Chapter 11
Jaxom hauled Drake into the shower. He wanted to bathe his guy. They were both wrung dry for the moment. That didn’t mean he couldn’t take a look at the man he’d fallen in love with in less than twenty four hours. Yes, the mate-bond was part of the pull. Most of the pull was Drake himself.
The guy started out shy and hesitant, unsure of his own worth in life.
A little bit of love and acceptance was transforming him into an Alpha in the truest sense of the word.
He’d already proven he was willing to protect the weak and vulnerable from the bitch that abused him.
He was strong and skilled as a fighter. He hadn’t held back in their mock fight earlier.
Drake had legitimately knocked him down twice.
That hadn’t happened since he got his wolf a year and a half ago.
No other wolf had come close to the size and speed he had, until Drake.
Why hadn’t anyone noticed Drake before? He’d been with his dad for two years and had received his wolf three months ago. His natural fighting ability was impressive, to say the least. He’d have expected the crown to try and recruit a fighter like Drake. He’d be an asset to any fighting force.
“I’m ready. Ready to hear you in my head. Love the feel of you under my skin.”
“That’s a good way to put it.”
“You smell like cinnamon roles to me. Yeasty bread and sweet cinnamon. Thought you’d like to know.” Drake kissed Jaxom on the cheek. “No cinnamon role will ever smell as good as you.”
“Could it be that we both have a sweet tooth?” Jaxom laughed.
The drive back to the pack house was quiet and relaxed. Jaxom held Drake’s hand as he drove. He pointed out landmarks on the way, helping Drake get oriented to his new home. The drive let Drake sit back and just relax before they got back to the circus of the Winter Solstice Festival.
Jaxom parked out in the large field currently holding hundreds of cars. He had his own garage but too many people were milling about to get there. It didn’t really matter. Most people would be clearing out by tomorrow morning. Anyway, they were going back up to the cabin after the ceremony.
He took Drake’s hand as they made the long walk in. He just wasn’t ready for any distance yet. His parents insistence on taking this month to focus solely on Drake was making more sense. They had a lot to learn about each other and needed the time and space to do it.
A group of young guys were walking towards them.
Raucous laughter and arrogant looks set Jaxom’s teeth on edge.
They weren’t part of the Blood Moon Pack.
Drake slowed down and started moving away from them.
Jaxom refused to let him do that. This was his territory.
He wasn’t yielding to anyone for any reason.
“You know them?” he asked for Drake’s ears alone.
“The blond in front. I went to school with him. Henry Lewis. Part of the Black Hawk Pack. Not the best part of that pack. I’d be part of that pack if Dad hadn’t found me. He’s a bully.”
Jaxom laughed and laid a hard kiss on his mate.
“He’s never met a real bully, mate. Everyone needs a lesson. We’ll be happy to be one for him.”
“Awe gross. There’s that fucking slut again, spreading his legs to get to the top. Fucking twat.” Henry loudly mocked them across the field.
Jaxom squared up and headed their way. He laughed to himself as the group around Henry stopped talking.
Shock rippled through the group as Jaxom approached them.
Stupid high school antics that were wasted in the real world.
If he couldn’t stand up to these turd-buckets he may as well give up on becoming the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack.
“Oh, look at the wannabe Alpha holding the slut’s hand.”
“Hmm, big words, pup,” Jaxom said with a predatory smile. “I’m pretty sure you’re not talking about my mate. That would just be stupid. And if you’re not talking about my mate, who are you talking about? I’d hate for lies and rumors to be bandied about.”
“You know I’m talking about the slut you’re holding hands with, or didn’t he tell you he was the teacher’s pet?” Henry laughed. His little group did too, but with a lot less enthusiasm. They were shifting in their stances and eyeing Jaxom. Definitely smarter than the idiot running his mouth.
“Oh, so you really are stupid,” Jaxom said sadly.
“You don’t have to defend my honor,” Drake squeezed Jaxom’s hand.
