Chapter 24 – JAX
JAX
For one heartbeat, pure rage demands I finish what I started. Rip out Tanner’s throat like I did Williams’s and let him bleed out into the water around us. Make him pay for touching her, threatening her, letting her fall.
My bloodlust is overwhelming as the red mist of a wronged mate makes it hard to think straight, but Raven’s calls for help from the lakeshore infiltrate my mind enough to make me refocus on what’s most important.
Camille’s sinking. Every second I waste on revenge is another second she’s underwater. A second closer to losing her forever.
I shift back to human form in the water and snatch the crystal from Tanner’s hand. Punching him hard in the face once more for good measure, then I grab his hair and shove his head under the icy water to stun him.
Water fills his mouth mid-scream, cutting off the sound.
Let him figure out how to save himself. My mate needs me.
Flinging the crystal as far out into the lake and as far from my mate as I can, I dive.
The water is shockingly cold, and it steals my breath, even as I fight to swim deeper. My eyes adjust quickly, but there’s just murky darkness with a few pale shards of moonlight penetrating the surface, casting eerie shadows through the water.
Where is she?
I keep searching, diving deeper, fighting the urge to surface for air. The pressure builds in my ears, my chest, but the lake bottom is still invisible below. My lungs burn, but I push further down, searching desperately for any sign of pale skin or golden hair in the gloom.
There. A flash of white.
She hangs face-down, arms spread wide like she’s floating. Not moving, just dangling like a marionette, as if she’s already accepted this as her watery grave.
No. No, no, no.
I grab her shirt, the fabric heavy with water, and pull hard. Her body lifts slowly, too slowly, so I hook one arm under her chest and kick toward the surface with everything I have.
She’s deadweight in my arms, but despite my already empty lungs screaming for air and black spots dancing at the edges of my vision, I don’t slow down. Don’t let go.
We break the surface in an explosion of spray. I gasp, sucking huge gulps of night air into my burning lungs.
But Camille doesn’t. Her head lolls back against my shoulder, lips pale.
“Come on, baby. Stay with me.”
I swim hard for shore, kicking against the weight of both our bodies.
Tanner is crawling through the shallows ahead, coughing up water, blood pouring out of his nose. But still alive.
The rocky beach seems miles away, though it can’t be more than thirty feet. The moment my feet touch the slick stones of the bottom, I’m running. Water streams from our clothes, my bare feet slipping on algae-covered rocks.
Raven inches closer to Williams, stronger now without the presence of the stone, and kicks the almost empty potion bottle further away.
From the forest, I hear a howl go up. A call for help from any wolves nearby, then the pounding of paws across dirt.
Dean and Callum. They’re on their way.
I carry Camille’s limp form to a flat section of beach, well away from Williams’s body, then lay her carefully on smooth stones.
“Come on. Get it out.”
I turn her onto her side, pressing firmly between her shoulder blades. A trickle of water runs from her mouth, but not enough. Not nearly enough. Her skin is cold as ice under my hands, lips completely blue now.
Behind me, I hear Raven ripping fabric, attempting to stem the alpha's blood loss, but I could not care less what he does. All my focus is on my mate.
I flip her onto her back, wet hair spreading across the stones. Tilting her head back, I pinch her nose and breathe into her lungs. Her chest rises with my breath and falls when I pull away.
Again.
As I compress her chest, I feel her ribs flexing under my palms.
She’s still there. I would have felt it through our fledgling bond if she were gone. I know I would. I have to keep going.
More breaths. More compressions. Then a pause to check for any signs of life. The rhythm comes automatically from old training.
Nothing.
“Don’t you dare,” I snarl between compressions.
Another round. And another. My arms ache from the force I’m using, shoulders burning. The stones dig into my knees where I kneel beside her, and lake water drips from my hair onto her face, making it look like she’s crying.
“Please, Camille. Come back to me.”
I breathe for her again, press on her chest, willing her heart to remember how to beat. Count the compressions like they taught us years ago, though the numbers blur together. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen...
