17. Jayce

CHAPTER 17

Jayce

What in the world have I gotten myself into? Not only has my ex gone totally mental, blowing my phone up to the point of lunacy. Sinclair is never going to understand the pull of the mating bond because he only likes men. He'll never feel the way your blood sings the minute you see your mate for the first time. He'll never experience that first kiss that sets your whole world on its axis.

I get to sit behind Aurora as she drives after the diner debacle. I can't believe that Dom and Sebastian can be so petty. Aurora chose to sit next to her father, and I decided to shield her from their shit. I mean, come on, get over it! Then it became a pissing contest as to who was going to pay the bill. Dear lord, guys, just whip them out and measure them already. My brother is across from me, checking in on the pack while it's Sebastian's turn to sit up front with Aurora.

I can tell she's aggravated as she's dead silent, not a single peep out of her. My eyes glance towards Sebastian, and his thumbs are flying over his keyboard, texting someone. "Mother has the alpha's house ready for us when we arrive," he states flatly. "I've already texted Andre to let them know what's going on," Sebastian says, his tone flat and authoritative.

Aurora just nods then tells her phone to pair to the car. The familiar ping that the connection was made is heard. She grabs her phone for a moment and scrolls through songs on her phone. She searches out the song "Devil" from Shinedown and looks into the rearview. Her eyes are that of her beast's as she looks at everyone in turn.

Oh yeah, the silent ultimatum is read loud and clear. Well, at least by me, it was. Dom's eyes shift for a moment, and he nods briefly. He goes back to texting our other brother, whom we left in charge of the pack. Everything on that front, at least, is calm and quiet.

Her eyes fall on Sebastian, who doesn't even look up at her at all. Oh, you can see she is getting angry; the corner of her right eye starts to twitch. She has so many subtle facial cues, like how she's gritting her teeth and the tenseness in her jaw. Her eyes keep shifting back and forth between human and liquid mercury. The temperature in the car starts dropping quickly. It is only when Sebastian begins to see his breath does he bother to look over at her. Her canines are visible, and her knuckles are white with how tightly she is gripping the steering wheel. The muscles of her right bicep twitch and flex as she white knuckles the wheel.

"I hope you accomplished something great while you ignored me." Her tone is all beast; it is growled out and accented with a frost after bite. He sighs and turns to face her. I don't know if that was his smartest or dumbest move to date, but I'm thankful I'm back here.

"A half dozen rogues have returned to the pack. Some are semi-feral, most are okay. Mom has the feral wolves sedated until your return. She figures either they will live or die by your talons depending on their actions." He draws in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I just hate that the weight of the world is on your shoulders. I can handle some of this responsibility for you, and Dom can help as well." He shrugs his shoulders and rolls his eyes. "I don't think killing everyone who doesn't agree with you is the best course of action," he says just before crossing his arms over his chest, trying to drive his point home.

Aurora cuts the wheel hard and puts us into a spin. She doesn't care, she is at her breaking point, and Sebastian has finally pushed her last button. Once she stops us from spinning, she slams the car into park, gets out, and starts pacing.

"Who the actual fuck do you think you are?" Her eyes flair and begin to glow the liquid mercury orbs pulse with untold power.

"Telling me what I should and shouldn't do!" She is partially shifted and quite terrifying. Dom and I stand back as she faces off with Sebastian.

Dimitri and the guys finally catch up and stop dead in their tracks. Aurora is so worked up, she is between forms and freezing the ground around her. "Can you do anything?" I look to Nico, and he shrugs his shoulders then shakes his head no . Fantastic, we have an Lycan-dragon hybrid, pissed off beyond all recognition, and not even the dragon can stop her. My eyes fall on Dom next. "Brother, can you do anything?"

Dom just starts laughing. "And have her get mad at me too? No way, brother; he buried himself. I'd like to see him claw his way out of this one." Some help my brother is. I begin to pace and watch the fight. Sebastian isn't fighting back, and Aurora is mostly yelling at him, so it isn't Defcon one; we are maybe a three or a two-ish. Not total nuclear war, but definitely not at peace.

