He probably does, Jax thinks. With every word, the wild wolf relaxes further into Jax as if pinning the memories to a word is stopping them from running through his head.
When he’s finished, Jax gently kisses his forehead then pulls back. Gray’s eyes are dark and uncertain.
“Try not to worry. We’ll deal with this together.” Together. And here he had intended not to give the wolf any promises he couldn’t keep. Well, damn it. He can keep this one. He’s a doctor. He’s not going to send Gray off into the world broken, whether that is physical or mental.
But Gray has something else on his mind. “I got the flowers wrong, didn’t I?”
Oh god, the flowers. Jax had forgotten about them. And the rabbits. What was he thinking?
“It wasn’t right. Why—”
“It’s what your brother said I needed to court you. Flowers and dinner. Dinner is food, right?”
Dinner. Dead rabbits. Jax supposes it makes sense to a wolf.
“It wasn’t quite right, but I appreciate the sentiment,” Jax shrugs, thinking of the vast array of flowers, then adds. “Gregor is going to have a fit.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Those were his orchids.”
“I still don’t understand.”
Jax sighs. “I’ll deal with it. Just keep out of the greenhouse, okay. The glass house, I mean.”
“I will. No more flowers. No more rabbits. I promise.”
Jax gives a small smile. “I wouldn’t mind flowers occasionally. We’ll just have to work on where they should come from. Definitely no more rabbits.”
He sighs, but there’s a more pressing matter. “We need to talk to my brothers about what happened with your pack.”
“Why?”
Jax hesitates. How to tell Gray that his brother hasn’t taken the pack higher into the mountains like he thinks, and is instead stalking omegas on the mating run instead? That he’d stalked Jax?
Gray has been through enough. On the other hand, telling a lie or avoiding the question is the worst way to start a relationship.
A relationship. Warmth flushes through Jax’s veins at the thought. Even with the nicest of his alpha boyfriends, he’s never thought of any of them as an actual relationship.
It’s why he needs to be honest now. If he wants Gray to be his partner, he needs to treat him like one.
Jax draws in a deep breath and tells him.
GRAY
brothers and motivation
“What does Ash want?” Adam asks the question, but he’s not the only one looking for an answer.
There are six pairs of human eyes looking into Gray’s own, making him feel dizzy.
Ash. His brother has a label too. It’s catching.
What does the ash-scented wolf want? Gray isn’t sure. He thought Ash wanted to be leader of the pack, but that doesn’t explain why he followed Gray down the mountain.
“I don’t know.” He’s become more familiar with human words in his short time with Jax, but having so many people looking at him is flushing everything he knows about humans out of his brain.
He answers slowly, sounding out the sentence in his head before he says it out loud.
Gray is confused, and he hates that he’s confused. A fog of confusion descended the day he came down the mountain and it’s hardly lifted since.
Jax squeezes his hand. It’s another human custom: taking someone’s hand in yours and just holding it. Gray likes it. The warmth of Jax’s smaller hand in his tethers his conscious mind to the part of him that believes that everything is going to be alright.
“Okay,” Adam says. By the scent of it, he’s sitting in the same place he usually does. Gray is opposite him, with Jax sitting on the arm of the chair so he’s close by. Gray likes that too.
Jax’s other two brothers stand on either side of Adam, like sentries. Gray is wary of the big bearded one. He was the one who held Gray down on that first day in the clinic.
The only thing Gray knows about the other is his name.
Luke. The man looks him up and down as if appraising Gray’s ability to fight back. He probably is.
Jax called Luke the pack’s second which Gray understands something like the wolf who has to fight on behalf of the pack leader.
He fits the part. Luke is tall, like the other Winterstoke brothers, and on the surface, he seems more relaxed. His top half is covered in clothing made of soft wool and his hair is longer and curls at the nape of his neck.
