11. Cree

Chapter 11

Cree

B eck and I leave the Prez's office, ignoring the typical Saturday night ruckus as we pass the bar on our way to our office. The secretary and I work together the most off of our bikes, so it made sense for us to share a workspace. And when it comes to jobs like this, no one is better than us when we team up. Either of us could find anyone on our own, but when we're both on it, we find our prey ten times faster. And there's never been a more important job. We'll make sure there's no video evidence of Jax's shift then we'll find his mate. I won't sleep until he has her.

"Run a scan for Jax's bike within five miles of the fight club. I'm gonna hack into their surveillance and find his girl," I tell Beck as I walk to my desk.

It takes me no time at all to find Jax in the club. I do have to wait a while before the girl appears. Her long purple hair gives her away immediately. But there's something else. Something inside me wakes up and snaps to attention as soon as she enters my line of vision. She bumps into Jax and I pause the playback when she looks up at him, giving me my first look at her breathtaking face.

" Holy shit ," I gasp.

"What? What'd you find?" Beck is up and standing behind me before I can answer him. His heart stops for a second before suddenly racing, but I'm too far gone to pay attention to anything else he says.

My entire focus, my entire world narrows until it's just her.

My mate .

Jax's mate.

By the sounds of it, Beck's mate.

What the fuck is going on?

"Cree? Tell me that's not…" Beck stammers.

I suck in a breath through my nose and nod sharply.

"But how ?" he whispers.

No fucking idea. I'm as shocked as you are buddy.

"Is that even possible? I've never known anyone to have more than one mate. Have you?"

Mate. I've found my fucking mate. Just one look at her makes all the years of self-imposed celibacy worth it.

But she's not just mine . And Jax saw her first.

What if he keeps her from me?

I snarl at the thought. Nothing will keep me from my mate. Not even my brother.

"Cree!" Beck smacks the back of my head, finally pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.

"I take it she's yours too?" he raises a brow.

" Mine ," I rasp.

"Yeah. Mine too," he murmurs. "What are we gonna do?"

"Find her." It's the only thought I have. A compulsion that won't be silenced.

"Well, yeah. But what about Jax? He's gonna be pissed."

"Don't care. We find our girl. Then we deal with Jax."

I resume the video and watch as the scene Jax painted for us earlier plays out in living color. When the guard touches her, my hands clench on the desk. When he fucking kisses her, I see red. I knew, from Jax's retelling, that it was going to happen. But nothing could prepare me for the guttural reaction I have seeing it for myself. I completely understand how he was able to let Stanley get away.

I watch as she chases after Stanley and I hop video feeds following them to the parking lot. I want to watch my brother kick all of those dickheads' asses, but I'll have to come back to it. I'm not taking my eyes off her.

" Fuck ," Beck sighs behind me, reminding me he's still there. "She's so fucking sexy. Look at her on that bike," he groans.

I do. Adding the picture to our catalog before running it through the same system Beck is running Jax's through. I'll be able to find her in no time now.

***

We found her.

I never had any doubt we would, but it still feels like a weight has lifted from my chest knowing her exact location. To think my mate was so close all this time.

She travels a hell of a lot though. The computer is still going off with hits of her bike all over the damn place. I probably should have narrowed the search some, but I didn't want to risk losing her.

With an address in hand, we head back to share the news with the others. Fuck. I hope I don't have to hurt my brother.

When I open the door three heads snap up. Huh. Wonder where Neo went. Deciding to start with the easier topic, and probably the one King's worried about the most, I flash a grin I don't feel and say. "Good news, boys. Only you two were within a two-mile radius of the warehouse." Bossman heaves a silent sigh of relief and I'm glad I was able to lighten his load if only for a few seconds before the bomb gets dropped.

Beck side-eyes me, pissed that I beat him to sharing the good news. His glare warns me I won't get out of that easily. "Is this her?" he asks, handing Jax a picture.

"Yeah, that's her at the club. Who is she? Where is she?" Jax drills him.

"I don't have a name. But we have an address," Beck says.

"Thank fuck! Let's ride!" Jax jumps up, throwing his leather jacket on, ready to chase after her this second.

"There's something you should know, Jax…" Beck trails off, knowing he needs to know before we get her, but not wanting to be the one to tell him.

"What?" Jax studies him. "What's wrong?"

Beck's eyes flick to me and I sigh. Fine. I'll fucking tell him. We need to get this shit over with. We're just wasting time. I need to find her.

See her.

Hold her.

Kiss her.

"She's not just your mate," I lamely explain.

Jax lunges for me, wrapping his hand around my throat. "Impossible," he snarls. "You only get one mate. And I am her mate. You're trying to tell me she has another? It's unheard of."

Arching a brow and looking pointedly at his hand around my throat, preventing me from answering his questions, I shrug a single shoulder.

He slowly loosens his grip and I clear my throat.

"Afraid not, bro. I know for a fact she has another mate."

