Page 19 of Reign of the Beast

“You have a call from Jaxon.”

“Fuck,” he grumbled. “It’s way too early.”

“It’s late afternoon,” I informed him.

He shot bolt upright. “What? That late? Shit.”

“We were up late.”

The truth was, it was a great deal more than that.

It was the burnout.

He rolled over and snatched up his phone, swiping it quickly, and answering, “Hey, Jax.”

Jax?They’d grown closer than I’d realized.

He tossed the covers off of himself and pushed out of bed, striding back and forth in nothing but his delicious navy boxers.

“Yeah, I found her last night. What? No. I didn’t want to tell you until we had her back with us. I didn’t want to get your hopes up. Left her? Never. She kicked me out. She doesn’t want anything to do with any of this right now. She’s scared. Yeah, about what happened with Draco. We’re going to give her some time, then Lucian will try to convince her.”

He turned, his gaze meeting mine, unease bleeding from him.

He looked away quickly, as he spoke down the line, “He won’t. He cares about her, just like we do. He’d never—absolutely not. You need to calm down. Yeah, I know how long it’s been. I’m doing everything I can, but forcing her back won’t work. She’s not the type of person you can bark orders to.”

He listened, fisting his hands with agitation.

Then, he blew out a breath and he scrubbed his hand over his face. “Look, you’ve trusted me this far, trust me this last leg, okay? I’ll bring her back to us.”

He jerked the phone away and grumbled with displeasure. “He hung up on me,” he said, turning back to me. With a sigh, he tossed his phone back onto the bedside table and climbed back into bed.

“Wolves are difficult to calm at the best of times. With the subject matter being his apparent mate, it’s virtuallyimpossible. He won’t be at ease until they are reunited and he has completed his claim.”

He leaned back against the pillows. “She’s causing us a major fucking headache. If she’d accepted what Cornelius had told her months ago everything would be different. We would’ve been ready when Draco returned and we could’ve cut him down before he’d decimated the Maven Coven.”

“Perhaps, but there is no point regretting what we cannot change.” I slid my fingers through his hair, stroking his thick locks softly. “Besides, you and I may not have come together if that had been the case and if things had followed that ideal path.”

He planted a sweet kiss on my cheek, telling me earnestly, “I would’ve regretted that more than anything else.”

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him.

He had such a beautiful, pure heart. So much love to give. It was something to be treasured.

Unfortunately, it also made him vulnerable.

ButIwas here now and I would safeguard it to the best of my ability, something that would take a great deal when Mia returned.

She’d already wounded him once. I wouldn’t allow her to do so again. In fact, until she was able to open herself as was required for the Covenant, I wouldn’t allow her to get close to him.

“You are dealing well with the situation between Jaxon and Mia.”Muchbetter than I’d expected. In fact, he hadn’t brought it up at all and when Ryker was upset about something, he had to vocalize it and talk it to death.

Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “Once upon a time, Ididthink she and I were destined for one another. But so much has happened. Everything’s shifted. For me, a lot ofthat is because of you, because of whatwehave. Also, Jaxon is good for her. He's a wild, rough and tumble guy. He can break through that repressed part of her and bring out her wild side, coax her to let go and open up. It’s exactly what’s needed for the Covenant. We all need to be united. Mind, body and soul, according to Cornelius. What Iamworried about, though, is you and Mia.”

“Me and her?” I asked, surprised.

“You two are the only ones that aren’t connected. Jaxon and I both share a connection with her. He’s her mate and I’m her first love. But the only interaction you’ve had with Mia was a brief battle of wills and low level threats until I joined the party. I know you’resexuallyattracted to her, but it won’t be enough.”

“Ryker, I—”

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