He gives Gray a casual, friendly smile but Gray is not fooled. He can see the muscles coiled underneath the soft clothes and the sharpness behind the eyes. This is not a wolf to be crossed.
Always be wary of a strange wolf. That was his father’s voice again.
The wild pack didn’t get many strangers joining them from the outside world, and it always took a while for the strangers to get used to the pack’s ways and for the pack to trust them.
Gray thinks the Winterstoke pack is going to be like that too. He’s the strange wolf here, and Luke and Gregor Winterstoke are watching him in the exact same way that Gray and the ash-scented wolf used to watch strangers in their midst.
He is beginning to understand the magic of words. There is something about pinning them down in your head, then sending them out in the world that makes sense of everything in your own head.
There aren’t just alphas in the room, there are two omegas too.
One has the distinct scent of the omega who hides in the room beside Jax’s. He’s small and slim, with nervous dark eyes that make him look like he is going to bolt at any moment. Gray stares at him curiously until he remembers what Adam had warned him about earlier.
The other omega is tall, dark, and extraordinarily pretty. A pink-cheeked baby sits on his lap grabbing at his face with fat little hands, and he’s giving off a strong secondary scent of Luke. This must be Luke’s mate then, Gray realizes.
These people are the core of the Winterstoke pack: all of the people important to Jax.
The thought makes it even harder for the words to form in his head. All he needs to do is tell Jax’s family about his own. It shouldn’t be this difficult.
Adam is giving him a look that makes Gray think that the words flow a lot faster in Adam’s head than in his own.
“Let’s start slow then,” Adam continues, one hand absently rubbing against the outside of his leg. “We’ve tried to approach your brother, but he’s fast. None of us have managed to get even close.”
Of course, they haven’t. They’re humans first, and wolves second.
The Winterstokes are big and they’re strong and they’re fast, but they don’t instinctively keep to the right side of the wind, or know how to put their paws down quietly.
The faster they go, the noisier they are. And that’s without even the stink of human pollution that radiates out from each of them.
When they were cubs, Gray and the ash-scented wolf stalked humans for play and they never knew anything.
Even in Gray’s head, that sounds like something a strange wolf might take as a threat, so he keeps it to himself.
“How do we get him to talk to us?” Adam continues.
“He won’t.” Gray doesn’t have to think about that, or even sound the words out. His brother hasn’t turned human since they were cubs.
The brothers exchange glances, and Gray knows that look too. It’s the one that says they are going to have to take down a threat.
Gray’s stomach flips and a wave of nausea flushes over him. His human thoughts send images shooting through his brain: three big wolves running down his brother, their sharp teeth ripping into his belly.
“Don’t...”
Adam exchanges another look with his brothers.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t kill him. Please. He’s not bad. He’s just—”
Just what? He’s just the ash-scented wolf, who was born at the same time as Gray, who was always there, from the moment he was born until the moment G
ray ran.
“He’s just—. He’s just Ash.” My brother. Maybe if Gray keeps saying the label they’ve given him, maybe they’ll treat him like a human too.
“No one wants to hurt him,” another voice says softly. It’s the scared omega, the one who hides. His voice is soft and lilting, like running water at the height of summer. Gray likes it. “They don’t do that. Not unless they have to.”
But they will if they have to. That’s what Gray takes from it.
Jax squeezes his hand again, then lifts it to rub his hand along Gray’s shoulder. It should help but it just serves to remind him that he is broken. He can’t do anything to save his brother from the Winterstokes, and he can’t do anything to save the Winterstokes from his brother.
He can’t do anything except wait on the sidelines and say ‘Don’t’.
Adam fires more questions at him. Why would Ash leave his pack undefended? Why would he attack omegas but not claim them? Why is he here at all?
Gray doesn’t know the answer to any of their questions. They’re the wrong ones.
“You’re thinking like a human. Ash isn’t human. He doesn’t think like one,” Gray frowns. “I’m not sure he even thinks like a wolf. He doesn’t think at all. He reacts.”
