Kanin

I was stupid.

So utterly, overwhelmingly stupid.

Was I forgetting that he had once thrown knives at my head? Was I forgetting that Cade had warned me if I stepped out of line Jax would end me?

No.

I wasn’t forgetting anything when it came to the terrifyingly calm alpha.

So, as I creeped towards his office in the middle of the night, my heart was absolutely pounding. I was so sure that it would wake up the werewolves sleeping just a few doors away. I took a deep breath, inched closer, and tested the knob.

Sure enough, just as I expected, it was locked. I was prepared for that. I reached up and pulled the two pins from my hair.

A year ago, my father had gone completely overboard with our training. He had tied me to one of our kitchen chairs and locked me in the closet. I had thought he’d finally fell off his rocker. I’d screamed for a whole hour before I realized that he wasn’t coming back. It took me almost three to break out. I didn’t talk to him for a week. Now, I was thanking him.

It took me little time to unlock the door. Once I did, I looked over my shoulder and stepped inside. It was eerily quiet inside the office. Everything was clean, very clean. It looked like no one ever stepped foot inside, but of course Jax spent most of his time hulled up in this room. What he did in here, no clue. But I was determined to find answers.

I tip-toed to the big oak desk, running my fingers over the wood. I didn’t bother to turn on the lamp. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the small flash light I’d found in one of the drawers in the kitchen. I clicked it on and swept the beam of light across the room. I didn’t know where to begin.

I stepped behind the desk and stared down at the top of it. There was a laptop sitting closed before me. I didn’t have the time to dig through it. Instead, I started pulling open the drawers. The first one held nothing but a few pencils and blank pieces of paper. When I went to open the next one, it was locked.

Of course, it was.

If that didn’t scream that he was hiding something, I didn’t know what would.

I knelt and started to pick the lock. Locks like these were always harder, so it took me longer. Once the lock clicked, a slight smile spread across my lips. I hurriedly dug through the papers that were jumbled up inside. Most of them didn’t make any sense.

I was reaching the bottom of the drawer when my fingers froze. I felt my heart skip a beat as I brought the old photo into my hands. There was a man staring back at me with a bright smile and blue eyes that were almost familiar. He has dark hair that falls to his shoulders and is swept back from his face. But that’s not what catches my eye.

His arm is around a woman. She’s staring up at him with a sweet smile and bright eyes. I’ve watched enough movies to know what her look means. She clearly adores the man. Her dark hair is braided over her shoulder and the light in her green eyes makes my stomach flip. She’s younger, no doubt about it. But I know that smile. I know those eyes.

I know her.

My mom.

The man in the photo isn’t my father. I’m not sure who he is, but the way he’s clinging to my mother and the way she’s staring at him, they were in love. I flipped over the photo, hoping to find a date or something. This doesn’t make any sense.

My mother is young in the photo. I visualize my photo I have at home, the one where she’s cradling me as a newborn. The photo in my hands now couldn’t have been taken not too long before I was born. But that can’t be right. Dad always said that he’d met my mom when they were freshmen in college. He said it was love at first sight and all that romantic crap. So, who is the man in the photo that my mom’s so clearly in love with? And why, of all people, does Jax have it locked away?

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Everything about my life was a lie, one big fat lie. My father had been lying to me for as long as I can remember. What was worse was that my mother had been to. Was anything real?

I quickly stuffed the photo back into the drawer, wishing I could forget that I ever saw it. But I couldn’t and I never would. It would haunt me forever knowing that my parents love was nothing but a fairy tale. That everything I thought I knew about them was clearly a lie.

I stood quickly to my feet and pushed away from the desk. My stomach was churning, threatening to relieve its contents. My head was spinning. I was so overwhelmed.

Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks. I was no longer alone. The fire in my stomach ignited making my nausea ten times worse. I was going to puke, no doubt about it.

“You really should learn to stay out of things that don’t belong to you.” A voice grumbled, sending goosebumps up my arms and a chill down my spine.

I said nothing, just watched as he stepped out of the shadows and into the dim beam of my flashlight. He had his hands shoved into his front pockets. I couldn’t help but take in every one of his impressive muscles that his t-shirt showed off. My heart sped up once again. He really didn’t belong in the shadows. In my mind, I classified him among male models that didn’t talk to ordinary girls like me.

He took me in as well, his eyes roaming over me, making me feel super uncomfortable and not to mention unworthy. The girly side of me wanted nothing more than to be looked at by someone like Jax. But the rational side knew all too well who Jax really was. He was a monster. Someone that wouldn’t mind ending my life because I was nothing more than a waste of space to him.

“I’m not afraid of you.” To my surprise, my voice sounded sure and strong. Not at all like I was feeling.

“Oh, but you should be.” He stepped closer, testing me. I stayed put, not wanting him to have the satisfaction of seeing how I really felt. I wanted nothing more than to take off screaming and running, but I suppressed the feeling quickly.

“Why do you have a picture of my mother?” I demanded. Answers, I needed answers.

