Page 13 of The Denver Alpha

“Everything’s good. I registered for classes yesterday.”

“Nice. Making friends?”

I roll my eyes, holding the phone out in front of me as I sit up on the bed and fold my legs underneath me. “Yes, dad,” I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jax squints, moving his face closer to the screen to examine my image. “What are you wearing?”

“A bikini.” I slip my thumb beneath the strap and snap it against my collarbone. “Ever seen one?”

He wrinkles his nose, shaking his head in disapproval. “Not on you. Take it off.”

“I really don’t think you want me to do that over video chat,” I snort.

“You know what I mean,” Jax grumbles disapprovingly. “Cover yourself up, all the guys that live there don’t need to see my little sister in a bikini.”

I throw my head back on an exasperated sigh. “Oh my gosh, back off, dude! I’m just going for a swim.”

“Leave her alone!” I hear Quinn’s voice bark from somewhere in the background.

I grin as Jax’s face suddenly disappears from the screen, the image on the other end jumbling around as she snatches the phone from my brother’s hand and brings it up in front of herself instead.

“Hey, Jules!” Quinn waves, greeting me with a warm smile.

“Hey Q, how’s it going?”

I can’t help but laugh at Jax’s loud protests as Quinn runs off with his phone, the video bouncing as she does.

“Oh, ya know,” Quinn sighs, shutting herself in the bathroom and leaning back against the door as Jax’s muffled gripes continue from the other side. “Same ol’, same ol’. Getting ready to head up to the squad complex for a workout. I keep telling Jax not to worry about you, but you know how he is.”

“Yeah,” I sigh dramatically. “Everything’s good here, promise. I’ve just been meeting people and getting the lay of the land so far. Tell him he can relax.”

Quinn laughs, her hazel eyes sparkling with amusement. “Oh trust me, I have been, sis!” She angles in closer to the camera, dropping her voice low. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to do a better job at keeping him distracted so he isn’t checking in constantly,” she adds with a suggestive wink.

I wrinkle my nose, grimacing. “Gross, spare me the details!”

Jax pounds on the door behind Quinn, shouting something that’s unintelligible on my end.

“Gotta go,” Quinn chirps, moving aside to allow the door to open. I watch as Jax swings it wide and his face appears over her shoulder, his brow furrowed in frustration while Quinn peeks back at him teasingly. “Say bye to Jules, we have to get going. And as you can see, she’s perfectly fine.”

I giggle at Jax’s frown, watching him try and fail to steal his phone back from his mate. “Bye, Jaxy!” I call, lifting a hand and twitching my fingers in a little wave. “Love you!”

The screen goes dark when Quinn ends the call and I toss my phone back onto my bed, chuckling to myself. As annoying as it is to deal with my brother’s overprotectiveness, at least I know I’ve got his mate fighting in my corner.

Sliding off my bed, I stop by the mirror to straighten my bikini top and pull my hair up into a ponytail before heading out the door, bound for the terrace. The summer air is already thick and hot when I step outside, and as I round the corner and the clear blue pool water comes into view, I swear I can practically hear it calling my name. I’m two seconds away from making a run for it to jump in when I spot a few girls lounging on the far side of the pool deck, halting me in my tracks.

“Morning, Juliet!” one of them calls, lifting her hand and waving me over.

It takes a second for recognition to register. We met at the club last night, and her name was…

“Ashlyn, remember?” she supplies helpfully, and I nod enthusiastically, rounding the edge of the pool and striding in her direction.

“Of course,” I smile, approaching the trio of women laid out on the lounge chairs. They’re all sporting barely-there bikinis, Ashlyn in the middle with Tayla and Kylie flanking her in loungers on either side. I met the three of them at the club- they’re all in their twenties and friendly with the guys Shay and I arrived with.

Veryfriendly if their presence at the packhouse this early in the morning is any indication.

Kylie was the girl that Eddie was complaining about at the beginning of the night and since she’s here now, it’s safe to assume they’re still hooking up. She’s a petite brunette with light eyes, and judging by the huge sunglasses hiding them, the grimace on her face, and the pallid color of her skin, she’s nursing a wicked hangover today. Not surprising with the way she was throwing back shots last night like it was her damn job.

Ashlyn’s sporting a red bikini that compliments her curly reddish-brown hair. She was the most welcoming of the group toward me when we met at the club, and I didn’t miss how much she was flirting with Mike toward the end of the night. I’d venture a guess that she wound up in his bed afterwards.

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