20. Twenty
TWENTY
H arley
There has to be more to the story. Especially if he still looks at her like that. It’s all I can think every time Justin shoots Alicia a look over his shoulder. From the very start of the game she’s been lashing him with her tongue. Each word she throws his way has him sending a deadlier glare back.
Before the end of the first period, the boys are back on the ice. The refs have continued to make some farfetched calls. All against us. Something that I know they noticed, too. Because after the second time it happened, they all huddled together.
Jax skates over to Ross, relaying some information before heading back to one of the face-off circles. Ross lowers himself back down in front of the goal, his eyes trained on the circle where Jax and the traffic cone-looking center are standing. The ref blows his whistle, dropping the puck.
Jax immediately takes control of the puck, skating his way down the ice. He passes it to Justin, who holds it for a total of three seconds before sending it right back to Jax. He fakes out the bright orange and yellow goalie, making the guy shift to the left before he launches the puck into the net.
The arena goes mad over the first scored goal of the game. Jax turns his skates on the ice, his left side facing me. Slowly, he turns his head toward me, raises his stick into the air and points directly at me. If there were a jumbotron at these games, my red face would likely fill the screen.
A wicked smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth, followed up with a wink. My heart pounds in my chest so hard, I’m convinced it is trying to escape.
Jace and Justin do their usual butt slap routine with their own sticks, followed by bumping fists and high fiving. And then they start the process over again. A whistle blows. The puck is dropped. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Each period passes by quickly. The score ends up 3-1 in our favor by the end of the third period. Jax being the one to score the first, and Justin landing our team the other two points. The boys were on fire tonight, never letting up and bringing home the win.
I straddle the sleek black bike next to Quinton’s truck. My head is resting on my arms that are draped over the handlebars. I watch the door, patiently waiting to see his big form walking toward me. It takes all of twenty minutes before he does.
His hair is damp, sticking to his forehead. With every step toward me, his thick thighs strain in the form fitting jeans. He has his hands tucked into the pockets of his black leather jacket and those dark eyes locked on me.
“Never thought the image of you stretched out on my bike was something I’d want burned into my brain, Davidson.”
“No?” I ask, sitting up. “Maybe we need to burn a different image in that big brain of yours.”
Jax steps up to me, tucking my hair behind my ear. “That so?”
I nod just as he leans down to press a soft kiss to my lips. “It involves a lot less clothes,” I murmur.
A low growl leaves his throat. “Are you staying over tonight?”
Trapping my bottom lip between my teeth, I nod. “My bag is in Alicia’s car.”
“Put your helmet on.”
I grab the helmet from behind me and slide it down my head. Jax throws his bag into the back of Quinton’s truck. I feel his hand on the top of the helmet, likely clicking the button to turn it on. Once he slides his onto his head, I hear his rumbly voice in my ears.
“Band of choice tonight?”
“Mm. How about we listen to some Rain City Drive.”
He scrolls through his phone for a few seconds before music floods the speakers. Jax’s body comes down onto the seat in front of me. His big hands curl behind my knees, sliding my body forward until I am wrapped around the back of him.
“Hold on tight, doe eyes. I’ve got an after-game high to burn off.” The low timber of his voice sends chills up my spine.
I hug my chest to his back and press the insides of my thighs to the outside of his. My arms circle him, resting low on his abdomen. With no space between us, he lets out another low growl.
“You’re always so growly, Zayden,” I tease.
“You make me growly, Davidson.”
The bike takes off out of the parking lot. Just like every time I’ve been on the back of his bike, I let his body move mine with each tilt of his body. As soon as we hit the long stretch of straight road, he eases off the gas. His hand rests over one of mine and he idly strokes my skin with his thumb.
“I want to show you something.”
“Okay,” I reply.
Because if Jax wanted to show me the world, I’d let him. He pulls down the long driveway and parks his bike in the garage. Standing next to the bike, he removes his helmet and then starts to remove mine.
His fingers barely touch the skin under my chin as he unbuckles the helmet. Dark eyes lock with mine, darting back and forth. His nerves are palpable as he slides the helmet from my head. Jax cradles my face in his big hands. His thumbs brush each side of my jaw and his long fingers twine into my hair.
