30. Jackson

30

Jackson

It’s been two days, and it’s close to one in the morning when I return home. The Pack house has beds everywhere, and it’s about to be even more crowded as we bring back the survivors. My feet automatically carry me to my girl. The sight of what we found will haunt me, as will the brokenness on my brother’s face as he took in his mate.

I’ll never forgive myself for letting this happen to a Pack member, my brother, and I hope he’ll forgive me. Right now, the only place I need to be is wrapped around Charlie. Wyatt and Holly kept me updated about how she was doing, and I was so damn proud of her last night when she addressed the Pack like a Luna.

The light from the hall illuminates her soft features sprawled out on our bed. “Jackson?” her voice whispers sleepily into the dark room as I slide the door shut behind me.

My hands unbutton the shirt I had on. My pants are next, along with my shoes. Each article is left in my wake as I clear the space between me and my little Phoenix.

“Go back to sleep; I’ve got you.” My body slides into bed, and I pull her into me. Her nose presses into my chest, and she purrs from the smell. I kiss her head, and tears fill my eyes. I don’t know how my brother is doing, but I can never let Charlie go. I can never let something like that happen to her. I wouldn’t survive the guilt.

“Are you okay?” She whispers and tilts her head to see my eyes.

I manage to keep her head tucked under my chin and nod, “Yes,” I swallow hard, trying to hide my tears, “I’m better now that I have you.”I’m lying. I don’t think I’ll ever be okay, but I will try to be for her.

She rolls around so her back is pressed to my chest and snuggles in deeper under my arm. My mind thinks about the weight of truth I’ve carried over the years, and after what happened tonight, I decide that bringing up the past and bringing up the truth to my siblings is not worth it. I should let dead dogs lie and move on, move forward as a Pack.

Charlie’s soft sigh fills the quiet room as she falls back asleep safely in my arms. The last few hours have been filled with phone calls. I had to contact all the other Alphas in the Greater Community—all but one. My heart races at the idea of inviting Ax here, knowing he’s been searching for Charlie. Knowing how he has hurt her, I’m not sure I could see the man without tearing his throat out.

Then again, his Pack members deserve to go home.

Killian told me the final head count of shifters who had been captured, poisoned, and tortured was well into the hundreds. The majority were female, with a few males. Their purpose for capturing our kind was to reproduce a weapon by forced insemination. A shudder rolls through me as my hand slides down to Charlie’s stomach, my fingers wide and protective over our baby.

‘Mine,’ My wolf growls possessively.

I breathe in her scent as I consider my options for what to do over the next period. How can Charlie be kept safe from Ax and the past that haunts her while helping her move forward as the future Luna?

My eyes are blurry as I slowly wake up. The sun pierces through my dark room. I slide my hands along the bed. My pulse skyrockets as I realize she’s not here. The images of the situation we encountered yesterday assault me, and panic ripples through my body.

Charlie’s gone.

“Hey, big guy,” her voice penetrates the fog I was disappearing into as she walks out of the shower. The steam billowing out behind her.

“You’re going to make the walls moldy if you don’t turn the fan on,” I grumble.

She sits on the bed, her hair wrapped in a towel, and I quickly pull her into my arms, kissing gently on my mark.

“Do you want to talk about it, Jackson?”

I shake my head and breathe her in, “What do you have planned today?” I ask, needing the distraction.

She attempts to wiggle out of my embrace, “Jackson, I actually do need to get dressed; I was taking the pups out in the yard today.”

I pull her tighter. “We’re still on lockdown,” I growl, knowing full well she will get to go outside regardless of how I feel.

“They need to be outside.” She practically whines, “We’ve all been cooped up here for days, and my wolf needs out, and so do theirs.” She shifts in my arms, and a smile fills her face as she traces my jaw with her fingers; laughing slightly, she says, “Yesterday, Kyler shifted at the table. We had to chase his small wolf through the kitchen; he spilled a bag of flour and then filled the entire kitchen with white powder when he shook his coat out,” She giggles at the memory. The sound eases the building ache of today’s problems.

“Who’s going out with you?”

“Reacher and Wyatt. The pups hope they both shift into their bears so they can wrestle them.”

Now, I’m laughing, and the feeling eases more. “I’ll come join you in a bit. I need to check on some things in my office and on Hunter.”

I kiss her nose, my hands taking advantage of all the skin she has on display now that I’ve thrown her towel behind me.

“How is Emma?” She asks timidly.

My head shakes; ‘ not now, go enjoy the pups; let me handle this stuff, and I’ll be outside soon.’

