Page 89 of Alpha Jax

Clay’s mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. It’d be pitiful to watch if it were anyone else- but since it’s Clay, it’s satisfying as fuck.

I snuggle into Jax’s side, looking up at him. “Jax, this is my shitbag ex, Clay.”

Clay narrows his eyes angrily, looking from me to Jax. “I was just…”

“Leaving,” Jax interrupts, infusing alpha command behind his steady voice again.

“Whatever,” Clay huffs, whirling around and stalking off into the other room.

Jax looks down at me, sliding a finger underneath my chin and tipping my face up toward his. “You okay? Want me to knock him around a little?”

I snort, shaking my head. “No, I think the blow he just took to his ego did more than a punch ever could.” I reach up to trace my fingers along Jax’s stubbly jawline. “Glad you showed up.”

He arches a brow, pale blue eyes locked on mine. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“It crossed my mind.”

“You underestimate me,” Jax growls, pulling me in and planting a soft kiss on my lips.

It’s too brief, and I’m about to pull him back in for another when my dad’s loud voice rings out, calling for quiet so he can begin his announcements. I begrudgingly leave Jax’s side to take my place at the front of the room with my family as Dad begins, keeping this speech short tonight. Before he calls for the run to start, though, he gestures to Jax.

“We’ve got a guest with us tonight from the Westfield pack, Alpha Damian’s son,” Dad says, and I watch as many of our pack members look over at Jax curiously. “Please make him feel welcome.”

Jax gives a little wave, looking around with a smile as several people murmur greetings. Many of the females are eyeing him with interest, which has the sour sting of jealousy curling in my gut. I don’t have much time to stew over it, though, because Dad calls for the run to start and the four of us- Dad, Theo, Brooke, and me- head toward the back doors of the packhouse. It’s tradition for the alpha to shift first, followed by his family, the beta and his family, and then the rest of the pack. As a visitor to our pack, Jax will be the last to shift tonight. I’m sure it’ll be difficult for him to wait, because as soon as I get outside underneath the full moon, I’m itchy to shift.

Of course, I have to wait for my alpha- and Dad makes quick work of stripping down, shifting, and howling to the moon, the official signal for the run to start. Everything moves fast after that- Theo, Brooke, and I strip and shift almost simultaneously, Cory and Ellie close behind. Dad’s large silver wolf is already at the treeline, and as soon as I’m on four paws I bound in his direction, following him into the forest.

It doesn’t get much better than this- the moon overhead, the night breeze in my fur as I run. On nights like these, I feel so wild and free, the way wolves should. It isn’t long until hundreds of paws are drumming the earth behind me, then all around me as our pack starts to spread out. Some have their noses upturned, sniffing the air in the hopes of scenting something different, something that will lead them to their fated mate. Others stick close with their mates or their families, while a few just enjoy the run, racing as fast as their paws will carry them.

After a minute or two, I break off from the pack, wandering deeper into the forest on my own. I know the boundaries of our territory well; I’ve been running this forest all my life. I draw a deep breath through my nose as I run, but nothing seems to smell different tonight. Nothing feels different. Maybe Jax hasn’t shifted yet, or maybe he’s not in close enough proximity. Either way, he’s gotta work for it- it’s up to him to find me.

I slow to a lazy jog when I near the old park on the edge of town, the one nobody uses anymore. The one where Jax and I stopped to ‘talk’ just the other day. I sniff the earth, circle, and plop down to wait for my guy. Though I’m trying to relax, I’m a bundle of nerves- every little sound, every movement of the leaves on the trees has me on high alert, my head snapping around to look left, then right, then left again.

Slowly, a strange sensation washes over me. It’s like warm little prickles all over my skin, drawing out the anxiety, replacing it with an overwhelming sense of excitement. My pulse races as I hop up, spinning in circles in the grass. That’s when I smell it- it’s unlike anything I’ve ever scented, sweet and spicy and alluring, drawing me back into the forest. I can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from, but it’s driving my wolf absolutely wild. I have to find it, touch it, taste it.

All rational thought leaves my brain- it’s like I’m barely lingering in the recesses, my wolf taking over. It feels like she’s drunk, giddy and clumsy and buzzing with anticipation. The scent and sensations keep getting stronger, but I don’t see anyone, don’t hear anyone. My own erratic heartbeat is flooding my eardrums, drowning out the sounds around me. Before I know what’s happening, a weight is crashing into me- another wolf, tackling me off my feet to the ground.

It feels like déjà vu, rolling across the forest floor with the large tricolor wolf. Then he’s on top of me and I’m looking up at him and we’re both panting hard, the air shimmering. My body tingles, my fur recedes. My bones snap and rearrange with my shift until I’m human again, staring up into those blue-grey eyes that I’ve gazed upon a million times, yet tonight it’s like the first. Because at that moment, I can feel the bond snap in, so strong that I can practically reach out and touch it.

“Mate,” I whisper incredulously, reaching up to cup Jax’s jaw in my hand. “Mine.”

A satisfied growl rumbles in his chest as his lips spread into a brilliant smile. “Mate.”

He’s hovering over me, holding himself up with his arms positioned on either side of me. As I stare into his eyes, my emotions come crashing down over me like a tidal wave- it’s dizzying, and it’s almost too much. It’s like everything I felt for Jax before has been amplified tenfold, every uncertainty washed away and replaced with an overwhelming sense of contentment and joy. I’m suddenly bursting with raw energy, desperate to be with my mate and seal the bond.

His eyes tell me I’m not the only one- he looks crazed, starved.Savage.“Mine,” he growls possessively, and I feel it in my soul- I’m his, just as much as he’s mine. Suddenly he’s dipping down toward me and I’m rising up on my elbows to meet him. Our mouths crash together in a frenzy of lips and tongues and teeth, our hands grasping at each other’s bodies. My legs part and he positions himself between them, his hard length pressing insistently against my inner thigh.

“Jaxon,” I whisper against his lips, tangling a hand in his hair.

“I knew it was you,” he murmurs, hands reverently stroking my body. “I always knew.”

I feel like my heart’s shattering, making itself new again for Jax. Deep down, it’s like some part of me always knew, too. A little voice that I let my own doubt drown out, thinking that accidently falling for my fated mate would be too coincidental, be too good to be true. I’ve never felt so happy or relieved to be wrong.

I draw a shaky breath as Jax runs his fingertips gently up my inner thigh, positioning himself so that the head of his cock is pressing against my entrance. He needs this just as badly as I do, foreplay be damned. The urgency to have him inside me is overwhelming. He plants kisses along my collarbone, up the column of my neck, his lips finding mine again before he gently rocks his hips forward. My toes curl as the head of his cock breaches my entrance, always a tight fit at first. Then he slowly presses further, my fingernails scoring the skin of his back until he’s fed every hard inch of his dick into my pussy, burying himself to the hilt in my wet heat.

Breathy moans fall from my lips as Jax kisses his way down my neck again, rolling his hips against me and pumping in and out. He feels so fucking good, so deep- it’s like I’m in a drug-induced haze, a sensation of pure ecstasy starting in my chest, burning out through my limbs. We’ve done this many times, but never quite like this. We usuallyfuck, and it’s hard and rough and insanely hot. This is slow, sensual.Like making love.

My legs wrap around Jax’s waist tightly and he scoops an arm behind my back, rising onto his knees and lifting me so I’m on his lap with my chest pressed against his. He rocks up into me and I grasp his shoulders, moving up and down to meet his thrusts. I toss my head back on a moan, my long hair tickling my back as I grind my hips against Jax in a steady rhythm. My entire body is on fire, that familiar pressure building up inside of me.

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