23. Jax

Chapter 23

Jax

I gnoring the large wound on his thigh, Jax yanked on the jeans his brother had thrown him. The shift had healed his muscle enough to hold his weight, but it would take some time before it was back to normal. He'd taken a dangerous hit, one that would normally leave him bed-bound for a week, but he'd been too distracted with Thea to realise.

"Fuck, J." Sythe let out a long whistle. "That needs to be stitched, otherwise it'll be a fucker to heal."

Jax ignored the concern, instead grabbing the boots and shirt several sizes too small. The fabric stretched across his chest, ripping slightly on his biceps.

Thea giggled, her legs resting vertically on the wall as she laid with her back flat to the floor, looking at the sky. Which was better than her staring at a decomposing vampire.

"What's wrong with her?" Sythe asked, crouching down.

"Hey Sy," she said in a dreamy tone, her head rolling to the side as she turned to him with a grin. "You still a misogynistic dick? "

"I can see why you called me and not Axel," Sythe laughed. "Is she high?"

Jax shook his head. "She was bitten by a hound."

She was also pretty high, but at least she didn't feel any pain. He hoped.

Thea sat up at his voice, looking over her shoulder at him. Her lips were parted slightly, her pink hair a mess from where she'd laid on the pavement. "You're not fluffy," she whispered, almost disappointed.

Sythe's smirk dropped, the colour draining from his face. "Did you say bitten? How the fuck is she still alive?"

After the initial scream of the witch sealing the wound, Thea had passed out. His beast had gone crazy, and it had taken everything in him to change back into the man – to fight for control that had been quickly slipping.

MY TURN, Beast snarled, pacing in the confines of his mind.

Just a little longer, he replied, hoping his beast understood enough to ease back.

"I'm fine." Thea went to swipe at Sythe, only to miss. "The witch made me glow green."

"Witch?" Sythe frowned. "What happened?"

Jax grunted, ignoring the deep ache in the middle of his temple. "I've scented the wound, it's clean." Thea was lucky the fang had only grazed her. She had roused pretty quickly, rolling onto her back with a sleepy expression. And once he was confident she was okay, he'd called Sythe. "Did you sort the cleaners?"

"They're on their way." Sythe's frown deepened. "So, why is she high as a fucking kite?"

"The witch said there would be some adverse effects. Fae don't usually react well to pain medication." Or spells, apparently .

"Fuck J, Riley's not going to like this." Reaching down, he helped Thea to her feet.

She immediately snapped her hand back, rolling her eyes. "I don't need your help, thank you very much. Or any man, for that matter." Her tone was no longer so mellifluous.

"Of course, how stupid of me," Sythe said dryly.

"Do you think that's why Leighton cheated?" Thea chattered on, clearly still saying every thought that popped into her head. "How is it emasculating if I didn't let him pay for dinner?"

"Ah huh." Sythe nodded, looking at her like she'd sprouted a second head. "Sure."

"He always wanted me to order the salad. The salad! I fucking hate salads. That's weird, right?"

"Weird that you hate salads? Or weird that he ordered for you?" Sythe looked over at Jax with a ‘help me' expression.

"And another thing," she continued, her arms swinging dramatically, as if she hadn't just been attacked by a hound. "Can you believe he didn't like the amount of time I spent with my family?"

Sythe nodded along with her. "Sounds like an arsehole."

Thea gasped, swaying slightly on her feet. "He's such a major arsehole."

"You can do better." Sythe turned back to Jax. "J, she needs that shoulder treated, and maybe a therapist."

"I'm taking care of it." Finding her bag on the floor, Jax grabbed it, along with his pocketknife she'd stolen.

"I don't need a therapist," Thea muttered, head rolling to the side until she winced. "It's Harper that needs a therapist. Can't believe you forced her to mate. How barbaric."

"J, she's missing shoes," Sythe said before returning to Thea. "And Harper chose me. I didn't force her into anything."

Jax frowned. Where the fuck were her shoes?

"Ugh, she told me it was love," Thea said. "It's sickening."

Sythe pinned her with a look, but her eyes were too glazed to pay attention.

Pain shot through Jax's head, harsh enough that he stilled.

"J, you good?" Sythe asked.

