Mates: Jax's Story

Chapter 11

~Shanice~

I’ve been avoiding my mate for the last three days. Anytime I catch a whiff of his scent, I go the other way. I’ve made sure to eat in the cottage we are staying in and try to bury myself in books. I have to admit the last three days have been hard. My mate is right there, yet I can’t have him. I have been so tired and feeling so out of it. Lola continues to cry for her mate, but I just can’t. I can’t deal with the fact that he is with my sister, of all people.

I have found it weird that I haven’t seen them together or heard anything about the Beta being with his mate. I mean, I haven’t been asking around…..much. I just can’t help it. I’ve been trying to find out everything about him without looking like a crazy stalker. I don’t know if I’m accomplishing my goal, but at this point, it really doesn’t matter.

Janice has been in and out of the cottage. I’m not sure she has even spent evenings at home. She has implied that she has been with Jax when I have seen her, but I haven’t smelled him on her once. Maybe she’s been showering out of respect for my feelings, but then again, that isn’t really Janice. She’s never really tried to consider my feelings that I can remember. I can’t stand to be in the same room as her or even look her in the eyes. Hopefully, she moves out soon; then, I will have an easier time.

I’m out of a few spices and decide to head to the packhouse to get a stash. We are between meals, so there shouldn’t be anyone in the dining room. I should be able to sneak into the kitchen and sneak back out. As I walk toward the back of the packhouse, I see a little girl playing in the grass. There is nothing wrong with a little girl playing outside; the issue is that she seems only to be 2 or 3. She’s completely by herself, and I wonder where her parents are.

I can see her features better as I get closer to the child. She’s a stunning little girl, no exaggeration. She has a medium brown skin tone, chubby cheeks, gorgeous green eyes, and curly black hair. She’s sitting innocently in the grass, fascinated by a butterfly. I quietly sit next to her and watch her. “Butfly…..butfly….” Her little baby voice is the cutest thing. She points to a butterfly that has landed on the blades of grass.

“Yes, that’s a butterfly. It’s a pretty one, isn’t.” I look around again, but there is no one but us. “What’s your name, pretty? Why are you out here by yourself?” Of course, I didn’t expect an answer; it’s not like she even understood the questions I asked.

The little girl continues to marvel at the butterfly, and I continue my fascination with her. I’ve always liked kids, always thought I’d have a few with my mate. Just that word makes images of Jax flood my mind, and my mood drops. I try to push it all aside, not wanting to upset my new friend. “KAMILA?!” We both look up and see a frantic woman running out of the packhouse. As she gets closer, I realize it’s the Alpha.

I turn to the little girl, and she’s giving me a grin. “So your name is Kamila? That is such a beautiful name.” I swear her smile grows even bigger, which is completely crazy. The Alpha comes up to us and plops on the ground.

“I swear, Kammi, you are driving me crazy!” Kamila crawls onto the Alpha’s lap.

“Momma,” she says while reaching for her. The Alpha smiles and snuggles into her. She looks up at me.

“You’re Shanice, right?”

“Yes, Alpha. I was j-”

“No, no….no Alpha. I’m just Kehlani. How are you settling in?”

~Kehlani~

I swear I’m going to have to put a tracker on Kamila. I put her down and turned for two seconds to find her gone when I turned back around. She is so fast and so quiet. It would be interesting to see her as an Alpha with how she is now. It isn’t something I will ever experience, but one can dream.

Imagine my luck when I finally track down my pup and find her with the future Beta of the pack. I planned to head to the cottage to talk to her, but she has presented herself. I can now kill two birds with one stone, which will make things much easier. “How are you settling in?” Kamila has moved to sit between my legs to play with the grass and the critters that hang out there.

“Uh, I’ve been doing okay. This pack is very different from my last one.” A dry laugh sounds.

“Yeah there is quite a difference between us and that pack. I see your sister is getting settled in.” She doesn’t respond as she looks off into the woods. I’d think she was trying to hide her facial expressions if I didn't know any better.

“I’m sure she’s more than ready to get me settled so she can move already.” Why does she sound as if her sister is planning to leave? She was the one who sought us out.

“What do you mean? Where would she be moving to? Did she decide on a location already?”

“I mean when she moves in the packhouse….” What the…..she’s supposed to be moving into the packhouse? “....and she becomes the Beta female….” I can’t help but scoff. Who the hell has fed her all of these delusions?

“Where did you get that idea from? The Beta female…..your sister?” Shanice looks at me with confusion all over her face. I don’t know where she got all of this craziness from, but I know that Jax needs to know what’s going on. I decide to change the subject so we can end the awkwardness. “So……….have you found your mate yet?” Okay, wrong question to ask, I guess. It’s almost like I threw a live grenade at her, and she’s afraid it will go off in her hands.

“I see you found our little love bug.” I look up to see my sexy mate walking over to us. I swear I could watch him for hours and not get bored.

“I did, and our new pack member was nice enough to keep her company.” I notice the blush on Shanice’s face, and I stand up, cleaning the grass off my jeans. “Why don’t you keep them company so I can take care of something really quickly.” Jayden nods and sits in my spot. I turn to head to the packhouse.

Jax, where are you?

I’m in my office. Why, what’s up, Red?

I’m on my way. We need to talk.