I woke up and felt off but i couldn't put my finger on what was different or what had changed. I ignored the feeling of being unsettled and went about my daily routine. I did my hair and then got dressed.
Today was the day that Jax had said he would formally introduce me to his people. They all knew who i was, his father had said it was time we stopped playing pointless games. The sum of the games would be victorless and not worth the bullshit.
I put on a floral maxi dress and paired it with gladiator sandals. I did my everyday make up look and decided to 'bake' i needed them to know that i am extra like that. Satisfied with the outcome i then went outside where the tents had been set up and waited for Jax.
He had left early saying he had errands to run. He came and took my arm into his and we wordlessly walked in. He was wearing all black in classic Jax style. I swear he is allergic to the color.
There was a buzz initially but everyone went silent as we walked in. The room was segmented into different tables set according to roles in the pack. Mercer, Zero and Jax's sister were seated at the table were Jax was taking us towards.
In addition to the trio was a pretty blonde dressed in all black as well. I didnt need any wolf abilities to tell me that her thristy thot ass was eyeing Jax. I ignored her open ogling of my mate and took my seat with Jax.
I had really accepted this whole werewolf culture. I figured it was just like any other culture except for the obvious differences. In a surreal sense i wanted to belong to them because i felt a sort of ease when i thought about ruling with Jax.
We may not be friendly but i was ready to stop being ordinairy and become greatness itself. I was fatigued to the bone by my insecurity and plainess. I wanted this. Regardless of Jax's mixed signals i had decided that i would be their Luna whether or not Jax wanted me. Jax made the introductions according to custom and then requested me to say a few words.
My heart was racing as if i had run a marathon but my resolve shone through the nervousness and allowed me to speak boldly.
"I would just like to say that i may be a mere human in comparison to you sublime wolves. I do not know why the moon godess chose me when there are better choices in this very room."
I paused when i heard a few people laugh, i didnt have to look to know that miss thot-ass was one of them. I continued as though she hadn't made a sound.
"I will train diligently to become a Luna you can trust and take pride in. I am an open book and available for counsel of any sort at all times. Moreover, i am willing to be guided and to accept counsel when my judgment is lacking. Thank you all for taking time today and coming to meet me."
I ended my speech and they all clapped. I turned to look at Jax and he gave me an approving look. It warmed my heart again. I then went around the room to all the different groups and greeted everyone and had light conversation. They all seemed very receptive except for the warriors.
Male and female alike were cold towards me. I went back to my seat and informed Jax. "They will warm up to you. They think you are weak but with time they will accept you." Jaxs' words stung, i know strength wise i was no match but he could have articulated that in a manner that wouldn't have made me feel like i am losing.
This time miss thot-ass laughed out loud without reserve. I turned and gave her my full attention. "I don't believe we have met. You are ?" i trailed off. She gave me a fake smile and stretched her hand towards me.
"Athena Luna, your speech was touching. Weakness is nothing to be ashamed off especially since you are a lowly human ".
I caught her sneak diss but i let it slide.
"Thank you for the understanding. Hope you will be able to take command from a lowly human since my status does trump yours Elena."
Her eyes flashed and she growled, one look from Jax had her aggression got in check.
"Don't worry yourself Luna, i will support the Alpha in all respects. Since there are some areas where you are lacking." She finished off the last part giving me a dirty once over.
I gave her a tight smile before looking away. Jax had ignored our exchange and had been focused on conversing with his father. Food was served and then we left when Jax had delivered his final remarks.
"Walk with me." he commanded as i was heading back to our room.
We walked through the gardens in a gentle silence. Jax was the one to disturb it. "The warriors and I need to do a training exercise where we shall head up to the mountains for a few days. You wont be left ungaurded of cause."
"Alpha why have you decided on my behalf that i would not want to partake in training. Are you hell bent on keeping me as a trophy Luna?"He smirked.
"This training is intense you would only slow us down", he countered.
"Is she going as well?" i asked stepping over a fallen log.