Jax sucked in a breath, the concentration draining as he kept his beast at bay. Fur threatened beneath tight skin, claws giving a prickling sensation at the tips of his fingers.

Thea's laughter broke through the pain. Enough, Jax warned his beast, getting only pressure in response. Not yet.

Clenching his jaw, he approached, Thea's eyes widening as they dragged across the width of his chest. Her tongue shot out, leaving a wet sheen across the bottom of her lip.

"You're so… unnecessarily big," she whispered, her neck having to crane back the closer he came. "Like a door."

Sythe sniggered, finally letting go of her arm. "You have no idea."

Ignoring her sound of complaint, Jax carefully lifted her in his arms, dismissing his brother at the same time. "Wait for the cleaners."

"Yes sir." Sythe gave a sarcastic bow, but Jax was already moving, even if he had a slight limp. He didn't spare the club a glance, the music pumping while the outside crowd continued to huddle around the heaters, ignorant of what just happened.

Within moments, he had Thea strapped in the car, her smile sleepy .

"You can't come in," she said after a while. "Guys aren't allowed to sleep over. Ever. It's a rule."

Jax drove carefully, leg weakening. "I don't sleep."

"That's impossible; everyone sleeps," she muttered.

Looking over, he found her slumped against the door. "I haven't slept in over a week."

Her frown was cute, her nose wrinkly dramatically.

"I rest," he explained. "I meditate, but I can't fall asleep." It was something he'd suffered for as long as he could remember, only finding true sleep when shifted. It was one of the reasons he allowed his beast more control than his brothers, their relationship codependent.

"So you don't dream?" she said. "How sad for you."

When he closed his eyes, he saw her, and that was better than any dream his mind could come up with.

Blood fragranced the air, both hers and his. Realising his leg wouldn't allow him to drive for much longer, he changed direction and pulled into the carpark at the Conservatory Hotel.

It was part of a chain, a neutral ground created by the owners of the Troll market. Once inside, there were strict rules, and if not followed, one risked a violation against the notorious and anonymous Faerie Boys. Not many people wanted to be blacklisted, especially considering the Faerie Boys owned a chunk of the Undercity while still remaining impartial to the politics. They didn't give a shit who you were, as long as you followed their rules and paid for their services.

He'd have preferred to take her back to his, where his brothers could watch out for her while he healed, but the hotel was the next best option.

Thea's eyes marked the side of his face, his scar bare to her gaze. He tipped his head, hair brushing across to conceal as much as he could .

"Why do you do that?" she whispered, her breath close as she closed their distance.

Jax tensed, her delicate fingers brushing the hair back, lingering on the rough skin. She began tracing his scar, but he caught her wrist before she could touch his lip.

Thea gasped, and he instantly regretted moving so fast that her pulse spiked. Releasing her wrist, he stepped out of the car, circling around so he could open her door.

She blinked up at him, eyes lacking their usual light. He knew if she wasn't intoxicated she'd have fought him more, cursed and sworn or simply rolled her eyes. He found he missed her energy, even if it was in opposition to him.

"This isn't my home," she said, frowning.

"I never said I was taking you home."

Her place wasn't as safe. Not when his beast rode him so hard, and it wouldn't be long before he was finally forced to shift – to sleep.

Ignoring the shooting pain through his thigh, he held out his hand, not wanting to scare her any further. Without hesitation, she took it, and Jax allowed himself to relax until the harsh overhead lighting emphasised the three angry slashes on her shoulder, as well as the single puncture wound. Moving slowly, he touched the side of it, feeling heat despite the skin no longer as angry. Whatever the witch had done, had definitely helped.

Unable to stop the urge, he dipped his head, nuzzling his nose down her neck.

She giggled as if tickled, placing her palms flat against him. She didn't push him away, but he stepped back regardless. He needed to get to a room and clean it properly, but at least there was no remaining scent of venom.

Thea's lips trembled, and his eyes were drawn to the fullness of them. It took a second, and then she pressed her palm against her face, chest heaving with laughter. "Your shirt's too small," she managed to get out between giggles. "You've ripped it."

"And you're still high," he sighed, only to pick her back up and carry her to the marble entrance. Greeted by the well-dressed doorman, Jax marched straight up to the pale white desk. It was the early hours in the morning, and yet people still sat and enjoyed the bar, drinking alone or with friends. Not a single person looked up at the mad woman chuckling in his arms, her pink hair draped dramatically over his arm.

