21. Jax

Chapter 21

Jax

T he rage Jax felt was dangerous. If it wasn't for the audience, he would take great pleasure in removing the hand Leighton had used to touch Thea.

Jax wasn't impulsive. Every decision he made was thought through, and yet he was having an emotional response rather than a rational one. Logically, he knew he needed to walk away and not cause a scene. He should have followed Thea immediately, yet he found himself contemplating ways in which he could make a grown man scream like a child.

Leighton had laid his fingers on his mate hard enough she may even bruise.

Beast snarled a storm inside his mind, almost forcing him to shift so he could take care of the situation himself.

Tempting. Except a strange ache had developed behind his ribs at her absence. While Jax was quick and efficient, he felt Beast may take his time. Time he'd rather spend at Thea's side.

"She'll get bored of you, and she'll come crawling back to me." Leighton coughed, his earlier bravado diminished as he sprawled on the floor. His shirt had ripped in Jax's grip, saving him from suffocation – shame, really.

Jax knelt, knowing he didn't need to speak a single word. His expression said it all, his sheer size and scar enough for Leighton to shrink back like the pathetic piece of shit he was.

People scared much easier when Jax remained quiet. There was power in silence, in the unknown. Keeping his face as neutral as possible, he shoved some fabric of Leighton's shirt into his mouth, cracking a few teeth in the process. Leighton's eyes bugged out from his head, his nostrils flaring as he brought up his hands to intervene. But Jax was already there, and with little effort, broke every single finger on his right hand. The same hand he'd touched Thea with.

It wasn't removing the limb like he'd wanted, but it was enough.

WE EAT? Beast chuffed, sending an image of his tongue lapping at his muzzle.

"Leigh?" a high-pitched squeal called out. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Standing to his full height, Jax left Leighton screaming into the fabric just as the woman Leighton had been dancing with appeared in a cloud of floral perfume. Leaving her to pamper his bruised pride – and broken fingers – Jax made his way outside.

The wind had picked up, the temperature dropping as people huddled around the heaters in small groups. Jax took a second to scan the crowd, frowning when Thea wasn't amongst them.

Where the fuck is… A familiar ripple of awareness brushed across his chi, and he was moving before the thought even registered. His instinct took him down the side of the building, and that was where he found her on the ground, with blood dripping from her shoulder and a look of determination on her face. She held a knife, arm shaking slightly as she faced off against a hellhound, one of the most common Veyn he fought against. It crouched before her, jaws open in a vicious snarl. The spikes along its spine were erect, quivering against the wind as black vapour danced around its exposed ribs. Classification C due to its size, which meant it would be a pain in his arse, but not impossible to take down on his own.

Thea spotted him then, his name nothing but a quiet gasp.

Jax shifted mid sprint, colliding with the hound hard enough he felt his bones rattle. Fur parted beneath his teeth, the hound's flesh giving into his sheer force with an audible pop. He wanted to howl as the familiar taste of vile blood coated his tongue, but he couldn't release his grip.

Beast pressured him to give up control. Clawing at his mind as the hound thrashed around before smashing him against the brick. Jax's teeth ripped free, his jaw aching as he twisted his descent so he landed on his paws. Turning, the hound snarled, lips peeling back to reveal large canines covered in blood.

Panic ceased his lungs, causing even his beast to still.

Shadow-Veyn secreted deadly venom. And he hadn't been bitten.

Jax's claws cracked into the pavement, head cocked toward Thea. She'd crawled towards the wall, breathing laboured and eyes like saucers. Blood trickled from her shoulder, glistening in the moonlight.

"Jax!"

Weight collided into his side, followed by intense pain as sharp, dagger-like teeth ripping into his flank. Jax snarled, using one of his large claws to swipe at the hound. He was bigger, his paw taking a chunk of flesh with it. The hound knocked against the wall, brick dust and debris falling into its coarse coat. Black fur made up the majority of its back, the bones of its exposed ribs, and skull pale in contrast. The mist that danced between its ribs worked quickly to try to repair the damage Jax had already made, but it was weakening with every second.

Dropping his head, the hound simply watched, waiting with red eyes rolling freely within oversized sockets. It licked at its teeth, a putrid green drool dripping from its parted snout.

