Chapter 30

Hayley

The day is slowly fading into night, signaling that Jax will soon be done with work. The hours seem to crawl by when he’s not around.

Sometimes, he manages to squeeze in a lunch break with me, but more often than not, he’s swamped with work. He prefers to wrap things up early so he can spend the evening with me. Today is one of those days.

Axton and I are deep into the third season of Riverdale, having spent most of the afternoon binge-watching it.

Ax keeps sniffing the air, a worried look on his face. I can’t figure out why. He’s such an odd wolf.

I also notice Axton frequently touching his neck, which is covered in dark bruises. I feel... torn.

Part of me is worried for my friend, scared that someone might be hurting him like I was hurt. But I also understand the desire to keep painful experiences to oneself.

Who could have done this to him?

Choosing to confront the issue head-on, I ask Axton directly, “What happened to your neck?” Ax blushes a deep red and a wide grin spreads across his face. Why would he be smiling when the bruises look so painful?

“It’s... a love bite,” he says, shifting uncomfortably.

“A love what?”

“A love bite, also known as a hickey.” Seeing my confused expression, he grins and says, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll find out soon enough.” Still puzzled, I decide to let it go.

Would Jax give me one of those painful things? No, stop it. He would never hurt me. Maybe it’s not painful if Axton is smiling when talking about it.

Suddenly, my insides start to flutter, a sure sign that Jax is near. Five seconds later, the living room door swings open, and Jax walks in, a huge smile on his face.

We keep the living room door closed to prevent me from running into pack members and having a meltdown. They can still come into the packhouse for anything they need. It’s a win-win.

Jax starts sniffing the air and his face turns serious. He rushes over to me, holds me at arm’s length, and checks me over.

“Why do you smell of blood? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Jax glances over at Axton, and I notice that Jax’s wolf is starting to surface.

He’s angry. Surprisingly, it doesn’t scare me. Instead, I feel the need to comfort him. Jax thinks Axton has hurt me.

I gently tug on his arm, but Jax is too focused on glaring at Axton. I cup Jax’s face and force him to look at me.

“He didn’t do anything. I’m okay,” I say firmly. Now is not the time to stutter or fumble with my words.

Deciding it’s best to get Axton away from Jax, I say, “Axton, it’s okay, you can go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Axton gives Jax a wary look, but follows my advice and leaves the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Jax clenches his jaw, clearly unhappy that Axton has left unscathed, but he doesn’t say anything.

“He didn’t do anything. I woke up... there was blood on my underwear. Maybe I hurt myself... without realizing. Axton didn’t do anything,” I try to emphasize. Jax seems deep in thought before a lightbulb goes off in his head.

“That might be your period. It’s a human thing. I’ll look into it, don’t worry about it, baby. I’ll sort it out.”

Jax still looks worried, but I know he’s trying to put on a brave face so as not to scare me. But the sight of blood doesn’t faze me anymore.

I’ve seen it so often, it feels normal. But I know it shouldn’t be that way, and I’m starting to realize that.

He steps closer to me, resting his forehead against mine. We wrap our arms around each other tightly. “I was so worried,” he whispers.

“I’m okay,” I reassure him, because I truly am. With Jax in my arms, what else could I possibly need?

“I love you,” Jax says, his eyes filled with warmth. And that’s when it hits me. I love him too.

***

Jax

I’m heading to the kitchen to grab some breakfast before I retreat to my office, but I stop in my tracks when the smell of death hits me.

I follow the scent to the front door of the packhouse and swing it open. I scan the area before looking down to see a brown box on the ground, flies buzzing around it.

This doesn’t look good.

I extend my claws and slice through the middle of the cardboard. Inside is a decapitated deer’s head, its eyes staring blankly ahead. This is a declaration of war.

Aaron growls loudly, scanning our surroundings for any threats.

I mindlink Dimitri to come meet me, and twenty seconds later, I hear him thundering down the stairs. “What’s that god-awful sm...oh.”

“Dimitri, handle this. I want it tested for any DNA to figure out who the hell did this and how they managed to get onto my lands undetected,” I growl, anger seeping into my voice.

I’m about to lose my shit with whoever was on border patrol last night.

“Meet me in my office at nine, and try to keep this quiet. I don’t want the pack to panic.” It’s currently six, so I have time to give the people who were on patrol last night a piece of my mind.

I head to my office and boot up my laptop. My mind is a whirlwind of questions. How the fuck did this happen? How did they get onto my land? Why would they do this? Who did this?

I have a hunch about the answer to the last question.

I check the schedule of border control from last night and see that there were forty members in total on watch, including rotations. This is going to take a while.

***

After two and a half hours of interviewing, I find out that during the shift change, one of the members was late because he overslept.

This member, Riley, has never caused me trouble before.

He’s always been reliable at his job, so I’m tempted to chalk it up to a minor screw-up, but you can never be too careful.

He’s off border patrol until he proves he’s trustworthy again.

The ones you trust the most are always the ones who hurt you. It’s not worth risking the lives of every pack member, especially Hayley’s, just so he can be on duty.

A little later, there’s a knock on my door and I know it’s Dimitri. “Come in.” After Dimitri shuts the door, I motion for him to take a seat across from me and I fill him in on how this mess unfolded.

“Riley’s a good guy, but I get it, I would’ve done the same thing.” It’s reassuring to know my Beta agrees with me.

“The test results will be ready tomorrow morning. I’ll update you as soon as I have them...Also, rumors are spreading about what was found this morning, Alpha. They know it’s a warning sign. I tried my best, but you know how fast gossip spreads within the pack. Everyone’s worried.”