"Who?" he asked. My inner voice wanted to scream your mistress but i knew better than to start with him.
"Elena".
"Athena," he simply corrected.
I nodded.
"Ofcause she is a high ranking lieutenant. The role she plays within our army is a major one." I nodded once more. During the lunch Jax left saying he was headed to the rest room and then she slipped out. They came back together. Call it a woman's intuition or whatever but i knew they had fucked.
"Did you ever get involved with her?" i questioned continuing forward. Fuck being cautious he owed me an explanaion of his refusal to part ways with her. He suddenly stopped.
"On and off when i was younger, why?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I shook my head.
"As long as its over now im chilled." i finished deciding to not confront him as of yet byt i wanted him to know that i was onto his dumb cheating ass.
He nodded then continued forward we came to a clearing and sat down."
"Since i will be remaining can i go and visit my mother while you are away?" i asked.
"No". he said simply without any justification. The red hot anger that had been coiling in my gut was suddenly released. I had been taking his bullshit for too long.
"Fuck you mean no? You are not my father and if you were i would have told you to go die. I dont belong to you! I may have agreed to this lunacy but im not your bitch.
Fucking Athena walks around here like she owns the place and i am supposedly the Luna. I feel like a sculerry made dressed in a queens garb but without real power.- "
"You cant blame me for your insecurity. Grow the fuck up. If you want power cease it." He said evenly. His tone was laced with finality.
"Fuck you Jax! You know its not about bullshit confidence. I did laundry the other day and noticed on the corner of one of your jackets foundation. It was a few shades too light to be my own and i know for a fact its not your sister Ayleks'.
All you do is hurt me. From our first encounter going forward. You make me seem like the cliche mad black woman, with issues that stem from her society labelled ghettorised blood but thats not true its you. I have been keeping all of this in and not bitching at you because thats not my character. If you dont want me, reject me.
I know that because its so rare for humans to become mates with wolves especially Alphas, rejected human mates die. Im ready. Give me the sweet release of death. You left in the middle of lunch to go fuck her because you had an itch. That was fucking disrespectful to the rest of us who can keep our shit in our pants and refrain from acting out our urges."
I was in tears when i finished. As if it was a reflex his hand snaked around my neck crushing my windpipe. I knew it was his wolf that was lashing out. I saw the emotions swim accross his face. Anger, regret, resentment and sadness then he let go and i fell to the ground heaving for air.
"I just wanted a good day with you. You had to go and fuck it." He spat.
I shook my head once i had regained composure. Then i dusted off my scraped hands and wiped my face before walking back home. I went into our room and locked the door knowing that wouldnt stop him.
I cried myself to sleep. I woke up the next day and the foreboding feeling had disappeared without a trace but the hurt was engraved deeply on my soul. I spent the day in bed refusing food because my appetite was not present.
I only left the bed to use the bathroom and shower. I went back to sleep. I suddenly woke up when i felt the weight of somone made the bed dip on my side. Was Jax still so mad that he came back early? A hand shot out from the dark and covered my mouth just as i was about to scream. "No love, no noise."
The man drawled in my ear. He grabbed a dagger and sliced open my wrist without hesitation. I had been thrashing around on the bed trying to free myself but his weight was too great. I could feel the life draining from me. This wasnt Jax, who the fuck was this asshole?
"Now lets leave a message for my dear friend Jax. Don't move around too much love just might finish all that lovely paint streaming from your wrist and that would be a pity because if i had to open up your other wrist that would mean instant death which is no fun at all." He said in a playful tone.
As i felt light headedness begin to claim me, I finally looked up at him and finally saw his face. He was handsome with wild locks that framed his face. His bare chest glistened in the moonlight. From his pecs to his torso, tattoos littered his chisseld body. He was almost as goodlookwing as Jax.
His eyes glistened with an evil glint which was the last thing i remembered as my body drifted to unconciousness.
I woke up to the sound of beeping heart rate monitors. He was sleeping on a chair beside the bed. Besides my mouth that was taped shut the rest of my body was free. I was covered in dried blood and there was a bandage on my arm.