“I just found you.” My voice breaks on the words. “You can’t leave me. Not now.”
One more round. When I breathe into her lungs, I cup her face between my palms like she’s the most precious thing in the world to me.
There. Tingles. I’m certain I felt something.
“Is she okay?” Raven shouts, but I ignore him. His clumsy arrival set this all in motion. If I weren’t otherwise occupied, I’d be kicking his ass.
Another breath. And another.
Her body convulses.
Water erupts from her mouth in a violent rush. I barely get her turned on her side before she’s purging what seems like half the lake onto the pebbles. Her whole body shakes with the effort, each cough bringing up more water, more proof she’s going to live.
“That’s it. That’s my girl. Get it all out.”
I support her head with one hand, holding her soaked hair back with the other as she empties her lungs. With the stone far away, her enhanced healing will start to kick in.
She’s going to be okay.
When all the water is out, she collapses like a rag doll. Her breathing comes in gasps as the colour gradually returns to her pale lips and her eyes find mine, scared and relieved.
I pull her onto my lap, knowing my wolf will raise my body temperature to warm her.
“Jax…” She twists in my arms, her hand going to her inside pocket, then to her face.
“Shhh, Camille. You’re safe. I’ve got you.” I kiss her forehead and tighten my hold on her, hoping my presence will help calm her down. “Catch your breath for a second, then I’ll get you someplace warm.”
She squirms again, searching for something.
“The recording,” she mumbles against my chest. Her voice is ragged, barely a whisper, scraping past her abused throat. “Is the recording...”
I bark out a laugh of disbelief. She nearly drowned, yet she’s worried about securing the evidence.
“It’s fine. You’re fine. Everything’s fine.”
She tries to sit up, hands patting weakly at her jacket pockets. Water squelches from the fabric. “No, I need to make sure...”
I cup her face, forcing her to look at me as I tuck her hair behind her ear and retrieve the tiny earpiece, still miraculously lodged there. When I hold it out, she sags in relief.
“You got them. It’s over.”
Concern flickers across her features as her gaze shifts past my shoulder. The beach looks like a war zone.
Williams lies in a spreading pool of blood, the surrounding stones stained black in the moonlight, while Raven presses his torn shirt to the wounds.
Tanner has dragged himself halfway out of the water, blood pouring from his face, crawling toward the trees.
Camille attempts to stand, but I keep my arms banded tight around her.
“Jax… he’s going to get away.”
I shake my head. He might try, but he won’t get far. The sound of paws pounding closer tells me help is near.
Biting her lip, Camille stares up at me. “This is a big deal, Jax. You’re going to have to testify. You could get in a lot of trouble…”
Leaning my forehead against hers, I inhale, just happy to have her in my arms. I give her a gentle kiss on the top of her head and wait for her frantic mind to calm enough that she really listens to what I’m saying.
“They were going to kill you.” No apology in my voice. No regret. “As long as you’re okay, I don’t care what happens next.”
She studies my face for a long moment, then nods. Just acceptance of what I am, what I did, and what might come next if the powers that be decide I’m too far gone to save. Her hand comes up to touch my cheek, fingers cold but steady against my stubbled jaw.
“Thank you.”
Two words, and I’m undone. I crush her to me, not sure I’ll ever be able to let her go.
Mine.
When I finally let her pull back to breathe, she’s almost smiling, a rosy glow already starting to return to her cheeks.
“We’ll be okay,” she whispers.
Movement in the trees then cuts off my response. Branches snap under heavy feet, the undergrowth rustling. I tense, ready to shift again if needed, but already, familiar scents reach me on the night breeze.
Pack. Lots of them.
Dean stumbles into view first, Callum right behind him, one hand pressed to his temple, like his head’s still splitting from a headache. Both look rough and disoriented from the effects of the potion.
Dean’s gaze travels across the beach, taking in the carnage. The blood-soaked stones, Raven’s stricken face as he tends to the limp body of Alpha Williams, and us huddled together, soaking wet.
“Well, shit.”