Page 76 of Alpha Jax

That gets my attention.I shift in my chair to face him, about to ask him to go on when Gray pushes open the door to the conference room.

“Good, you’re already here,” he barks when he sees Theo and I, stepping inside and striding around to his usual seat. “We’ll make this quick.”

Brock and Reid follow Gray in, closing the door behind them and finding their way to their chairs. Our squad leader meetings are typically in the mornings, but this one was called by Gray today after he got some news from the alpha of the Denver pack. We’ve been working with Denver for the past few months to track the shadow pack by way of trading intel, forming an unofficial alliance.

“I got a call today from Alpha Cole,” Gray says, leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on the table. He steeples his fingers, looking around the table at each of us. “They are now certain that the shadow pack is targeting them for an attack. He’s requested our aid in defending his territory.”

Oh shit.I’ve been so self-involved lately that I haven’t even given the shadow pack a second thought since all of the hype about Brooke’s program catching their movement a few weeks ago. And even then, I was distracted- Quinn had just showed up at the complex and sent my entire world into a tailspin.

“Isn’t this a discussion for the council?” Reid asks, all business as usual.

Gray gives a little shake of his head. “Not yet. The squad is in charge of security, so we need to bring a recommendation to the council for a vote.”

Brock grunts, shifting in his seat. “And what’s the recommendation?”

“You all know where I stand on this,” Gray breathes. “I want to know where each of your heads are at.”

“I’m with you,” Theo says quickly, always the first to back up Gray. “I’ll gladly go to Denver and help them fight. If we win, then the shadow pack never makes it here, which is the ideal fucking scenario.”

Theo never used to be such a joiner before he started seeing Brooke- quite the opposite, actually. He was kind of a selfish prick for a while there and it was like pulling teeth to get him to care about doing his part to lead the squad. Since the mate bond snapped in, though, he’s involved himself a whole lot more in security measures for the six-pack. Probably because he has something to lose now, someone to keep safe at all costs.

Gray gives Theo a little nod, no doubt appreciating his show of support. Then his eyes shift to me. “Jax?”

Damnit, I haven’t had enough time to consider all of the angles here. I blow out a breath, clasping my hands together and leaning forward. “That’s why we’re training up the reserve squad, right? In case our squad has to go to Denver to fight?”

“That was the plan,” Reid quips. “Will they be ready, though? They haven’t even had a month of training…”

“We wouldn’t be sending them to Denver,” Gray interrupts. “Their purpose is to maintain security here while the rest of us are there. Even with minimal training, they should be able to manage that.”

“I say we do it,” Brock murmurs, his voice gravelly. He’s got his chair leaned back on two legs with his hands folded over his abdomen. “The fight with the shadow pack has always been an inevitability, that’s why we formed the six-pack in the first place. Better to not have it be on our home turf.”

A pause settles between the five of us as we mull it over, and after a few long moments, Gray looks to Reid. “What are your thoughts?”

The two of them have always had an understanding since they’ve been Alphas of their own packs for several years. Reid’s opinion carries a lot of weight with Gray, and vice versa.

Reid pinches his chin between a knuckle and his thumb, contemplating. “We need the numbers. We’re stronger together than we are apart.”

Gray’s Adams apple bobs as he swallows hard, looking around at the rest of us. “So we’re all in agreement?”

We all give grunts and nods in affirmation.

“Alright,” he barks, slapping the tabletop with his palm as he rises to stand. “We’ll take it to the council, then.”

I push back my chair, slowly rising to my feet as the other guys start to do the same.

“Jax, Theo,” Gray adds, and we both look to him expectantly. “I know you aren’t part of the council yet, but we could use your support at the meeting.”

“Sure thing,” Theo replies gruffly, and I just give Gray another nod.

Brock, Reid, and Gray start to head out of the room, and I turn to Theo beside me before he can do the same, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Hey man, you sure everything’s okay? What’s going on with Quinn?”

Reid hears me, darting me a glance on his way out the door. I wonder if he thinks I’m about to spill the beans to Theo- little does he know, Quinn already went with option B and pulled the plug.

Theo heaves a sigh, turning to sit on the edge of the table and bringing a hand to his head. “I don’t even know, dude. She won’t tell me anything.”

I forget that I’m supposed to act aloof and detached- I haven’t seen Quinn all day, and the way we left things last night is still eating away at me. “Is she okay?” I blurt, resting my hands on the tabletop and looking over at him.

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