Mates: Jax's Story

Chapter 21

~Jax~

Fiesty! I actually like it though I’m currently on the receiving end of it. I can feel my d**k starting to twitch, and I try to change my thoughts since now is definitely not the time. Shanice is glaring at me, and I get it. As it stands, Janice was coming out of my apartment, barely dressed. It’s expected that Shanice would wonder if something happened between us and what that something would be.

Kamila starts to squirm and whine in my arms. I know she must be tired; I’m tired myself. Under these circumstances, I didn’t expect to be woken up in the middle of the night. Breathing in Janice’s scent, it’s clear that she made it into my apartment and tried to come into my room. I don’t even know how she got into my apartment in the first place.

Each apartment has a door with a code lock. We can lock and unlock a door at the touch of a button, but a code is needed. We have all picked our own codes and don’t share them. There is a master sheet in case of emergencies, but only a few know where to find it. I don’t understand how Janice could have gotten the code to my apartment. I will need to investigate that later.

“Well?!” I turn my full attention to Shanice, knowing I need to let her know what happened. The only problem is that I’m not sure she will believe me. She is still getting to know me, and I do have a past with her sister. I don’t want that past to cloud how she views me and my word.

“Nothing happened, I swear. I didn’t even know she was in my apartment until just now.” Shanice looks at me as if I’m asking her to believe that 2 plus 2 is 10. I sigh and shift Kamila in my arms. “Kamila decided to stay over. We went to bed. I heard a noise, Kamila yelling no. I woke and thought I had seen someone, but I couldn’t be sure. It was too quick to work out any features. I tried to comfort Kamila until I heard a commotion out here. I came out here to see you two. That’s it, I promise. I know your sister, and I have a past, but it was over years ago. You’re my fated mate, and that means everything to me.” I shift on my feet in anticipation. There is no reason for her to believe me other than I’m her mate, and even with that, she shouldn’t blindly believe me.

Shanice sighs and crosses her arms across her chest. Kamila starts to fidget more and practically leaps out of my arms onto Shanice. She grabs her, so she doesn’t fall. Kamila buries her face in Shanice’s neck. She rubs Kamila’s back and looks at me. “She needs to sleep.” I nod, placing my hand on her back to lead her into my apartment. Shanice tenses up for a minute, then relaxes and allows me to guide her.

We end up in the living room, and I ask Shanice to wait a minute. I have an “L” shaped couch with built-in recliners on each end. The highlight of the room is my oversized beanbag chair. It is amazingly comfortable and will be perfect in this situation. I place the bean bag against the couch and pull out a big blanket that I keep in the closet. I turn on the TV and leave it on Peppa Pig. There aren’t many kid shows that I can stomach, but this one isn’t so bad. “We can lay with her here,” I motion to the chair. Shanice nods and gets settled on the bean bag, letting Kamila lay so she can watch the screen while she cuddles.

I settle in next to Shanice, and Kamila throws an arm out so it touches me. I get close, so she doesn’t have to reach too far. “My sister needs to stay the hell away from you. She needs to stay off this floor. I mean it.” We’re whispering because Kamila is falling asleep.

“I’ll do you one better. She is banned from the packhouse all together. I will send Omegas to pack you up, and you can move here. I will have no dealing with her; I will leave her to Melanie. How does that sound?” Shanice leans in and kisses me on the cheek. I smile and close my eyes, letting myself drift off.

~Janice~

That stupid b***h! Both of them, child and adult. How dare Shanice put her hands on me as if she could do anything to me. That little brat; I swear I can’t stand her! If she hadn’t been there, I’d have been able to get in bed with Jax, and I could have made sure he and my sister stayed apart.

I button my coat up and hop in my car, pissed. I drive through packlands until I end up in a human town. I find the first bar I can and pack. I will drink my problems away, though the only issue is that alcohol doesn’t impact me much since I’m a shifter.

I sit at the bar and order a whiskey, neat. As soon as the bartender hands it to me, I throw it back and tap the bar for another. The bartender serves glass after glass, and I knock each back with the same enthusiasm. I think the bartender decided not to cut me off because he could see I wasn’t getting belligerent. I just need a few more glasses to get a slight buzz. It isn’t much, but it will do after this disaster of a night.

I’m in between drinks when I feel someone approach me on my right. “Get the lady a refill.” I smile and look up to thank him when my blood runs cold. This can’t be happening, though it makes sense. Of course, my s****y night would be concluded with more s**t. “Hey there Janice. He sent me to find you. We have some things to discuss.”