He presses a soft kiss to my lips. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
Lacing his fingers with mine, he tugs me to the side door that leads out of the house. The half-moon in the sky lights the path for us as we step onto a trail that looks to lead into the thickly wooded forest that surrounds the property.
“You’re not taking me out here to kill me, are you?” I joke, poking his ribs.
Jax chuckles softly, shaking his head. “No, pretty girl. I’m not taking you out here to kill you.”
“You said you wanted to show me something?” I ask, looking up at him.
His jaw muscle flexes. “Yeah, you up for a walk?”
I waggle my eyebrows, trying to ease his nerves. “I thought that’s what we were already doing.”
The corners of his lips curve up. “It’s probably a bit longer than you had anticipated. About a mile up this trail.”
“You’ve seen how many miles I’m capable of running, hockey jockey.” I give him a wink and start pulling him along the trail.
“Are you excited for tomorrow?” he asks.
I bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m a little nervous. I don’t know much about your family.”
“My father is the CEO and owner of Stonewolf Corporations,” he admits.
Nodding, I purse my lips to the side. I can feel his eyes on me. Masking my surprise at his confession, I ask, “Does he, uh, know who I am? Or I guess, who my father is?” I look up at him as his grip on my hand tightens.
“Yes.” He runs his free hand through my hair and lets out a long breath. “I told him and my mom that you didn’t know who I was. Because since you never said anything about my last name, I figured you likely didn’t know, or just simply didn’t care.”
“I didn’t know. I just knew that you were rich because,” I throw a thumb over my shoulder toward the house to finish the rest of my sentence.
His throat bobs. “I’m actually adopted.”
My mouth opens and closes. Looking down at the dirt beneath my feet, I let my eyebrows bunch together. “I guess I didn’t really expect that.”
“I was five when my parents were killed. And even though they had a little girl at home, my adoptive parents took me in without a second thought. My dad and mom were best friends with my biological parents. So, when they heard that mine had been killed, they showed up at my aunt’s house to pick me up. They were better suited to take me in than my aunt was.”
“I’m so sorry, Zayden,” I say sincerely. “How were they killed?”
Jax points his face up to the sky, watching the moon above the trees. “They were hunted and killed for sport.”
The shocked gasp that leaves my lips makes him look down. He gives me a pained smile and squeezes my hand with his.
“There’s this old legend,” he starts, guiding us further into the forest. “It started a hundred years ago or so. Where men, who transformed from two legs to four at the sight of the full moon, became more beast than man. Legend says that those beasts would kill in cold blood. Apparently, the wealthy would hunt these beasts. Except, the beasts never meant any harm to come to the innocent. Because at first, these men who turned beasts didn’t understand what was happening to them to begin with.”
I play his words over in my mind, and when I finally put together what he is saying, I ask, “Wolves?”
“Yes. So, where these men who suddenly turned into wolves were struggling to find their footing in a world where others did not become wolves, there were many men out there determined to hunt and kill every single one of them off.
They didn’t know how one became a wolf, just knew that it was a hit or miss on if their own children would become one as well. Until one day, one of these wolves supposedly scratched their own wife while in the middle of a transformation…”
I cut in, “Zayden, this doesn’t sound like a legend.” The words are said breathlessly. I can hear my heart pulsing in my ears.
Jax just continues, as if I hadn’t said anything. “His wife turned at the next full moon. She had been incredibly sick up until the moon rose high in the sky. Her body couldn’t complete the transformation without the pack alpha present. The alpha had to force her transformation, declaring her an omega instead of a beta to the pack.
Later that year, the couple became pregnant with their first child. A child who was born healthy and transformed into a wolf one moon after hitting puberty. They had three other children, two more boys and one girl. All of their children transformed after puberty. Their daughter was a beta, and that beta married an alpha.
And over the years, many alphas were born and had split to have their own packs. Mostly because many alpha’s have a hard time thriving under the control of another alpha.”
“Zayden,” I breathe out, pulling him to a stop.
He looks down at me. His dark eyes flick back and forth between mine. “One day, they had a son. Their son was orphaned. Their pack was given to his best friend, along with their son.”
“What are you saying?” I whisper.
I know exactly what he is saying. My brain and ears have registered every word that has left his mouth in the last ten minutes. He was orphaned. His parents were hunted and killed. Legend has it that the wealthy would hunt wolves. Wolf packs, alphas, betas, and omegas.
“I’m the orphaned son.”