"The usual, sir?" The receptionist's cool, professional gaze swept over Thea, then back again. She was dressed just as well as the doorman, her suit pitch black and all sharp angles.

"Look at the stars," Thea whispered in her dreamy tone, her fingers reaching up to brush along his jaw.

At his nod, the receptionist produced a golden card.

Thea trailed her fingers down his throat. "Look."

Jax followed her line of sight, finding the ceiling had been painted in constellations amongst a night sky. He'd never noticed it before.

"I feel like I'm flying," she continued, smiling up at him lazily.

Accepting the key card, Jax managed to get them both to the lift, his leg shaking beneath their combined weight. It would heal, just as he'd healed every wound before it. But it was going to be a pain in his arse if he didn't tend to it soon. Shadow-Veyn damage took far longer than anything else to repair, and in normal circumstances, he'd be removed from rotation by Riley and forced to rest. But nothing about the situation was normal.

He knew Sythe would report back to Riley, and his brothers were already watching him too closely. His beast seemed to be walking on a knife's edge, Jax's control weakening. He hoped mating with Thea would appease his beast to some extent and strengthen their connection.

Entering the hotel room and kicking the door closed, he gently settled Thea onto her feet before heading to the bathroom for the first aid kit he knew every room provided. The Conservatory almost exclusively catered to the Undercity, so it wasn't a surprise the complimentary amenities included top of the range medical supplies.

He came back to find her laying on the bed, her hands rubbing up and down against the expensive sheets. Jax sat beside her, unpacking the suture kit. Using a clean cloth, he washed around the wound, carefully tucking her hair out of the way. It splayed against the pale sheets, a burst of colour in a room of white, gold and cream.

Prepping the kit, he hoped whatever Faye had done was still working, because he couldn't use any local anaesthetic. Fae reacted to certain medication, which meant he couldn't risk it.

"Have you ever wanted to fly?" she asked, her expression soft when she turned to him.

Jax pursed his lips. "No." Which was the truth. His mother hated his lack of wings, and in return Jax learnt to resent the idea of flight. He didn't dream of soaring through the stars; he dreamt of falling. "Keep still."

"Bossy." Thea watched him through lowered lashes.

He was used to stitching up himself and his brothers, not an inebriated faerie with an actual pain threshold. She scowled at him at the first prick, but didn't move an inch as he made quick work of closing the wounds.

"Grey's dead," she began. "It wasn't like I knew knew him, but it's still sad."

Jax paused on his stitch .

"He was your date, you know," she continued in her dreamy tone. "You two would have made a cute couple."

"Keep still."

"I can already imagine your kids."

Returning to his work, Jax made sure to keep the lines clean, hoping she didn't scar easily. Fae were a wide range of Breed, and each one varied greatly within their caste.

Thea's attention burned across his face. "You know, you're not as scary as you think."

Jax cut the last thread before grabbing one of the larger adhesive dressings, draping it over her shoulder. "I broke Leighton's hand."

Thea blinked, the movement slow. "Why?"

"Because he touched you." Grabbing the medical kit, he snapped it closed. "And because I could."

He felt her eyes track him across the room, almost burning through his already tight skin.

"You need to get some sleep," he said, the ache in his temple back full force.

MINE, Beast hummed with anticipation, ready to take over.

Clamping his hands on the vanity, Jax tried to centre himself. He'd never had to concentrate so hard for control.

The sound of a zipper snapped his head up, his entire body stiffening. He was unable to stop himself staring into the mirror, memorising every delicious curve of her body, naked but for his golden bands, and a thin, silver bracelet.

She met his eyes in the reflection, her breathing increasing at his unapologetic attention.

The wood beneath Jax's hands creaked with how hard he gripped it. "Sleep."

She hesitated, and his beast howled to take her, to mark her.

Not yet .

Not while she wasn't in the moment with him.

"Sleep," he repeated, his voice strained.

Thea yawned, slipping her naked body beneath the sheets, and only when she was fast asleep did he call down to reception to get everything ready for when she woke, and then allow himself to surrender to exhaustion.