A scream echoed, jerking Jax's attention. The hound attacked, the momentum rolling them both as he fought with claws and fangs. The earlier panic had deepened, the ache growing inside his chest until it dominated every thought. He couldn't concentrate, the need to protect his mate overwhelming even as pain seared down his leg. Jax wasn't used to anything but the fight, his sole purpose was to take down and destroy the Shadow-Veyn. He never had to worry about his brothers because they were built to withstand the monsters, but Thea wasn't.

He managed to roll on top of the hound, pinning him to the concrete. But he couldn't hold on, not as Thea was hauled to her feet, a fucking Skull attempting to drag her further away.

Jax tried to jump up, the hound clamping its teeth into his back leg and restraining him. Jax pulled, his muscles ripping from bone as he tried to crawl closer to Thea, even with the hound on his back. She swore, twisting and screaming with all her strength before a ball of arcane knocked the Skull to the floor. Thea fell back, a woman dressed in black rushing over as another shot of arcane brightened the area. The magic prickled against Jax's chi, dark and corrupt, that had his beast's hackles rising in response .

The second ball collided with the hound, releasing its teeth and launching it away. Jax climbed to his feet, the pain something he was trained to ignore. Rearing back he barked, snapping his jaws at the man approaching. He held his hands up, posture stiff as his eyes darted to Thea and the woman, then back. Eyes that were red.

Beast pushed at the confines of his mind, the control weakening between them as the Daemon stood, arms encased in arcane.

He risked a glance to where the Skull lay disintegrated, the hound not faring much better as it struggled to stand. The arcane had eaten away at its flesh, almost burning through to the other side. The hound stilled, breathing shallow and no longer a threat.

Jax flattened his ears to his head, heart beating violently against his ribs as he returned his attention to the Daemon. Teeth bared, he widened his stance, readying himself to attack.

"Please!" the woman screeched, placing herself in front. She was young, late teens, early twenties at most. "Please don't hurt him. If you do, I can't heal her." She pointed to where Thea lay against the wall before Jax growled, and she dropped her arm.

Curses could be thrown by pointing.

Jax grumbled a warning, backing up until one of his tails could wrap around Thea's ankle. She still gripped the fucking knife, even if her arm was weak. His knife, the one she'd stolen.

"Please," the woman whispered this time, her voice trembling even as the Daemon came up to wrap his arms around her from behind. She reached up, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

Witch. That was what the woman was, her scent finally reaching his nose against the blood, death and fear .

KILL THEM, Beast roared, but Jax let out a huff in warning. The witch, with her blind eye and pale complexion, vibrated with terror, but the Daemon was more cautious.

"If you don't let me heal her, she's going to die," the witch said, holding her shaking hands up in a soothing way. She held no magic, even if her chi bristled against his.

Jax continued to back up, putting himself between them and his mate.

"Guardian," the Daemon grunted in a deep, brutish tone. "I mean you both no harm."

He felt a weak grip on his tail, Thea tugging.

"Please," the witch begged, breaking free from the Daemon's arms to close their distance. He snapped his jaws, causing her to flinch, small body shaking.

The Daemon's eyes glowed, matching the arcane that threatened on his fingertips. "Let's go, Faye." He held himself stiff, ready to pull her back to him. "We need to leave."

"You know I can't leave her." Taking a deep breath, Faye seemed to swallow her fear, straightening her spine as she met Jax's hostile gaze. "We don't have long. I need to get the venom out."

Gentle fingers sunk into the fur at his back. Stroking. Calming. "Jax?" Thea rasped, her voice rough with pain.

Jax tensed, his beast knowing nothing more than violence, sex, and hunger. He didn't understand the conversation, or the consequences. The stench of fear and Thea's vulnerability had put him in defence mode, and that was making it harder for Jax to stay present, to not let himself sleep so his beast could take control. They'd always been in perfect sync, but not then.

Beast snarled, forcing the sound out before Jax could strangle it. Enough! he snarled, forcing his beast to the back of his mind. Pain shot through his head, but it was nothing compared to the sharp ache of his other wounds. He couldn't shift back. There was too much damage. Fuck's sake. Exhaustion called to him, but he needed to remain awake for his mate.