Jaxson
It’s nearing a week without a sign from my mate. My wolf is ready to bite off anyone’s head who tries to tell me to stop looking for her. I have patrols sent out in droves at all hours of the night, every hour during the day, and I refuse to let it stop until she is found. I pace the ballroom, my father talking to his advisers, his beta, and Philip brough his daughter Stella.
Stella is Aurora’s age, a year away from feeling the mating pull, but that never stopped her from having feelings for me in the past. I hate to admit that I used to entertain the idea if we never found our mates but now that I have, I’ve kept a purposefully long distance away from her. I don’t have it in me to talk to her now, moving away when she approaches to speak with me.
I wave her away and she abides, nervously braiding her long, brown hair. She moves back to her father’s side, beta Phillip speaking to my father in hushed tones
JaxsonI ransack the entire cabin, all but ripping off the floorboards, and I can’t even find a hint of her scent. My anger is bubbling, my wolf barking in my head. I need to shift and kill every single person in here until they tell me where my mate is. Luke grabs my shoulder, turning me around, and pointing at a little scrap of fabric on the floor behind the couch.I kneel over it, pulling it into my fingertips, and I realize soon it’s not fabric, even if it resembles a few strands of string. It’s hair. It’s long and white, cut evenly as if sliced from her head, and I bring it to my nose to double-check, filling my senses with the floral perfume of my mate’s natural aroma.My body trembles.I push the couch clear across the room, throwing the table through a window and continue destroying everything in my sight. I push outside, fuming so much that steam may actually be exuding my skin. I stand in front of the
AuroraI toy with the collar around my throat, trying to connect to my wolf, knowing that if I shift, it will break off. It’s only a dream, though, the wolf’s-bane still heavy on my tongue.Xander barges into the closet and I back up, my body shivering into the corner. He hasn’t let up on his threats, on his beatings, and worst of all I have felt him nearing closer and closer to using my body for his own pleasure.He pulls me out of the corner by my neck collar. I force myself to a weak stand, unable to keep up as he hurries us through the cabin and outside, the weather cold and the wind brisk on my naked body. I try to breathe, try to catch my breath, but it’s no use. He drags me through the snow behind his every lunging step.I finally pull back, trying to make him stop, but it only makes his fist find my scalp and pull me to my feet, tossing me in front of him to walk. I know better than to ask questions, simply ab
Aurora“I want him found,” Jaxson says, speaking to the group of warriors that hoard in front of the fireplace of his bedroom.His room is more rustic, like his father’s office, wood floors and wood beams accenting the towering ceilings. He only has a few articles of furniture, including leather chairs that sit by his fireplace, raging with tall flames that I can feel across the room laying in his bed. I love being surrounded by his scent.“Send every available warrior,” he gusts, attempting to keep his voice down. “Everyone needs to be on high alert. Xander is deemed dangerous and deadly. He must be killed on sight. Understood?”“Yes, Sire,” the group replies.I hear them all leave and pull the shirt I wear together in the front, my fingers curled into the fabric. Jaxson approaches slow, trying to handle me with easy hands and slow movements, but it doesn’t help as I tremble
AuroraWith Jaxson laying behind me, his legs pulled to my sides, I hold myself to his chest and breath soft kisses across his neck. His head tips back, giving me access to his throat, and I allow my kisses to spread across his collarbone and up behind his ears. He releases a soft, pleased moan, while I can feel his excitement under the surface of the water, hitting my inner thigh.I feel my body twitch, freezing, the image of Xander standing over me flashing through my mind. I cringe when he grabs at my upper thigh, taunting me, pushing my leg aside while I laid on the floor helpless, as though to give him access to— I can only imagine.Jaxson’s hands slide up my arms, taking me back to this moment, seeing his brow furrow while I blink back the fear Xander instilled in my body. I thought for sure he would do something I wouldn’t be able to ever live down. Instead, my mate wipes my cheeks gently, minding the marks, the fear of my
JaxsonI don’t agree with my mate pushing herself to the physical brink, trying to prove something to herself, maybe even to me, that she won’t let Xander win. It’s hard to watch but I know she needs this. The wolf’s-bane has finally left her system and she feels normal, but she won’t let me into her experiences at the cabin with Xander.I worry he hurt her beyond repair.It only drives her to move faster, to do better, and it’s been weeks of her training at the depth of night just to improve on something small, on anything at all, and it breaks my heart to know she is still scared in the palace.It won’t help that tonight is the Blue Moon Gala. We will be at our most powerful forms, and with her injuries still apparent, I doubt she will want to attend. I’ve had this event planed for over six months, long before I met her, and I’d hate for her to miss the festivities because of her last e
AuroraJaxson holds me for what feels like forever. I enjoy every moment of it, too. He sways to the side and steps when necessary, making it easier on me as his thick arms show me where to turn and when to stop. I give into his control, feeling this powerful prince be so gentle in this moment.The music inside comes to a halt and so do we. I subdue a shiver, but he notices anyways, peeling his uniform coat off and sliding it over my shoulders. He smells of cedar, of his perfectly musk scent, and he leads me back inside while waiters pace through the ballroom with trays of food. The entrees are immaculate, set out for everyone in array of beef steaks, exotic fish and herbs, and chicken dipped in creamy sauces. My stomach growls as we sit at the table, Jaxson getting to be next to his father while I sit directly next to Ann.She takes my hand under the table, gleaming, and I don’t feel the need to speak on the last time we had been together. T
JaxsonI balance my fork on my fingertip, noticing that as time passes, Aurora has yet to return to the table. I know her nerves probably got the better of her but after Ann returns from the washroom with a somber shake of her head, it’s apparent she has no intention of coming back to the table tonight.Everything was going great, other than her feeling sick, but that doesn’t mean she should leave this event without letting me know how she felt. I wouldn’t have mind taking her up to bed and then returning to play nice with my constituents but to just up and leave without a second word to me, to my father, it makes me a little mad.I aim to find her, walking through the busy room, someone stopping me with a light tug of my arm. Stella stands in a miniature, far-too-short dress of beige sequins and she offers me a grin, tucking her light brown hair behind her pale, bejeweled ear.“Stella, have you seen Aurora? I can&rsq
JaxsonMy father is waiting in his office, the gala still playing out downstairs. I’ve decided not to return to the party, holding my hands in my lap as I take a seat at his desk. Tears are sitting stale on my face, cold on my neck, and they don’t show signs of stopping. My father seems perplexed at the sight of me weeping. I’ve never done it before in his company.“Son, what is it?” he asks, leaning forward over his desk, his head cocked. “I have a lot of people that need my attention tonight, this isn’t a good time to be upset, Jaxson. We have to keep appearances and even Aurora needs to participate. Did you find—”“She’s dead,” I say meekly.Even if the words aren’t true, they break me like they are.His eyes widen and he sits up straighter. “Why—I don’t—What did you just say?”“I found her in the orchard,”