69. Jax

69

Jax

Anna wasn't in the room.

I couldn't help but let a little growl escape me. I'd given her specific instructions not to leave the room, and I had two witches but no mate.

"She did not take the revelation that we were kin well," Evalina said dryly as she sat next to Lunessa. The younger witch had awoken and was sitting up in the bed. Relief swept through her eyes when she looked at me. "You made it. The spell was not as side-effect free as I hoped, but when I realized what it would take from me, I couldn't stop. I worried what it would take from you."

"What do you mean? Did it steal your magic?"

"No, but it allows a secondary spell to attach. One that analyzes a person and reports back. Saris, whatever she is, definitely anticipated getting out of that bunker alive. She'll know all about my magic. She may know all about your wolf too, although maybe not considering you woke up right away." Pushing the covers away, Lunessa stood and rolled her neck. "Although the secondary spell did leave me energized and refreshed. What have I missed?"

When she heard what happened, her features darkened, and she glared at Evalina. "You were related to Katherine, and this was how you chose to tell Anna? Sometimes I think it's better if you stay locked away in the den."

"Respect your elders," Evalina snapped.

Lunessa just rolled her eyes. "I am sorry, Jax, for the wolves you've lost, but I do think I can help with Finn and Irene. That secondary spell has given me an idea."

I nodded. "Good."

Evalina narrowed her eyes. "Anna is pregnant," she announced, still watching me. "Strange that the proud father isn't announcing that from the rooftops."

"Now is not the time to celebrate," I growled, studiously ignoring Lunessa's gaze.

"Do not let the darkness take away from your joy, or you will fall to it no matter how hard you fight," she warned before she rose and walked toward me. Stopping short, she spoke in a low voice. "I trust that you will do whatever needs doing before it is too late."

She was asking me to kill her. If she'd asked me before revealing that she was Anna's kin, I would have been more than happy to comply. Hell, if she'd asked me without Anna around, I probably wouldn't have hesitated.

But the look on Anna's face when Evalina had revealed their connection haunted me. As well as her words.

Would I be no better than Maeve?

Did it matter? To protect Anna, I would do anything. I'd spill whatever blood was necessary.

When she left, I turned from Lunessa, but she popped right in front of me in the blink of an eye. I snarled. "I see your magic is just fine. Any reason you couldn't have done that from the bunker?"

"I could have gotten myself out in time, but I doubt I could have transported you," she said smoothly as she studied my face. "You do not look well, Alpha."

"A psychopath wants to use my mate to do ungodly magic. Of course I don't look well."

"You're worried about the babe," she concluded. "There is never just one path. Even if she does have a son…"

"I'm not discussing this with you," I interrupted before she recoiled in horror. "What I mean is that there are more pressing issues. Irene can't be trusted. Finn can't be trusted. I need something to block Maeve's ability to use them. Figure it out. Please."

Before she could say anything else that pissed me off, I went in search of my mate.

I found her in my office, sitting on the floor in the corner, with papers and maps spread out everywhere. I had to step on one of them to get to her, and she looked up sharply at me. "If you're going to lecture me, you can save your breath. I won't be kept holed up in a room."

Carefully, I sat on the floor next to her. "Not holed up. Safe," I grunted. "What are you doing?"

"Maeve's territory has to have a weakness. The faster we get to it, the faster we can save Lucy."

"Anna…"

"If she dies, Finn will be broken. Irrevocably broken. There comes a point of no return, Jax. Lucy is his sister. Whether they grew up together or out, she is his sister."

She wasn't listening to me. Her entire focus was on the map. Finn was so important to her. Her connection to the past that she couldn't remember and the man who'd risked his life for her again and again. There was a time when I was jealous, but I could see now that he was part of her support group. She needed him to be okay.

And I couldn't help her. Finn was bound to me. I loved him like I loved all of my wolves, but I would not let her sacrifice herself for him or for anyone else.

I ripped the map away from her, and she snapped her head up, shock and rage in her eyes. "This map won't show you any weaknesses into Maeve's territory," I told her coldly. "Don't you think I would have found it by now? I've had my people studying every inch of what we know of her territory. Whatever you're looking for isn't going to be found on a map."

"So you're just going to stand here and let her continue to attack us? To hurt us?!" Jumping to her feet, she stared at me in a way that would have been a challenge if any other wolf had done it.

Her words cut deep, but I didn't flinch. "No. I'm sending a team to retrieve Maeve's old doctor, and I'm going to have a talk with Finn about any rogues that he's encountered who used to live in her territory. There is a reason that they don't live there now. I'm going to talk to London and Cruz and see if they have any transfers from Indigo Peak. I'm going to have the witches scour every inch of the text that I brought back from the compound, and I'm going to try and temporarily claim a hundred acres of the rogue territory that surrounds us."

At that, her eyes widened. "Do you have the power to hold that kind of territory?"

"Not for long," I said darkly. I was banking on Maeve moving quickly to capture Evalina. I already held a great deal of land. The land itself might reject me if I try to take more, but even if it did allow it, I didn't have the strength to hold it for longer than a week, maybe two. It was a risk because it would weaken me and weaken the pack, but we'd know if an army moved it, and that extra time would save lives.

Anna shook her head. "It's not enough, Jax. She wants us playing defense. We need to go on the attack."

"And when we have the kind of information that allows us to do that, we will. Right now, I'm playing the only fucking hand I've got. The best thing for you to do is quit distracting me and stay at the house where we can keep an eye on you. You're fucking key to this whole thing. She doesn't get you, and her plan dies. She doesn't get Evalina, and her plan dies."

Anna spread her hands. "I am in the house, Jax. I'm in your office."

"But you're alone. I need eyes on you."

"Why don't you just throw me in the cells next to Finn, then? We can both be your prisoners!"

My blood iced over. "I won't do that to you, Anna. Not ever." Not knowing that her father had all but done that to her. Imprisoned her. This was just temporary. Surely, she could see that.

She placed her hand over her belly. "Are you going to tell me how you're feeling about this baby, Jax? We haven't talked about children, but this pup is here, and I think we need to talk about it."

"I think if Maeve gets her hands on you, then it won't matter how I feel about it. Have you eaten?"

It wasn't the best way to handle the situation, and when she stared at me, I knew that I'd fucked up. Without a word, she walked past me and out of the office, softly closing the door behind her. I closed my eyes and wished she'd at least slammed the door. Maybe the noise would have helped to break up the cold darkness spreading through me.