by Marissa Teng
Lucia suddenly turned to him with a look of surprise on her face. Then she smiled at him and his bear roared with glee.
“Alright then, let’s get going. The sooner we get there and tell him off, the sooner we can throw him out of our lives for good.” Lucia said. Jaxson smiled and leaned down to kiss his mate. It ended quickly; he didn’t want the kiss to turn into something more.
Jaxson pulled her towards the door and Stellan followed. He grabbed his keys out of a bowl from near the door, and they all left their house and headed for his truck.
Eight
Lucia was wary when her son got into the back seat of the truck. She did not want him facing Sterling. But she also didn’t want him out of her sight. Leaving him alone when she knew Sterling was nearby scared her too much to even want to leave him alone.
She turned towards her mate as he reached over and grabbed her hand. His hand was warm and strong. It calmed her racing heart, the heart that raced with the fear of having to see Sterling again. The man who had abused her, raped her, tortured her, and sometimes made her son, his own son, watch forcing the innocence out of him.
What would happen when he saw her? Would he force her to go back with him? Could he? No... not now that she was claimed by Jaxson. But what about Stellan? Stellan was without a doubt Sterling’s son and therefore the next Alpha of his pack.
“Calm down, little wolf.” Jaxson murmured squeezing her hand softly, reassuringly. “I will keep you safe. Both of you.”
They came to a clearing where a group of people gathered. Even before Jaxson parked the car, Lucia could already feel the tension. Jaxson pulled his truck into a spot between two other cars. Jaxson opened his door and began to walk over to Lucia’s side. She took that time to turn to Stellan.
“Stay in the car until I say otherwise.” She told him. Stellan raised an eyebrow in question, looking at her with a calculated look that was way above her son’s age. Then he nodded and turned to look out the window. Jaxson opened her door and reached his hand out to help her down.
“You will be fine. He won’t hurt you and my pack will protect you if he tries anything, as will I.” Jaxson told her, reassuring her again. She nodded and they began to walk towards the group of people.
Then she spotted him.
Sterling.
He looked...wrong. Crazed. He paced from side to side on his side of an invisible line. His clothes were the same clothes he wore when she last saw him. They were still bloodied in places. His hair disheveled and his face sunken in. She had never seen this Sterling and was wary of him.
He looked up and she saw his eyes were red-rimmed and dark like he had been crying and hadn’t slept in weeks. This had to be an act, Lucia thought. There was no other explanation for this.
“Lucia!” he yelled and his voice was also wrong. He said her name like a prayer. Like seeing her was a relief. He tried to take a step towards her but three men, including Holden, Jaxson’s brother, stopped him. Sterling made an exasperated face and began to pace again.
“Something isn’t right.” She said lowly and squeezed Jaxson’s hand. Jaxson just growled in response. They now reached the others and Jaxson placed Lucia behind him as he faced Sterling.
“You are not welcome on my territory, Sterling.” Jaxson told him sternly.
“I’ve come for my wife and son.” Sterling replied and his voice, again, wasn’t right. “Please, I searched all night for them.” That was another thing that wasn’t right. Sterling never said please.
“You mean the woman who you never married nor claimed?” he pulled Lucia to his side. “I found this woman on my territory nearly dead from the cold not to mention covered in bruises and scars.”
Sterling ran a shaky hand through his brown hair making it look wilder than before. “Lucia.” He breathed, ignoring Jaxson completely. “Come back home now.” He ordered but it was a weak order and more of a plea.
“No.” she found herself saying with ease. “I’ve found my mate here.” Sterling’s eyes widened. “He is kind to me and does not hurt me.”
“You cannot have a mate! I am your mate!” he shouted. Jaxson took that moment to push back her hair letting her claiming mark show. He pulled her towards him possessively and reached down placing a kiss to the mark. Lucia shivered and didn’t pull away.
“She is my mate. She was never yours.” Jaxson said against her skin. “She will not leave this pack but you will. Now go. You have no business here.”
“This can’t be possible! You are a bear!” Sterling yelled and for a second, Lucia saw the old Sterling. The one who beat her without a second thought. The one who relished the feel of his fist against her face.
“I’ve claimed him and he has claimed me. I don’t know how it’s possible, but it is and I will never return to you, you monster!” she found herself yelling the last part finding a strength in her she didn’t know she had.
She saw panic cross through Sterling’s eyes. “I’ll change, Lucia. I promise I’ll change. Things—things will be different now. Just come home. I’ll claim you and will make you Luna.” Lucia felt no truth from his words and his plea on fell on deaf ears.
“No.” she said again, this time with determination. “I will never return to you.”
“You heard her.” Jaxson said. “Now leave my land unless you want a war on your hands which I can guarantee you will not win.” Sterling stopped pacing.
“My son...where is my son!” he shouted.
“Stellan is fine.” Lucia said. “He is with me and he will not return to you. Ever.”
“You cannot do that, Lucia! He is my son, my heir! The future Alpha of my pack!”
“No, you see, that is where you are wrong.” Jaxson said. “When I claimed Lucia, I claimed every part of her including her son. Now, he is my son and my heir.”
