by Helen Scott
"Have you been doing okay since you left?" The concern that laced his voice almost made me meet his eyes. Almost. It was the tension that was wrapped around every inch of his form that stopped me. He wasn't as relaxed as he looked, and something made me feel like he was irritated with me. Was it because I hadn't met his eyes? Was he trying to get me to imprint on him? The thought made me feel like I was being too presumptuous but it was the only thing that made any sense.
"Yeah, I've been okay. I need to order lunch, do you mind?" I asked as I nodded toward the counter.
He waved his hand, as though he was a king and I was a subject he was dismissing. Before I could actually get up he added in a low tone, "Do come back, won't you?"
I pasted a tight smile across my lips, like this whole thing wasn't killing me inside. If he was the alpha, which was certainly what it seemed like, then that meant he'd killed the last one. Alpha's didn't retire. They kept their position until they couldn't anymore, and the fight for the alpha's seat was always to the death. The one jockeying for the position needed to prove to the pack that they would do what was necessary, so that meant killing the old alpha. No one can fight you on your right to the throne if their king is already dead.
Part of me wondered if the pack had changed under his leadership, but the fact that he wouldn't let me leave spoke volumes. He was just as much a control freak as his predecessor. He was the enemy. My goal, my only goal for the next hour or so was to get out of there alive.
When I got to the counter Kylie had the sense to look confused. "I'll take my regular sandwich and another coffee please," I said as I grabbed a napkin and began to scratch Richard's name and phone number onto it with the pen she gave me for the receipt, along with a note to call him now and ask him to come help her. I underlined the word now a few times to emphasize to Kylie that this was urgent.
When I slid the note across the counter along with my receipt she swallowed thickly and said, "That'll be right out." Her voice shook slightly, and I was worried that it would make Jax suspicious. The whole reason I hadn't spoken aloud was to avoid being caught by shifter hearing. I needed help and fast if I was going to survive this. Richard was the only person I could think of that might come to help me and succeed.
I walked slowly back to the table, avoiding Jax's curious gaze. The irritation was clearer though, like he couldn't quite keep himself in check anymore. There was the alpha energy. He wanted whatever it was he was there for and didn't want to wait any longer. If we were on pack land and not surrounded by humans then he would have already got it.
The door opened and my heart leapt. I had to fight to use my sense of smell and not look over. When I was able to focus I registered that it wasn't Richard, just another customer. Disappointment was crushing me, and Jax was talking but my mind was already spinning out into panic mode.
"Are you even listening to me?" Jax asked, his voice finally breaking through my thoughts.
"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep this weekend. It's why I need another coffee. What were you saying?" I asked, trying to keep my tone as calm and neutral as possible.
"Too busy fucking other men?" he demanded.
"What?" I asked, startled enough to look at him. I froze for a second waiting for something to happen but it didn't. Before anything else could happen I blurted, "I have nightmares, ever since my parents … Seeing you on Friday brought it back up." It was a lie, but only partially. I just had to hope that he didn't pick up on it.
Whatever I said, whatever had just happened seemed to shift the conversation. He still seemed agitated, but then he asked, "Will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?" Was it just nervous energy this whole time?
"I don't think that's a good idea, Jax," I said as carefully as I could. I barely stopped myself from telling him I had no intention of returning to the pack, but seeing the fury on his face from just my peripheral vision kept my mouth shut.
"No?" he asked, as though he needed to hear the word leave my lips.
"No, sorry," I said.
Jax's eyes flashed the amber of his wolf and I knew a split second before he acted that it wasn't nervous energy, it was anger. Everything in him came pouring out in a rage filled scream as he flipped the table over, almost knocking me in the chin with it. I froze in my seat, waiting for him to kill me or the destruction to end, because he didn't stop with the table.
He tore the paintings from the wall and broke the chair he'd been sitting on, anything within reach was a target, except me, yet I felt like the eye of the hurricane. Everything was happening around me but I was stuck in a cone of silence, watching as my life fell apart before my eyes. There was no coming back from this. I could never come back to the cafe, and that was if I even made it out of the cafe to begin with.
12
"WHO THE FUCK do you think you are?" Jax screamed at me. "You think you can say no to me? Do you have any idea who I am now?"
I was sure my eyes were wide and making me look terrified, because I was. I'd seen Kylie duck behind the counter as soon as the table went flying and all of the other customers left. I hoped and prayed that she was calling Richard or maybe even the cops, anyone, just so long as they got here soon. My gut was telling me that the next time I opened my mouth I'd get it shut for me, right before I got a backhanded slap across the face.
That wasn't something I'd take sitting down no matter how outmatched I was. If he wanted to hurt me, then I'd hurt him right back. After all, he may have won a few fights, but I'd spent the last few years getting hit in the face for fun. I was no wilting flower, no princess in need of saving. I was my own damn knight in shining armor if I had to be.
I pushed to my feet and loosened my locked muscles and joints, falling into a fighting stance that I'd practiced for years. Part of me was upset that I didn't get to use it, or to show Jax exactly who he was messing with, but when I saw Richard walk in out of the corner of my eye I couldn't help the relief that flooded me.
