Chapter 36 – CAMILLE
CAMILLE
The pack dining hall buzzes with morning conversation as Jax and I enter together. His hand rests on my lower back, a gesture so casually possessive, that it makes my stomach flutter. Around us, conversations pause momentarily as pack members register our arrival, and how close together we stand.
At the alpha table, Dean looks up from his coffee, takes one look at us, and pauses. He makes a show of inhaling deeply, then shakes his head with a knowing look.
"Morning, brother. Camille." His tone is carefully neutral, but I catch the slight quirk of his lips. "Get some breakfast. Long day ahead."
I feel heat creep up my neck. We're both still damp from our shower, but not exactly clean. I definitely shouldn't have let Jax join me in the shower, but the pleasurable ache between my thighs makes it hard to regret it.
We move toward the buffet, Jax's hand never leaving my back. At the serving table, I pile fruit onto my plate while Jax loads up on bacon. Our movements fall into an easy rhythm, passing items before the other reaches for them.
A younger wolf I don't recognize does a double take when Jax reaches around me for the salt, his chest brushing my back. When the wolf accidentally bumps into me, Jax doesn’t even flinch, just smiles and waves off his effusive apologies.
Further down the buffet line, two female pack members exchange glances when Jax's fingers trail along my waist as we move to the juice station.
"Is that really Jax?" I hear one whisper to the other.
The casual intimacy seems to surprise everyone around us, and I have to admit, I get a thrill from the thought that they’re all so surprised to see him being affectionate with me. This clearly isn’t a regular thing.
The dining hall is fuller than before, competitors and visiting pack members filling every seat at the tables. The energy is different too, the anticipation for the Games final mixing with the underlying tension of recent events.
Ryan Williams sits at a corner table alone, picking at his food. The suspicions that many still have that he knew something about his father’s actions, hangs over Ryan like a storm cloud.
I imagine the only reason he’s still even here is to ensure his name is fully cleared by the investigation Zane and Raven are closing out.
Jax spots Eli and Kain at a table near the windows and gives them a nod. "I'll be right back," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my temple before heading their way.
I continue filling my plate, adding toast and jam to the pile, and ignoring the looks I’m getting from those nearby. Behind me, I hear Jax's voice, steady and sincere.
"Thank you. For last night."
Dash looks up from his mountain of pancakes, syrup dripping onto his plate. The bandage on his shoulder is visible under his shirt where Jax's claws caught him.
"Just glad nobody got seriously hurt." He shakes his head, then corrects with a smile. “Or, should I say, I’m glad you didn’t get yourself into trouble. I wouldn’t have been upset to see somebody else getting hurt.”
Eli nods along, in complete agreement with his brother, a nasty bruise still colouring his arm. I hope it doesn’t impact his performance today.
"You would've done the same for us," Kain adds. There's something different about his eyes, one seeming to catch the light differently than the other.
"Still." Jax shifts his weight, and I can see how much this matters to him. As a wolf who most people stay away from, the display of friendship and support has meant a lot. "You risked your chances in the final. An injury could have cost you everything."
Eli waves off the concern with his fork. "Had worse in training. Besides, who else would patch us up after the final if you got yourself hauled off?"
"You don’t deserve to be an alpha if you can’t push through a little pain anyway," Kain says. “Or help someone who deserves it.”
Jax nods, throat working like words are stuck there. "Good luck today. Both of you."
"May the best wolf win." Eli grins, then sobers slightly when Kain stares him down, slipping back into hardened competitor mode.
While Jax talks with them about how the final is going to work, I notice movement from across the room.
Raven has risen from his table, gaze fixed on me, using Jax's absence to make his move. He starts toward the buffet with purpose, his path designed to intercept me.
I curse, really not wanting his presence to ruin my buzz.
"Sit down." Zane's voice cuts across the dining hall, sharp with authority.
Raven freezes, mid-step, his hand already reaching toward the coffee pot. "I was just…"
Zane’s expression is hard, and his tone flat, leaving no room for argument.
"I know exactly what you were doing. Sit. Down. You're here to work, not take trips down memory lane.”
Raven’s jaw works like he wants to disagree, but something in Zane's eyes stops him.