“To what?”
To me. The moment the thought hits, Gray realizes what his brother wants. Gray isn’t a risk to Ash’s leadership now, but he will be when his arm is healed and he can shift again.
Ash doesn’t think their fight is finished. That makes Gray the wolf who is the threat to the Winterstokes, not Ash.
He needs to leave. If Ash knows he’s gone, he’ll go back to the mountains and to the pack where he is supposed to be. Gray opens his mouth to tell them that, but before he gets the chance, Jax speaks up.
“We’ve got another problem.” Jax is holding up his phone. “Just got a text from Barnes at the clinic. Cole Bennett’s pack have arrived. They’re on their way up here now.”
JAX
books and whiskey
Jax shudders. His heat is on its way. Ants crawl up his arms and over his skin, turning the air ice cold and then white hot. He has maybe a day, maybe a few hours.
No one is watching him, not even Gray. They’re all reacting to the text he had from Barnes.
Jax fishes in his pocket for the blockers. They’re not likely to do much good now, but they might give him an extra few minutes. He might need that. Either way, they won’t hurt.
Adam is on his feet, shoving his crutch towards Ben. “Go to your room and lock the door. Take this with you.”
Ben grabs it and runs as if he doesn’t need to be told twice.
“Adam—”
“In a minute.”
His big brother turns to the other two alphas. “We’ve got maybe ten minutes before they get here. Clean out Gray’s things from the tower. Drench it in scent blocker, and make sure that damn window at the bottom is locked for once.”
The two alphas nod and disappear through the doorway to the tower. Adam doesn’t wait to see if his orders are being carried out before he keeps going.
“Cal, go home with the baby. Drive the back way in case you come across them on the roads. It should be fine but let’s not take any chances. We don’t know what they’re planning.”
Cal nods and obeys. In a matter of seconds, he’s half-way across the room, the child on his hip, car keys in his hand.
Adam turns to Gray and Jax, then taps his fingertips against his thigh, drilling holes with his eyes into Gray’s face while he thinks. Jax can almost see his brother’s thoughts whirring as he takes charge and works out the best way to protect his pack.
“Hide Gray in your bedroom, then come back. Do you have any painkillers for my leg? Something hardcore that’ll knock the pain out but won’t make me foggy? Anything that’ll help me hide the limp for a while?”
“Yes, I think so,” Jax replies. “I also—”
Have to tell you I’m going into heat. Not now. He’ll last. He has to. “Never mind.”
Jax grabs Gray’s hand. The wild wolf is just standing there in confusion, and Jax isn’t sure he’s aware of how much at risk they are, but he doesn’t argue when Jax pulls him along behind him towards the bedrooms.
“Gray,” Adam’s voice stops them both in their tracks. The oldest Winterstoke brother doesn’t give commands very often but when he does, not a single one of them can resist obeying. “Stay where Jax puts you. Do not move until we tell you otherwise. Do you understand?”
Gray nods, although Jax would put money on endless questions spilling out from the wolf’s mouth the moment that they are alone. Those are going to have to wait too.
Jax tugs at his hand again, and the wild wolf follows.
His bedroom is still filled with flowers. The scent should be overwhelming, but Jax can’t even pick them up under the overwhelmingly delicious scent of alpha beside him. Jax pushes the thoughts away.
There’s no time for that now.
“Just wait here,” Jax says, and then at the look in Gray’s eyes. “I’ll be fine and not far at all. I’ll be with my brothers and they’ve always looked after me perfectly well. Just promise me you’ll stay.”
By way of answer, Gray sits heavily on the bed and then dives onto Jax’s pillow, and Jax can hear him taking deep sniffs.
Oh dear, Jax thinks. Well, as long as he stays where he is.
He considers locking the door behind him but decides that will make it more likely for Gray to panic again so he doesn’t.