“No. No! He is mine! My son!” Sterling roared. Now the two men who were with him stepped away from the car and walked towards them. Lucia had seen them a handful of times throughout the years she was held captive. One was the man who saw to her while she was pregnant and on the rare occasions she got so feverish she thought she might die. He might have been Sterling’s Beta but she never asked and he never supplied the information. The other was one she saw only once on the day she was taken away from her home when she was 15.
“Alpha, is there trouble?” the first man asked. “Why isn’t our Luna by your side?” he asked and a flicker of something...maybe remorse, flashed through his eyes but only for a second before it vanished behind a mask.
“Because she is not your Luna.” Jaxson said smoothly. “But you had to know that since he never claimed her.” The man turned to Sterling and gave him a hard look which Sterling, if possible, shrank away from.
“What about the boy?” The man asked now looking away from Sterling and to Jaxson.
“What about me, Trenton?” Stellan said from beside Lucia. She jumped with a shock. Stellan had the uncanny ability to somehow mask his scent and would often sneak up on her. He used it a lot to hide from Sterling. Lucia grabbed his hand and pulled him to her side.
“I asked you to stay in the car!” she hissed. Stellan looked up at his mother and smiled.
“Sorry Mommy, but I’m not going back either.” He told her softly and then turned to the man, Trenton. She wondered how he knew his name but she didn’t. “I, reject everything from your pack. My title, my rank and my claim to anything.”
Trenton’s eyes went wide with shock but Lucia felt pride swell within her.
“You are just a child, you cannot make that choice.” Trenton stated shooting another hard look at Sterling. He was now staring at Stellan as both hands clutched his hair. Suddenly, Lucia realized why Sterling seemed wrong. He wasn’t in control. He had no control over this situation.
“Well, even if I can’t I still won’t go back. Sterling was never a father to me anyway. He hurt Mommy and he hurt me. Now, I’m glad she’s found her real mate because, for the first time, I saw her really smile a
t someone who wasn’t me.”
“She can’t have another mate.” Sterling said more too himself than anyone else. “She is my mate, always has been. I felt the pull. I’ve always felt the pull.” He was about to say more when Trenton spoke up again.
“There is a strange misunderstanding going on here and we will get to the bottom of things. Lucia, you and the young master will return within a fortnight or we will come back and collect you by force if necessary.”
“Don’t you dare threaten my family!” Jaxson roared and his words were so strong that all three of the wolves shrank back. “If you dare step back on my territory you had better be ready to fight because I will not hesitate to kill all of you.”
Trenton gave one last withering look at Lucia and Stellan then turned back to his Alpha, Sterling. He looked at Sterling with a disgusted, disappointed look and then motioned to the other man to grab him as he headed back to the car.
“Let’s go, Alpha.” The other man said with his rough voice. Sterling looked up at Lucia as his arm was grabbed and he was pulled away.
“Lucia, please. I’m sorry. Just come home! I promise things will change!” He pleaded and she felt as if she was seeing another man.
Not liking what she saw, she turned away from him taking her son with her. She walked towards the car as she continued to hear the emotional pleas come from him. She continued to hear them as she got in and slammed the door. She even heard them as Jaxson got into the car and started it.
“That was really weird...” Stellan said as the pleas of Sterling were carried away in his car.
“Yes...” Lucia agreed. “Something...something isn’t right. It was almost as if...that wasn’t the same Sterling.”
Nine
It had been three days since Lucia had her meeting with Sterling and the blanket of comfort that settled over Jaxson was beginning to fall. His mate and son were so very quiet. Not in a sense where they didn’t know what to say at times, but in the sense that they were quiet in the way they lived. Neither of them yelled, shouted or laughed out loud. They walked like thieves when they moved around the house and if it wasn’t for the fact that Jaxson now had Lucia’s scent embedded in his very being, he would never have noticed her walking at all.
Stellan was a different matter. He would appear behind Jaxson at random times causing Jaxson to jump and curse at being startled. He was an Alpha! A small boy shouldn’t be able to sneak up on him like this.
But he soon he came to find out Stellan, his son, was just curious about whatever Jaxson was doing.
“Why are you cooking?” he would ask from behind Jaxson causing him to burn his finger on the hot pot of spaghetti he was draining.
“Why are you doing the dishes?” he asked another time, which made Jaxson nearly drop one of the plates his mother had given him.
Then there were the countless “What are you doing?” questions that never seemed to end. They didn’t bother Jaxson though. Every time Stellan would ask a question, Jaxson would answer it.
“I’m cooking because I want to take care of you and your mom. I’m washing the dishes so that your mom could rest, she did them after breakfast. I’m making plans to add an extension to the house so you can have your own room along with more space for all of us.” Jaxson would never turn his son away so he answered every question.
He found Lucia to be the most wonderful person he could have as a mate. She never argued with him or lost her temper. He worried about that, though. He knew most guys would kill for a woman like that. Jaxson knew it had to do with how she lived all those years with Sterling. Stellan was the same way and was very obedient. When Jaxson saw him doing something dangerous, like climbing the bookshelf to get a book up top, Jaxson would run up to the boy, grab him and pull him down.
