My Mate Is An Omega
My Mate Is A Virgin Chapter 14

Andromeda POV

For the first time in my life, I was defeated in my own game. Still, I couldn't help but feel like a winner.

I had gotten it all wrong. As I focused on my own desires, I failed to see that my mate wasn't toying with me. He had been lying to me, yes, but he had also been lying to himself. I thought he was avoiding me because he wanted me to chase him, when in reality, he had been running from his past. My aggressive behavior had only further backed him into a corner.

As I stared into his pale blue eyes, I could finally see the hurt in them. My heart fell as guilt consumed me. How could I not have noticed how much he had been suffering all this time? Jasper was truly good at hiding his emotions behind a confident façade, but out of all people, I should have been able to blow his cover. I guess in a way I had been the one to do it. But there was a different reason why I felt victorious.

This complicated man - the man who had shut the world out for as long as he could remember, running away from himself - had pushed through the pain he felt to trust me with his deepest secrets.

My hand instinctively reached out for him as we both remained in silence. He closed his eyes, leaning into my touch as my fingers carefully traced the lines of his stern expression. From a young age, I had learned to perceive vulnerability as a weakness. Judging by how far my mate had gone to hide his true emotions, it was evident he felt the same way. However, after watching him pour his heart out to me, all I could see was courage.

"I suppose I owe you some explanations as well." I sighed heavily, pulling away from him as my shameful gaze turned to the floor. "I asked Wade to spar with me earlier under the excuse that I wanted to stay in shape while I'm here. When I realized you should be almost done with your training, I pretended to have hurt my shoulder because I knew he wouldn't miss the opportunity to give me a massage; he always does that when we're at home. I was sure you would replace us there, and you reacted in the exact way I wanted to, but..." Goddess, why did my plan sound so stupid now that I said it out loud? "It was very immature of me."

Electricity ran through me when he rested his hand on top of mine, but after confessing my sins, I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"You wouldn't have to do that if l-"

"No, I was wrong. I thought you deserved it, but you didn't." I finally gathered the will to stare into his eyes again. I needed him to know I was being honest. "I'm not used to being denied. Hell, I wasn't kidding when I said I always get what I want. After you turned me down yesterday, I...I don't know. I guess I was so mad, I just wanted to hurt you too," I confessed, searching for signs of anger in his expression, but I found none. He just listened without judging me as I revealed the futile reasons for my childish behavior. "I thought that if you felt threatened, maybe it would finally push you to mark me. Had I known your reasons though, I would have never been so dismissive of your own desires."

"I should have been honest with you from the start. It would have avoided this whole mess."

I shook my head. "There's no point discussing what we should have done. What matters is what we do from now on." A warm smile lit up my face as an idea crossed my mind. "Okay, how about I take you on a date tonight? To lighten the mood."

He widened his eyes in surprise. "Are you sure? You don't have to."

"I know, but I want to." I winked at him before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "I was also wondering if I could be your shadow today? Now that I've had a sneak peak, I'm eager to learn more about Gamma Jasper."

"It would be my pleasure," he replied sincerely, pulling me closer by the waist. "Thank you, my princess," he whispered as he planted a soft kiss on the top of my head.

***

I actually had fun following Jasper throughout his duties for the day. Diamond Tempest's territory was fairly large, and it offered various options of entertainment for its members, but I had to confess it was getting boring just roaming from side to side with my guard daily. Being a cat amongst wolves, and a princess at that, didn't make me very approachable, so I had yet to make any friends. Honestly, I wasn't too worried about company initially because I didn't intend on staying here for long, but maybe I should start getting acquainted with my mate's friends soon. It was just the two of us and the Gamma apprentice through the entire day though, so I'd have to wait for a future opportunity.

It was interesting to learn about the responsibilities of the thirds-in-command of a wolf pack. Their job was similar to that of a Head Strategist in a lynx clan, with the sole difference that the werecats who held this title focused more on warrior formation and defense fighting strategies instead of developing traps. I had no doubt my mate's skills would come in handy when he became King, which reminded me...

I should probably start introducing him to my world soon. Maybe it would help him feel more confident about the duties he would have to take on. I guess having to wait a little longer to lose my V-card would at least allow me to teach him properly. Considering the females were the ones who actually ruled the clan, while males were more valued for their physical strength, the most important thing he would have to learn would be having a steady hand and a confident posture to scare off potential enemies. At the moment, he was definitely lacking in that department, but I wasn't the least worried. The Goddesses had chosen him to be my king for a reason, and I trusted their judgment.

