Page 81 of Alpha Jax

“Well you don’t have to like it, you just have to accept it,” Brooke smiles, ruffling his hair.

He just grunts again, but at least he doesn’t have a hateful retort. It’s a start.

For the first time in days, I feel like I have some clarity. I’ve got the next five days in Summervale to work on smoothing things over with Theo, and with Brooke in my corner, I’ll bet I can get him to come around. Then when we get back to the complex, I’ll finally tell Jax how I feel about him. And once we’re on the same page…

This could really work, right?

Just thinking about it sends warmth spreading through my chest.

CHAPTER FORTY

Jax

There are a lot of perks to being a shifter, but shifter healing has to take the cake. Theo landed some solid blows to my face last night- when I got back to my room and looked in the mirror, I was a damn mess; all black and blue and puffy with one eye nearly swollen shut. When I woke up this morning, though? Not a scratch. Other than some dried blood caked in my eyebrow from where it split, you wouldn’t even be able to tell that my best friend tried to beat my face in after finding out I was banging his sister. Fuck, when you put it that way, it sounds like I’m stuck in a damn soap opera-Days of our Lives: werewolf edition.

I may not have to live with any physical scars of what went down last night, but the memory will continue to haunt me until I can make things right somehow. While Quinn and I still have our own shit to figure out, right now we’re both in damage control mode as far as Theo’s concerned- in the messages we exchanged last night after the blowup, we agreed we’d talk once the dust settles with him. At least that’s something I know we’re on the same page about; that it’s important to us both to set things right with Theo before we can consider how to move forward.

Honestly, I don’t blame Theo one bit for how he reacted after finding out I’ve been slipping it to his sister and lying to him about it. If the shoe was on the other foot, I can’t say I would’ve behaved any differently. We both have a wild animal inside of us with a hair trigger; our disagreements sometimes come to blows, we fight it out, then we move on. It’s much more efficient than letting things fester like women tend to. It’s different this time, though- from the look in Theo’s eyes, I could see how deep the betrayal cut. I have a feeling forgiveness won’t come as simply as taking a few punches.

Here’s the thing… I haven’t known Quinn long, but I pay attention, and I feel like I understand who she is. I know how important it is to her to have a relationship with her brother. Her family situation is a lot different than mine- she was so young when she lost her mom, and from what I’ve gathered the tragedy completely fractured her family. Theo closed himself off, which prevented the two of them from forming a close sibling bond. Quinn craves that, aches to have it, and since coming to live at the complex has finally gotten a peek at what it could be like. I’m not sure she’s willing to sacrifice that for a relationship with me- and honestly, she shouldn’t have to. I don’t want her to be in a position where she’d have to choose, because if she chose me, she may resent me for it later. That, and I don’t want to take away something I know she so desperately wants. I can’t do it; I won’t do it- yet I can’t be without her. So, there’s only one solution I see here. I have to do the impossible. I have to get Theo’s blessing.

That’s how I find myself in Summervale on Thursday evening, waiting at a fucking public park of all places. I guess it’s good that Theo picked a spot out in the open to meet up- I suppose that means he isn’t actually planning on killing me.A small comfort.

I overslept today and woke up to a text message from Quinn that Theo insisted they head back to Summervale early, which threw a wrench in my half-baked plan to approach him after the squad’s morning practice session. So, I went with plan B and messaged him incessantly until he responded with a three-word reply that included a time and location. I’m still a little shocked that he agreed to meet up at all and there’s still a chance that he won’t even show, but as I sink onto a bench beside a small pond, I’m cautiously optimistic.

I’m expecting to be warned of Theo’s impending arrival by the roar of his motorcycle engine, but he catches me off guard when he approaches from behind me on foot, announcing his presence by clearing his throat. I’m so startled that I leap to my feet, spinning around wildly to face him.As if I wasn’t already on edge.

“Hey,” I breathe, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat. I meet his eyes and while calm, they still hold a lot of what was in them the other night- anger, hurt, betrayal. It makes me feel like dogshit.

Theo shoves his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, furrowing his brow and not breaking eye contact. “You wanted to talk, so talk.”

Right to the point.

I nod, blowing out a breath and gathering my thoughts. I’ve got a lot to say, but half of this is gonna behowI say it. The wrong delivery could fuck everything up even more.

“Dude, I’m sorry I lied to you.” It’s as good a start as any.

Theo just keeps staring at me, his face expressionless. After an uncomfortable pause, I realize he’s not going to respond, so I continue.

“For what it’s worth, I didn’t do it to hurt you.”

Theo snorts. “Funny, that’s what Quinn said, too.”

“Because it’s true.”

He narrows his eyes, staring daggers through me. With how murderous his gaze has turned, I’m suddenly glad we’ve got this bench as a barrier between us. “She was theonegirl who was fucking off limits. But you just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

I shake my head adamantly, holding up my hands. “I swear I didn’t know she was your sister when we met. If I had, I never would’ve touched her. C’mon, bro, youknowme. You know how I feel about dudes sniffing around my own sisters…”

Theo’s jaw ticks and he pulls his hands out of his pockets, folding his arms across his chest instead.

I smooth my hair back with a hand, continuing. “I get why you’re upset, but I didn’t know. Honestly. And after we met, I couldn’t un-ring that bell. Trust me, I tried, but she justgotto me, man. I couldn’t shake it. I told you about the girl, the one from Stillwater…”

“Yeah,” Theo chokes, cutting me off. “Now I wish you’d spared me the details.”

“Trust me, so do I.”

We both look away as another pause settles between us, accompanied by an uncomfortable tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

---