Page 101 of Alpha Jax

Theo and I exchange side-eyed glances. As uncomfortable as this whole thing is, Reid has a point. Before we found our mates, we weren’t exactly gentlemen.

“That ship’s already sailed, hasn’t it?” Brock asks, arching a brow. “Unless you plan on regaling us with hookup stories about your mates…”

“No,” Theo and I both snap in unison.

He grins smugly, like he knew that’d be our reaction. “Thank god.”

“I don’t think Theo could take any more,” Gray snorts, still amused by how uncomfortable Theo is with the whole Quinn and me thing.

Brock narrows his eyes, looking from Theo to me again. “Wait a second, if Quinn was the mystery girl, does that mean she was… was she screaming-through-the-door girl, too?”

Theo groans and drops his head onto the table with a thud. The other guys crack up again and I wonder if my face is as red as it feels. It’s so hot that it feels like it’s on fire.

“Alright, alright,” Gray chuckles, waving a hand. “Let’s give these guys a break. We don’t want them beating each other’s faces in again.”

Theo picks his head back up. “That was just him,” he says, tossing a thumb in my direction. A wicked smirk creeps across his lips. “My face was just fine.”

“Only because I let you,” I remind him, pointing my beer bottle his way and arching a brow.

We all laugh, and fuck it feels good. There was a time when I wasn’t sure if Theo and I would ever come out of this thing on the other side, and now look at us- practically brothers.

Kelly delivers another round as the conversation shifts to what’s really weighing on our minds- the upcoming battle in Denver. It sounds like Gray, Theo, and I will be coordinating most of the logistics, as Brock and Reid will likely be pulled away often to handle their responsibilities to their packs as alphas. They don’t have Lunas yet like Gray does; while he’s focused on the security squad, Fallon will tend to their pack’s business. As for Theo and me, we haven’t taken the position of alpha from our fathers yet, so we’ve got nothing but time.

“We’ll need to narrow down the timeline to a day or two, so we aren’t away for long,” Reid murmurs to himself before looking up at the rest of us. “I’ll leave my beta in charge, but I know my pack will be antsy while I’m away.”

“Same here,” Gray agrees. “Especially since I’ll be leaving to fight the shadow pack. It’s sure to open some old wounds within my own pack.”

I nod grimly. Gray’s pack is the only one in our alliance that has firsthand experience with the shadow pack- they were nearly decimated by them years ago. Gray narrowly escaped with his life and a small fraction of his pack, but his parents and the rest weren’t so lucky. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I know it still weighs on him.

“Is Fallon going to stay back with them?” I ask, peeling at the label on my empty beer bottle.

“Yeah right,” Gray scoffs. “She wouldn’t miss a chance to aid in the fight. Heart of a warrior.” There’s a little bit of tension in his tone, but it’s far outweighed by the pride he has for his mate.

He polishes off the rest of his beer, then turns the question back on me. “What about you? You gonna let Quinn join the fight in Denver?”

“I don’tletQuinn do anything,” I laugh. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the girl does whatever the hell she wants.”

“That’s the truth,” Theo snickers. “You’ve got your hands full.”

Gray smiles fondly. “Don’t we all?”

The three of us share a look of understanding, while Brock and Reid exchange pained glances within one another across the table. I feel for them- they’re both older than we are and have been waiting for their mates longer than we have. It must be hard for them to watch us find our mates while they’re still searching.

“Don’t worry guys,” I tease, shoving my empty beer bottle to the center of the table with the others. “Your mates will come along to torture you soon enough.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Quinn

“I’ll get it!” I call out in response to the knock on the front door of the packhouse.

It may seem strange for me to be answering the door of the packhouse in Westfield, but this place already feels like a second home to me thanks to Jax’s family. That, and I already know who’s waiting on the other side of the door. I grin as I pull it open and am met with Brooke’s shining smile, Theo’s classic smirk, and Dad’s stiff, inscrutable expression.

“Hey, you guys made it!” I chirp, waving them inside.

It has been just shy of two weeks since the full moon confirmed Jax and me as mates, and his mom wasn’t kidding about wanting to have my family over for dinner soon. With the battle in Denver drawing closer, there’s no time like the present. The danger of the fight and the uncertainty of the outcome has been weighing on us all over the past couple weeks.

“Nice place,” Brooke comments as she slides her black leather jacket off of her shoulders, looking around the interior of the packhouse.

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