Jax said we were going to his pack, the closer we got to the destination the more I wanted to shatter the window and jump out.
"So you're telling me, my father just gave me up, to you?" I asked, utter disbelief lacing my tone.
He looked at me with clenched fists, now obviously irritated by my persistence. "For the fifth time, yes he did. He didn't tell me why, he didn't say anything. He simply gave me permission to take you with me."
Bullshit.
My father wouldn't just give me up without at least talking to me at first. Jax must have done something, most likely threatened the safety of my pack. If he thought his threats would get me to feel anything other than hatred towards him, he was sorely mistaken.
I remained silent for the rest of the journey, seething with anger. Wasn't there some rule against mates lying to each other?
"We're here." Derek announced coming out of the car. I cringed as he grabbed a petit dark haired woman and began to to shove his tongue down her throat. An image I would never be able to unsee.
"That's Alexandria." Jax commented behind me. "Her and Beta Derek have been mates for two years now, I'd steer clear of her though, she's two months pregnant and a little on edge. " He chuckled as if relieving an old memory.
A spark of jealousy suddenly hit me, but I immediately shook it off, must be a side effect of the whole mate thing.
"Come on, my family's waiting inside." He entwined my fingers with his and led me through the crowd of onlookers. I felt my cheeks turn red at all the attention I was getting, my 5'6 frame couldn't handle so much scrutiny.
The warm feel of his hand was soothing and I found myself never wanting him to let go. I was shocked to find the pack staring at Jax with so much admiration, as if he was their hero, the same Alpha they perceived him to be was the exact opposite of who I saw him to be.
"Jaxon!" A woman called out, rushing to where Jax and I stood. Her auburn strands escaped the neat bun she placed them in. I'm guessing Jax got his dark brown hair from his father. "How did the meeting go?" She pulled him into a hug, careful her paint stained hands didn't go onto his clothes.
"Actually better than expected, this is Felicity." Jax smirked gesturing towards me, his mother narrowed her eyes in confusion before a wide smile of realisation graced her face and she pulled me into a tight hug.
"It's so nice to meet you, I'm Veronica. Arabelle and Axel will be so excited to know you're here." She smiled genuinely at me, I forced myself to smile back. Getting attached now would only make it harder to leave. I promised myself I wouldn't end up like Matthew.
"Axel give it back, boys don't play with Barbie dolls!" I heard a small voice shout and the sound of light footsteps as the siblings ran into the room.
"Twins, Jax found his mate!" Veronica chirped, hoping to distract them from the argument they were having. It worked.
Axel discarded the Barbie doll on the floor, completely forgetting about it's previous importance to him.
"Woah." He stared at me with wide eyes, his emerald eyes shining with curiosity.
Arabelle resembled her mother greatly, with curly auburn hair and light brown eyes, while Axel had beautiful forest green eyes and the cutest freckles running across his cheeks.
"She's pretty." Arabelle stated, walking around my timid frame. I yelped as she suddenly pinched my calf. "Sorry." She giggled innocently. "Just checking you were real."
***
Jax led me to the first floor of the pack house, it was a giant place filled with portraits and books, it was surprisingly spotless and smelt a lot like fresh pine wood which was probably his scent.
"Best view of the sunset." He opened the door and I stepped inside, amazed by how beautiful the room was. The four poster bed was made neatly with a red velvet duvet draped over it. I turned to the giant flat screen tv hanging from the wall, I couldn't believe I had this entire room to myself.
My heart shaped eyes were suddenly shattered when I noticed Jax sitting on the bed, making himself comfortable.
"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, shooting daggers at his back.
"It's late, I'm getting ready for bed." He replied, a small smile tugging at his lips as if I had asked a stupid question.
"Not here you're not." I argued.
He looked up at me, a wave of realisation finally hit him as he got up and walked towards me.
"We sleep together, you're my mate and it doesn't look good if the pack sees us sleeping separately." He looped his arms around my waist and pulled me towards him. I took a sharp intake of breath as his lips ran faintly along he column of my neck.
"Fine." I grit out. "I'll sleep on he floor." I pushed his towering frame away from me and proceeded to grab one of the blankets to make as a mattress.
"Fine." He muttered with clenched fists. "You'll warm up to me to eventually Felicity, it's only a matter of time."
