Page 45 of Alpha Jax

It’s still important to me to build a stronger relationship with my brother while I’m here at the complex, but hooking up with Jax doesn’t pose a risk to that if Theo never knows. We’ll just be careful not to get caught. I can’t wipe the grin off of my face as I stride into the locker room, stripping down to take a shower.

“Everything okay?” Kyla asks, startling me from my dreamlike state.

I look over to see her positioned under one of the showerheads, rinsing off.

“Yeah,” I say as I walk over to turn on the shower beside her, trying and failing to rein in my enthusiasm. “Everything’s great.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

Jax

“What’s got you smiling like that?” Theo asks, elbowing me in the ribs from his seat beside me at our usual table in the dining hall.

Your sister, dude.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I chuckle.

“Aw c’mon, what is it?” Theo presses.

Probably the fact that I was just making out with your sister.

“It’s nothing,” I insist.

I try to go back to my lunch, but the guy won’t let it go. He narrows his eyes, studying me. “Did you finally find your mystery girl or something?”

Yep. Turns out it’s your smokin’ hot sister.

“Nah, that’s a lost cause,” I lie.

Reid flicks a suspicious glance in my direction from across the table as he swallows the bite he just took of his sandwich. “Oh yeah? You sure?” he asks, arching a brow.

I nod quickly, trying my best to remain nonchalant. “Gotta keep moving forward, right?”

I pick up my own sandwich, sinking my teeth into it. The lies I’ve been spewing to my friends lately are making my guts churn- yet at the same time, I know the juice is worth the squeeze when it comes to Quinn. I’ve tried to do the right thing by Theo and stay away from her, but I physicallycan’t. And as long as no one else finds out about us, nobody will get hurt… right?

“How’d it go sending that kid home?” Brock asks as he approaches and sets his plate on the table, sinking down onto the bench beside Reid and popping a pretzel twist into his mouth.

“Eh, it was fine,” he shrugs, picking at his sandwich. “He whined a lot, tried to shift the blame, but eventually he accepted his punishment.”

“Which was?” I ask, curiosity piqued.

Reid runs a hand along his dark close-cut beard. “Community service. I’ve got a couple other delinquents that have been working construction after-hours on a new residence for one of our pack’s families. Tony’s gets to join them every evening for the next month.” He takes a big bite of his sandwich, chewing.

I shake my head with a scowl. “You’re too lenient, bro.”

“I would’ve beat that guy’s face in,” Theo grumbles.

“And that,” Reid chuckles, pointing a finger at Theo, “is why you’re not Alpha yet. A physical punishment is quick, and shifters heal too fast for it to make a lasting impression. But you sentence someone to weeks of physical labor, they’re gonna think twice about what they did. Maybe even change their ways.”

“So wise,” I tease, making a face at Reid. He picks a piece of lettuce off of his sandwich and flicks it at me in response.

“You’ll see soon enough,” he chuckles, side-eyeing Brock. “Speaking of, how’s it been going for you, man?”

Brock officially took over as Alpha of the Riverton pack a couple of weeks ago, at the last full moon. Us shifters tend to plan everything around the moon’s cycle- our packs get together to run every full moon and all of our pack ceremonies take place on full moons. There’s also that whole mate bond thing that makes the full moon important- the fated mate bond can only be recognized if the two wolves are within proximity of one another under the full moon, and a chosen mate bond can only be sealed under a full moon. So basically, if you’re a wolf shifter, your life fucking revolves around the cycle of the moon.

“Good,” Brock replies simply, digging into his lunch. He’s always been a man of few words, and I swear he only gets broodier as time goes on.

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