I took in his sleeping face he was gorgeous but had a wild look about him.
"Awake are we love." He crooned. "Im a wolf i heard the change in your breathing and knew you were awake. Pretty thing you are. Ah welcome home" He announced getting up.
He sill was shirtless. My sex couldnt help but clench at the sight of him. I was scared as fuck because he was a deranged sociopath but my body couldnt resist appreciating how goodlooking he is.
"Scared?" He asked tilting his head to the side when he geard the change of the rythm of my heartbeat. I just stared blankly at him. He shrugged then got up.
"I hate screaming bitches so i had to tape your mouth love sorry. Nobody is going to save you (haha ) maybe Jax." He clapped his hands out of the blue and i flinched. "Easy love im not going to hurt you, lets have a tour shall we?"
He asked rhetorically. His house was modern and beautiful. It was a double story house with an elevator and 8 bedrooms even had a gym and a lovely chrome kitchen with smeg appliances. Then we returned to what he called the infirmary vis a vis my room."i just wanted to boast a bit you wont be free to really roam around but feel free to do so with any of my men. Jace is my name by the way. Dark vengeance Alpha how do you do", he asked shaking my hand.
It all made sense why he was a bit ..... off... he was the alpha of a rogue pack. Jeremihs words came back haunting me. "Because rogues do not show allegiance to any of the kingdoms they become corrupt". Who knew what he was going to do to me. I needed Jax, regardless of the ugly argument we had earlier.
Chapter 15: Calamity Devastates in the blink of an Eye
Jax P.O.V
The guilt of what i had done to Xander plagued me. It was her own fault she had driven me to strangling her stupid ass to get her to stop making accurate accusations.
Everything she said was true but my wolf refused for a human, Luna or not to speak down to him. I had had to stop him from killing her.
Athena was a necessary distraction that aided me in running my pack with as much efficiency as i did. Her moans and cries of pleasure did nothing for me.
In fact i often wondered what Xander would sound like were i to fuck her hard. I always complied with Athenas requests when she told me to go faster or to ease up out of politeness.
Sex was a necessary chore that helped my body function.
It didn't hurt that she was a good warrior as well.
I showered in the guest bedroom then went into my bedroom to pack my shit. She was asleep when we left. I watched her peaceful soft slim curvaceous body rise and fall with her soft breathing.
She was still a kid that was dragged from her world and plunged into mine without a choice. I shook these thoughts away.
I needed to be focused to ensure the safety of my pack members. I decided to leave the lower ranking, less important warriors to watch over Xander and the reservation.
She was safe on my grounds no-one would dare try to start a war with me by coming for whats mine. We assembled in the courtyard and did roll call once everyone arrived we began the hard journey ahead of us.
First was the jog and then would come the swim and finally the climbing. I had scheduled this session where it would rain heavily to intesify the training. We started the journey with me running lead and Mercer at the back and Zero in the middle.
Safety was a major priority for me. We stopped after 160 km. I could feel the strain on my own feet but i loved the difficulty and strain.
We set camp and got ready for the next leg of the training. We found a stream where we could wash the grime from our bodies.
I conceded and allowed everyone to sign into a hotel since we would rest for 48 hours in preparation for the swimming leg of the journey which would be the hardest in my opinion.
The body of water we had to cross stretched for about 75km. That would be taxing on our bodies.
I called Lancer one of the men watching over her. He informed me that she did not leave her room but she was inside. My heart constricted a bit knowing that i was the cause of her anguish.
We left and began the swim at the end of it we were all exhausted that i allowed for 3 days rest before continuing.
When we got to our next hotel and plugged in our devices i noticed many missed calls on my phone most of them were from my father.
The old asshole never called unless something bad had happened. I hit dial on his number.
"Where the fuck have you been Jax? Fucks sakes you are an alpha. Training doesnt absolve you from that responsibility!"
"Stop shitting on me and tell me whats wrong old man." I growled to him.
