Chapter 14 Jaxon
JAXON
The pilot announced descent into the city and I didn't give a single fuck that my coach was probably burning an effigy of me somewhere in Calgary.
I'd left the team mid-road trip. Walked out of the hotel, caught a cab to the airport, and bought the first ticket home. My phone had been blowing up for hours. Texts from Coach, from the team manager, from half my teammates asking what the hell I was doing.
I'd silenced it all.
Reina needed me. That was the only thing that mattered.
I could feel her through the bond even from thirty thousand feet. Exhausted. Relieved. Certain. She'd made her choice and she wasn't wavering. My Omega had chosen us over everything.
The least I could do was choose her over a hockey game.
I could feel Luca too, somewhere over the Rockies on a different plane from Vancouver. His guilt was eating at him, sharp and acidic through the bond. Vale always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Always blamed himself for everything.
I wanted to tell him to stop. That this wasn't his fault. But we were still hundreds of miles apart.
Soon though.
Soon we'd be at the lake house. All three of us. Together.
The plane touched down and I was out of my seat before the seatbelt sign turned off. Grabbed my carry-on from the overhead, ignored the flight attendant's reminder to remain seated, and was first off the plane.
My motorcycle was in long-term parking where I'd left it three days ago. I threw my bag in the saddlebag, pulled on my helmet, and kicked the engine to life.
The highway out of the city was mostly empty this time of night. I opened up the throttle, felt the bike roar beneath me. Every mile brought me closer to her. The bond hummed in my chest, pulling me home like a magnet.
She'd gone straight to the cabin after the meeting. I could feel it. Our safe place. Where we'd built the nest together, where we'd bonded, where everything had changed.
I took the turnoff toward the lake, wound through dark trees on the familiar road. Saw the cabin lights glowing through the trees and something in my chest loosened.
Home.
I pulled into the gravel drive, killed the engine. The sun had set over the lake, leaving everything in deep blue twilight. Smoke curled from the chimney. She'd started a fire.
I used my key, pushed open the door.
Found her curled in the nest on the couch, laptop open, face illuminated by the screen. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy knot. She wore one of my hoodies, drowning in it.
She looked up and her blue eyes were red from crying.
"Jax."
Just my name. One word. But it broke something in me.
I crossed the cabin in three strides, pulled her up off the couch and into my arms. She wrapped around me immediately, legs around my waist, face buried in my neck.
"You came back," she whispered against my skin. "You left your game."
"Fuck the game." I tightened my arms around her. "You're more important than any game."
I kissed her then. Hard and desperate and claiming. Needed to taste her, feel her, know she was real and safe and mine.
The bond sang between us, warm and right.
But incomplete.
Luca wasn't here yet.
I could feel him though, getting closer. An hour out, maybe less.
"Where's Vale?" I asked against her mouth.
"His plane lands soon. He's driving straight here."
"Good." I carried her back to the couch, sat down with her in my lap. "We need to talk. All three of us. But first, tell me everything."
She did.
The whole story came pouring out. The meeting with Emma Burns. Walking into that office and finding her mother already there. The orchestrated betrayal. The ultimatum designed to force her to choose.
"I resigned," she said, her voice steady despite the tears on her cheeks. "I quit, Jax. I chose us."
Pride surged through me, fierce and hot. "Good."
"Good?" She pulled back to look at my face.
"You chose us. That takes guts, Pretty Girl."
"I chose me too. Chose not to let them control me anymore. Chose not to be ashamed of what I am."
"Even better." I cupped her face, wiped away tears with my thumbs. "I'm proud of you."
"My mother set the whole thing up. She went to Emma, told her about the bond, the conflict of interest. Forced Emma's hand."
Anger spiked through me, sharp and violent. "I'm going to have words with your mother."
"Jax, don't."
"Not threats. Just very direct words about staying the fuck out of our lives."
Reina touched my face, her fingers gentle. "I already told her she's not welcome anymore. I'm done with her. Completely done."
"You sure?"
"Completely sure."
I kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent. Lilies and cinnamon and home. "Then she's not worth another second of our time."
She leaned against my chest, exhausted. I held her, stroked her hair, felt the bond pulse between us.
"I should shower," she said after a while. "Wash this whole day off."
"Go ahead. I'll be here."
She climbed off my lap, headed toward the bedroom and the attached bathroom. I heard the water start running a few minutes later.