Jaxom could feel Drake ramping up. It wasn’t visible. He kept the tell well hidden. Jaxom relaxed into a ready stance. His guy wasn’t running away. Every bully needed an end date. He loosened his grip on Drake’s hand to give his guy room to move.
Drake took that as encouragement and let go. He took the three remaining steps to face Henry. He looked relaxed but firm. An air of authority had the rest of Henry’s group moving back from him.
“You’ve taken potshots at me long enough. Are you sure you want to continue down this road?” Drake asked Henry in a low, forceful question.
Henry pushed at Drake but didn’t move him. “Get out of my face, slut.”
“No. You laid hands on me once. You won’t do it again. Go home, Henry. It’s the only chance you’ll get.”
Henry swung but he telegraphed too loudly. Drake grabbed his wrist as he turned, flipped Henry over his shoulder and slammed him on the ground. The air in Henry’s lungs, and his arrogance, was knocked out of him momentarily.
“Alpha Jaxom, should I take him to a holding cell?” one of Jaxom’s warriors asked. He’d been alerted by the crowd gathering to watch the stupid idiot get taken down.
“Yes. Please let Alpha Trevor know I need a word with him this afternoon.” Jaxom nodded at the warrior, took Drake by the hand, and continued the walk to the pack house.
He did his best to radiate love and respect to Drake as they went. He just wanted to get him behind closed doors and kiss him till he couldn’t breathe. Drake standing up for himself was fucking sexy.
Jaxom’s parents, Drake’s dad, and their Betas had gathered on the steps up to the pack house. His mom looked furious. His dad was clearly mind-linked to someone, probably talking about Henry.
“Drake, are you okay? I heard you stopped that idiot.” She wrapped her arms around Drake and gave him the hug Jaxom knew she’d been dying to give.
Drake looked a bit startled and gently patted her back. Then he started to laugh. “I thought I’d have to plead my case.”
“Turn around and look behind you, son,” Alpha Steven told Drake.
Jaxom put his arm around Drake’s shoulder as they turned. A large crowd of pack members surrounded them in a half circle. Large warriors were guarding their backs. Women and children tried to get the best view they could get of the future Alpha’s mate.
A large cheer rang through the crowd. Drake’s name chanted on their lips. The first public act as Jaxom’s mate showed he was willing to take a bully down, silly as the incident was.
Jaxom lifted Drake’s hand up high in victory and the cheer got louder. Drake gave them a wave and turned to Jaxom, clearly wanting out of the spotlight despite the delighted smile on his face.
“Should I take him inside for the new member ceremony? Make him officially one of us?” Jaxom called out to his people.
“Yeah!” The crowd cheered.
Jaxom waved and encouraged Drake farther up the steps. They stood behind his dad and mom as other new members gathered on the steps, too.
“Since we’re all here, let’s have you witness our new members taking the oath,” Alpha Steven said to the onlookers.
Jaxom watched the crowd as his dad went through the rights and requirements of becoming a member of the Blood Moon Pack.
Everyone listened in respect to their Alpha and the new members hearing the speech for the first time.
They cheered each person who knelt before Alpha Steven to say the oath and accept the nick of the ceremonial blade opening their connection to the pack.
Last but not least, Drake was called to take the oath. “Do you, Drake Loftus, promise to add to the peace and prosperity of this pack, looking out for the best of all its members?”
“I do, Alpha Steven,” Drake said and looked up to receive the nick on the palm of his hand.
“Good. Jaxom, come here and kneel in front of your mate.”
Alpha Steven nicked Jaxom’s palm, too. He pressed the cuts together for the blood to mingle. Jaxom felt Drake being added to the pack consciousness.
Alpha Steven whispered, “Don’t let go.” He addressed the crowd again.
“As you all know. It’s been one hundred and thirty eight years since an heir Alpha has been mated and marked by a fated male mate.