"Uh, is everything okay in here?" Richard asked as he eyed the destruction Jax had already caused.
"None of your business, man, just keep walking," Jax said with a growly edge to his voice as he took a menacing step toward me.
I felt Richard slide into place behind me and put a hand on my shoulder and I only just suppressed the flinch from the contact, since my body was still primed for a fight. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how much bigger than Jax Richard was. Easily a foot taller and wider, with a more obviously ripped physique. That didn't mean he'd win in a fight, but it did mean that it would look strange for Jax to win, at least to humans.
Jax could rip Richard to pieces if he wanted to, but in a situation like this all that would do was cause more trouble as the humans tried to explain away a man completely destroying another that was almost twice his size, at least in width and musculature. I'd never been more grateful than in that moment that shifters weren't allowed to shift in public.
From the corner of my eye I could see murder gleaming in Jax’s eyes, just under the surface, as he stared Richard down. Shifting in public wasn't a law that was broken by anyone, not even an alpha. If it was, then the shifter council would come down hard on whoever broke it. There was even a rumor that they would strip the guilty shifter of their animal, rendering them powerless to feel the need to shift, or anything to do with their animal really, leaving them essentially human.
Just the thought made me nauseous.
I might not have been able to shift for a long time, not trusted my wolf enough and caged her inside my mind, but the thought of her being gone completely? It was terrifying. If I never shifted again I would survive as long as I had my wolf, but I wasn't sure if the first half of that statement held true if I was without my wolf.
The staring contest between Jax and Richard lasted an obscenely long time and it was only when my shifter enhanced hearing picked up sirens in the distance that it broke. Jax grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the cafe a second later, barking an order at the men he'd had out
side as they left.
I sagged as the tension left me, the air feeling more breathable now that Jax wasn't taking up the whole space with his alpha presence. My heart began to slam in my chest with my delayed freak out and I moved to the chair I'd been sitting on and let myself fall heavily into it.
Richard followed me, sitting next to me instead of across from me like Jax had. "You okay?"
For a moment I felt like I couldn't look at him, couldn't stand to see the pity in my friend's face, but when he remained quiet after I didn't respond I couldn't help but glance up. He was watching me, but there wasn't any pity there. "I'm fine," I replied finally.
"Sure. Just let me know if you need anything, yeah?" he asked, not believing my statement.
I nodded at him as the door to the cafe swung open again and I flinched, expecting Jax to return, but instead it was just a couple officers from the police department. My breath hitched in my chest and my heart started pounding all over again. What was I going to tell them?
They walked straight to the counter and greeted a trembling Kylie. Within moments they were looking over at me and Richard, a skeptical eyebrow raised on the older one. Lovely. This was going to be so much fun, I could just tell. I sighed and put my head in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees, as I waited for them to come over.
"Miss Nina?" a voice said off to my right a few minutes later.
"That's me." I lifted my head and met the gaze of the officer. The younger one was talking to me and the older to Richard, who they had moved to the other side of the cafe. Were they wondering if our stories would match? What would Richard tell them? Ugh. This was such a mess.
"Can you tell me what happened? Who was the man that was here?" Officer Gray, according to his name badge, asked.
"That was a friend of my late brothers. I used to know him a long time ago," I began, launching into the same story I'd given Richard and Kylie. Bad family, trouble with the law and other things leading to an accident that killed my parents and eventually my brother, blah, blah, blah.
I watched his face as I told him the tale of my life, well some of the tale, and when I was done he simply asked, "Name of the friend?"
"Jaxon Granger," I replied.
He nodded and looked down at the pad he'd been jotting notes down on, or doodling for all I knew, tapping the pen against. it. A moment later he flipped the cover over it so it was closed and walked away, whispering something behind the older cop so only he could hear. The other man just nodded and turned around, his gaze landed on me immediately. If I hadn't been so wrapped up in my own thoughts I probably could have heard what they were saying, but I usually tried to forget about my shifter side, senses included, unless I was forced to do otherwise like at the black light party.
There was something going on, I could feel it. The way they looked at each other then at me, murmuring to each other. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and suddenly it felt like the people that I thought were there to help me, weren't trying to help me at all.
My mind flashed an image of the cops that were paid off by the other group of shifters I saw after they were caught dealing. Were any of the cops in this city clean? Or were they all on one pack or another's payroll?
"I need to get back to work," I blurted as I pushed to my feet. "You have my information. Let me know if you have any more questions."
What I didn't say was that I didn't answer calls from phone numbers I didn't know and certainly didn't plan on sticking around long enough for them to come and track me down. The older one nodded before turning to the younger one, he wasn't quite fast enough for me to miss him rolling his eyes at me.
"Let me walk you," Richard's voice came from over my shoulder.
I nodded and the two of us left. My heart hammered in my chest the whole time I was outside.
