Page 77 of Alpha Jax

“No,” he growls, and my stomach drops. “All I know is she must’ve been seeing some guy, and he fucking broke her heart.”

I slowly arch a brow, leaning forward on my palms. “Did she say who?”

Of course she didn’t, or his fist would already be buried in my face.

“No,” Theo grits out. “But when I find out, he’s a dead man.”

I swallow hard, my gaze drifting to the floor. If I look at Theo right now, I’ll give myself away. Part of me wants to tell him everything- the guilt has been gnawing at me for long enough. When Theo started seeing Brooke, he trusted me enough to confide in me. If only I could’ve done the same here- told him in the beginning, confided in him. Maybe things could’ve been different. Now, too much has happened, and I deserve the beating I’m sure he’ll deliver.

Judging by the fire in Theo’s eyes, this isn’t the right time or place to come clean. That, and Quinn was so adamantly against telling him when I brought it up last night, it’d feel like a betrayal to her if I did. In that moment I realize that there’s no getting out of it, though- I’m going to have to tell him at some point.

He scrubs a hand over his face, grumbling. “I just hate seeing her so fucking upset, man.”

His words set off something in me, some sort of protective instinct. Hearing that Quinn’s in pain makes my chest feel like it’s being ripped open- all I want to do is go to her and console her and make things better somehow. My wolf’s leading the charge, pushing to the surface, imploring me to make this right.

Theo pushes off the table, shoving his chair in its place and clapping me on the back. “I’m gonna go check on her. I’ll catch ya later.”

“Uh, yeah,” I stammer, risking eye contact with him again. I offer him a fist-bump. “Hope things get better.”

That was real fucking lame, but I don’t know what the hell to say, short of ‘I hopeIcan make it better’. Again, dead giveaway.

“Yeah,” he scoffs, turning away and striding out the door.

A small seed of hope blooms in my chest. If Quinn’s hurting, that must mean that we were more than a casual fling to her, too. Maybe she feels the same way I do- that this thing between us is rare and real and that we should just fucking go for it. If she does, maybe there’s a chance we can make this work after all.

I was trying to give her space, respect her boundaries- but fuck that. I’m done holding back, and I’m not gonna let her slip through my fingers for a second time. Like Quinn so eloquently said, an alpha takes what he wants. I know what I want; I’m gonna get my girl back.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Jax

It has now been two full days since I’ve seen Quinn, and every moment has been agony. If I was an addict before and she was my drug of choice, I’m now fighting through withdrawals in the worst way. And I’d do just about anything for one more hit.

Fallon, Casey, Adrian, and Logan have been doing a great job with the reserve squad recruits and they have everything well in hand as far as training goes. I’ve basically turned it over to them for the past two days both to figure out my own shit and in an effort to give Quinn some space. The first day was pretty pathetic- I did a lot of wallowing in my own damn self-pity. Today, though, has been all about planning and plotting. Today’s the day I get Quinn back.

At least that’s what I’m hoping- this could all go horribly wrong and I could make a goddamn fool of myself. If that’s the case, at least I tried. I can always go back to wallowing.

I’ve put a lot of thought into what I’m going to say to her because I feel like I’ve only got one shot at this- one chance to stick the landing. I’m not going to hold back. I’m going to tell her how I’ve been falling for her since the first time we met. I’m going to tell her how the bargain we struck was never going to be enough and the rules we set were always meant to be broken, because I want everything with her. I’m going to tell her that she’s the only woman for me, and I’ll go to the ends of the earth to prove it to her if I have to. I don’t care about the consequences anymore; I just wanther.

I choose my moment carefully. I wait until just before lights-out, when the squad dorms are starting to quiet down for the night. Even as I make my way to Quinn’s room, I rehearse in my head what I’m going to say to her. I admittedly don’t have a whole lot of experience when it comes to romantic gestures, but I’ve seen enough movies. This is it- the big movie moment where everything falls together for the main couple and they live happily ever after.I hope.

My heart is pounding in my chest as I raise my fist to knock on her door. I rap my knuckles against the wood, taking a deep pull of air into my lungs, trying my best to remain calm and focused even though I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin right now. I’ve never felt quite like this before- my anxiety is through the roof, my face is burning hot, and I can feel my pulse throbbing in my ears. A lot is riding on these next five minutes.

Deep breaths.

It feels like an eternity passes before I hear light footsteps from inside making their way closer.

This is it.

The door swings open and my heart skips a beat when I see her. It’s like I somehow forgot how beautiful Quinn is- I actually forget to breathe for a second. She literally takes my breath away. And yes, I know how corny that sounds, but it’s the fucking truth.

Quinn’s hazel eyes widen in surprise when she sees me on the other side of her door, eyelashes fluttering, her mouth falling open. “Hi, what are you…”

“Just hear me out,” I blurt, cutting her off. I take a step forward, reaching out for either side of the doorframe to brace myself on it. “I was gonna leave you alone, I really was. I was going to respect your decision like I said I would. But then I found out that you’re hurting, too, and now that I know that I’m wondering why the hell we’re putting ourselves through this instead of just being together.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but I don’t let her get a word in edgewise- I hold up a hand, continuing. “Please, just hear me out, Quinn. I miss you- I miss youso fucking much.I don’t want to go another day without seeing you or touching you or kissing you. I know this was supposed to be a strictly physical thing, but I fucking need you, Quinn, and I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks anymore.”

This…isn’t going as expected.Quinn’s eyes are wide as saucers and the more I talk, the more she shakes her head like she wants me to shut up. And then the door swings open wider, and I finally see why.

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