This kind of union has always been considered special, a boon to any pack, especially as they wait for their new Luna. ”
Jaxom looked up in surprise at the turn in this ceremony. He hadn’t been warned anything would be different.
“My lovely Luna Ellen, come with the Cloth of Binding.” She came to stand beside him.
“Elder Kent has been in the library all night researching how to welcome such a pairing. The ritual specifics long forgotten, the knowledge carefully recorded. The fated male mate needed to show he was willing to sacrifice himself to keep safe those who were weak and vulnerable. As witnesses, do you agree that requirement has been met in the person of Drake Loftus?” Alpha Steven’s voice rang out lout and proud.
The crowd erupted in a resounding yes, echoing off the stone building.
“The Elders have agreed that Drake’s courage in the face of a predator when he was not old enough or strong enough to stop her attacks on him, kept other boys safe from harm. Not all scars are on the outside. What do scars prove?” Alpha Steven called out.
“Scars show you lived to fight another day!” the crowd roared back in response. An often repeated pack truth.
“Luna Ellen.” Alpha Steven handed the ceremony to his Luna.
“I hold in my hand the Cloth of Binding. Jaxom and Drake have already shown their commitment to each other through mating and marking.” Luna Ellen wound the cloth back and forth around Jaxom and Drake’s clasped hands.
Then, she placed her hand on top. “This binding is in honor of the gift of the Moon Goddess.
Our men bring strength and protection to the pack.
They guide, shield, protect and sacrifice for the ones they love.
“When two or three men are given the gift of fated mates, the Goddess is sending a promise of power for the pack.
Why? Because evil knows no limit except the final test. Death.
The Cloth of Binding opens Jaxom and Drake to the full power the Moon Goddess is willing to bestow upon them.
That they may rise to protect the weak and the innocent.
“Jaxom, Drake,” Luna Ellen said as she raised her left hand to the sky, her right hand still holding their bound ones. “Do you accept the gift the Moon Goddess wishes to bestow, knowing it could lead to your death for the good of others?”
Jaxom looks up to the fierce eyes of his mother. She looked proud and stern. She also looked like a woman that knew she was sending her son off to war.
“I do,” Jaxom said loudly and clearly.
“I do,” Drake spoke up right after Jaxom.
There was a blinding flash of light around their bound, clasped hands.
A scorching tidal wave of power flowed into Jaxom’s body, through his hand, and into Drake.
It hurt, seizing his body and easing off as fast as it came.
Mostly, he could feel a change in his wolf.
Something primal had shifted but he didn’t know what that meant or looked like.
Jaxom was finally able to open his eyes and looked at the panting form of his mate. Primal, wild, fierce, his mate had come into his own. Jaxom could only imagine what Drake’s and his own wolf looked like now.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Alpha Steven yelled in victory, “I present to you your future Alphas Jaxom and Drake. May the hunt for their Luna go swiftly.”
Jaxom pulled Drake in for a fierce kiss before they stood on legs he wasn’t sure would hold him. The tidal wave of power was still thrumming through his body, flowing into Drake and back again. Drake steadied them as they turned to face the crowd.
Jaxom again raised their still clasped hands in victory. He didn’t want to let go. The power was still bouncing around, back and forth in their bodies. He somehow knew if he broke the connection to Drake, they’d lose some of the power the Moon Goddess was trying to give them.
The crowd cheered as his mom and dad hustled them to the house.
They recognized that Jaxom needed time alone with his mate.
He was so intent on the feeling of the gift he didn’t realize they’d made it to a spare room and his dad was helping him lay down in bed, still clinging to Drake’s hand. Drake looked just as dazed as he felt.
Somehow the bracers were connected to the binding ceremony. That little witch must have known what was going to happen. Hazel never did anything without a damn good reason.
“Hazel does know,” a woman’s voice whispered in his mind. The connection with Drake allowed him to hear her, too. “The gift will not be complete until she comes. But, you’ll start to see the fruit of it now. Wait for your fated mates. They are coming.”