He grabs a box of the strongest painkillers he has from the medical bag he keeps at the bottom of his closet, then makes a beeline for the common room.
He finds Adam setting out drinks on the bar. His chess set sits beside the table, half the pieces on each side and the other half in their starting positions, as if they’d just finished a game and were in the middle of setting out a fresh one.
So that’s the tactic: they’re playing casual but strong. It won’t be the first time they’ve played this game but it is the first they’ve done it with an injured pack leader and without the allied forces of the wild wolves to bluff with.
“Look good to you?” Adam asks without turning around.
“Yeah,” Jax replies. “Nice and casual. That better be my whiskey.” He nods at the three glasses, a half-empty bottle on a bar counter between them, then holds out the box of painkillers.
“Thanks.” Adam doesn’t drink alcohol, although right now he looks like he wishes he were. He swallows a couple of the tablets with a glug of water, then hides the box behind the bar.
Jax takes a sip of the whiskey. It’s warm and soothing, not a drink he’d usually choose for mid-summer, being a mint mojito kind of fellow, but it’s comforting nonetheless. It burns his throat going down and he coughs.
Gregor and Luke join them moments later and take their places: Luke at the reception desk opposite the front door, lounging against the wood, and Gregor opposite Adam.
Jax takes the seat furthest from the door, tucking his feet up underneath him. He picks up one of Adam’s novels at random from the pile beside the chair. He hates this bit although he knows it makes sense.
Jax’s presence is a message: this is how unconcerned we are about you. We’ve got an unmated omega right out in the open. We are far too strong for you to do anything about it.
It’s a stupid message, Jax thinks but it’s always been an effective one. Or at least it has been so far.
As he opens the novel to a random page, the sound of a car engine drifts in through the open window.
Adam and Gregor exchange looks, and Jax hears Luke take a deep breath from across the room.
A moment later, a yellow pickup truck turns into the parking lot of the packhouse and slows to a stop. Jax puts his nose in his book.
His role is to sit and read, unconcerned about anything in the presence of his big, strong alphas. The thought makes him want to roll his eyes, but also makes his stomach hurt.
He keeps his
eyes down as the car doors slam and the sound of heavy footprints sound on the gravel outside.
By the sounds of it, there are three of them. A moment later, there’s a knock and then Luke’s light steps and the squeak of the door as Luke opens it.
Jax keeps his eyes down, his skin prickling. Hold it back.
This is a common occurrence, he tells himself. We chase away other packs so often that I don’t even notice them anymore.
He’s never been good at lying to himself, and the knot in his stomach gives another painful twist.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jax sees Adam get to his feet smoothly and only someone looking for it would notice the slight delay in movement on his left leg.
“Afternoon, fellas,” Adam’s voice says, “We heard you were on your way up.”
The whole town is watching you, better not misstep, Jax translates.
Adam’s voice continues, “I’m Adam Winterstoke, pack leader in Aylewood.”
A low lazy voice replies, “Aidan Ronmin.”
Jax forces his pupils to follow the lines of text on the page, although he couldn’t tell you what they said.
“Come in. Have a drink,” Adam says. He walks over to the bar, steady on his feet, and Jax knows how much it must be costing him to move that easily.
Jax schools his face to calmness ready for the introductions before he looks up with feigned casualness.
Ronmin is a slender man with a wide mouth set into what appears to be an ever-present smirk. His honey-coloured hair is cut short. It curls against his scalp giving him a boyish look.
Jax dismisses the other two almost immediately. They’re pure muscle: well over six foot, eyes darting around the room observing everything but completely still. They won’t do anything until Ronmin gives the signal.
He’s the one who needs watching. Jax is willing to bet Ronmin won’t even introduce his men by name.
Adam nods at each of them in turn, “My brothers Luke and Gregor, and our youngest Jason.”
Another line in the sand. No Jax for them.
Winterstoke Wolves Collection : An MM Mpreg Shifter Romance Bundle Page 29