Chapter 20

Song: No Tears Left to Cry by Ariana Grande

[Chapter 20 - The Mute Alpha]

•••

*Jax's POV*

Theo disappeared in the crowd, and I watched, a knowing realization appeared in my head. His mate was around here, and I was almost 100 percent sure he was about to find out soon.

A smile broke out on my face. It's about damn time too. I bet she's going to be perfect for him. He needs to settle down anyways.

I should probably ask him about it later.

But for now, I wanted to see my mate. I wandered around and found her sitting down, chatting to a guy around our age. I made my way over to them and stood behind Autumn, placing my hand on her shoulder.

I cleared my throat and the man's eyes darted up. "Alpha," he mumbled and bowed his head. I eyed him before turning my attention to the beautiful woman sitting in front of me.

"I um...I have to go. Thank you for the nice chat, Luna," he said, standing up from the chair. Autumn smiled at him.

"It was a pleasure. I hope you like it here. You're a part of this family."

He waved goodbye and disappeared into the crowd, leaving us in a comfortable silence.

"He's nice," Autumn commented as she leaned back in the chair.

I ignored her and stole her hand, pulling her out of the seat. She giggled and slung her arm over my shoulder, which was kind of awkward considering our height differences.

"Let's get out of here," Autumn suggested, tugging on my arm. I allowed her to lead us away from the crowd. Eventually the sound of the music faded away and a few minutes later we reached our house.

"Well, that was fun," Autumn said as I closed the door behind us. I nodded my head in agreement. Both of us trudged up the staircase in silence. When we reached the second level, Autumn turned to face me.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she told me, kissing my cheek. Then she left me standing there as she disappeared down the long hallway.

Slightly disappointed, I made my way to my room. A part of me was hoping Autumn would spend the night with me. I loved her presence and I really wanted to finish what we started earlier. Unfortunately, I was left standing in the middle of my bedroom. Alone.

With a sigh, I stripped out of my clothes and entered my bathroom to turn the shower on. I waited for the water to heat up before I stepped in. I released a sigh of content as I leaned my back against the ice-cold wall.

"C-Can I join you?" a soft voice asked, barely audible over the running water.

My eyes opened and I saw Autumn standing timidly over by the door. Her eyes were on her quivering fingers as she gripped the door knob. A wide grin broke out onto my face as I motioned her to come in.

Autumn slowly slid her dress off along with her bra and underwear. I tried my hardest not to look at her. To make it easier, I turned around to face the wall, giving her some privacy. Once she undressed, she slid the shower door open and stepped in. I took that as my queue to turn back around.

I moved out of the way so that she could get under the water. Autumn remained quiet as she stared up at me with her beautiful brown eyes. As tempting as it was, I didn't allow my eyes to wander, afraid of scaring her away.

She, on the other hand, had no shame when her eyes drank me up as if I was her favorite beverage. Her lips slightly parted and her eyes darkened. A shiver crawled up my spine. Her hungry eyes lingered on my muscular chest, observing and memorizing every single detail. Then her eyes continued moving down, drinking every last inch of my body. Her breath got caught in her throat and she mumbled something so quietly that I couldn't catch it.

Another shiver traveled around my body as she dragged the pads of her fingers across my hard chest. I stepped closer to her, towering over her small figure. My hands gripped her waist, her skin feeling slick beneath my curious fingers.

"It's okay," she whispered. "You can look at me. I want you to."

All of the restraint I had went out the door. My eyes dropped down faster than I could blink and I took in the beautiful sight in front of me. I growled lowly as my eyes wandered over her breasts and curvy waist, everything balanced and sculpted with perfection. It was very tempting to just reach out and touch every inch of her, but I thought it'd be best to just use my eyes.

Then, I gazed back into her eyes and leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

•••

After showering, Autumn left to go brush her teeth. She told me she'd come back, thankfully.

I slipped on a pair of sweatpants and laid on my bed in the dark, waiting for my mate to return.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open and Autumn walked in. She closed the door quietly and practically ran towards the bed. She climbed underneath the blankets and settled down next to me. I rolled over onto my side so that I faced her.

"Thank you for tonight," Autumn filled the silence with her sweet voice. "For allowing me to be Luna and having a whole celebration."

I flashed her a small smile and she returned it.

She turned to gaze up at the ceiling. "I never thought that I would be Luna," she said. Then she began to panic. "What if I'm not good enough? What if I screw up and I disappoint you and your pack members?"

The bed creaked underneath us as I shifted my body so that I hovered above her, making her gasp. My arms caged her in and my mouth parted, but no words came out. There was so much for me to tell her, so much I wanted to say.

It was difficult to see her expression through the dark. However, by the smell that lingered in the air, she was definitely feeling something.

A grin crept onto my lips as she stared up at me with wide, lust-filled eyes. Placing all of my weight on one arm, I leisurely dragged the backs of my fingers across her soft cheek. Electricity danced between us, causing both of us to shiver with delight. My body lowered so that I could feel all of her, but I used my strength to not crush her.

Autumn's hands moved to the back of my head. Before I could react, she pulled my head towards her. It took me a moment to register the soft lips pressed against my own. A low growl of satisfaction rumbled in my chest as I melted into her, falling completely at her mercy.

My fingers gripped the pillows as her hands explored my body in a manner that had me trembling above her.

