Page 29 of Alpha Jax

I wake up in a cold sweat, panting as my eyes adjust to the darkness of my room. All the talk lately about the shadow pack and strategizing how to align our defenses with Denver has been seeping into my nightmares, robbing me of sleep. I’m lucky in that I don’t have any personal experience with the shadow pack thus far, but in my nightmares Alpha Xavier is this larger-than-life villain, his followers these soulless, twisted monsters who kill without remorse. Then again, from what I’ve heard about the shadow pack, the version of them in my dreams may not be too far off.

I’m wide awake, my heart still racing from the nightmare that so rudely interrupted my sleep. Tossing the sheets off of my body, I climb out of bed, crossing my room to retrieve a bottle of water out of my mini fridge. I twist off the cap, downing the whole thing in a few gulps, tossing the bottle into the wastebasket.

There’s a sliver of moonlight coming in through my curtains, and I stride over to the window to adjust them and pull them tighter together. As I do, though, something out on the practice field catches my eye. I pull one of the curtains back a few inches and once my eyes adjust to the pale moonlight, I suddenly realize that there’s a person out there- someone’s lying on the ground, right in the middle of the practice field.

Am I hallucinating?I pinch myself just to make sure I’m really awake, then look out my window again, squinting.

Yep, it’s definitely a person. But what the hell is someone doing out on the practice field in the middle of the night? Are they sick? Lost? Sleepwalking?

I’m not sure if my curiosity gets the best of me or if I feel some sort of obligation to go check it out since I’m a squad leader, but I throw on a t-shirt and shorts and decide to head out there to investigate.

The corridor of the squad dorms is dark and eerily silent, and I do my best to move quietly down it and out to the big double-doors, peering through the glass at the figure on the ground before pushing one open. Whoever’s out here doesn’t even look my way as I step out onto the field and start making my way over. As I draw closer, I can make out a silhouette through the dark- it’s a female with dark hair. I stop when I’m beside her, peering down.

What the…

“Quinn?” I stare down at her curiously, blinking as her eyes meet mine. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

A smile creeps across her beautiful face, hair pooled around her head in the grass like glossy strands of ribbon. She’s a vision in the moonlight, effortlessly gorgeous, as always. “Can’t sleep either?”

“I…” suddenly can’t think straight. My voice trails off as I just stare at her, taking in the sight of her tiny grey pajama shorts and tank top. She’s definitely not wearing a bra underneath- her nipples are pebbled into stiff peaks, pressing against the thin fabric of her top. My blood rushes to my dick. What can I say? I’m a boob man, and Quinn’s are…*chef’s kiss*

Perfection.

Quinn’s looking at me expectantly, and I suddenly remember she asked me a question. I blow out a breath, muttering “no”.

She heaves a sigh, looking past me, up at the sky. “Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I watch the stars for a while.”

I should follow her cue and look anywhere else, but I can’t take my eyes off of her. I just keep watching her, and a few moments later, her gaze flickers back to mine.

“You can join me, if you want.” Her lips tip up into a mischievous little smile.

I shouldn’t. I should tell her to get back inside, back to her room. I should get back inside and back to mine. I don’t, though, because I don’t think rationally where this girl is concerned. Instead, I blow out a breath, crouching down beside Quinn. “Only for a minute.”

She turns to look my way, a satisfied smirk on her face. She doesn’t say anything, though- just looks back up to the sky as I settle in beside her and get comfortable. I stretch out to lay on my back, pulling an arm up behind me and resting my head on a hand.

The stars out here are something to see. We don’t have the light pollution that big cities have- just an endless stretch of clear, dark sky. I’ve lived here for years, but I can’t remember the last time I actually looked up.

“See the big dipper?” Quinn asks, pointing a finger up at the sky.

I follow it, gazing in the general direction that she’s pointing and seeking the familiar constellation. I find it after a few seconds, smiling in recognition. “Yeah, I see it.”

“And the little dipper?” She points the same finger in the opposite direction.

This one takes me a little bit longer to find, but I finally do. “Yeah,” I breathe. “I do.”

Quinn points straight up. “And the little wolf?”

I turn to peer at her beside me, furrowing my brow. “Thelittle wolf?”

“Yeah,” she smiles, turning to me. She points again, glancing up. “Don’t you see it?”

I follow where she’s pointing, squinting- then look back at her. “I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think there’s a constellation called the little wolf.”

Quinn turns to me, rolling her eyes. “Use a little imagination, Jaxon. Look…” she points up again, and once again, I look. “See those two bright stars, side by side? Those are the points of the ears. And then you can see the eyes underneath, and the nose…”

As she describes it, I can actually start to make out the shape of a little wolf, just like she said.

“Do you see it?” Quinn asks.

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