“You know I can handle it, I’ve been doing better.” She says proudly.

I know she has; Wyatt has been keeping me up to date after her first panic attack. She quickly slid into the kitchen to help my mom and Keelie prepare meals for the Pack—Our Pack. Her bakery skills have been a tremendous help. Wyatt brought her giant mixer here, and she’s been making muffins by the hundreds to ease some of the cooking stress off of the staff. She’s blossomed by being able to serve the Pack in the love language she knows so well.

I kiss her nose, and she wiggles from my hold, sweeping to the closet, where I notice she’s unpacked. I let my eyes slide around the room, seeing her clothes everywhere. A smile pulls at my lips. I like this.

Pulling my large body from the bed, I head to the closet with her. I lean heavily on the door frame as I watch her wiggle into some booty shorts and put her bra on. My hands itch to touch her once more. Her gorgeous, dusky nipples are firm and teasing as she shyly smiles at me over her shoulder and flips the bra on. “Got something to say there, big guy? Your claws are going to rip the door frame off.” She teases as she slides a sundress on.

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “No, I’m just taking in what’s mine,” I breathe deeply. “Have I told you I love you today?”

She hums and smiles at me, “Not with your words,” she swats at my chest as her small form pushes past me back into the room. “Okay, meet us when you can, I made cinnamon rolls, that need to go in the oven.”

She reaches up on her tippy toes, and I love watching her stretch for a kiss; my hand easily slides down her back, pulling her into my body and kissing her firmly. “I love you, Charlie,” I whisper against her lips.

Her wolf purrs, and she melts into my hold. I love her like this. “I love you too, Jackson,” she says with her head nestled into my chest.

I push into my office. It’s already buzzing, and I don’t even slow down as I address the room. “Killian, give me a status update, please?” I shout through the chaos as I wade through the members who are in here to help. His eyes catch on mine, and I know that this conversation needs to be had privately.

“Everyone out, except Killian.”

It only takes moments for all the men to leave. Most are probably headed to the dining room slash infirmary, where the survivors are treated. My team has handled situations like this before, and they knew exactly how to set up a base camp to care for the wolves who’d been taken.

Killian is the lead medic, and I wish Emma was feeling better. Still, Anna and Trevor from the clinic have helped immensely by administering the antidote and aiding those with the worst poisoning.

“Tell me the worst of it.” My hands are steepled on my desk, and I try to focus on breathing. I know he has to tell me about Ax, and I’m not sure I can stay in control if I don’t start with breathing.

“He knows she’s here.” He says calmly.

My eyes flash, and a growl pulls from somewhere deep. Killian takes a measured step back.

“And?” I say .

“He said he was coming for more than his survivors.”

“Fuck.” I roar. The fear of a Pack war is imminent. “Did he have anything else to say or just stir up shit?”

Killian has a smirk on his mouth, and his smile pushes me from my seat. “Is this fucking funny soldier?” My voice is a barely controlled growl.

“It’s just you’re worried we would allow anything to happen to her?”

“To them,” I whisper.

Killian steps towards me. “Jax, we’ve gone to war for you, buddy, and we’ll do it again. Do not think you’re fighting this alone anymore. We’ll all protect them,” he adds with extra gruffness, “with our lives.”

I nod. As I sit, my wolf nails retract and dig deep grooves into my oak desk. “Nothing can happen to them, nothing,” I whisper, thinking back to how we found Emma. “Have you talked to Hunter?”

“Yes, he was down in the infirmary helping. He is…he’s not doing well, but given what his mate went through, I think they both need time.”

My head drops. Time is another thing we don’t have. “Alright, and the survivors?”

“This is the good news. Aside from the poisoning and the trauma, they’re all healthy. Everyone has managed to heal, and some have been able to shift. Charlie and the bears were headed out for a small informal Pack get-together this afternoon. Some of the survivors were going out with them.”

I smile at this, my little Phoenix is rising, making Pack plans, “She’s really doing well.”

Killian nods. “Yes, she found her place in the kitchen, as fucking cliche as that sounds. She’s been happy and at ease, and everyone loves her cooking. The way she interacts with the pups, too, makes her a natural at calming those little beasts. Did she tell you about Kyler the other night? It was chaos until she helped him shift back.”

My grin is full, and I lean back in my seat, relaxing at the mention of Charlie, “Do you need me this afternoon?” I say with a grin.

Killian is already shaking his head. “No, you go. Spend some time with her before everything. I’ll handle this.” His words have me pressing from my desk. Charlie doesn’t know Ax is coming, and I’ll do everything I can to keep her happy and safe.