Chapter 3 Understanding The Bond

• Jane Jenkins (POV)
• I am aware of Lucas watching me, and at this point, I don’t care. I am so mad at him I could scream. I am glad I talked with Lari; she was helpful. I wanted to reject Lucas as I have seen a few others do in the past. Only Lari suggested I shouldn’t do it when I feel as I am feeling, and she is right. She also suggested I wait until my emotions calm down. So, for now, I plan to just ignore Lucas. So far, it is helping. I am focused on my friends and my party. I can’t wait for my good friend Brian to get here. He promised that he would come by after his patrol shift. Brian is training to become a warrior; he sure has the build for it. I have seen him train shirtless before. We tried dating once, but I remembered my promise not to get serious and wait for my mate. So, Brian and I became friends only and nothing more.
• As I was eating, I saw him and his friends, other warriors in training, show up. I jumped up and ran and hugged Brian, kissing his cheek, and hugged him again as I heard a low growl and saw Lucas glaring at Brian, so I glared back. Then an idea came to me.
• “Come, dance with me,” I said to Brian as he smiled and nodded at me.
• Once on the dance floor, I whispered to him about finding my mate, that it was the Gamma, and how I found him in bed with another woman. We chatted a bit as we slowly danced, and I told him of my idea and asked him to play along. He agreed and told me to laugh as if he was saying something funny, and he laughed with me.
• “I can see him looking jealous this way. Place your head on my shoulder and close your eyes like you enjoy being in my arms,” Brian said, and I did what he suggested when I heard a louder growl and knew who it came from. I sneaked a peek and saw Drake talking to him, even though Lucas had his eyes on Brian and me. He suddenly stood up and left to go inside. Probably to find a woman to relieve his frustration with.
• After Lucas was gone, I looked up at Brian, “Can I ask you a question?” I asked him.
• “Yeah, of course,” he answered.
• “If a wolf finds his mate yet continues sleeping around, how does that affect his mate?” I feel I need to know.
• “The mate will feel immense pain. Some call it a betrayal pain, others call it cheating pain.” He said, “Why did you feel it when you caught him?”
• “Only after we had eye contact. That was when I felt pain.” I frowned, “I didn’t know I would feel it. After all, I am human.”
• “It seems it doesn’t matter if you are human or not, you will feel it if you are mated to a wolf. It comes through the mate bond.”
• I nodded, “I guess that makes sense. So, if I feel immense pain again, would that mean he is betraying our bond?”
• “Yes. That is what it would mean. You might also feel him getting hurt from fights too, if the bond is strong enough.”
• I frowned, “Then how would I tell the difference between the pains?”
• He sighed as he thought, “The cheating pains would begin from your chest where your heart is. The other pain will be the location where he is hurt.”
• “Oh, ok. Thank you for explaining it. So, my dancing with you doesn’t hurt him like a betrayal pain, right?”
• “Yeah, because it is not really sexual. Only a sexual act will cause it. Like kissing and groping and, of course, intercourse.” He explained.
• “OK. If he doesn’t behave himself and I start feeling that pain, I will let you know.” I smiled at him.
• “You are up to something, Jane. What is it?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
• “Just in case he hurts me in that way, I figure two can play that game. I will have you kiss me.” I said with a smirk.
• Brian laughed and nodded, “I would be happy to oblige with that request.”
• I smiled at him, “Good. Of course, that is only if he doesn’t behave. I am sure he knows what it would do if he didn’t. After all, he is a wolf and grew up in the pack.”
• “I agree. He would know the consequences of his actions.” Brian said as the song finished, and we went back to the table with my other friends.
• It seemed that Lucas must have been behaving because I felt no pain whatsoever. At least he is being considerate of me as a mate.
• It has been a week since my eighteenth birthday party and, so far, I have felt no pain from Lucas’s indiscretions. Hopefully, it means he cares enough about me to not bed any more women. I am surprised that he has not tried to contact me; after all, I am his mate. And from what I heard, the mate bond makes it nearly impossible to stay away from one’s mate. I should know I have seen it in my parents and sister and brother-in-law. Lucas must have some strong self-control…or not, because if he did, he would have known or suspected I was his mate and would have stayed away from other women. I guess that is the part that hurts the most. Knowing my mate was with other women while knowing there was a chance, I was his mate. After all, in the beginning, he was drawn to me as I was to him. It wasn’t until after that night my father gave Lucas a lecture and the night Lucas told me he liked me that he suddenly changed and began seeing other girls. It was so hurt every time I saw him with a woman that I wanted to scratch her eyes out and scream. So, I focused on school and friends and even casually dated a few times. Nothing serious and we only kissed.
• I guess I could say Brian was my first kiss. It was really sweet and nice. I also think he likes me more than a friend but now that I have a mate friendship is all it can be between Brian and me. I still don’t know what will happen between Lucas and me and if you ask me, I miss him. I have no idea if that is due to the mate bond or just me. I know even though I was hurt and angry at him we did have something special in the beginning. I also wonder if he misses me at all.