18. Jackson

18

Jackson

“Holly White, open this fucking door,” I bang my fist on the old wood. Anger pounds through my body the same way my fist hits the door. It’s been an hour without her, and I’m ripping my hair out. My run did little to diminish my anguish, but my wolf kept circling back to the house.

The door swings open abruptly; my body falls forward slightly before I catch myself.

“You have some fucking nerve, brother,” her growl is fierce, and her small finger jabs into my chest. As she moves her body through the doorway, pushing me back out. “You aren’t welcome here.” She manages to push me further into the hall and shuts the door.

“Just let me see her,” I grab my sister’s wrist gently to stop the poking.

“Why would I do that, Alpha. ” The sneer she uses as she says Alpha has my anger sliding back to the forefront of my mind.

Red blurs my vision as I say, “Because she’s mine.”

She laughs sarcastically, “The fuck she is! Do you know what I saw when she walked into the dining room earlier? I saw the same woman who showed up at our house four years ago at one in the morning, covered in blood. Grief seeped from her pores. She has been hurt before, and she didn’t need you to come along and fuck with her.”

She pulls her hand from my hold, quickly slapping me hard across the face. Her voice continues to rise with each word. “You tried to control her. You hurt her. I told you she was Pack. That she was my Pack, Jackson. You don’t fuck with my Pack, brother. I’ll give you thirty seconds to leave before I call Will and Hunter and have them remove you from this hall.”

“Holly?” My voice cracks.

“No. No!” Her voice drops to a dangerous small growl, “Jackson, you don’t use your Alpha bark on your family. Ever. That power wasn’t given to you to wield against your Mate. Your Mate!” Her petite body is beginning to tremble from exertion.

Of course, that’s when Will appears at the end of the hall. “What’s up, sis?” His tone is teasing and light as he takes both of us in, his broad body leaning on the wall blocking the stairs.

Holly flips her attention to our brother, “Will, great timing. Go teach Jackson he can’t control people.”

Will looks between me and Holly, then turns back to her, ignoring her words, “Holly, you need to rest, love.”

She sneers at his softness.

“Just tell her I came by. I want to talk to her.”I say, fighting against every instinct to break down the door and demand that she speak to me.

“Jackson, she doesn’t trust you anymore.” Her voice breaks, “I’ve spent four years trying to find out what happened the night she arrived. Waiting for her to tell me…” Holly’s small form slides down the wall as her emotions pull at the sickness wrecking her body, Will takes one step towards her, but she holds her hand up and continues. “The last week she’s been with you, she’s changed. She’s smiled, like really smiled.”

I glance at Will, and he nods.

“Look at me, Jackson. Charlie in that room is the same broken woman I helped climb out of the darkness four years ago. In a matter of hours, you’ve thrust my best friend back into the hell she was so comfortably living in before. Don’t come to see her until you can be who she deserves.”

Her words slice through the rest of my anger. The throbbing in my body is the pain of truth my sister just left me with.

Unable to stand here any longer, “You okay?” I ask Holly. She nods, giving me the bird. I huff and turn to Will, “Come on, Will.” I pull his body with mine to the gym basement. I need to get my shit figured out.

My minds race as we walk quietly through the halls. I’ve probably always been a selfish man, and at this moment, faced with the loss of my Mate, I realize how selfish I’ve been. Instead of staying and fighting for my family, I fled for twelve years—leaving behind lies and deceit so I could try to have a normal life. Now, my Mate pushed me too far, instead of talking to her. Holding her like she needed, I controlled her. I forced her to come with me.

Wanting to be every bit the selfish asshole I’ve always been and take back what is mine. Only she’s not mine, not right now, maybe not again. I open the wooden door to the basement gym and walk down the stairs.

Thoughts of giving all this up for her race through me as I take in my friend.

Killian is already beating the heavy bag that hangs in the corner. “Fight me?” I say, breaking his rhythm.

“You know I’ll beat your ass,” he jeers.

His wrath is warranted. I’ve been drowning in problems, and today, the breaking point was when Charlie fought me for control. I let my anger taint the best part of my life. “I need to be beat,” I whisper.

“Ha. You’re damn fucking right. What you did, what you said,” Will scoffs from behind me. “Did he tell you he used his Alpha bark on her?”

Killian’s eyes widen as he throws a pair of sparring gloves at my feet. “No, he left that out,” he growls, watching me sink down to pick up the gloves; he continues, “Jackson, out of all the Alphas, you’re the one with the most control, and today, you broke the trust you’d built with that beautiful woman. I’m going to punch you for her.”

I laugh.

There’s no other emotion left. They have each burned through me. “You know she attacked me in the cave. Full teeth, claws, she went straight for my throat.”

“You deserved it.” He pulls the strap closed on his own gloves.

I look over my shoulder to Will, who appears to guard the door more than caring about the testosterone flooding the room. “You have something to say there, brother?” I snarl at him.

“Yeah, I’m fucking next.” His chin juts towards Killian just as a fist connects to my jaw.

My gloved hand rubs at the tender spot, and my eyes shift as I take in the Alpha before me.

He says, “Maybe I’ll take the Alpha spot here. Huh? Should I challenge you, Jackson?” Killian moves quickly around me and lands another solid blow to my ribs. I’d give it all up to have Charlie. Right now, she’s my only priority.

Since we left Charlie, my wolf has been silent inside of me. He’s not helping with my reflexes as Killian dances around me. He’s likely just as mad at me as everyone else in this room. I dodge a third blow.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I say through gritted teeth as I attempt to guard against a series of jabs.

“Yeah, you tell that to your Mate. She’s the one that deserves those words.”

“No,” I growl as I land a blow to Killian’s kidney that has him bending at the waist. The fire I felt earlier pulses once more. I try an elbow to his jaw; he blocks it. “This is my Pack, my mate,” I growl, my wolf finally helping me dodge his heavy hits. “She’s mine.”

“Prove it, fucker.” Killian growls, his eyes shifting to their natural red color as his sharp teeth flash. The action sent my wolf into full force.

No longer afraid to hurt my friend, I’ll defend my seat as Alpha and my honor as Charlie’s mate until my last breath.