Once Jasper's working day was done, we returned to the room and I told him to wait there while I prepared a surprise for him. It was very satisfying to see the delighted look on his face after how beaten up he seemed earlier. As I left the Gamma suite, I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself to follow through with my plan.

I had never put a date together before, but I was confident I could do it. My idea was fairly simple - a candlelight dinner outside. A little cliché, and definitely not as grand as I would usually aim for, but we would have a lot of fancy dates after we went back home. Besides, I think the simplicity would be fitting with the new start of our relationship.

On the day I arrived here, Luna Caitlyn let me know I had as much liberty as any of the other ranked members, and that I could have access to whatever I wanted. I should be allowed to use the kitchen and whatever ingredients I would need in order to put my plan into action. Luckily, the Omegas had just finished cooking dinner for the whole pack, so they had no problem with letting me cook my nanny's famous chicken pie while they cleaned the place. They even kindly offered to help me, but after I assured them I was fine, they left. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? It was just a pie!

Surely enough, everything went wrong.

Okay, maybe I overestimated my cooking abilities, which to be fair, were none. I had never even fried an egg before, but I saw the cooks in my clan preparing hundreds of meals, so I thought it was no big deal. After burning my pie twice, forgetting to add salt, and even messing up the chicken, I realized it was much harder than I thought. Now, I was staring at the mess over the kitchen counter and praying the smoke coming out of the oven wouldn't trigger the smoke alarm. "Maybe you should call someone," Genevra observed very helpfully.

"Who? Wade?" I scoffed.

"Definitely not him. Maybe our mate could help."

I actually considered her suggestion for a moment, but I soon shook my head. "I don't think I'm ready to admit defeat for the second time today. That's more than I have done in my entire life."

"Is it really losing though if you're winning him?" she purred.

"Even if I do call him, what guarantees he'll know what to do?"

"I just have a feeling he might surprise us."

I switched my gaze from side to side thoughtfully, until my eyes landed on the disaster in front of me once again. "Fine," I replied at last before dialing Jasper's number. "Dree? Am I supposed to come downstairs yet?" he asked excitedly as soon as he picked up.

"Yes, please. But...uh...the surprise isn't ready," I confessed, facepalming. He remained silent on the other side of the line, probably confused. "I need your help in the kitchen." "Oh. Alright." He didn't question me further. "I'll be there in a minute."

And staying true to his promise, less than sixty seconds later he was standing right behind me.

"s**t! Did a bomb go off in here?!" The Gamma widened his eyes in shock as he stared at the kitchen counter.

I frowned, unamused. "Ha ha. Very funny."

"What were you trying to cook here?" He carefully analyzed the charcoal pie before turning back to me. "And why were you trying to cook if you've never cooked anything before?"

"Who said I've never cooked anything?" I argued. As if I could fool him. "Fine!" I tossed my hands in the air. "I wanted to prepare dinner for us. It isn't as easy as it looks."

He smiled sweetly, and I reluctantly let him wrap me in his embrace. "So there is something the mighty Princess can't do."

"What about you, Mr. Stray? Can you cook?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Let's see. If we switch the menu a little bit... How about blue cheese crusted deer filet mignon?" he suggested, letting go of me to clean the mess I had made.

"As long as you don't burn it."

He laughed. "I'll try my best."

As I watched him work, I was flabbergasted. The way he worked the meat, from selecting the best cuts to seasoning and actually grilling it was...impressive, to say the least. Honestly, I thought the night would end with us ordering takeout. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined he could prepare something so fancy. Could I have underestimated him because of how he always talked down on himself?

"Where did you learn how to cook?" There was genuine curiosity mixed with admiration in my tone as I watched him garnish our plates like a real chef.

"I wouldn't say I know how to cook." He shrugged. "But I used to work as a butcher before I was turned into Gamma, so I know a thing or two about preparing a steak."

"So there is something the clumsy stray can do." I mimicked his words from earlier, wearing the same sassy smirk.

"I...I guess so." He looked away shyly before clearing his throat. "Anyway, where did you plan for us to have our dinner?"

