37. Jax

37

Jax

London Elwes arrived first. The alpha was as quiet and unreadable as his pack. The deepest into the mountains, the Snake River pack was the smallest and they kept to themselves. When my brother was alpha, London's predecessor wanted to merge the two packs in a violent manner.

He might have succeeded too, had I not realized what was happening.

A month before my brother challenged my father, I nearly took control of the Snake River when I killed their alpha. Instead, I ceded to London and set my sights on better protecting my own.

I had very little contact with London, although his beer was apparently making the rounds.

His witch, Ava Starret, was an older woman although it was impossible to tell her age.

London's second helped her out of the car, and she looked me over coolly. "Alpha Jax," she said as her eyes darkened. "You're standing at a crossroads, and you're choosing the wrong path."

"I love a little premonition first thing in the morning," I said as I bowed my head. "Welcome, Ava. London."

"Jax," London greeted as he bowed his head in respect. "My second car was delayed, but they should be here in about an hour. Until then, my witch better be safe."

"Maeve and her young witch are already here. My guards will show you to your rooms and keep an eye on Ava."

"Maeve beat me here?" London asked with a raised eyebrow before he grinned. "She arrived yesterday, didn't she?"

"She did."

"I suppose you should have seen that coming. Still, she always manages to one-up us."

Peering over my shoulder, he narrowed his eyes. "And there's the woman no one can stop gossiping about. Anna Kipling. Your mate."

I glanced over my shoulder to see that Ava had stopped her and was speaking intensely to her. I tensed, but Anna suddenly smiled, and the tension melted off me. That smile was breathtaking.

"That would be her."

"This will be an interesting weekend," London murmured. "How is Irene?"

"News of my witch has spread as quickly as news of my mate," I said as I studied him. "And what do you know of Irene?"

"I know there was a time when I wanted her to be my witch. No hard feelings, but I know how powerful she is. Ava wanted her."

"Does Ava still want her?"

London chuckled softly. "Paranoia doesn't look well on you, Jax."

"It's not paranoia when someone is targeting our witches," I sighed. "Ava and Anna seem to be bonding. Any idea what they're talking about?"

"A rising darkness surrounding you? That's all she's been discussing as of late," London frowned. "It's really put a damper on recent dinners. I don't suppose you know what this darkness is?"

"That's what we're here about."

London disappeared into the house after his witch, and I studied Anna. She hadn't said a word when we went to bed last night or this morning when we woke up.

Even after I'd fucked her twice more. She still had one foot out the door, and I was pushing her the rest of the way even if I just wanted to grip her tight and yank her closer.

There were a thousand things I could ask her. "What did Ava say to you?"

"She asked about the Darkwyn coven. London Elwes seems nice."

"By the time this alpha meeting is over with, he'll probably offer you a place in his pack."

"That's sweet. Oh, you're doing the jealous mate thing again. So two alphas down, and one to go."

Yes, Emerson Triggs. I had come up with a number of ways for him to have an accident while he was here, but really, I wanted to do the murder myself. Publicly. Tortuously.

"You don't have to stay here and wait. In fact, I'm not sure I want you to wait for him at all. I talked to Finn. He's willing to meet with Maeve, but not until tonight. Why don't you and he work at The Fanged Smile, and I'll come get you for dinner."

"Thank you. I'm getting jittery waiting around here," she sighed. "Now I'm going to be jittery waiting around the restaurant."

"Is there anything I can do to make you less jittery?"

"Sure." Raising her head, she smiled at me. "You can tell me what you're thinking when you look at me with such annoyance."

"I'll see you tonight."

Another car pulled up, and Anna rolled her eyes. "There's my ride. If there's a dress code for this dinner tonight, you'll have to give me some time to change."

Bridget and Amelia climbed out of the car and scowled at me. They both made it clear this morning that they didn't want to babysit the mate while the other alphas were here.

Anna could clearly tell. "Well, this should be fun. I'll see you for dinner tonight so we can play the happy couple."

With a sour note, she waltzed away, and I blew out my breath. I wanted to keep Anna close with Emerson coming, but she didn't need to see him. Maybe I was an idiot for even making her see him at dinner, but I wanted him to know that she was under my protection.

For the rest of her life. Even if she wasn't here.

Hours later, Emerson still hadn't shown. London, Maeve, and I sat around my conference table and argued without him, although there was nothing that we could do without a vote of all the alphas.

"Are we not putting too much trust in the Darkwyn coven?" London growled. "Would it not be best to kick them out to the mountains?"

"And how do you propose we do that?" Jax asked dryly. "We don't own the whole mountains, and I imagine that might upset our own witches. Besides, they're the ones warning us that something is brewing."

"Or sending us on a wild goose chase," London argued. "One witch is dead and another was terrorized. Maybe they are behind it. Amassing more power to take the mountains for themselves."

Maeve raised an eyebrow. "Does this have anything to do with the week you spent at the coven den?"

"Excuse me?" London glared at her. "And how do you know that?"

"I have my sources." Maeve inspected the ring on her hand and frowned. "All of this is pointless. We can't make a decision without Emerson. Just where the hell is he?"

Jax had the same damn question. There was an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Emerson did nothing without a reason, so if he was late, he had something up his sleeve.

"Call him again," London insisted. "Maybe there was an incident."

"Like what, they ran out of gas?" Jax tried not to growl. None of them trusted each other, so they all knew that Emerson was up to something.

"He has a history with your mate, doesn't he?" Maeve asked with an innocence that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Do you think that would be a problem?"

"Maeve, you do hear the most interesting things, don't you?" I tried to keep the fury out of my voice. "Perhaps you'd like to expand on what you've heard or explain where you heard it from?"

"Just whispers in the wind." She waved her hand. "It's nothing to worry about. Many wolves have enjoyed themselves before they found their mates."

My wolf rushed to the surface, but London cleared his throat before I could launch across the table and snap Maeve's neck. "And here, I thought your focus would be on Finn," London said neutrally. "He is here, isn't he? I'm certain you've missed him."

She hissed, but before she could do anything, the door opened, and Jenson raced in. "Alphas. Sorry for the interruption."

"You couldn't even knock?" Maeve complained. She still had fury in her eyes as she looked at London.

"Is it Emerson?"

"No, there has been so sign of him. My contacts have gotten back to me about that other thing."

Shit. "And?"

"Your mate," Jenson said without his usual snarl, "is in danger."