Page 39 of Alpha Jax

When Kyla’s eyes blink open again, they’re shiny with tears. “I just don’t get it. I thought we were happy…” her voice breaks and she draws a deep breath.

This sucks. I slept like shit beside Kyla last night with the knowledge that when morning came, I’d have to break her heart. As much as I didn’t want to be the one to deliver the news, it was the right thing to do- I couldn’t let her hear it from someone else, and I had to set the record straight before Tony had a chance to try to talk his way out of this one.

Which of course he did; the guy is a total snake. Kyla’s phone was filled with text messages from Tony this morning, a pathetic attempt to spin his own version of the events of last night. He’s blaming me, saying thatIcame ontohim. As if that would happen in any version of reality.

I had this irrational fear that Kyla would believe Tony over me, but as of right now, it seems like she’s taking my word for what happened. Of course, Jax, Theo, and Reid were there and will back me up if she has any doubts. And speaking of, I woke up this morning to some texts of my own from my brother- he’s asked me to meet with squad leadership this morning to set the record straight as to last night’s incident.Totally dreading that.

A tear slips down Kyla’s freckled cheek and it breaks my fucking heart. As much as it sucks for me to be the bearer of bad news this morning, this whole ordeal sucks for her more than anyone. She was invested in her relationship with Tony; she trusted him. I know all too well how shitty it feels to have someone take a wrecking ball to that trust.

I swallow hard, searching my mind for the right thing to say in this situation… but I’m coming up blank. There’s no ‘right’ thing to say, no magic formula to take Kyla’s pain away. So, I settle for a lame and unhelpful “I’m so sorry”.

“Don’t apologize,” she chokes, shaking her head. As she does, strands of her gold hair stick to the wetness of her tear-stained cheeks. “I’m glad you told me, and I’m glad I know what kind of guy he is, I just… I have really shitty luck when it comes to guys, you know that?” she laughs as more tears slip down her cheeks. “My boyfriend before Tony left me for someone else, and now Tony…” her voice trails off as she wipes at her cheeks with a sleeve. “Is there somethingwrongwith me? Will I ever be good enough?”

I lean forward, throwing my arms around Kyla’s slight frame and hugging her tight. “The problem isn’t you, Ky, it’s the shitty ass guys you’ve been involved with.” I sigh, pressing my cheek to her hair. “You can’t think that way and you can’t blame yourself. You’re amazing and the right guy is gonna see that someday.”

Even as I say the words, I’m sure they’re falling on deaf ears. I had the same thoughts after I caught Clay cheating- I fucking blamed myself, thought that it was some sort of shortcoming of mine that made him cheat. It took me a while to realize that the fucker basically gaslighted me into thinking that way and crawl out of the hole it put me in.

“Listen,” I coo, finally relinquishing my grip on Kyla and leaning back to look her in the eye again. “I’ve gotta go meet with the squad leaders about this whole thing…”

Kyla sniffles, wiping at her cheeks again. “I wanna come with you.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

She nods, drawing a deep breath. “I need to hear what they have to say.”

Part of me wonders if she just wants to verify my story’s accuracy, but I try to shove that thought out of my mind as quickly as it surfaces. My friend is hurting, and maybe this will help provide some clarification or closure for her.

“Sure,” I breathe, taking her hand and giving it a little squeeze. “Whatever you need.”

The two of us split up to shower and get ready for the day, and Kyla comes back to my room about an hour later so the two of us can walk over to meet with the alphas. She doesn’t say a word as we walk through the corridors of the complex, and I’m at a loss for words, too. For the first time since I’ve known Kyla, being around her doesn’t feel comfortable- it’s fuckingawkward. I hate Tony for doing this to our friendship.

I’m not exactly sure where the conference room is located, but I know I’ve found it once we get closer and I hear the muffled sound of raised voices arguing back and forth. As I approach and knock softly on the closed door, the voices inside immediately hush. Moments later, the door is being pulled open by Jax and five pairs of eyes are on me.

The other four squad leaders- Gray, Theo, Brock, and Reid- are seated around the conference table in the center of the room. Theo rises to his feet when he sees me, his expression a mix of both anger and concern. “How are you doing, Q?”

“I’m fine,” I blurt. I look nervously from Theo to the other alphas seated at the table, then to Jax beside me, still holding onto the door. He must be wearing cologne or something because he smells fucking delicious. I move forward into the room, stepping aside to allow Kyla entry and gesturing to her. “I, uh… this is my friend Kyla, she wanted to come with me. She’s Tony’s girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Kyla grumbles, walking in and folding her arms across her chest indignantly.

Jax closes the door behind her, gesturing for the two of us to take seats at the conference table-and once we do, Jax settles into the empty seat beside me. I’ve been so wrapped up in the Tony/Kyla drama this morning that I haven’t been able to give much thought to what went down between Jax and me last night or what it means. Now that he’s sitting next to me, it’s all flooding back.

I can still feel the heat of his lips on mine, the possessive grip of his hands on my body. I knew it was wrong, but it felt so damn right; our chemistry is fucking explosive. It was just a kiss, but it might’ve gone further if we weren’t interrupted- or if either of us had the balls to do something about this attraction we have for one another. It’s only a matter of time, right? I know I sure as hell can’t hold out forever…

“We’re just wanting to get to the bottom of what happened last night,” Gray begins, folding his hands on the table in front of him. “So it can be dealt with appropriately.”

“Sure,” I breathe, sweeping my long hair over a shoulder. “What do you guys wanna know?”

Reid clears his throat, leaning forward. “I spoke with Tony again this morning. He’s…” Reid winces a little, like he doesn’t want to go on. “He’s claiming that you came onto him, he turned you down, and you made a scene and flipped it around on him because you were embarrassed.”

Jax pounds a fist on the table, startling me. “That’s a load of bullshit,” he spits, shaking his head. “I was there, I saw Quinn trying to fight him off…”

“I know,” Reid says, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m just repeating what he told me.” He looks to me again, sighing. “So Quinn, I have to ask…”

“No you don’t,” Theo interrupts, glaring at Reid. He points a finger at him. “Don’t you dare fucking ask her that when you know it isn’t true.”

The way that Theo and Jax are defending me is cute and all, but I’m a grown ass woman and I can speak for myself.

“It’s not true,” I interrupt, and everyone’s attention returns to me. I draw a deep breath, continuing. “He hit on me, I said no, he tried to force me, and then Jax pulled him off. That’s all there is to it.”

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