“And you can forget about getting that royal guard post. Not after the disgrace you made of yourself here, and how you humiliated Jane."
Raven opens his mouth to speak, but Zane glares at him.
“Save it. You’ll have to do a lot of talking to convince her to forgive you.”
The public reprimand draws attention from several tables. Conversations pause as pack members watch Raven's face flush a deep red. The walk back to his seat feels endless, every eye tracking his movement, including Jax’s.
"Harsh," someone mutters from a nearby table.
"Deserved," comes an immediate response.
Jax returns, his hand finding the small of my back again, as he guides me to a table near Dean and Lynn.
As we settle in with our plates, I notice how serene his wolf feels now, with none of the rigid tension from earlier.
Jamie enters the dining hall. Her confident strut and skin-tight leather pants immediately catches our host alpha’s attention. Coffee mug already in hand, she slides in beside Dean at the table, and his arm immediately goes to the back of her chair.
"Morning everyone," she greets warmly. "Big day."
Where Dean looks tired and stressed, she seems excited about the big finale.
"I can’t fucking wait for it to be over," Dean mutters into his coffee. "I want everyone gone. Every last visiting wolf out of my territory by sunset tomorrow. Never again."
Jamie's hand finds his under the table, and she rests her head on his shoulder. "It's been a long couple of weeks."
When he growls, several wolves at the table next to us stand abruptly and make themselves scarce.
"Long doesn't begin to cover it." Dean's voice carries the weight of everything that's happened.
"A dead alpha, attempted murder, sorry, multiple attempted murders, magic, and attempts to rig the competition. There’s been more drama than a soap opera.
This was supposed to be straightforward.
Run some competitions, pick strong leaders, and send them on their way. "
He’s muttering something about never doing a favour for Blake ever again when Jamie catches his chin and turns his face toward hers, kissing him gently to silence his complaining.
"Nothing's ever simple when you put this many dominant wolves in one place," Jamie says gently. She leans into his side, a subtle show of support that seems to ease some of the tension in his shoulders.
"I just want everything back to normal," Dean repeats. "No more surprises." His gaze lands on Jax, a hint of a warning there. Don’t do anything stupid. Just get through today.
"One more day," Jamie reminds him, resting her hand over his heart.
"One more day," Dean agrees grumpily, though he doesn't sound reassured.
"He seems..." Lynn trails off, studying Jax as he discusses the possible side-effects of magic exposure with Callum. "Settled," she finishes, and there's relief in her voice. "His wolf feels calmer."
It's true. Even I can sense it. That constant edge of barely controlled violence has softened.
He's still alert, still protective, but the frantic quality that usually clings to him has eased. Is it being with his mate? Is it knowing everyone is going home soon? Or maybe, it’s from a night of wild sex and too many orgasms to count.
It could be all three.
Across the room, Zane sits at his corner table, papers spread before him in neat stacks. Even from here, I can see the rigid set of his shoulders, and the way he holds himself apart from everyone else.
He must be going through hell. Anyone else would have immediately taken a leave of absence. And they almost certainly would be holding some kind of animosity toward Jax and I for uncovering the truth about their father.
"God, he's like a machine," I mutter between bites of toast. "His dad just died, killed practically in front of him, his family name is mud, and their pack is in turmoil, yet he's sitting there doing paperwork, finishing the case like nothing’s happened."
Lynn sets down her coffee cup with a soft clink and regards him closely. The sound draws my attention to her face, where something complicated flickers across her features.
“They were never close. The alpha was hard on all his children. Not as bad as Graham Reynolds, but a tough taskmaster. All about appearances and success. Being ordinary was not an acceptable option.”
Maybe I’m biased because he tried to murder me, but I never warmed to him. I can see him being cold to his kids.
“But still. It’s one thing not being close to him, but acting like a robot…”
Lynn shakes her head vigorously.
"He's not a robot." Her voice is quiet but firm. "He's just very good at hiding how he feels, pretending it doesn’t affect him. It’s to be pitied, really."
She glances toward his table, then away just as quickly, a sad look on her face.
"He’ll bury himself in work to distract himself because the job comes first with him," she continues. "Always."