38. Thirty-Eight
THIRTY-EIGHT
H arley
I follow Jax and Keeley into the backyard. The sun is starting to set, making the air cool and crisp with the lack of warmth. I told Jax that I wanted to see him shift and how curious I was about the concept of forcing an omega to shift into their wolf form. When he told me that Keeley agreed to let me watch, I almost didn’t believe him.
“Stay right here,” he says, dropping a kiss to the top of my head.
I wrap the blanket around my shoulders and move my gaze to the tree line. Tonight they’ll run through these trees while the moon is high in the sky. The concept is the most fascinating thing. Once they shift tonight, there’s no shifting back until the sun breaks over the horizon.
I’m aware of them shedding their clothes before moving out into the grass. Jax’s briefs cling to his ass, making my mouth go dry at the sight of him. He continues to walk past where Keeley stops.
“Don’t look at me after you shift,” she tells him.
“You are really going to have to move past this shit, Keeley,” Jax grumbles.
“Sorry that I’m not exactly keen on my older brother seeing me naked,” she snaps bitterly.
“I’m not looking at your nakedness, you little shit.”
“Whatever,” she mutters, “Just do it already.”
I watch as Jax drops his briefs, not looking at Keeley as she strips out of her bra and underwear. With his back to me and Keeley, he rolls his shoulders back while he tilts his head to the sky. His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath, and then he shifts.
It happens so fast. If I had blinked, I would’ve missed it. His body blurs for half a second before his skin becomes thick dark fur. He drops forward onto his two front paws. He shakes his coat out, turning back to face Keeley after he’s done.
Keeley stands with her arms crossed over her chest. Her long red hair flows down her back, and despite her discomfort, it’s hard not to admire how incredibly gorgeous her silhouette alone is. Jax circles her slowly, stopping behind her to nudge her legs apart with his snout and then moving in front of her to lift her chin.
He moves to her side and with an ear-splitting howl, Keeley shifts. When her paws touch down, she runs excited circles around Jax. Her soft yips bring a smile to my lips as I admire her orange and white fur. Despite having all the qualities of a wolf, her coloring reminds me of a fox.
She pads back to the door, whipping me with her tail on the way by. I turn my head, watching as Ross opens the patio door to let her back inside. I notice how he subtly drags his hand across her side as she moves past him into the house.
Jax moves in my peripheral vision, bending down to collect his and Keeley’s clothes from the patio. Bringing my gaze back to him, I find him pulling his jeans up his muscular thighs. He leaves the button open and zipper down as he stalks toward me.
“Let’s get you back inside before you get too cold.”
“I’m not the one half-dressed,” I tease when he drapes his arm over my shoulder.
I lean into him, loving the heat that radiates from his body. He tucks me into his side, holding his shirt and all of Keeley’s clothes in his fist. I pull the door open for him and let him guide me down the hall toward the sitting room.
He places Keeley’s clothes on the back of the couch and pulls his shirt over his head. Just as he had said she would, Keeley is stretched out in front of the fire. Her head rests on her front paws, ears twitching as the garage door opens and closes from the kitchen.
Jax kneels down in front of her. Placing a hand on her head, he says, “You did great, Kee. Just relax until it’s time to chase that moon.”
She huffs a breath, her big emerald eyes looking up at him with a hint of annoyance over his praise. With a small smile, I turn back toward the hallway. I make my way down the hall and into the kitchen.
“Hey, Cee,” Jace calls out to Alicia from the kitchen table. “Can I get some more sauce?”
“Yeah, no problem,” she says, grabbing the pot of white sauce and carrying it to the table.
Justin sits at the end of the table, staring down at the plate in front of him with pinched brows. Jace sits to his left, and Declan to the left of Jace. Across the table, Quinton and Ross are piling their plates high with pasta.
I take a seat next to Ross, handing my plate to him. “Maybe like a quarter of what you’ve put on your plate there, my man.”
“Yeah,” he chuckles softly. “I’m not convinced you couldn’t out eat all of us if you put your mind to it. It’s always the skinny girls you have to watch out for.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Trip?” Alicia demands, propping her hand on her hip.
“I’ve seen you and Keeley eat,” he replies with a shrug.
“We aren’t normal girls, Ross. We’re literal wolves. You do realize that?”
“I don’t know. I think you’d eat that much even if you weren’t capable of burning all the calories off with your insane metabolism,” Quinton says. “I took this one girl out on a date, and she ate double what I did.”
“What’s your point?” Alicia snaps.
Quinton’s eyes go wide. “Just that, girls are a different kind of animal. They are capable of surprising us mere mortal men?—”
“You’re not a mere mortal, Quin,” Ross mutters under his breath.
“—us…men?” Quinton squeaks.
Alicia places her palms on the table. “If I want to eat more than all of you idiots in one given sitting, I’ll do it and dare you to say something. Don’t fuck with me Quinton. Have you not heard the saying, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you?’”
“I…uh…yes?”
“Good,” Alicia hisses through a menacing smile. “Now eat up, boys. I’d really like this to be an epic moon.”
Alicia walks back to the kitchen and I shake with silent laughter. She has everyone but Jax by the balls in this pack. It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.
“Dude, why the fuck are you staring at that plate like Mike Wazowski is about to puke his microphone out of the center of it?” Jace demands, glaring at Justin.
“Because she never fucking feeds me,” he hisses. “Then all of a sudden, she puts a plate in front of me without a word? She probably fucking poisoned it or some shit.”
“Or,” I say, “and hear me out, maybe she’s moved on.”
“Moved…on?” he mumbles. “What do you mean by that?”
I lift my brows, taking my plate from Ross after he covers the pasta in alfredo sauce. “What do you think that means?”
“Harley,” Ross warns quietly.
“No, he needs to get over this shit. She is,” I snap at him. “She’s dating someone. He’s been really good for her. So, I don’t know, maybe instead of wallowing in self-pity and constantly glaring at her from across the room, you could do exactly what she’s doing. Move on.”
“Harsh,” Declan breathes.
“True though,” Jace mumbles. “Ouch!”
“I’ll kick you again if you don’t shut up,” Justin growls.
“Double harsh,” Quinton says.
“I’m gonna eat in the living room,” Ross mumbles. “Maybe Keeley would like some garlic bread or something.”
Alicia sits down next to me, focusing all her attention on her own plate. Her cheeks are slightly flushed, and the firm set of her shoulders has me seconds away from throttling Justin. Reaching over beneath the table, I squeeze her knee gently. Her eyes meet mine and the glassy look makes it hard not to wrap her in my arms.
“Alright, so who wants to hear about how I got Jax to agree to dress up as Celine Dion for Halloween?” I ask, attempting to ease the tension in the room.
“Nice try, Davidson,” Jax murmurs, sitting at the head of the table and grabbing a plate of his own.
“Hannah Montana?” I push.
“Not a chance.”
“Madonna?”
“Oh, definitely Madonna,” Quinton says excitedly. “You would rock the spiral bra.”
“Quinton,” Jax bites out. “Shut. Up.”
“Shania Twain?” I ask.
“Ooo! Can we get you to sing Man! I Feel Like A Woman! That would be the best Halloween ever,” Quinton says enthusiastically.
“Quinton, you’re quickly reaching the top of my list for favorite pack member,” I tell him, patting his forearm.
He puffs out his chest. “Really? What place am I in?”
“Third,” Alicia and Jax both grumble in unison.
“I’ll take it!”