Chapter 32 – JAX
JAX
The world narrows to a single point where my wolf has locked on his target: Raven’s throat.
He has full control now, shoving me into the back of our shared mind. All I can see is the male who’s insulted us, called us broken and a threat to my mate, and who wants her all for himself.
The growl building in my chest vibrates through my whole body, and though I can hear voices trying to reach me via mind-link, Dean’s being the loudest, pleading with me to catch up with the pack and leave it alone.
I block them out, letting them fade into the background, and focus on nothing but how many steps it will take me to reach Raven before I rip that smug grin off his face.
I stalk forward, and all around us, pack members scramble back, giving us room.
Camille scoots around me and stands between us, hands out, trying to talk me down, but her words are just noise. My wolf isn’t listening to anything, single-minded in his mission to take out this despicable male.
Then Raven makes the ultimate mistake.
“See? He’s just like his father.” He’s still talking, too stupid or too arrogant to realise his best chance of remaining unharmed is to remain silent. “And if he was capable of killing his mate…”
I lunge.
The mere suggestion that I would harm my mate, that I’m anything like my evil father, has tipped me over the edge.
I’m mid-air, looking forward to tearing some lumps of flesh from Raven’s hide, when two bodies hit me from the side. The impact sends us all rolling across the forest floor, a tangle of fur and snarls.
I come up fighting, ready to tear through anyone standing between me and my target.
Dash shifts first, hands raised in peace. Blood runs from a gash on his shoulder where my claws caught him. “Not worth it, man. He’s trying to get you put down.”
Eli remains in wolf form but positions himself once more between me and Raven. “He’s right. Then she’ll be vulnerable. He can swoop in and be the hero.”
My wolf snaps at them, angered they’re standing between me and my prey, and yet, my focus switches to Eli, distracting me from my mission.
He’s a competitor. Tomorrow, he fights for the chance to be Alpha. He shouldn’t be getting involved. Everyone knows you don’t get in the middle of a dogfight.
An injury from me could end his chances, but here he is, risking everything to stop me from doing something stupid. Much as I’d like to charge him down and consider whatever damage I do to him collateral damage, my conscience won’t allow it.
“Think about Camille,” Dash continues, voice calm despite the blood. “You attack him now, in front of everyone, and Zane will have no choice. Your death will hurt her.”
The mention of Camille penetrates my rage slightly. I can hear her behind me, still in human form, arguing with someone who’s trying to get her to stay back.
A third person joins us. Kain. He doesn’t shift, just adds his body to the barrier between me and Raven, and I inwardly curse.
“Don’t throw this chance away, Jax. You can have her, have your mate, have a life, but not if you do this.” Kain’s calm voice is almost hypnotic, and my breathing slows a little, my wolf’s frantic energy lessening in his presence.
Then Wyatt appears. The giant, who rarely speaks, studies me with those all-too-knowing eyes, another broken shifter who’s struggled to fit in after years as a rogue.
“You could kill him,” he says quietly. “And I won’t stop you.” He pauses, letting that sink in. When Raven growls, he turns to give him a glare that suggests he might even help. “But I’ll be disappointed in you. That you’d do this to your mate.”
Not the I’ll be disappointed line.
“Plus, a worse fate might be letting him deal with his own mate.”
My wolf doesn’t argue with that. Maybe killing him is too kind. Sending him back to his mate after he declared himself willing to leave her for Camille seems like a life sentence that he’s going to regret.
“Go home,” Wyatt continues. “Everyone will know you walked away. If that doesn’t prove you have restraint, I don’t know what does. But if you attack him, he wins.”
Raven attempts to look nonchalant, but I can tell he’s stunned by the display of loyalty and brotherhood. And by the appearance of his mate on the edge of the crowd, slim arms folded over her chest, wolf glowing in her eyes.
I stare around at my pack mates, who stand in an arc around Camille, minding her back, while also glaring at Raven. They’re all on my side. For a broken wolf, it looks like I have lots of people ready to fight for my future, even if it means fighting me.
Kain lets his wolf forward and shifts, and the glow in one eye looks odd, fractured, not filling in the entirety of his iris.
It seems I’m not the only one around here with some issues. And yet, these wolves, most of whom barely know me, who could just let me self-destruct, are standing up for me. With me.
Behind me, I hear Camille’s voice, strong and sure. “Get out of my sight, Raven. Now. Before I file a formal complaint about your behaviour.”
Around us, there are plenty of nods from people willing to corroborate her story.
“You wouldn’t dare…” His features darken, and for a second, I think he’s going to strike. I’m ready to intervene, if necessary, but Camille seems to have it well under control.
“Try me.” Her voice right now could freeze fire, but her hands shake. She needs my support, not this.
My wolf retreats, and I shift back to human form, seizing control once more.
Camille stands, hands on hips, and watches Raven depart. As the crowd dissipates, reluctantly accepting they aren’t going to see the bloodbath they’d hoped for, I watch her, silhouetted by moonlight, seeing off the man she once thought she would end up mated to.
The she-wolf steps forward then, toe to toe with Camille, and fingers the chain around her neck. Camille’s gaze drops to it, her lips pursing as she recognises the gold charm. It’s the very same one he gave her, that sits on a table in her cabin, that she wore with pride for years.
With a broken look, his mate rips it off her neck and tosses it to the ground, before disappearing back into the shadows.
I don’t wait for more. Instead, I shift again, rubbing around Camille’s legs, making sure she knows I’m still here for her. But adrenaline is still buzzing through my veins, and I’m on edge.
Camille’s scent is driving me wild. I don’t want to be around anyone else. I want to be buried inside her, which I still can’t do until I’m sure the sword dangling over my head is gone.
Camille strokes my furry head and stares at me before raising her eyes to heaven. “Go then, run.”
Eli and Dash linger nearby, giving me a sharp nod. They’ll keep watch over her for me while I’m gone. Both men, unassuming and reliable, are good shifters. Even if Eli doesn’t win the pack tomorrow, they’ll be strong additions to any pack.
I take off in the opposite direction from the rest of the pack, needing to feel my feet pounding against the earth, loving the branches catching at my skin as I work off all the fire that’s burning through my veins.