Demonic Regime

Chapter 11: Adorable (Jax)

Max sat on the end of the bed and let out a deep breath. He stayed there for a moment before going to lock the door. He walked back around to my side of the bed and scratched the back of his neck.

I started to laugh. I just couldn't help it after seeing such a large creature looking so insecure. "Come on. Look at me. You don't have to beat much in the looks department."

Max's shoulders dropped, and he grumbled. "I just don't like human form. It's too exposed, and I feel like my defenses are gone." He chewed on one of his claws. "It's irritating."

"Fine." I flung my arms to the side. "Just do it as werewolf. I'll probably scream through the whole things because it hurts so bad, but that's your choice. But it'll be one you'll have to live with the rest of your lives."

"Are you blackmailing me?" His ears laid back. "Really? That's how you want this relationship to start."

"Let's be honest, it didn't start off that great to begin with, so let's just make the most of it. You get your mate with a good bloodline. My family doesn't get slaughter and maybe I'll get to walk again someday. We both have our reasons for doing this."

He glared at out the window, clearly pouting.

I raised an eyebrow. "Come on. You being overdramatic. For the last couple days, all I've heard is we're mates. If someone gets to see you as human, it should be me." And I was really, really curious about what he looked like too.

"There's going to be red in your fur, I already know." Taking a deep breath, Max closed his eyes. The fur disappeared into his skin, and his muzzled pulled back, turning into a human face.

I just stared. He was adorable.

***

(Jed)

My stomach was eating me alive. I stared up at the bunk above my head. I'd get up and find something to eat, but the adrenaline rush and blood loss were catching up with me now.

"Hey." Pix walked over and tossed a bundle at me. "I found this in storage. Try not to let a werewolf rip it to shreds. We don't exactly have any stores around here." She sat down on the bed beside me.

I held up the shirt. It looked like it would fit. "Where do we get supplies? I mean werewolves outlawed humans being allowed to own guns decades ago. When my dad was a kid, he remembers watching a guy being killed because he had hidden an old rifle in his house."

"The werewolves make it sound like free humans are just scavengers who are struggling to survive, but toward the east human run their own mini-country. We have a government and trade with werewolves."

"Really?" I smiled. "I honestly thought every free human was a fighter for the rebellion or living in hiding."

"Nope." She leaned back on her arms. "The werewolf would wipe them out if they openingly supported us, though. We get supplies through the black market. The human government is on our side, but it has to be kept a secret. To the public, they condemn us as an extremist faction causing conflict between humans and werewolves, threatening to start the war all over again." Pix rolled her eyes. "So just a warning, if you ever end up in one of the human cities don't let anyone know you're a fighter. The government is on our side, but the people are not. They'll turn you over to the werewolf in a second. No one wants to go back to war, and everyone blames us for any sanctions the werewolves put on the humans."

I shook my head. "This is nothing like I imagined. The werewolves painted this whole different world inside my head. They'd tell us over and over how lucky we were to part of the pack because the alternative was starving to death in the south."

"Tell me about it." She stood. "Another warning, if anyone asked outside the compound, you were born a free human. Runaways come with a reward."

"Good to know." I breathed out through my nose. My reward would probably be higher than most because I was a werewolf killer.

"Dinner is in twenty minutes." She hung onto the bedpost. "If you're still not feeling well, I'll tell Hide and see if I can bring you something. Werewolf caused wounds always take it out of you."

I rubbed my face. "Tell me about it. I haven't felt like this since having the flu for a week as a kid."

She tapped her finger on the post. "You should up and going in a couple more days. I'll let you rest. See you around, Red."

I gave a slight wave and closed my eyes. My head was still pounding.

It was hard to believe that there were human cities. The werewolf hadn't actually conquered the entire world like we were taught in school. Then again, if everyone knew back home that there were free human living normal lives more people would try to run away. I would.

Thoughts of my family came to the front of my mind. "God damn it." I grabbed handfuls of my hair and pressed my palms to my eyes. They'd be okay. I was the one at fault. They'd test Ricky and Maggie. Their blood had to almost as good as mine. I was most worried about Jax. Could he survive all of this?

I lifted my hands above me and stared at the blue veins in my wrist. If only my blood had been shit, then I wouldn't have taken it this far.

Covering my face, I let out a shaky breath. "Please, if there is a god, watch over them and give Jax a chance."