16. Anna

16

Anna

Despite Jax's reassurance, I still couldn't get over the strange looks he was giving me. When Kenzi arrived in the middle of the afternoon to see if I wanted to go for a run, I gladly accepted. Even she looked taken aback that Jax didn't ask to join. To my surprise, Kenzi wanted to run on two legs and not four.

"What? It's good to keep in shape," she said defensively when she started to stretch.

"I'm pretty sure our wolves keep us in shape."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. I like to run to clear my mind."

"And you wanted me to join you?" When she didn't answer, I wrinkled my nose. "Is Jax making you do this?"

"Look, I'm trying to take my new role of being his third seriously, and that means getting along with you. I'm making the effort on my own. You don't owe me for saving you. That was my job. Now I'm just trying to bond with you a bit. Do you want to run, bitch, or not?"

It was all I could do not to laugh. "I guess I want to run."

"Good. You are so difficult," she muttered.

I finished warming up with her, and we started on a slow jog. What I'd said about the wolf keeping us in shape apparently was a lie. We'd barely finished a mile before I realized I was starting to feel out of breath. "Been awhile since you've had to run for your life, huh?" Kenzi laughed.

She wasn't wrong. When we'd escaped from Emerson, I'd been so injured that running wasn't an option. Since then, I'd been letting my wolf out more and more.

"Sometimes, my father would tell me that if I could make it to a certain point in the woods, a river or a rock, that he'd let me go. I knew it was a trick. It was always a trick, but I'd run anyway. I guess I was a more hopeful person than I thought. Anyway, he'd let his friends chase me and haul me back."

"Shit, Anna, I guess I really do need to learn to keep my mouth shut. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. You're not wrong. I am safer here with Jax." My thoughts drifted back to the last time I'd really had to run. I'd plotted my escape from Black Diamond and Danny had chased me.

And caught me.

"And his pack," Kenzi admitted. "Things have been different since you left. People are sorry for how they treated you. It'll be different when you return, which will be nice. Jax has been so unbalanced since the mating bond formed with you, and it's something we'd all felt."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"Yeah, it's because you're a null. Jenson made that distinction after you left. For a while, we thought you enjoyed keeping Jax and us all unbalanced. Jenson realized that you didn't know. You don't feel the pack bonds the way you feel the mating bond."

I didn't, which was strange. I could feel the mating bond. Both seemed important and intimate, so I wasn't sure why I would feel one over the other. It wasn't like I'd chosen either one.

"Bank left. I want to get out of the trees," Kenzi said in a tight voice. We'd been following a trail that wound through the forest, but we weren't all that far from the heart of London's territory. I did as she asked but glanced around. Nothing seemed out of place.

Still, when she picked the pace, so did I. I was going to be so pissed if this was her way of getting into shape. We ran off path for about a quarter of a mile before breaking through the tree line and toward the back of several buildings. "Right," Kenzi barked.

I took a sharp right until we reached the end of the building line, and then we both turned and crouched. For several heartbeats nothing happened. I opened my mouth to yell at Kenzi when I saw a large man running through the trees.

He stopped for a moment and stared at us before turning and running in the opposite direction. Kenzi started to take off, but I grabbed her arm. "You can't chase him. We don't know that he's a threat. He could have been running just like we were, and if we start attacking London's wolves, we'll wear out our welcome."

Kenzi snorted. "Running in full camo and a face mask? I don't think so. Besides, London won't kick us out. He needs Saul."

"He knows that Saul won't leave. Even if Jax orders it, I don't think Saul will listen. London can kick us out, and Saul will be here alone. I'm not about to let that happen. We'll report what happened to London, but we're not going to just attack any of his wolves."

I agreed with Kenzi that it was suspicious, but I also knew that unless he attacked first, there was nothing we could do.

We rounded the buildings that ended up being a strip of offices. The windows were large and open, and everyone inside stared as we walked by. I lifted my hand in greeting, which a few returned. "So now you want everyone to like you?" Kenzi asked under her breath. "I remember when you were antagonizing people for the hell of it."

