Page 28 of Alpha Jax

‘Stop, that fucking hurts!’I shout through the mind link, but it’s like Brooke’s human side isn’t home right now, just that tan wolf with empty eyes and murder on the brain. Her teeth move to sink into my shoulder next, pulling back, trying to tear flesh from bone as I scream.

“Brooke, that’s enough!” I hear Theo call out- he sounds close, but I can’t discern where his voice is coming from. I’m still thrashing, trying to wriggle free, but Brooke’s got a hold on my shoulder, her jaws locked.

Suddenly there are arms around me, arms around Brooke- Theo’s trying to pull her wolf off of mine, while Jax has a hold around my waist. It only makes it worse, because Brooke doesn’t let go- the guys are trying to tear us apart but their efforts are literally tearing my skin off. I hear a shrill, high-pitched whine, then realize that it’s me making the sound, struggling against both Brooke and Jax.

“Stop!” Theo barks, and he puts so much alpha command behind his voice that my own body goes limp in Jax’s arms. But it works- Brooke releases her hold on me, falling back against Theo as he commands, “Shift.”

Even if it was only meant for Brooke, the alpha command behind his voice has my wolf retreating immediately, my shift painful as hell given the extent of my injuries. Suddenly I’m in human form again, clutching at the torn flesh of my neck and shoulder, hot, sticky blood spilling through my fingers. I let out a whine that sounds more wolf that human, gritting my teeth as pain slices through me.

Hands. I feel hands on me, suddenly realizing that Jax has pulled me onto his lap and is cradling me like I’m precious, peering down at me with those blue-grey eyes full of concern. “Are you okay? Talk to me, Quinn.”

The pain is… a lot. I can barely think right now, let alone speak. It takes me a moment to even register that I’m naked and bleeding in Jax’s lap. I just stare back at him, wide eyed, trying my best to fight through the pain.

Pain is temporary- that’s what my mom used to always say. As shifters, we heal quickly, so pain is fleeting. In that moment, I hear her voice in my head, repeating ‘pain is temporary’ over and over again. I focus in on it, steadying my breathing, closing my eyes. Putting my faith in the process, knowing that the injured muscle and skin is probably already knitting itself back together, healing itself.

Pain is temporary. I was just a kid when my mom died, and I tried to tell myself that at the time. I couldn’t understand why the pain in my heart wasn’t rapidly fading like the pain of a physical injury. I couldn’t comprehend how a broken bone could heal in a matter of hours, but a broken heart seemed to last forever.

I feel Jax’s arms move from around my body and my eyes flutter back open to see him pulling his shirt off overhead. He wads it up in his hands, pressing the fabric to my wounded neck and shoulder to stifle the bleed and fanning the rest of the fabric over my exposed breasts to cover them. I’m not sure whether it’s the pressure slowing the bleed or the feeling of Jax’s warm, bare chest against my body, but I suddenly feel calmer, able to breathe again. I press a palm to his chest, lifting my head to gaze into his eyes.

I’m not sure if it’s the blood loss, but the world around us seems to fade away. A long moment stretches between Jax and me- our faces are inches apart, our gazes locked, our breathing shallow. His lips part slightly, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip. My eyes track the movement, and I’m overwhelmed with the urge to lean forward and steal a kiss. His own eyes travel down to my lips, like he’s thinking the same thing…

“Is she okay?” Theo demands, his voice ragged.

The world crashes back in. I turn my head to glance over at Theo, who has a sobbing Brooke cradled in his arms. The other recruits on the practice field have circled around us, curious as to what’s going on.

Jax jerks his head up, looking over at Theo as I feel his body stiffen. I wince as he lifts his wadded up t-shirt from where he’s pressed it against my wounds, craning his neck to survey the damage. “Pretty sure it’s just soft tissue,” he says, his eyes flickering to mine again before he looks back up at Theo. “It’s already healing.”

“Take her to the infirmary just in case.”

“I’m fine,” I grind out, starting to come back down to reality. I wriggle out of Jax’s arms and, with great effort, rise to stand. I’m a little woozy, but Jax comes to the rescue, popping up beside me and grabbing my elbow to steady me. “I’m fine,” I repeat, turning to look into his eyes.

He releases my arm, walking away, and my heart sinks. But then he’s back a moment later with my clothes in his hands, holding them out to me. I take them gratefully as Jax shouts to the other recruits to get back to work, the crowd around us immediately dispersing. I start to get dressed, slipping on my underwear and shorts, and in the process realize that I’ve got another battle wound on my upper thigh. Given the condition of my neck and shoulder, I decide to forgo the sports bra and just slip my t-shirt on, turning back to Theo and Brooke.

“Quinn, I’m so sorry,” she croaks, her eyes filled with tears.

I hold up a hand. “Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’m fine, see?” I move my arm around, demonstrating. Not gonna lie, it still hurts, but I don’t show her that. She’s obviously still beating herself up over what her crazy ass wolf did to mine. I know Theo has been working with her for weeks to gain better control of her wolf, but there’s clearly still work that needs to be done.

“I’d feel better if you went to the infirmary,” Theo grumbles, still holding tight to Brooke, rubbing her back and soothing her.

I blow out a breath, rolling my eyes. “If that’s what you really want, I’ll go.”

“I’ll take her,” Jax pipes up, coming up beside me and offering me my shoes. This guy is suddenly really fucking helpful.

Theo gives a nod in agreement, and I just go along with it. I slip my shoes on and walk with Jax into the complex, following him down the winding corridors to the infirmary. Once inside, Jax lingers as a squad member named Jessie checks me out and cleans my wounds. By the time she’s finished, they’re basically healed- they just look like deep scrapes. In another hour, they’ll be completely gone, like they weren’t even there.

Jessie walks away to dispose of the bloody gauze and towels, and I pull my t-shirt back on, rising to my feet from the bench. Jax is just standing there, staring at me, his expression unreadable. Our eyes meet and he gently sweeps his fingertips across the back of my hand.

“Quinn…” he murmurs, his voice low.

“Jaxon.” My own voice is soft, breathy.

And there it is again. That moment between us, that tension. That feeling that this could be so much more than we’re allowing it to be.

I hear Jessie’s footsteps approaching and Jax takes a step back, averting his gaze. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he mutters. Then he abruptly turns around and leaves me standing there, blinking, wondering what the hell is going on between us. Wondering which one of us is going to break first.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jax

---