I paced the cabin, too restless to sit. Added wood to the fire, watched the flames catch and spread. Checked my phone finally.
Seventeen missed calls. Forty-two texts.
I deleted them all except one. A text from Luca.
Landing in 20 minutes. On my way.
I typed back: We're at the cabin. Drive safe.
His response came immediately: I will. How is she?
Stronger than both of us combined.
Good.
I set my phone down, went to the window. Stared out at the dark lake, the trees silhouetted against the last of the twilight.
The bond with Luca hummed in my chest. Different than the bond with Reina but just as real. Just as undeniable.
We'd spent twelve years pretending that night after the draft didn't happen. Twelve years as enemies on the ice, rivals in every way that mattered.
But the trinity bond had changed everything.
Connected us through her. To her. To each other.
And maybe it was time we finally acknowledged what that meant.
Headlights swept across the cabin windows maybe thirty minutes later. I heard the crunch of tires on gravel, an engine cutting off.
The bond flared hot in my chest.
He was here.
The door opened and Luca walked in, still wearing his suit from the flight. His tie was loosened, top button undone. He looked exhausted. The guilt was written all over his face, sharp in his ice blue eyes.
"Roarke."
"Vale."
We stood there looking at each other across the cabin. The bond pulled between us, insistent and impossible to ignore.
Then Reina appeared from the bedroom, her hair damp from the shower, wearing one of Luca's shirts that hit her mid-thigh.
Luca's expression transformed when he saw her. All that controlled Ice King exterior cracking.
He crossed to her, pulled her into his arms.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. This is my fault. I should have anticipated this, should have protected you better."
"Stop." She cupped his face with both hands. "It's not your fault, Luca. I made my choice. I don't regret it."
I watched them from by the fireplace, felt the warmth of their bond mixing with mine. My Omega. My Alpha. Safe together in our cabin.
Our home.
We all settled into the nest on the couch. Reina in the middle, me on one side, Luca on the other. She told him everything she'd told me. The whole ugly story.
Luca's guilt intensified with every word. I could feel it through the bond, acidic and choking.
"We need to make a statement," he said when she finished. "Control the narrative before it controls us."
"Or," I countered, "we just live our lives and fuck what anyone thinks."
"The media is destroying us. Calling it inappropriate, scandalous."
"Let them. We know what we are."
Reina looked between us. "What do you want to do, Luca?"
He ran a hand through his dark hair, making it stick up. "I want to protect you. Both of you. But I don't know how."
"We stand together," I said. "We don't hide. We don't apologize for what we are. We're bonded. Trinity pack. Anyone who has a problem with it can go fuck themselves."
Luca looked at me for a long moment. Then nodded slowly. "You're right."
Reina yawned, leaned against Luca's shoulder.
"You should rest, sweetheart," he said gently.
"Will you both stay tonight?"
"Not going anywhere," I promised.
She stood, headed toward the bedroom. The nest we'd built together weeks ago. Paused at the door, looked back at us.
"Don't take too long," she said softly.
Then disappeared inside, leaving the door open.
An invitation.
But something needed to happen first.
I could feel it through the bond. Luca could too. The air between us was charged, electric.
"I need to wash off the flight," Luca said, his voice carefully neutral.
"Bathroom's through there." I gestured even though he knew. He'd been here before. Helped build the nest. Knew this cabin almost as well as I did now.
He stood, grabbed his bag, headed down the short hallway.
I heard the water start running.
Waited exactly five minutes.
Then I stood and followed.
Didn't knock.
Just opened the bathroom door and walked in.
Steam billowed out, thick and hot. Luca was stepping out of the shower, water cascading down his body. Completely naked. Muscles defined and perfect, water droplets running down his chest, his abs, lower.
He stopped when he saw me. Didn't startle. Just looked at me like he'd been expecting this.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Not angry. Not surprised. Just curious.
He didn't cover himself. Didn't reach for a towel. Just stood there dripping wet, meeting my eyes.
"Our Omega is waiting for us," I said, grinning.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "And you couldn't wait until I was dressed to tell me that?"
"No."
I stepped fully into the bathroom, closed the door behind me. The space was small, steam making everything hazy. We were close now. Close enough to touch.
"You're not shy about being wet and naked in front of me," I observed.
Luca's jaw tightened. "Should I be?"
"Most guys would be."