"I know this is probably over stepping but I messaged a couple of the guys from the gym and we’re all going to take turns walking you wherever you need to go until this is all over and they catch that guy. Okay?" Richard didn't look at me as he spoke, just stuffed his hands into his pockets.
I hesitated a moment before I said, "Okay. Thank you." The offer was kind, and as much as I was pragmatic I didn't want to burst his bubble by telling him I thought the cops were being paid off by the pack, which Jax was now alpha of. Although, it did make me wonder if the other packs in the area paid off the cops as well or if it was just my old one that was sleazy enough to do it.
"I expected more of a fight," he replied with a chuckle.
"I'll save that for the ring."
And just like that he made me feel at ease again. Richard was true to his word and a few of the other guys at the gym took turns walking me to work and walking me home. I meal prepped, which for me meant ordering a shit load of delivery and portioning it out. I felt a little weird not going to the cafe every day like I normally did, but I knew laying low was the best call and the less I could spread my scent around the city the better.
A week went by with nothing happening and the more I thought about what happened with Jax the more I felt reassured by it. We had made eye contact multiple times. We'd been around each other on different occasions. What we hadn't done was imprint on one another. There was no mating bond, nothing tying us together, just him being all aggressive and alpha and shit.
What I was hoping was that Jax realized the same thing I had, that this wasn't meant to be, that we clearly weren't imprinting on each other. Or maybe he'd thought about approaching me again, maybe even seen me walking, but since I always had backup with me, and intimidating backup at that, he decided I wasn't worth the effort? Maybe that was why I'd not seen hide nor hair of him for the last week. I mean why pursue someone who clearly wasn't your mate, wasn't interested, and was taking steps to actively warn you away?
I wasn't sure what it was that made him change his mind about me, but I was grateful for it, and grateful for the guys for keeping me safe while all of it was going on. It made me comfortable enough to go for my run on Saturday. The weather was too perfect for me not to.
When I'd woken that morning, it was to the faint patter of rain on my window. It had since stopped but there was the mist and slight fog from the air heating up and the water evaporating. As I headed out I realized that it hadn't stopped raining completely, but was still drizzling slightly, which was fine by me. I loved running in weather like that, it kept me cool and made me feel more alive.
The morning was silent, even the animals were quiet, as though the rain made them want to sleep in. The city hadn't fully woken up yet and I felt alone in the world, which was more peaceful to me than anything else if I was being honest. It made the tension in my shoulders loosen, let me breathe more fully, without having to be as on guard as I usually was.
Of course that was my mistake. I should have known better than to let myself enjoy something. As I rounded the pathway out of the park a man lunged for me, the blade in his hand glinting in the morning light as it slashed toward me, arcing wide so it would do as much damage as possible. I screamed bloody murder as it came toward me.
13
I DODGED out of the way of the blade, my muscle memory taking me out of harm's way before my conscious brain could react. I brought my hand around and locked my arm around his elbow to try and pin the knife in one spot while I disarmed him, but he was faster than I expected and shifted the knife to his other hand, bringing it around and slicing my arm.
There was no time to feel the pain though, not when his fist was flying at my face. I ducked and was able to get a couple good hits in, nothing special, but enough that it made him slightly more cautious. His foot hooked around my ankle and brought me down onto the ground hard enough to knock the air from my lungs.
I gasped like a fish out of water for a moment, but it was long enough for him to get down and kneel over me with his blade coming dangerously close to my throat. I was more flexible than he expected so I twisted my torso, getting one hand on the wrist holding the knife then
the other on his upper arm just below his shoulder, pushing in the opposite direction so he had no choice but to roll off me.
When most of his weight was off me I wiggled out from under him and got away but before I could make it more than a couple steps he was grabbing my ankle, making me trip and fall. I tried to break my fall with my hands but my body froze as the blade sliced my leg. My head smacked against the concrete sidewalk as he ran the tip of the knife up my leg like he was trying to get my femoral artery. My brain kicked back on at that realization, and I kicked him in the face. His nose crunched and blood spurted out like a mini waterfall.
It didn't stop him though. He scrambled across the ground as I tried to back up and get away, blood dripping everywhere and blowing away from his face with every heavy breath he expelled.
Suddenly a male voice rang out behind me. "What the fuck is going on here?"
At first I felt relief, someone was there to help, but when I looked behind me for who the voice came from my stomach felt like it hollowed out and my heart turned to lead in my chest.
Jaxon.
I was so fucked.
Especially because it wasn't just him, oh no, it was him and his enforcers. As soon as I saw them I looked at the guy attacking me and said, "Run."
The guy ignored me though, of course, because why would you listen to the woman you were just attacking who was more scared of the men behind her than she was of you? Before he could get to his feet, the enforcers rushed the man who had attacked me, dragging him off me, which finally gave me a chance to get up. I wanted to run, I turned to do just that no matter how much my leg was screaming out in pain, but then I heard Jax behind me.
"You goin' after ladies now? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you even know what it feels like to have a knife cut you?" Jax demanded as two of his enforcers held the guy.