"Bullies," I corrected her. "I was antagonizing bullies, and it wasn't for the hell of it. It was how I held on to my sanity."

"Come on. I want to get a few more miles in before we call it a day. Let's run to London's office and see if he or Cruz are in. Think you can do it or are you too out of shape?"

"Fuck you," I muttered and started jogging.

Kenzi laughed. "Wrong way, alpha mate."

Ugh. Was it really necessary that we be friends?

We ended up passing Cruz on the way to the offices, so our run was cut short. Cruz assured us that his guards didn't train in camo, and he would have the security look into it. He didn't seem outwardly concerned, and I could tell that Kenzi was frustrated, but there was nothing else we could do. London and Cruz had bigger concerns, and the man hadn't done anything except seem a little strange. I jogged back to the room to shower.

Jax was gone, but he'd left a note to say that he was going to check on Saul. I was surprisingly relieved that he was gone, although there was no real reason behind it. Just because he'd been looking at me oddly didn't mean anything. Still, I couldn't shake this unsettled feeling in my stomach that he was keeping something from me.

After showering, I ate the snacks that Jax had left for me—was the man just going to feed me every second of the day until we returned?—and I went to Janelle's room to check on her. To my surprise, she was gone, but Cindy was there.

"You smell like you haven't showered in days," I said without preamble. "Are you planning on punishing Janelle with your stink?"

She stared at me for a moment before she bowed her head and inhaled. "Oh, God. I do smell."

Then she burst into tears.

"Whoa, easy there. It's an easy fix. Just take a shower," I said in alarm. Crying women were so not in my wheelhouse. "It'll feel good to get all clean. It's kind of like a reset."

"I don't know how to do this," Cindy cried. "How am I supposed to be a part of a pack when I know that Janelle is there and can do what she does? And Jax isn't going to let me leave because I know too much. Whenever he comes to get her, I feel like they're going to conspire to take control of me again."

"He's just checking up on her," I told her. "I know Janelle has made some mistakes, and you paid a heavy price for it. Her magic was being controlled by others, and she did exactly what she needed to do to try and save everyone. I know you don't know Jax, and it's easy to assume the worst. I was in the same position as you."

She wiped her cheeks. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't heard? Why don't you take a shower, and when you're done, I'll tell you just how Jax and my relationship have progressed."

Nodding, she headed for her bathroom. Once she was showered and in a clean change of clothes, I told her my story about Jax. From when he killed my father and all the way up to when he came to save me from Emerson.

"Romantic," she said dryly.

I laughed. "Yeah. It's dark and messy, and I sometimes am worried that it's only going to get darker and messier, but I gave Jax a chance, involuntarily, and learned just what he would do to protect his pack. Stick around long enough, and you'll learn the same. As for keeping Janelle's secret, it's not so he can use her later. It's to make sure that no one can use her. You've experienced firsthand what happens if a corrupt alpha gets their hands on her, but Jax won't keep you with us. If you want to leave and start over, he'll let you do that. A rogue life isn't easy, though."

"You've killed all your enemies," Cindy pointed out with a sniff. "And I guess mine too, except for Janelle."

"Do you think she deserves to die?"

"No," she admitted. "And I'm not all that strong. I'm not sure I have it in me to kill."

"Don't be so sure about that. You fought Emerson's hold on you and threw liquid silver in his face while he was still your bonded alpha. That took a lot of strength, Cindy. You don't have to forgive Janelle or try to be friends with her, but eventually, you're going to have to find a focus in your life that isn't about her. You're punishing her, and she's letting you because she feels just as guilty. Keep it up for too long, and neither one of you is going to be able to move on. Maybe you don't want her to, but you deserve to move on. You deserve to be happy."

For the most part, she'd stopped crying, and she smelled better. I figured it was too much to ask her to leave the room today, but at least she looked a little more alert when I got up to leave. "Wait, is Janelle with Jax right now?"

Cindy nodded. "He came about an hour ago and asked if maybe she could help. Some wolf is in a coma."

Makayla.