“We all feel it. A war is coming, and fast,” I sighed.

***

“Everyone, pair up. Today we’re going to focus on fighting in your human form. It’s always useful to use your human energy before tapping into your wolf energy; this way, you’ll have more of an advantage. Your goal is to pin your opponent to the ground for five seconds. Got it?”

A chorus of “Yes, Alpha” echoes back, and then everyone spreads out and starts training. I thought it was a good idea to increase the training days so everyone is more prepared.

I have no doubt that we’ll win against any enemy, but I don’t want any loss of life, and that’s the hardest thing to prevent.

After my meeting with Dimitri earlier this morning, I sensed Hayley was awake and went to find her to calm my wolf down. I was shaking with anger and was struggling to contain it. I needed my mate.

She’s my rock that keeps me grounded.

When I found her in the living room, engrossed in some show, she seemed just as restless as I was. She must’ve been able to sense my unease through the bond.

Axton gave us some space as I held my mate and calmed my wolf down. She seemed to know how to soothe me without any instructions; it was like instinct. She knows me.

The smell of blood once again filled my nostrils, and I made a mental note to ask someone to get Hayley some toiletries.

I did some research on human periods last night before I went to sleep, trying to figure out the best way to help Hayley.

I think that pads will be better, and I’ll stock up on some painkillers so she’s not uncomfortable.

I know a bit about human periods already, but I don’t know enough to help Hayley, so I’ll have to do some more research later tonight.

Female wolves have heat, not periods, so I’m a little out of my depth, but when it comes to Hayley, I’d do anything.

As I was leaving, Axton started to teach Hayley how to tie her shoelaces. How adorable. I like that Hayley can rely on Axton, and I like it even more, knowing that he now has a mate.

I’m proud to be Alpha of such a strong pack. We’ve come a long way, and we’ll be able to go even further with Hayley by our side. She doesn’t realize how strong she is; she’s a fighter.

My fighter. The thought of Hayley brings a smile to my face that I just can’t shake off. Everything about her means the world to me. It’s the little things that draw me to her.

The way her eyes still sparkle despite the pain she’s been through. The way she blushes when I come out of the shower wearing only a towel. Everything about her takes my breath away.

I can hear Hayley’s thoughts when I’m near her, but I don’t know what she’s thinking when I’m away. I can only sense her emotions.

I wonder if she ever thinks about me, like the way I think about her. I try to keep my thoughts pure, but sometimes it’s incredibly difficult.

Every morning, I wake up with her perky ass pressed up against my front, and let’s just say it’s hard for my thoughts not to wander.

I would never do anything Hayley isn’t ready for; I respect her with everything I have.

Hayley and I have continued with our training sessions, and we’re due for another one.

She’s made amazing progress, and the way she smiles when she thinks she’s beating the shit out of me makes me think she’s happy with her progress too. We could have a session tomorrow.

Times like these mean a lot to me. Watching her get stronger and stronger is amazing to witness. From when I first met her, she’s completely different.

She was beautiful back then, but it looked like she had no life left in her eyes. She looked defeated. And now, she’s this radiant woman who is strong and doesn’t let her past affect her.

She makes me want to be the best version of myself for her.

I’ve been wondering lately whether Hayley would like to have pups with me. Obviously when she’s ready, but I can’t shake the feeling that she’d be the best mother and shower our pup with love.

I guess time will tell.

Pulling myself back to the present and away from my beautiful mate, I start to help members improve their postures. On ways to gain an advantage over their opponent.

They’re not completely clueless when it comes to fighting in human form, but we mostly train in wolf form, as it’s our strongest weapon.

***

Training is over and I had a quick shower before asking Hayley to join me in my office, just to have her company. She didn’t seem to mind.

Lately, I’ve been looking into human traditions, and what they do when they fall in love with someone.

What they do is get married which means you combine your souls not just legally, but emotionally as well.

As Hayley is human, I believe it’s important that my mate and I can unite in every way possible, meaning we should get married.

Humans might think our relationship is too new to marry, but to that I say, fuck it. These are different circumstances and I know that I’ll never love anyone other than Hayley.

She’s my everything. I managed to sneak off the pack grounds yesterday without Hayley knowing and buy a ring to propose with.

Hayley isn’t the type to be picky, but I can’t help the bundle of nerves settling in the pit of my stomach over whether she’ll like the ring or not.

Deciding that there’s no time like the present, I head over to Hayley who’s snuggled up on the sofa with a blanket, reading a book.

As she glances up at me, I lower onto one knee and take a deep breath.

My hands tremble as I retrieve the ring from my pocket, flipping open the box to reveal the sparkling gem.

I lift my gaze to meet the eyes of my beautiful mate, and I ask, “Hayley, my love, my Sunshine, my soulmate, will you marry me?”

The air grows thick with silence, followed swiftly by a wave of awkwardness. Hayley’s eyes flicker from the ring to my face, a puzzled expression etched on her features.

“What does ‘marry’ mean?” she asks, her voice laced with confusion. Of course, she doesn’t understand the concept. How could I have overlooked that? I’m such an idiot.

“It means we’re bound together forever, that my love for you is eternal. It’s a symbol of love and passion, a reflection of everything I already feel for you. It’s a human tradition, so not just werewolves, but humans too, will recognize that you’re mine and I’m yours.

“It signifies that we become one in the eyes of the human world. And since you’re human, I thought it would be fitting... I want to express my love for you in every possible way.”

Her face morphs into a look of surprise as she grasps the gravity of my proposal. “So... will you marry me?” I ask again, my breath hitching in my chest.

“Yes...”