"So you disobeyed me?"
"He's sick."
"Since when did toxins not make someone sick?"
"Jed is seriously ill. He's losing weight, won't eat anything. He's human, Judah. They can only take so much. Lower ranks have died from less."
"You're just going to give up then?"
"No, my mark is already there. To me, Jed is already my mate."
"That boy will never agree. This is how it has to be done. We've already made some progress with him, so if we stop now, we'll have to start all over."
"I'll figure it out."
"The pack is depending on you to produce an heir."
"I will."
"Not at this rate! I'm with the patriarch. Mate him."
"I'm not a rapist. Doing that will only confirm to him we're animals. He's my mate. I want to do this my way."
"I'll give you a month. If you're not mated by then, I'm stepping in. I'm not putting the pack's future at risk because you can't control a human."
A door slammed. I shifted on the bed and pulled the covers further up. A red hair was sticking to the pillow. I picked it off. It was darker than my hair. Never, I'd never do it.
Light filled the room.
"Jed? Are you awake?"
"What?"
He turned on the lights.
Groaning, I covered my eyes. "Goddammit, Axil."
He sat on the end of the bed. "Are you hungry?"
"Depends, is Judah going to stick me again?"
"The alpha left." He leaned back on his arms. "Did you hear us?"
I was quiet for a moment. "Was Judah mad that you healed me?"
"Yep." His ear flicked to the side. "Not as mad as our grandpa is going to be." He let out a sharp breath. "The beta failing to handle a human, comical."
"If it makes you feel better, I didn't break when the alpha tried either."
Axil laughed to himself. "I guess, just don't mention that to him."
"I wasn't going to. He'd just stab me again."
He fell back on the bed. "Can't you just agree to be my mate?"
"You know the answer."
He sighed. "Yeah, I do. I'll bring you something to eat. We better keep your strength up so you can keep telling me no."
I rolled over and tugged on the blankets. "Glad to see you understand."
***
(Jax)
"So here's the guest list." Alice handed her tablet to her son. "Go through it, but don't you dare cross anyone off without checking with me. Got it?"
"Wasn't going to." He started scrolling through the names.
"Everything's coming together. I finalized the catering this morning. The invitations should go out tomorrow." Alice looked at me. "Is there anyone besides your family that you'd like to invite?"
I shrugged. "I don't know anyone else."
"No one from back home?"
I shook my head. "No. My mother was always worried about my health, so we never had any visitors."
"Who's this?" Max handed the tablet to his mom. "When did he decided on a mate?"
"Axil," replied Alice. "It was a recent event."
"No one told me." He continued scrolling.
"Axil," I breathed, my chest tightening. "The werewolf from my first moon? Jed." I snatched the tablet from him. Axil, Beta of Wolfsbane was written on the line and right beneath, tab over one space was Jedrek, Wolfsbane. "Oh my god. It's him."
"Axil found your brother?"
Shaking my head, I pushed the tablet away from me. "I should be happy to know he's okay, but why?" I pressed my hands to my face.
"They're not mated yet," said Alice.
"Mom," said Max, annoyed. "So you did know? I think this was something you should've mentioned to me."
"Well, yes. Damien called your father. I guess they've been having some trouble and he hoped we might have some advice. I guess Judah is getting frustrated. Axil is the beta, and they would like a potential heir to the ranking to be born soon. The patriarch, he, well Jet's being is usually happy self." Forcing a smile, she clasped her hands on the table. "I'm sure they'll figure it out."
"Why can't they just let Jed go? If he doesn't want to be with this guy, then Jed shouldn't have to."
"I like to remind you that your brother has killed multiple werewolves," stated Alice. "He's only been pardon for what he has done to Midfield because my nephew chose him."
I clenched my jaw. "My brother just wanted to be free. He only did what he had to. You wouldn't know what it's like to be treated like shit."
Alice narrowed her eyes at me. "Excuse me; you will not speak to me like that. You have no idea the length that this pack goes for its humans. We should send them to Wolfsbane for a year and then when they came back; they might be a little more thankful."
"Mom." Max reached for her hand.
"He may be your mate, but this is my pack," she stated. "It's attitudes like his which started the war." She grabbed the tablet and left the room.
Max let out a sigh of frustration. "Jax. When are you going to realize that you can't talk like that? You're a werewolf. This is your pack. If you have a problem with how our pack is ran, guess what, you're apart of the problem. Even as a sub, you outrank everyone but a handful of people."
"Yeah, since being born to a high ranking family was nothing more than luck." I rose from the table. "I may look like a werewolf, but when I die, I'll go back to being human. I'll go back to be nothing more than livestock. If you wanted to stay in your delusional world where everyone is just so happy to be here, then fine, whatever helps you sleep. But I'm not going to forget where I come from."
Max peered across the room. "Sorry, I forgot that if you had still been on that farm, there is a good possibility you would be dead. My mistake for taking you away from that world and saving your life." He stood up from the table. "I'm going to check on my mom." He faced me. "Something you should remember is I'm going to be alpha. This will be my pack. When you see your brother, let him know that the moment my cousin marked him, he became a werewolf of Wolfsbane, just like you become the mate to the alpha of Midfield."
He left the room. Leaning against the table, I struggled to keep it together. Things were going so well until now. I didn't know whether I should be mad or if they were right. Did I even have a right to complain anymore? My family live in a mansion, my mate was the next alpha. I had everything. I wasn't just human anymore, but I wasn't completely a werewolf either.
Letting out a shaky breath, I ran my hands up and down, ruffling my fur. I just wanted Jed to be happy and it wasn't possible for him to be happy mated to a werewolf. I didn't know what to do, and maybe there's wasn't anything that I could.
***
An half an hour had past since our argument when I shuffled into the sunroom where Max was sitting with his mother. "I'm sorry."
Alice and my mate turned.
"For what I said. It's a lot. My old life wasn't ideal, but..." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm only alive because of Max and I've accepted that. I am thankful for everything you've done for my family. Jed..." I wrung my hands together. "He's my brother. I worry about him. I get to be happy and I want the same for him."
"Jax." My mate hurried over and wrapped me in his arms. "It's okay." Smiling, he cupped my face.
Alice joined us and gave me a side hug. "It's done with. Let's forget about it. Okay?"
Nodding, I wiped my face. "Axil will take care of Jed, right?"
"I think you know the answer." She glanced at her son. "Max has never fretted over someone as much as he does you. I do the same thing with Lorenzo. It drives him nuts, but it's apart of being the dominant partner of every mating." She shrugged. "We can't help it. Our mates are the most important person to us. Axil isn't going to be an exception. He'll take good care of your brother."
Taking a deep breath, I looked between the pair. "So did you figure out the guest list?"