Mates: Jax's Story

Chapter 10

~Shanice~

“Hi! I’m Alpha Kehlani and this is my Gamma, Melanie. It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Yes, I remember you. This is my sister Shanice; she wasn’t there when I came the first time.” A hand reaches out to me, and I consider ignoring it, but I have to remember who that hand belongs to. I take the Alpha’s hand, and we shake. Melanie and I do the same thing.

“Th….thank you for letting us join.” My voice isn’t higher than a whisper. I really want to curl up in a corner somewhere.

“Please, no thanks is necessary. We just hope this is a good fit for you and your siser. Why don’t we go to the cottage we have set up for you? It will just be temporary until you two get what you really want.”

“Oh, we just need to worry about Shanice here. I’m sure Jax and I will just stay in the packhouse.” The pain that ripples through me hearing that is unreal. She’s just so casual about taking my fated mate that I don’t understand. I mean, I guess if she had him first, I get it, but still. Fated mates are sacred throughout the werewolf world. We wait our entire lives to find that person who was made for us. Whether we are dating someone or not, we usually give in to the mate bond.

I can feel the tears start to gather in my eyes. I turn away from the group and try to blink them away. I don’t want Janice to see how much she’s impacting me. “Let’s head to the cottage.” The ladies start to move, and I pull up the rear. There is little conversation during the walk, which is fine with me. I don’t need to keep up social appearances because I just don’t care. I want to disappear, and I can do just that the soon I can get to this cottage.

“Here we are.” Startled, I look up and notice a small cottage. It looks old, but the upkeep is impeccable. I start to go inside when a hand touches my arm as I pass. “Are you okay?” I try to put my best fake smile on my face.

“I’m fine, just a little tired.” The Alpha seems to believe me, though I catch Melanie looking at me.

“Well, we don’t want to keep you. We’ll leave you two to get settled. Maybe we can get together some time to get to know each other better.” I nod and head into the cottage, hearing Janice and her fakeness as I go.

~Jax~

It’s been three days since Shanice and Janice moved onto packlands, and I haven’t seen Shanice. Well, I’ve seen her, but always from a distance. She is never close to me; I think it’s on purpose. Anytime I think I can get close to her, she disappears.

Janice, though, I can’t seem to escape her. She’s always seeking me out and trying to get me alone. Thankfully I’ve been able to get the pack on my side, and they help keep her way from me. If I could just have the sisters switch, Shanice following me everywhere and Janice keeping her distance.

I’m sitting at my desk, wallowing yet again. I’ve had to keep a block up with Corneilus because all he does is moan about being with his mate. I completely agree and would love nothing more than to bask in her scent, but I can’t force her. I’ve been feeling so sluggish and short-tempered, and it gets worse every day. My door flies open, and I close my eyes, scared to see who it will be.

“Get your ass up!” I peek out of one eye and am relieved to see Kehlani standing in front of me.

“I’m not in the mood, Red.” Kehlani walks up to my desk and sits on the edge, facing me.

“I didn’t ask you all that. You need to get up. You’ve been wallowing for days and it isn’t healthy.”

“You don’t know how it feels to be away from your mate.” Crap, I realize my mistake automatically. Kehlani stands to her feet and places her hands on her hips.

“Excuse the hell out of me! What is it, exactly, that I don’t understand?” I decide to keep my mouth shut, so I don’t make my situation worse. “Need I remind you of the agony that Jayden and I went through….twice?! First, he goes back home only to contemplate getting back with his former mate that he had a child with. I had to go to him and have it out for him to see the error of his ways. Then, while there, she tries to force herself on him. On top of that, when we’re supposed to be deliriously happy, he’s kidnapped, and they tried to remove our mate bond. I had to be without him throughout my entire pregnancy. Don’t you dare tell me I don’t know what being without your mate feels like!” I stand up and grab Kehlani’s hand, which is fisted up.

“I’m so sorry, Red. I wasn’t thinking. I know you and Jayden went through a lot, and I can’t even imagine what that was like.” I run a hand through my hair. “This is so hard to deal with. I don’t know how you did it. You stayed on top of everything while you and Jayden were apart that first time. I feel like I’m slowly coming apart being away from Shanice.” Kehlani places a hand on my shoulder.

“I get it, really I do. I don’t know what’s going on with her. She didn’t say much when they moved in that day. Janice did all of the talking and Shanice looked like she wanted to disappear.” I sigh and close my eyes. “Maybe I need to get her alone to talk.”

“At this point, who knows? I just which I knew what the issue was. Maybe it’s something I can fix.” Kehlani pats my back and heads for the door.

“I will make sure you are happy, I swear. Just be patient.”