Wrapping his arms around my torso, I didn't move as he planted a kiss on my cheek, the flow of electricity that enveloped my body made my toes curl. "Goodnight Felicity."
I looked at him suspiciously.
Why did I have a feeling I'd wake up in the morning on the bed, curled up in his arms?
****
I woke the next day to the soft sound of laughter. I guess Arabelle and Axel were already up.
An amazing scent of fresh pine wood overwhelmed me and I felt myself inhaling the intoxicating aroma. It didn't take long for me to realise that I had been moved from my roomy spot on the floor, the blankets I had created for myself were now folded and placed on a chair next to the bed.
I looked down to see Jax's solid arm draped over my body, I lay flush against his chest, basking myself in his warmth.
Careful not to wake him, I turned around and looked up at his sleeping face. His dark brown hair was all over the place, but somehow that did nothing to hinder how handsome he looked.
He is going to be so mad when he wakes up.
I couldn't spend another day in this place. Everyday brought me closer to my own demise.
Not bothering to change my clothes, I grabbed my backpack and put on the shoes I had worn yesterday and climbed out of the window.
Landing gracefully I wasted no time in running away, just as I was about to enter the woods and shift, I caught sight of a middle aged man, unfortunately before I could hide, he caught sight me at the same time.
"I now see why my son has ordered all the pack guards to look out for you." The man smiled, staring amusingly at my backpack. "I'm Holden, Jax's father."
All I could do was stare at him dumbfounded. The resemblance between him and Jax was uncanny, if it wasn't for the wrinkles on Holden's forehead and slight height difference I would have mistaken them for the same person.
"This is a major deja vu moment for me actually." He chuckled lightly. I was surprised he was yet to start shouting at me for attempting to run away from his son. "When my wife and I first met, she had tried to escape from me, for two months straight she ran before finally accepting me as her mate. It used to drive me insane." He smiled widely, wrinkles forming on the corners of his eyes.
I laughed, finding it hard to envision a young Veronica climbing out of a window like I had done.
"Jax had always thought his mate would naturally want to be with him, it's a bit of a wake up call for him to see you not so willing to be by his side. I think it has knocked his ego down a few inches." He chided.
"I know Jax is not the easiest mate to have, but rumours are rumours. Maybe get to know him more before deciding how you feel. If you decide to run now, I won't stop you. I'm much too old for that. The choice is yours." Holden gave me one last smile before walking into the pack house.
I stared between the woods and the pack house. I had to find out what happened to my dad, why he gave me up so easily. Matthew, he would never forgive me if I stayed.
Suddenly I was brought back to those dark woods, my hands wrapped around Matthew's body as he muttered his final words to me:
Mates are the greatest curse, our family's legacy proves it.
Generations of mate related deaths dating back thousands of years plagued our family name. Matthew was gone. Fighting to protect the one he loved led to his demise, he was our pack's future Alpha and now after my father dies there will be no one to replace him, our lineage destroyed by the mate bond.
I put a finger to each temple, my head began to throb and I softly shook my head to rid myself of the memories.
Before I could make my decision, two hands held my wrists. "We've found her." One of the men stated.
I looked behind me to see Jax's enraged expression, his eyes pitch black as he followed behind. "Give her to me." He demanded.
I looked up at one of the men and vigorously shook my head. As expected he didn't spare me a single glance.
I turned away from his cold eyes, allowing him to take me back to the pack house. It was pointless, I would never stop trying to leave I vowed to myself.
Seer"Should I intervene?""Not yet, she's still adjusting, keep in mind her young age. We can't bring this upon her yet.""But she's resisting, her family's tainted legacy won't allow her to succumb to the mate bond and give birth to the Fated.""Be patient Anastasia, we have been doing this for over two thousand years, a chosen has never failed to conceive the fated. Don't ever doubt me." The room began to shake, portraying the moon goddess' anger."Of course not, my goddess." I bowed. My heart began to pound alarmingly, the Mood Goddess was the only one who could bring out the fear I always kept hidden, without her powerful presence, I would never have been famili
I refilled the glass with my second serving of whisky, the dream had come back again. Matthew's face, his words - warning me to stay away.Since I had found my mate, Matthew hasn't left my side, he has been in my head and in my dreams, constantly reminding me of the doom that awaits if I am to give in to the mate bond."I don't think Alpha Jax will be too happy to see you drinking Luna, especially this early in the morning." A voice chided, grabbing the glass from my hand and emptying it into the sink.It was Derek's mate, it might be my warped perception but her belly appeared to be three times bigger than the last time I saw her."Twins" She stated, as if reading my mind running a protective hand over her belly.
