By the time they got up to Jax’s suite, Wynter was famished. Opening the door, a warm, familiar face greeted her.
“Hey missy, welcome back. Come on now, give me some sugar,” Jax’s beta, Nick, told her, giving her a big hug. “Why the sad face? What’s wrong?”
“Long story,” Jax sighed, taking a seat at the large dining table. Thank Goddess Nick had had lunch delivered. “Sit, let’s eat.”
“Talk and eat. What gives?”
Jax looked to Wynter. “Do you want to tell him?”
“Abridged version? The vampires who kidnapped me made me work on the virus, but I escaped. Logan Reynaud, the New Orleans’ Alpha, rescued me then took me into his home. Apparently the vamps infected me with something during one of their lovely feeding sessions. So, by the way, I’m turning into a wolf.” Wynter paused to grab a diet soda. She twisted the cap off, took a drink and snatched a wrap off the tray. “Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, the vamps are still trying to kill me, Logan marked me and I just found out I’m his mate. Yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up.”
Both Jax and Nick exchanged a look of surprise. Although she’d been shaken in the car, she appeared to be recovering nicely. She had always been a fighter, Jax knew. But every time she rebounded, it still amazed him that a human so fragile could have the bravery of a lion.
“So, wait, have you mated, have you bonded with Logan?” Nick practically shouted.
“No,” she shook her head and pulled her hair aside to show him. “Marked. As in he marked me. Apparently I have to wait until after I shift. So looking forward to shifting…not.”
“It’ll be okay, Wyn. The way your Alpha tore into me today, I have every confidence he’ll protect you. He’s an honorable wolf,” Jax assured her.
“You say that as if you like him. Just a while ago, you guys almost ripped each other’s heads off. It was a real love fest, Nick,” she noted with sarcasm.
“That’s what Alphas do. We jostle for territory, establish dominance. What you saw today, that was child’s play, nothing more.”
She rolled her eyes. Men. Wolves. “Well, Logan was good and pissed at me when I left. Some mate I am.”
“Yeah, I bet that went over well. Jesus, Jax. What were you thinking taking her away from him?”
“I’m a selfish prick, okay? What do you expect? I haven’t seen her for months. Besides, she’ll go back after lunch.”
“I’m the one who decided, Jax. He’s my mate.” She nearly choked on the word, tears threatened. The longer she was away, the worse she felt. A change of subject was in order. “Tell me about Emma. How’s Mika?”
“Mika’s good, really good,” Nick winked.
“No way!” Wynter exclaimed, slapping his arm.
“Way,” Jax replied. “Bad wolf, Nick.”
“No, Alpha, I’m a very good wolf. Why do you think she likes me so much?” Nick teased.
Wynter couldn’t believe her friend had hooked up with Jax’s beta. How could she have missed that one? She fought the urge to call Mika right then and there. God, how she missed her.
“As for little Emma, well, she’s hanging in there,” Nick commented. “Good days, bad days. I don’t know, Wyn. She’s about the same. But damn, I wish we knew what was wrong.”
“I’m close. Although I haven’t done anything since I escaped the lab. But we’ve got a laptop. They got it before the car exploded.” She tried not to react to Nick’s pained expression as she mentioned what had happened. “Jax can fill you in on what all happened…fun times. Anyway, that laptop could have my data on it. Or not. We’ll see. The vamps scrubbed it but Dimitri’s going to try to recover it. I would have asked this morning how he was making out with it but well, you know…with all the yelling and whatnot, that didn’t happen.”
“A cure?” Nick posed the question.
“No. ’Fraid not. But it’d give her quality of life. She could lead a normal life again with medication,” Wynter speculated. It wasn’t a panacea but it would be a far cry from spending her days bedridden.
“Logan told me he’s taking you out of the city. Said he’s setting up a lab at his house,” Jax mentioned.
Wynter stilled. Seemed her sneaky mate was always two steps ahead of her. No wonder the man was Alpha, she thought. “A lab, really, he said that?”
“Yes, he’s very committed to helping you, us. Of course, he doesn’t want whoever is doing this to proliferate a virus. But he mentioned Emma. He wants to help her…for you.” Jax smiled. “It didn’t make sense why he was going to such a great extent to help us when I first spoke to him. But that was before I knew you were his. And just like that, all the pieces came together.”
Wynter’s face flushed like a schoolgirl, thinking of Logan. She really could fall in love with him. No matter what had happened this morning, they’d work through it.
“Ah, love is a wonderful thing,” Nick declared with a broad smile.
As if caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Wynter looked down and shoved the wrap into her mouth.
“Wyn, in all seriousness, if you aren’t in agreement with this mating, you don’t have to stay here. I mean, I’d have to be an idiot not to feel the chemistry between you and Logan. But if you’re having second thoughts, you, as a wolf, aren’t required to mate with him. This isn’t the dark ages,” Jax explained.
“What?” Wynter looked up and found both of them staring at her.
“Do you love him, Princess?”
“Maybe,” Wynter blurted out before she had a chance to take it back. She decided to backpedal but as she considered how she felt, it was hard to deny her feelings. “I mean I think I could fall in love with him. He’s just so caring and loving and larger than life. It’s unbelievable. I don’t know how this happened.”
Nick and Jax both laughed.
“What?”
“Nature, baby,” Nick remarked.
“You can’t control it,” Jax said. He leaned back into his chair and sighed. “Love, she will come for all of us, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do.”
“I wish we’d talked about this before…this wolf stuff.” She smiled, at a loss for the correct terminology. “It’s just that even though I can feel something in me, what I think is my wolf…but I feel human too. I know why you wanted to protect me from wolves, from the pack, but now, I’m so alone.”
“No, never alone. Your Alpha, he’s there for you, to guide you, to love you,” he corrected her in a serious tone.
“But how do you know? How do you know I’ll be fine?”
“Logan may be a new Alpha, but he’s been a beta. And he’s been a wolf for a very long time. You must trust him.” Jax fell short of telling his lovely human friend that she’d need to submit.
All wolves in a pack must submit for order to exist. She’d learn in time, but he suspected she might have a rough go at it. He’d love to help her, but it was something she needed to do on her own. No lecture could teach that life experience.
Wynter continued eating, considering Jax’s advice. The more she thought of Logan the more she missed him and sought to smooth over their disagreement. The look in his eyes when she’d gone with Jax tore at her heart. After another thirty minutes of catching up, Wynter told Jax that she needed to go. He assured her that he wasn’t leaving New Orleans and was on call should they locate the lab again. Jax walked her down to the lobby where Dimitri was waiting to take her home. Giving Jax a hug and kiss to the cheek, she quickly departed, walking over to the awaiting car.
Dimitri held open the back door as if he was a chauffeur. Ignoring his gesture, she slipped around him and into the front passenger seat, waiting for him to join her. Apparently, Logan wasn’t the only one who needed to talk. His cold disposition had not warmed since she was gone. If anything, he’d spent some time in the freezer. Dimitri slammed the back door and strode around to his side. He sat down, buckled up and started the car without looking at her.