57. Jax

57

Jax

"Are we just supposed to pretend that didn't happen?" I said under my breath.

"Jax? You are here." London stepped into the clearing. "I just heard about the attack."

"Just heard? Where have you been?"

"In my room, on the damn computer. I still have a pack to run," he countered swiftly.

London was the last alpha I would suspect of treachery, but now it seemed that I was going to suspect everyone. As if she could sense my tension, Anna put a hand on my back. "I heard your mate was the killer."

"She was with Emerson at the time of the attack. Whoever used a witch to glamour themselves apparently didn't take that into account." Frustration welled up inside me. How long would it be before everyone stopped suspected Anna of killing?

It was like we were back at square one. Only this time, I believed her.

Emerson. Just hearing that they'd been alone together again, seeing her put herself between the two of us to save him, cut me in ways I didn't think possible. She hated him. Hated him. I desperately needed to keep that in mind. She was not in league with him. She was not in love with him.

She was mine.

"You're alone," Anna said softly. "Where are your guards?"

"Accusing me now?" He asked with a raise eyebrow.

"Not at all. You arrived with guards because an alpha can be vulnerable away from the pack, and we obviously have a murderer running around. This is not the time for anyone to be alone," Anna said darkly. "We'll walk you back together."

"Kind of you, although you two are certainly the biggest suspects. The killer and her alpha mate," London mused with no real heat behind his words. We fell in step together, and I felt his words sink in. That was something that we hadn't considered before.

What if I was the target? The best way to wreck an alpha was to cut his mating bond violently, through something like death. Anna has been impossible for anyone to reach because I have a guard on her.

So what if they find a way to get her executed instead. The fallout would be the same. I'd be weakened. The pain was so intense that some wolves killed themselves after losing a mate.

Protect her , my wolf growled. He could sense my thoughts, and he wasn't pleased.

I wasn't pleased with him. The reason I'd had to walk into the woods to begin with was because I was having a hard time controlling him. At the very thought of Anna being in danger, he loses his mind.

For the first time in our life, he refused to hand the reigns over.

An alpha was never supposed to lose control of his wolf, and the moment he did, he didn't deserve to be an alpha anymore.

Having a mate was stripping me little by little. Weakening me.

"I've always admired your territory," London continued. "Not that I would give mine up for anything, but there's a certain beauty to yours. So much of it uninhabited. Your pack could grow twice its size, and it still wouldn't fill your territory. How do you keep the rogues out?"

"Patrols," I said as I glanced around. "Security cameras. Magic. It should call out to you even now, and let you know that this land isn't yours. The longer you stay, the more you'll feel it."

"I do feel that unease, but I thought that might just be the atmosphere. How interesting. I've never heard of another witch capable of that. I imagine that requires some upkeep. Do the affects lessen now that your witch is weakened?"

"No." What I didn't tell him was that Irene had just performed the ritual before she was kidnapped. The spell lasted twelve full moons, so it would be six months before the magic would dissipate.

I sure as hell didn't need to give him any ideas. It wasn't a lethal spell, but the nagging magic did help keep the rogues out of my territory.

"Do you think Irene would be willing to share that spell?" London asked casually.

I grinned. "Not as long as she has sworn her loyalty to me. I thinks it's time to make sure I don't kick her out for any reason."

London chuckled, and we fell silent before Anna cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I haven't been in attendance to any of the meetings. I'm not that well-versed in pack politics, so I hope I'm not offending anyone. I'm still trying to figure out who kidnapped Irene."

"And this is an excellent time for that," London continued. "No offense is taken, although I will admit that your absence has left us with questions. Maeve suggested it was because you feared us."

"I have no reason to fear you. How are the meetings going? Jax seems to think that they're just going in circles. Do you think the packs need to bond together?"

"Something formal in place doesn't hurt. Maeve alerted us immediately to her dead witch, and Jax did not."

I growled, and London cleared his throat. "I am not saying that you needed to. After all, until Maeve said something, we had no idea that they might be linked. The problem, of course, is how do we know when something is important enough to share? We might be on the same mountain, but we are all fiercely different, guarded, and independent packs. That is why we seemed to be going around in circles."

"That is difficult," Anna mused. "What do you think we should do?"

"I think we should talk more. A conference call once a month, where we simply share what's been happening. No state secrets, but just if we're seeing in influx of rogue activities or if we've lost too many wolves. A virus is going around."

"But what good does once a month do?" I countered. "Irene's kidnapping and Maeve's dead witch happened within a two-week time period. Sharing news wouldn't have helped."

It wasn't that I was against sharing news. I thought we needed to band together, but how do we figure it out? Would once a month do any good? "Maeve sarcastically suggested a weekly digest."

Anna snorted. "Oh please, let me be the one to type up your weekly digest."

"The truth is that I do not think we will come up with a satisfactory solution by tomorrow, but it is a step in the right direction."

We broke through the woods and kept to the path toward the house. A few vehicles passed us, all military, and my thoughts drifted to Bridget. Here I was, pushing for us to exchange information, and hiding that my second in command had tried to kill me and kidnap my mate.

"Until we trust each other more, open communication is not going to be easy," London concluded, almost as if he read my thoughts. "And yet, I remember what my predecessor said about trusting the other packs."

He didn't continue, and Anna leaned forward. "And what was that?"

"To remember that there used to be five packs on this mountain."

My gut tightened.

"Really? What happened to it?"

London turned and gave her a tight smile. "You should ask your mate why the Blood Diamond pack is the largest pack. If you'll excuse me, I need to see one of my guards now."

He separated from us, and I noticed that Anna had slowed down. "It was before my time," I started before my voice trailed off. She wasn't looking at me. She was looking at the guard.

"What?"

"London's guard. He's drenched in magic."