I tilted my head, deepening the kiss, which became more fierce and fervent. Her taste was beyond addictive and I couldn't get enough of her. Her legs wrapped around my waist as her nails dug into my shoulder blades. My skin stung beneath her fingertips as her nails pierced my skin, and I could feel the liquid slowly oozing out. It didn't bother me at all. Instead, I could feel myself getting more aroused than before.

Our lips parted and our breaths mixed together. I left light kisses all along her jaw in a way that had her shuddering. I devoured her neck with my lips and tongue, sucking, biting, kissing, and licking. My tongue traveled up her neck, making my mate sigh with pleasure. I continued kissing her neck, enjoying the soft sounds that left Autumn's mouth.

After a while, Autumn cupped my face with her small hands and claimed my mouth once again. We both fell into a moment of pure bliss and passion, never wanting it to end.

•••

Where the hell is Theo?

The pen in my hand tapped impatiently against the conference table. The Alpha on the other side of the table eyed his watch, watching the time wastefully tick by. I quickly scribbled something down on my note pad and slid it over to the annoyed man. I apologized for making him wait and that I had no idea where my Beta was. I tried calling him and mind-linking him, but neither of them worked.

"I'll tell you what," he started, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. "We can go over this later. I don't have to be back at my Pack for a bit. My Beta is fully capable of protecting my Pack."

I wrote down my response and handed him the paper. It said, "That's a good idea. There's an extra guest room at my house where you can stay."

Alpha Derek slowly nodded his head before standing up from his chair.

"Thank you, Jax," he replied. I nodded my head.  "Right now I suggest you find your Beta. We're definitely going to need him."

After meeting with Derek, I left him to do whatever he wanted. At that moment, my first priority was Theo. I was really worried about him. He's never missed a meeting before.

Theo's house was located more towards the busier part of my pack. He was definitely a lot more social than I was. He lived in a condo near the beach. It was modern with lots of windows. The condos next to his also matched. It was definitely a nice place, which is a shame since he spent more time at my house than his own.

I walked up to his black front door and snatched the hidden key and unlocked the door. When I entered, I was greeted with the sound of the television.

Confused, I walked over to the living room. My eyes widened when I saw Theo sitting on the couch looking like absolute shit.

His hair wasn't in its usual style. Instead, it looked as if he had just gotten out of bed. The stubble on his face seemed darker than usual; most of the time it was kept clean. His eyes looked bloodshot, bags evident underneath his tired eyes. He wore a wrinkled, white t-shirt and a pair of boxers.

He definitely wasn't a pretty sight.

Bottles of beer littered the floor and he had a bottle pressed to his lips as he swallowed large gulps of the deadly liquid.

'Theo?'

He continued to ignore me as he chugged the bottle. I guessed he didn't notice my presence. I didn't understand why Theo was drinking. Beer wasn't strong enough to make a werewolf drunk, no matter how much they drank.

'Theo, what are you doing?' I asked, moving closer to him.

This time Theo's head snapped in my direction. The empty bottle in his hand dropped to the floor and he slumped into his couch.

"I'm fine," he muttered looking back at the TV screen.

'Bullshit!'

I walked over to him and snatched the remote, shutting the TV off.

"Hey!" Theo shouted in protest, reaching for the remote in my hand. I tossed it away from us. A look of defeat appeared on his face as he slouched.

'Now, tell me,' I said. 'What happened to you?'

He didn't say anything for a few moments, fidgeting with his fingers. His face contorted into one of confusion as he frowned.

Something was definitely wrong.

When he noticed that I was still staring at him expectantly, he sighed.

"I-I found my mate..." he mumbled lowly. A smile of excitement found its way onto my face.

'Seriously?'

I was about to congratulate him, but then I noticed his pale face.

'What's wrong?' Did she reject you or something?'

Theo laughed humorlessly. "She?"

Slowly, Theo tilted his head up. He looked beyond confused. So was I. I've never seen him like this. So worried.

She?

Then it hit me. I slowly sat down next to him with wide eyes. Hesitantly, I placed my hand on his shoulder, unsure of what to say.

'I don't understand...'

"My mate is a dude!" Theo cried out, tugging on his hair in frustration. "How the fuck is my mate a guy?"

'Why would the Moon Goddess do that?'

"I'm not gay! I-I love women," he protested. "I'm as straight as can be. I'm not gay!"

'Okay, okay. I get it.' I raised my hands up. 'But what if-'

"Do not, I repeat, do NOT finish that sentence."

'Maybe-'

"No, Jax," Theo cut me off. I sent him a glare in return, one that I was positive made him lean away from me.

'Stop cutting me off, Theo,' I warned, pointing my finger at him. He just stared at me, blinking, and I used that as an opportunity to continue. 'What if the Moon Goddess is hinting at something? What if it wasn't an accident? This guy is your mate. You're meant to be with him.'

Theo shook his head, not wanting to believe my words. He was being too stubborn to accept his fate.

"I love woman," he repeated once again.

I rolled my eyes. 'I get that, but maybe you should keep an open mind.'

Theo kept quiet, pondering over everything I said.

'So who is he?' I curiously asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I just bumped into him last night at the party and I quickly left. I've been going insane since then. I have no fucking idea on what to do..."

No words came to my head. There was nothing for me to tell him. I did, however, know one thing: Theo was going to have to figure this out soon, because if he didn't, without his mate, he would grow weak and sick. Eventually, he would be too weak and depressed to live.

•••

Hey guys!!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you guys for being patient with me. I'm sorry for the long wait like always :(

Merry late Christmas and Happy late New Years!!!

Anyways, thank you guys so much for reading. Love you ❤️❤️❤️

~Jordan

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