6. Jax

Chapter 6

Jax

J ax watched the crowd dance on the floor below, content to just observe the patrons of the Drunken Beast silently. Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury, not with Lucifer sitting beside him.

"You're in a mood," he commented, his red eyes glowing slightly beneath the dimmed lights. "Like, more so than usual."

Jax raised a brow, but didn't add anything to the conversation. He always hoped that his silence would be enough to be left alone, but not with Lucy. No, the Daemon loved to fucking chat. He had no idea how he'd gone from hating the arsehole to being almost friends.

"Seriously, am I talking to you, or your beast?" Lucy continued, able to hold a full conversation without a single response. "I know that paper you needed was gone, but you're not normally this glum."

Jax sipped at his beer, gaze lingering on the dancers for a long moment before shifting toward Lucy. He could be watching his mate, instead he was with the one Daemon he couldn't really kill. His agitation was growing in the absence, the need to see her. His need to make sure she was okay, even from a distance.

"Definitely the beast," Luce muttered, sinking lower in his chair. "You haven't been yourself in weeks, J. Even now he's there, just a glimmer in your irises."

Jax shook his head, pushing his beast back from his gaze. It was true he'd been giving his beast more rein, but that was an unfortunate side effect of shifting so much. The control between them was weakening, but not enough for him to be concerned.

"You need to calm down, your beast is coming out more and more. I'm worried you'll not be able to come back."

"Stop talking to Riley," Jax finally said. His alpha had voiced his worry more than once, and each time Jax brushed it off. He didn't care that he shifted over twice as much as any of the others. He was bigger, stronger. If they needed his beast to take down an enemy, then so be it.

"There's something else," Lucy continued like a thorn in his side. "You've got an aura of fucked about you."

Jax huffed a laugh. "An ‘aura of fucked' isn't a thing."

Lucy grinned like he'd won. "This have something to do with a certain pink-haired faerie?"

Jax froze, his beast raging to the surface once more. He hadn't told anyone, not until he'd had time to understand it himself. He'd watched every single one of his brothers except Lucifer find a mate, yet he'd never believed he'd find his own.

But he has, even if it wasn't official. There was nothing there other than a spark. A heat in his chest, and he wasn't sure how to get the mating bond to snap into place. But he knew it would eventually, because his beast had chosen her.

"I'm your bestie, do you not think I'd notice?" Lucifer's eyes glittered with amusement. "I've never seen you so sullen. And that's saying something. "

Jax gripped the bottle hard enough for it to crack. "Nothing's happened."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't just done a caveman and kidnapped her." Lucifer smirked. "What's making you hesitate?"

"I'm not hesitating," he growled, placing the bottle down on the table. "I don't want to scare her."

Lucy snorted. "You do realise she's already seen you in your beasty form? And according to everyone, she hit you. Hit you, J. When you were the beast. I think I'm in love with her already."

Jax snarled, surprised at his own reaction.

"You're a fucking idiot." Lucy shook his head. "You're not a rock. You're allowed to feel, to express yourself like a normal emotionally stable adult."

Jax's upper lip twitched.

"Okay, I take back the emotionally stable part. But my comment still stands." Lucy turned towards the stairs just as Yasmin appeared at the edge of the private balcony. "Fucking Fates. Incoming."

He wasn't sure how she'd passed the security at the bottom, especially when Jax had specified that no guests were permitted.

"I'll go grab us some more drinks while you two discuss… logistics." Lucifer winced, mouthing his apology as he backed away. He ignored the private bar in favour of the main one downstairs. Jax followed him all the way through the crowd, purposely ignoring Yasmin's presence. For once he wished Luce had telepathy, because he'd tell him he was a fucking prick.

"Hey J," Yasmin purred, pressing herself against him. She wore a short dress with way too much skin exposed. "I haven't seen you around in a few weeks. "

Her fingers brushed along his thigh, dancing against his jeans.

"Not interested," he said, glaring at the back of Lucy's head. The fucking Daemon was taking his sweet time.

Yasmin pouted, her lips magically enhanced by the necklace she wore tight to her neck. He knew those lips had been wrapped around his cock once or twice.