"Jace came to visit".
My body stopped functioning. I couldn't breathe. Where Jace walked calamity and devastation was a promise awaiting deliverance.
"What did he do?" i asked.
For the first time in my life i experienced fear and foreboding. Jeremih breathed out heavily.
"Come back now" he commanded and then he hung up. Something was wrong. I got Zero and Mercer to get us transport back home we would have to fly i hated the sky i preferred the ground like most wolves.
Athena didn't try anything. The aura my body was exuding was one that told people to be weary and to stay away. I arrived first since Mercer and i had taken the Ferrrari 9/11 from the airport because i needed to be on my property as soon as possible.
The gaurd on duty opened for me and the sight before me almost made me crash the car. There were coffins littering the courtyard about a dozen or so.
I jumped out of the car and emptied the contents of my stomach. I felt dizzy but nonetheless rushed to open all of them, I breathed a sigh of relief when i realized that Xanders body was not in one of them but the deep sense of loss didn't lessen.
"What happened", the alpha in me demanded to the guards that were now watching over the dead bodies.
"They came out of nowhere alpha. They only killed the warriors none of the civilians."
She then hesitated and looked at the ground as if wishing it would swallow her up.
"Anastasia what happened don't fuck with me not now." She breathed out and her breath hitched. There was a sickening stench of fear that stemmed from her rolling off of her.
"The Luna sir, he got miss Alexandrite."
The rage when those words registered had me throwing a fit. I took down a few trees using my fists alone and then went to the car that was now idling.
Mercer knew better than to approach me. When i was finally done with blood streaming down my arms i asked for further details. They took me to my room.
Everything was intact but there was a strong smell of blood. Her blood. I walked to the bathroom and saw that it was undisturbed then walked to the bed that was the source of the blood.
It had now dried up. On the wall on my side of the bed read. "Hide and seek is the name of the Game. I have hidden now its your turn to seek Alpha."
My blood went cold. With Jace nothing was ever straight forward. I could be looking for a dead body or a mangled Alexandrite.
He was a sick and twisted fucker that had no problem with killing for the sake of it. My phone suddenly vibrated with message coming in. It read.
"Hey Alpha Hey. I will give you the first clue. I fell at the hands of the enemy showing my in-competence and so my life was taken. Remember my final my final moments and then the fun shall start."
It was a fallen soldier. I had to do a time lapse with one of them. Alphas were the only ones who could perform time lapses with the dead. The person had to have died within 72 hours.
I raced outside and began the search for the body. There was always a catch with gifts from the moon godess.
My energy would be rapidly drained with each time that i perfomed the time lapse. I gazed at the 12 bodies before me and began the task at hand. I finally found the body after 7 tries but i was on the verge of passing out.
I pushed through and saw the soldiers final moments. I had been fighting off not just the exhaustion but the pain of seeing my people dead. I was the one in charge and as Alpha it was my duty to protect them and yet i failed. I couldn't dwell on these thoughts. I had to focus on the task at hand.
I found the final body and began the process. She had done her best. Her last memory was of Jace saying North. The game of life and death had began.
________________________________________________________________
I went to lie down begrudgingly and alerted the others to be armed and ready by the time i woke up. I was jolted awake from my body being vigorously shaken. I opened my eyes and came eye to eye with the same blue eyes as mine.
"Ayleks" I sighed in relief. At least she was safe though we weren't close, i would have lost it if anything had happened to her. She looked tired.
"I had gone for a shopping trip so i missed it all. Im so sorry Jax." I shook my head and pulled her in. She felt guilty because she once had dated Jace.
We were all once a gang when we were younger and Jeremih was Alpha. I was going through some bullshit.
"Its okay we will find him, he drained me by having me do random time lapses. we will get her back".
Ayleks had grown fond of my human Luna and always chastised me for mistreating her. She nodded and lead me to address the families of the dead.
I said a few words of apology and promised to get back their Luna and rain vengeance on the dark Vengeance.