"I was thinking we could sit at one of the tables outside. Or would you rather stay inside?"

"Nah, I enjoy winter nights. Besides, it's not snowing, so we should be fine." He smiled, waiting for me to take the lead so he could follow me, both plates in his hands.

The town square was fairly empty; most wolves were probably inside of their homes, sheltering themselves from the cold night wind, which would allow us some nice privacy. I couldn't help but look around me, searching for Wade. He hadn't reached out to me since the morning, but considering how satisfied he was with my mate's reaction, I had a feeling he wouldn't feel the need to bother us tonight.

I set the table with a fancy white satin tablecloth one of the Omegas had given to me earlier, then lit up the candles I had brought with a lighter. Once everything was ready, we sat down to enjoy our meal. And as soon as I tasted the dish my mate had prepared, I was once again surprised.

"Jasper, this is amazing," I uttered in disbelief.

"I'm glad my cooking pleases you, my Princess," he replied with a radiant smile.

For a moment, I just remained in silence, staring at my plate. Remembering my disastrous first attempt at cooking, and how my mate had fixed everything, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Goddess." I covered my mouth, trying to muffle my chuckling. "I'm sorry for this failure of a date. This s**t is harder than it seems."

He soon joined me. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"The date you planned wasn't half-bad though."

"I guess my Gamma instincts urged me to make sure there were no holes in my plan, even if my nonexistent romantic side didn't help."

"Really?" I leaned closer, staring into his eyes. "After what you told me this morning, I have a feeling you're a lot greater than you allow yourself to believe."

He opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn't seem to think of a good response. Eventually, he just went back to eating, unbeknownst to the fact that I was mesmerized by him. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I thought I had him figured out, but something told me this man would still surprise me many more times.

Our dinner date was peaceful and quiet until the end. It truly felt as if we had been able to start anew. The quarrels, the jealousy, the teasing, all had been forgotten. We were like two strangers meeting for the first time, and it felt good. As we chatted throughout the night underneath the light of the stars, I enjoyed learning more about my mysterious, quiet mate. He was a handful for sure, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

It was almost midnight when we decided to head back to our room to get ready to sleep. I watched as Jasper unbuttoned his long-sleeved shirt, eager to get a sneak peak of his defined muscles. Although I had agreed to wait until he was ready, the s****l tension between us was far from gone, and just looking at his bare chest made Genevra purr inside my head. f*****g hormones.

As he slid his shorts down to stay only in his boxers and a clean pajama shirt, I turned around before he could catch me ogling at him. Only then I focused on getting rid of my own clothes, but just as I reached for the back zipper of my dress, I realized it had gotten stuck. A few more failed attempts at pulling it down later, Jasper seemed to notice something was wrong.

"Would you like some help there?" he offered, already closing the distance between us.

I nodded silently, pulling my hair off my back to offer him a clearer view. In less than a second, he fixed the zipper and successfully pulled it down until he reached the small of my back. My heart started beating faster like it usually did when he was near, his hot breath against my neck setting me on fire. I closed my eyes as he slid the straps off my shoulders, enjoying the sensation of his fingers brushing against my skin. A part of me wanted to just let him undress me, but my desire to take control spoke louder. He froze in his spot when my diamond eyes locked on his as I turned around to face him. I finally let my dress fall to the floor, my exposed n*****s hardening as they pressed against his chest. His heart was beating like a drum inside his chest, but I noticed he was holding his breath. He watched me with caution, trying hard to focus on my eyes instead of my chest, and I loved how helpless he was in my hands.

Without warning, I slid one hand under his plain white shirt. He stiffened, but didn't pull me away. My nails grazed over his rock hard abdomen, eager to feel his delicious muscles. I leaned closer, our lips barely touching.

"Would it be too hard for you to sleep if I were to lay naked by your side tonight?" Just the sound of my voice made his d**k hard. I knew it, because I could feel his member pressing against my stomach. "Probably," he breathed out.

With a satisfied smile, I pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him half-naked once again. I could tell he was ready to protest, as he certainly wasn't expecting what I would do next. Instead of pulling one of my stunts, I simply put his shirt on before turning my back to him, leaving him speechless. I had just found out that teasing him was much more interesting than pushing him to see if he would break. "Goodnight, Jasper," I said as I hopped on the bed, a huge smile playing on my lips.