“Don’t do that, Stellan!” Jaxson would reprimand, and Stellan would not do it again.
It was only recently, today actually, that Stellan began to question why he couldn’t do things. It was around 9:30 pm and all three of them were on Jaxson’s small couch. He needed to get a new one, one that would fit all three of them a bit more comfortably. Not that right now he wasn’t comfortable. He had his mate resting her head on his chest as she read a book. One of his hands held up his head as he leaned on the arm of the couch, the other rubbed circles on Lucia’s side right above her hip. He noticed it calmed the racing of her heart which was always on such high alert.
Stellan had a blanket wrapped around himself and was fighting to stay awake to finish watching the TV show they were watching. It was a strange show about robots that transformed into cars. Or maybe they were aliens. Either way, Stellan had drifted off for a good ten seconds before he nearly fell off the couch. Right before Jaxson was about to jump into action and grab him, the boy caught himself and woke up. His reflexes were quite admirable.
“Stellan, I think you should go to sleep.” He told him.
Stellan sighed and nodded absently. He stood up from the couch and waited for his mother to get up along with Jaxson since the couch was his bed. Not because Jaxson told him to but because despite being as young as he was Stellan didn’t want to get between his mother and her mate. He knew she was happy and him sleeping in the same bed as them was a burden. Besides, he wasn’t a baby and didn’t need to sleep with his parents like a scared child.
But right before Stellan turned off the TV he stopped and narrowed his eyes at it.
“Why do I have to go to bed? I want to stay up later.” He said.
“You can’t even keep your eyes open. You nearly fell off the couch.” Jaxson responded with a chuckle. He and Lucia got up from the couch and stretched.
“You are tired, my love.” Lucia said pulling Stellan towards her and kissing his forehead. “Go on to sleep.” Stellan nodded and went to do as he was told but once again, he hesitated.
“I wanted to see how the show would end.” He complained. “If I go to sleep, I won’t be able to see what happens.”
Jaxson was glad the boy was starting to question things and rebel, even slightly. But now he found himself in a predicament. Should he let Stellan stay up and watch TV even though he was barely able to stand up straight? Or, should he put his foot down and demand to be listened to? On one hand, Jaxson was an Alpha. But on the other hand, Stellan had been through quite a lot for his age. Would letting him stay up late be considered spoiling him? He doubted it.
He would give Stellan this one victory.
“Alright, if you have the volume very low you can stay up and watch it until it’s over.” Jaxson relented or at least, pretended to relent.
“Really??” Stellan asked. He clearly did not expect to be allowed this. “I can stay up by myself? All night?”
“Just until the show is over, not all night.” Jaxson said. He ruffled his hair then pulled him into a hug.
“Thanks!” Stellan said hugging him back.
Leaving Stellan on the couch, Jaxson followed his mate to their bedroom. The second he closed the door behind them, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. His nose found her neck and he inhaled deeply. A shudder went through him as her scent filled him. He stuck out his tongue and licked his mark on her neck. It had healed nicely and seeing it filled him with such pride and happiness, not to mention stroke his ego with possession.
Lucia was his now and his alone. No one would ever take her from him. He had never realized how much he wanted a family. Being alone all those years made him think that was what he wanted. He shut himself up and hated how people always seemed to open a door he wanted to keep shut. Like how his pack formed around him.
Now, he couldn’t picture himself alone again. In fact, Lucia made him want more. He wanted to fill their house with their cubs. Or would they be pups? Either way, he didn’t care but he knew he wanted them with her.
Lucia let out a sound that was a cross between a moan and a gasp and it had Jaxson groaning as his bear roared with need. A need that mirrored his own. Never had Jaxson ever felt this much
need towards a woman.
Regretfully, Jaxson pulled himself away from her breathing raggedly. He couldn’t help but think about Stellan in the living room. Despite their conversation before, Jaxson didn’t want Stellan hearing what they were doing. He wouldn’t let his son relive bad memories.
Which is another reason why he had to wake up extra early and start with the extension to the house. His main focus at the moment: soundproof rooms.
Jaxson and Lucia brushed their teeth and then got into bed. Lucia was now so comfortable with Jaxson that she would quickly curl up on his side the second they got into bed. He loved that, having his mate in his bed. He loved that he could protect her and most of all, he just loved her.
He once again thanked the Star King for giving him the most wonderful gift. Because that’s what Lucia was: a gift. A gift from the heavens which he knew he didn’t deserve but didn’t dare question anymore. He would take his gift with no longer any doubt and just be happy with her. When and if Sterling came back in a week and a half and tried to take his mate, he would challenge him to an official match and rid himself of the bothersome wolf. He would rip out his heart and serve it to his mate on a silver platter.
As he played with his mate’s hair, lulling her to sleep, Jaxson thought about introducing her to his pack. She was after all their Astéri. She would be a fine one too. But first, he wanted to introduce her to his family. His mother and father had yet to meet her but he was sure Holden had told them about her. If not, he would call them tomorrow and set up some sort of dinner. Now that he thought about it, he would also be giving them a grandson. Surely his mother would be ecstatic. She was always bugging him to settle down and give her grandchildren. Now, in the span of a week, he had already done that.