I flinched at the sound of glass smashing.Jax was in that room, his roars of anger echoed throughout the pack house.I sipped on my glass of wine, trying to block out his loud rants.I knew I should have been in there with him. My presence was thought to be a calming mechanism for him. The pull of a mate was definitely a life line, drawing two people and binding them together whether they liked it or not.However it was just that, a line and I would surely find a way to cut it soon.I couldn't stand it, this pack was unfamiliar and an involuntary choice. As much as they tried to make me feel welcome, some things you can't force.I watched passively as Jax stormed out of his office, the stress clear on his face. He was alone in that room and still managed to reach the peek of his temper. Alpha males were a complex equation I'd never be able to decipher.I looked on until he was out of sight, my arms stretched along the sofa casually.
I turned my face away from the sickening sight, bile rose to tip of my throat and I felt an overwhelming wave of nausea."All children must remain in their rooms, not one of them leaves until I say so." Jax ordered, all the mothers nodded vigorously before returning to their children."You too Felicity. Go to the room and stay there till I return."I shook my head. "Let me stay, I want to help."We had just been discussing the imminent danger to our pack and now it lays here right in front of us. Since last week, contact between us has been minimal, but in this moment my Luna just wanted to be by his side at all times, especially now I knew his internal fears and worries.He held my chin up with the crook of his finger. "No, it's too dangerous, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. Now go, please, I don't want to argue about this with you." I hated how no matter how much I voiced my position to him, he would always act like a
"But how?" I questioned, pacing around her room, baffled. It was not possible, but still it existed before me, in the palm of Maria's hand. "We used to go there about once a month, but since they tightened security in their territory we haven't been able to get close. Richard eventually became impatient and decided to go in by himself." She muttered the last bit sadly, partly angry that her mate had decided to go alone without her knowledge. "I've heard stories, but I'm not really sure how it's made, the last one was thought to have been used thirty years ago." I stared at the crimson mixture, transfixed by the power a single bottle held. These mixtures were created in order to kill vampires, working from the inside it seeps through the skull and fries the brain. The last one was thought to have been used to kill the Vampire King's son in 1987, the closest a werewolf has come to regaining dominion since a millennium. Since then no werewolf has been able to co
SeerI looked frantically at the cards before me. I was gifted with the power of sight but I was not always accurate."This is very alarming. She has accepted the role of Luna with such formality and conviction. I have never seen anything like it. How could she possibility separate herself from her emotions like that, not even her wolf is powerful enough to sway her.""She is a wounded and traumatised girl, give her time." The Moon Goddess calmly responded."But her heart is so guarded, so damaged and still she has desires of returning to her old life." My eyes flashed and I took a little stumble rubbing my aching temple as I projected myself into the subconsciousness of Felicity.
Alejandro's POVA gaping hole stared at the faces of my subjects. My canines elongated and I knew my eyes had turned a molten black."How could you? How could you let them get so close?" I erupted, slamming my palms on the table as I stood up."Your majesty, you know how the youngsters are, as soon as they get a grip on their abilities, it's hard to keep track." One of the men spoke, his head bowed low as he spoke.I glared at the man, watching his quivering form while I shook with anger. "Well you see what that has caused, you see the shit we're in now?" I bellowed, uncaring that my voice could be heard by the rest of the castle."But your majesty-" before he could
I opened one throbbing eye to find Derek staring down at me, his hands motioning for me to get up.I shook my head, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I stared up at the ceiling, my back flat on the floor.It had been my second spar with Derek and each result was the same - with me sweating like a pig, sprawled out on the ground."Come on Luna, Alpha Jax said we don't stop until you get it right." I remained still. I never realised how much comfort the cold hard ground could bring me."The longer you take to get up, the longer we spend here." He said nonchalantly, kneeling down and staring at my goofy position. I was both mentally and physically drained.Fisting my hands I placed them on the ground and pushed myself up. "You want a fight tough guy, you've got one." I put two fists in front me and shook a stray lock of hair from my face.Derek smirked, opening his arms wide as a signal for me to come get him. Letting out a war cry, I char