He drops his hand and stares at me. I see the moment it clicks. I know because I'm her mate.

Like Beck, I was expecting an explosive reaction, but for the first time since I've known him, Jackson is frozen in place. I hate that I don't know what's going through his head. Jax is always scariest when he's still and silent. It's kind of freaking me out.

"How do you know?" DJ demands.

"I felt it as soon as I saw her on the video feed. Something inside me just clicked. She's my mate. There's no doubt."

"She's mine too," Beck adds.

"Is that possible? King?" our VP turns to the Prez and KC gets that faraway look he gets when he's thinking about something his dad told him. "King?"

KC shakes his head, snapping out of his memories.

"I remember…" he murmurs before typing away on his laptop. His fingers fly across the keys and his eyes light up when he finds what he's looking for.

"What are the fucking odds? Hell, how did I not know?" he mutters to himself.

"Prez?" Beck asks.

"I was going through my dad's shit forever ago. I don't know if I'll ever have time to read everything he left. But I remember he had pages and pages of documents dedicated to mates. I finally finished digitizing everything, so I searched the database and I found the page I was looking for. Most of our parents were different species, so we already know a female can conceive with a male from a different species. And we know any time a deathstalker mates, their offspring will always be deathstalkers. But we've never considered what would happen if a male and female deathstalker were to reproduce. Together"

"Well, deathstalkers were… are very rare, so I can't imagine two even in the same place outside of our club," DJ says.

King scrolls down the page, reading his father's notes quickly.

"Jax? You said she had venom in her kiss?" He looks at our previously frozen brother.

Jax blinks then nods before dropping into his chair. "Yeah. That's what she said. She was certain it was going to kill me. Hell, she probably thinks I'm dead right now."

"I should have put it together earlier," King mumbles to himself.

"Put what together, K?" Beck asks.

"She's a deathstalker matriarch. It explains everything."

"Well, I'm glad you think so. I'm still completely confused," DJ huffs. "What the fuck is a deathstalker matriarch and how does that explain the venom or the possible multiple mates?"

"Matriarchs are what happens when two deathstalkers produce a female offspring. She's like a deathstalker on steroids. She has our venom, except it's not confined to her stinger in her shifted form. It flows through all of her bodily fluids in her human form. Blood. Saliva. Sweat . Everything about her is deadly. To everyone except for us," he explains.

"So that's why it didn't affect me like she expected? I'm immune to it because the same venom runs through me," Jax surmises.

"Precisely. And your perfect match, everything about her is an aphrodisiac to you."

"What about the multiple mates thing?" Jax asks. "I've never heard of any shifter having more than one fated. I mean, sure, a female can take as many males as she wants, but only one would be chosen by fate. This girl is mine by fate , not choice. Though, I'd choose her in a heartbeat."

"Unlike everyone else, Matriarchs can only mate with their own species. Since they physically can't mate with anyone outside of their species, they're often blessed with more than one mate," King rationalizes. And I have to admit it makes sense.

"How many?" Jax scowls.

King's face goes blank. The kind of blank he goes when he's thinking about something serious.

"It's possible, she mates with every deathstalker she comes into contact with."

"Well, good thing we're the only ones fucking left. I'd hate to have to kill another deathstalker," Jax says.

"You mean you're ok with us sharing a mate?" Beck furrows his brows.

"I'll admit, I was a little taken aback at first-"

"That's an understatement," I mutter under my breath.

"But I've had time to process it. I would never give her up. And I imagine it would hurt her if I killed one of her mates. So, basically, if I have to share her with anyone, I'm glad it's my brothers." He smirks and shrugs his shoulder.

"And if it's all six of us?" I press.

"Then we'll be even closer than we always have been." My soul feels lighter at his declaration. "You really knew just by seeing her on the screen? Don't most shifters have to see their mates in person?"

"I don't know, man. That's how it worked for Beck and me. Why don't you show DJ and KC the picture and see if King's theory is right?"

His eyes snap down to the photo in his hand and he pauses just a minute before he passes it to DJ.

" Holy shit ," DJ breathes.

"Yeah, that's what I said," I huff. "Prez? Four outta six so far. Wanna see if you're part of the cool kids club?"

King swallows then takes a deep breath and holds out his hand. He closes his eyes as he holds it up. I wonder what's going through his head as he drags out the inevitable.

Finally, he opens his eyes. His breath hitches and his pupils turn into slits, taking on the glow of his beast.

Five down, one to go .

"You know where she is?" KC asks me.

"We do." I smile. Just thinking about seeing my mate in the flesh has me feeling like a school boy with his first crush.

"Then let's go get our mate." His eyes flash with his scorpion again and a wicked smile starts to curve across his face.

Jax and DJ stand, ready to roll out but they freeze when I remind them we're missing a brother. "Where the hell is Neo?"

"Oh, fuck ," Jax gasps, gaping at DJ.

What the fuck am I missing?