"Come on, J. I've missed you." Her fingers moved, and Jax caught them before she could go any higher. "You can let your friend watch, or even join us like last time."

Jax finally turned, finding her cheeks flushed and pupils dilated. Yasmin was a beautiful woman, and one of his usual partners when he needed to release some energy that wasn't violence.

"Who let you up here, Yas?" He hated her touching him, but he wasn't about to force her away. Not unless she pushed him too far. He was meticulously careful who he took to his bed. Not that he'd ever fucked anyone in a bed. No, he preferred the energy of the bar. Or even a club, or a restaurant – public. It wasn't romantic, and he didn't want it to be.

Fucking was simply a release for them both. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"I jumped the rope when Barker's back was turned," she said, pulling her wrist back from his iron grip. "I'd thought you'd have missed me."

Jax mentally noted he needed to reprimand Barker for his inability to do his job. "Go back to your friends, Yas."

Yasmin let out a sound of annoyance, and when Jax turned to face her, she flinched.

And there it was: fear. And he hadn't even done anything to warrant the response.

Yet that fear only turned Yas on harder, her pink tongue coming out to lick along her bottom lip. Jax wasn't a fool. He was well aware the women who sought him out for sex wanted to tame the big, bad, ‘barbarian.' He had a reputation of being dangerous, and it wasn't something he disputed. He was dangerous. His face and body just emphasised the point.

Yasmin dropped to her knees, looking up at him expectantly. Jax hauled her to her feet as carefully as he could. She squeaked, staggering on her heels.

Releasing her, he simply returned his attention to the dancers. Yasmin waited a second, likely hoping he'd change his mind. When he didn't bother acknowledging her any further, she disappeared back into the throngs below.

He hadn't slept with any of his usuals, not since he'd found his mate. It was making his beast itchy, wanting to see his rainbow girl. He knew where she was, already checking his phone to see she was at another bar on the other side of the city.

The table scraped across the floor as he stood, his decision made. He was at the top of the stairs before he noticed Titus pushing through the crowd, his laptop beneath his arm. Titus jerked his chin toward the office when their eyes met, and Jax followed the instruction without question.

"You get it?" he asked before Titus even had a chance to close the door.

Titus shot him a glare as he set his laptop down on the table. With a few clicks, he brought up the CCTV of the museum. "It looks like someone walked right into the side room. Timestamp makes it ten minutes before you."

Jax watched as a shadowed figure walked into the exhibit, purposely turning their back to every camera.

"A professional hit. They knew the security routes," Titus continued, clicking through the footage .

"How did they get in?"

Titus pointed to the screen. "You wouldn't believe how easy those key cards are to replicate."

Jax grunted, frustration growing. The CCTV was of decent quality, but each angle showed nothing but an oversized hoodie over jeans – the same figure that had caught his attention that morning.

"This is what I wanted to show you." Titus pressed along the keyboard, the footage quality dropping when he changed the screen. It showed the streets outside the museum, the figure walking away at an unhurried pace. Another few clicks, the footage tracking the culprit down a few different streets before they turned into a slim alley behind a set of shops. That was where the figure pulled off the hoodie, and then removed what looked like a necklace.

Jax hummed, anticipation thrumming through his blood. "You show Harper the footage?" he asked, meeting Ti's amused expression. Honestly, sometimes Jax missed when Titus was a brooding arsehole. Since he'd mated, he'd become intolerable.

"She's already ID'd our thief as Thea Hart, which happens to be the same name you gave me a few months ago."

Jax remained silent. He had given Titus her name, his brother was able to track anyone with a digital footprint down with enough patience. So, he'd asked him to find everything he could about her, including her address, her number, and even her fucking shoe size.

"She's just been geotagged at Nectar thirty minutes ago. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Titus eyed him, seeming to wait for a response. Jax wouldn't deny it was the same person, but he wouldn't confirm anything, either.

"Riley's been made aware?" he asked instead. He'd had no intention of revealing his presence to her anytime soon, not when danger lurked so close to him and his brothers. But it seemed she'd forced his hand.

"No." Titus snapped his laptop closed. "I thought you'd want to deal with her yourself."