Then I have my most brilliant thought. I strip out of my clothing and shift to my wolf. I begin to belly crawl to her, whimpering. That gets her attention. Her head snaps up as she turns to look at me fully, checking me for wounds. She immediately shifts back to human and kneels beside me, her fingers thread through my thick, obsidian fur as she checks my body over for injuries. I roll over, giving her my belly. Aurora smiles when she figures out that I'm in one piece and begins to rub my stomach. Success! I got her out of rage mode, and now it's cute snuggly Aurora. She starts to laugh as I lick her face and paw at her several times. I get up quickly and shake out my fur and play-pounce her, knocking her onto her ass. Now she's hysterically laughing, and officially, we are back to Defcon five. I move closer and let her use my shoulders to pull herself back up to standing. Am I feeling a bit smug? Yes, yes, I am . I freaking prance past Sebastian and my brother to get to my clothes.

Nicodeamus pats me on my shoulder and tells me I did well. Now that's worth every slightly degrading moment, and her father appreciated what I just did. Quickly I return to my human form and dress, not wanting to hold the group up if they're going to get rolling again.

Dimitri is the first to approach me once I am fully dressed. "You did good, son. You read her correctly, and you were exactly what she needed at the moment. You bring balance to your brother's brashness." The Great Bear pats me on the shoulder then starts walking back to the truck. He's truly a man of few words.

Carefully, I move between Aurora and Sebastian and look between them. "Are we okay now?" Being the omega at times has its advantages. Like now, I'm not even remotely considered a threat. I'm not even a contender for the crown. To be honest, I don't want it.

Aurora and Sebastian nod and move towards the car. Aurora suddenly stops and turns to me. "Care to drive, Jayce? Or would you rather Dom drive? Either way, I'm climbing in the back and taking a nap." She smiles softly at me and tilts her head towards the car.

I look to Dom, and he makes the key in the ignition motion to me, signaling he'll drive. "Dom can drive; after all, it is his baby. I'll climb in back with you, and you can use me as a pillow." There's the smile I was looking for. Aurora's smile can light up the darkest night. She walks past Sebastian and kisses his cheek before moving to me and taking my hand. There's that tingle that only she can give me; goosebumps move up my arm, and the flutters start in my belly. The humans call it butterflies, which is the giddy feeling you get from the person you love. I draw in a slow, deep breath and smile. We stop in front of Dom, and she kisses his cheek as well and whispers a quiet, heartfelt thank you to him. My normally stoic brother cracks a smile and caresses the back of Aurora's neck before drawing her close to kiss her temple before releasing her.

We walk in silence to the car; it is nice just to be able to be in this moment with her. When we reach the car's passenger side, I open the door and let her slide in first. Carefully I slide myself in place behind the passenger seat, press my back against the window ledge and prop a leg up on the seat. Aurora watches me with rapt attention until I signal for her to lie down on me. The back seat isn't huge, nor is it all that comfortable, but at least if I can keep her comfortable and safe, then I've succeeded. Aurora moves slowly, like the calculating apex predator she is, her eyes roaming over my body and the way I have positioned myself.

"Jayce, are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, the hard plastic against your back can't be comfortable." Aurora's concern for me warms my heart and eases some of the pain I feel after breaking up with my long-term boyfriend.

"I'll be fine, sweetheart. I'm more concerned about you. You've had a rough couple of weeks, and I'd like to be able to take care of you for a while." My choice of words must have set her mind at ease. She leans forward and kisses me lightly on my lips, lingering there for a moment, looking into my eyes. Slowly her eyes swirl mercury, then back to grey. She and her beast are in agreement, they completely accept my wolf and me. My wolf stirs for a moment, just long enough to see Aurora smile at having seen him. A soft yawn escapes her lips before she snuggles against me—her hip against my groin and the bridge of her nose against my adam's apple. Gently her forehead comes to rest against my neck. I wrap my arms around her, holding her firmly to my chest. I must admit that this is one of the best moments of my life.

My brother and Sebastian get in the car and break me out of the bubble I was in when they both turn to look at us. I'm not good at reading alpha-types well. I mean, they both continuously look pissed. Seriously, if men could have a resting bitch face, these two have perfected it. I smile, what could they possibly do that wouldn't send Aurora into a rage for disturbing her? For once, I feel I possess the ultimate power by having the nuclear bomb we call our mate, sleeping on me. The rumble of the Hellcat comes to life, causing Aurora to stir slightly. I simply tighten my grip and inch us down in the seat a tad to make both of us a bit more comfortable. She's out cold in my arms, and I'm the luckiest wolf alive. It doesn't take long for the engine's rumble and Aurora's soft breathing to lull me to sleep as well.