping from my mind every time I watched her interact with Theodore.

He was acting unusually intense around her. Or maybe protective was the better word.

He always reached her first, grabbed her hand before I could, and rushed to support her whenever she needed help.

Since Verity’s comfort mattered more right now, I kept ignoring it.

Still, one thought wouldn’t leave my head.

That night, when we were supposed to have that conversation, Ragnar had told me it was about Verity.

What exactly did he want to discuss about her?

Was my brother finally going to give me the chance to confess how I felt about Verity in front of them?

Was this really the point where I could talk openly with my brothers and finally date her without hiding anything?

The thoughts kept circling in my head.

Then I ended up driving because Theodore jumped into the back seat with Verity.

I had no idea why he needed to do that.

At first, I thought maybe he had figured out that I liked her and was simply being protective because of that.

But now it was starting to feel excessive.

We reached the woods, and I immediately got out of the car so I could help Verity.

Of course, Theodore was already there.

He had her hand in his and was guiding her toward the trees.

At that point, jealousy burned through every vein in my body.

I stepped in, wrapped an arm around Verity, and in the process pushed Theodore aside.

Then I took her left hand, hoping her right hand would naturally slip free from his.

Surely, he’d realize he was crossing a line and back off.

He didn’t.

"What are you doing?" Theodore complained.

I pulled Verity closer as we continued into the woods.

"What I should be doing," I replied.

"Dude, you can’t just hog her," he shot back, following us.

I turned around and gave him a sharp look.

What the fuck did he mean by that?

"Theodore, it’s okay. You can go back and take care of the event. We don’t both need to be here."

I finally snapped at him, using a gentle tone though.

Instead of listening, Theodore slipped an arm around Verity’s shoulders and took her right hand, practically steering her in the opposite direction from where I was leading her.

"Did you forget what Ragnar said? He told us both to stay with her because we don’t know what her wolf is going through. And clearly, you can’t help her on your own because you don’t know anything about her."

I scoffed at him, "she doesn’t need you here."

I didn’t know why that slipped out, but I had to say something.

He was acting as though he knew Verity better than I did. As if he were the only person capable of taking care of her.

"Um, excuse me? Let’s not even go there," Theodore hissed.

I slowed and stared at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Theodore? Why are you acting so weird tonight?"

Before he could answer, Verity forcefully twisted her hands free from both of us. She stepped forward, then turned to face us.

"You can both go home. You’re making my wolf even more anxious," she complained.

"I’m not. He’s the one crowding you. He should go home, and I’ll report back to Ragnar," I argued, smacking Theodore lightly across the chest with the back of my hand.

He stared at me, then glanced down at my hand before looking at me again, as if confirming that I’d actually done it.

"Report back?" Verity asked. "What do you mean?"

Theodore pointed at me, then at her.

"Go ahead. Answer her. You’re the one making this whole mess worse and stressing her out."

That was it.

Theodore had officially crossed the line by insulting me in front of the woman I loved.

"Okay, you know what? I really think you should go," I told him.

Surely he’d finally leave if Verity told him herself.

"Verity, tell him to go. I’ll take care of you."

To my disbelief, Theodore confidently turned to her.

"No. Tell him to leave."

"Ah! You two are making my head hurt!" Verity screamed, grabbing fistfuls of her hair.

That was when the moon behind her seemed to glow even brighter, completely full in the night sky.

"Look. The moon’s fully out," I murmured.

Then my attention returned to Verity.

She slowly straightened her back, her expression shifting into confusion.

"I’m not feeling the pain anymore."

She glanced around as if she couldn’t understand it either.

It almost seemed like her wolf had wanted her here.

But why?

Maybe her wolf had been more restless tonight because of the full moon. Honestly, I had been convinced Verity was finally going to transition.

"Okay, then we should go home," Theodore quickly suggested.

I silently stared at him.

"What? We’re obviously not spending the whole night out here," he continued. "Besides, you probably scared her wolf away. She got nervous because of you."

He actually had the nerve to blame me.

Verity slapped a hand against her forehead.

Theodore finally looked down and rubbed the back of his neck.

At least he seemed to realize that he wasn’t exactly helping either.

"You know what? You stay here. I’ll take Verity home," I said, reaching for her arm.

I must have been more aggressive than I intended because I accidentally pulled her too close.

Her foot caught on something, and she stumbled straight into me.

My arms instinctively wrapped around her while her hands landed against my chest.

It all happened in a matter of seconds.

I heard Theodore say something behind us, probably a complaint or a protest, but I couldn’t make out the words because, at that moment, I could no longer hear anything clearly.

All I could hear was my heartbeat mixing with Verity’s as our eyes met.

Then, in the gentlest and most loving way, I heard my wolf speak to me.

’Mate.’

I heard it clearly.