Jax didn’t answer though. He stepped even closer towards me, my back was now pressed against his oak desk. I gulped, very aware that my whole body was shaking. Even though I told him that I wasn’t afraid, my body said otherwise.

“I asked you a question.” My voice rose an octave.

“I heard you.” He gave one last look before he stepped across the room to run his fingers over the spines of his books.

“So, answer it.” I gripped the edge of the desk to try and calm myself. “The least you can do is answer my question if you’re going to kill me.”

He spun around to take me in once more. He crossed the office and stood in front of me. He was so close that I felt his breath fan across my face. “No if’s. I am going to kill you. Just as soon as I get what I want, I’ll kill you. Once and for all.”

My heart stopped beating all together. I was terrified. I needed to do something before I ended up scattered in pieces. I reached behind me, gripped the cool steel in my fingertips, and lunged.

Jax’s eyes went to the knife I held in my fingers. I’d spotted them when I first came into the office. They were the same knives he’d thrown at me the first time we met.

I swiped out at him, remembering my father’s training. He’d been preparing me for this basically all my life. His words were engrained into my mind.

Jax easily avoided my attacks, and a part of him looked like he enjoyed this fight. He wasn’t expecting me to be a challenge, which gave me more of an edge. When we’d sparred in the yard after Cade shifted, I hadn’t given him my all. I would’ve been stupid to. Instead, I held back. I wanted to catch him off guard when I attacked him. And it worked. He wasn’t fully prepared for how good I was.

Suddenly, he caught my wrists and spun me around. Jax pulled me against his chest, crossing my arms over my torso and trapping me in place. I couldn’t move.

“No one can save you now,” He whispered into my ear.

Suddenly, I threw my whole body forward. I brought my foot down hard onto his, causing him to loosen his grip. I then brought my elbow back and it connected with a strong, chiseled jaw. Jax let of a puff of air and a groan, stumbling back a few steps. I spun around quickly, not hesitating as I drove the throwing knife into his right side.

“I can save myself.”

His body went rigid and his eyes went wide. I watched as his hands cupped at the knife that still protruded from his abdomen. Blood was pooling around the blade, darkening his shirt and running down to the floor.

I stepped forward quickly as his body started swaying. I put my arms around his chest and eased him into the chair by the door. His mouth opened and closed quickly, as if he couldn’t form any words. His eyes glazed over.

I quickly ripped the bottom of his thin shirt and wrapped it around the knife. I then guided his hands to the makeshift bandage. “I’m not a killer like you, Jax.” I said quietly, looking him straight in the eye so he could focus on me. “The knife didn’t hit anything vital, you’ll be fine. Don’t take it out unless you plan to stop the bleeding immediately.”

I stepped back from him and hurried to the door. I knew I didn’t have much time before Cade or Trent would come looking. My hand stopped on the door knob. “I’m sorry.” With that, I disappeared from the room, leaving behind an injured alpha in my wake.

I made my way to my bed room, quickly pulling on my boots. I peeked down the hallway before running to the stairs. I didn’t look back before I pulled open the door and fled. My eyes took in the black motorbike before me. I could hot wire a car, no problem, but I knew nothing about motorcycles.

I would have to hike through the woods. I didn’t think twice before my feet carried me into the forest. In minutes, I was engulfed in an overwhelming darkness. My flash light did little to help me see. My heart beat wildly in my chest.

“Calm down, Kanin.” I told myself repeatedly. I couldn’t help but think back to my father’s three rules.

Never, ever go into the woods at night.

Well here I was anyway. This time I had no choice. This time it would save my life.

I trekked further, fully aware I had absolutely no clue where I was headed. I had to depend on my non-existent sense of direction.

Wonderful.

Something was wrong. It was like I could almost feel it deep in my bones. It was all too quiet. I stopped dead in my tracks and listened closely.

“You know what really happened to Little Red Riding Hood don’t you?”

I spun around quickly. I’d expected Jax to come after me, but not this quickly. How had he recovered so fast? I was about to start running when my eyes landed on someone that was not Jax. This person was tall, very tall. With olive skin and dark, predator eyes. He had a wicked smile on his face as his gaze drank me in.

“What are you doing out here all alone, Little Red?” The wolf asked. He kept his distance, but his eyes wouldn’t stop roaming.

I couldn’t find my voice. Here was yet another wolf that probably wanted to kill me and I’d basically walked right into his trap.

I stood stock still as the predator stepped closer to me, reaching up and running his finger down the length of my face. He pushed my hair behind my ear. I felt his breath on my neck as he stepped in close and breathed me in.

“You smell like you’re already claimed.” He said in a low growl. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but he wasn’t happy about it.

He suddenly pulled me into him, wrapping his arm around my neck and trapping me against his chest. My skin crawled. I suppressed the urge to throw up when he buried his face in my hair.

“Take your hands off her.” A voice boomed, making me startle against my captor.

The wolf let out a laugh that vibrated through his chest. He said nothing as we both watched another figure step into view.

A part of me was relieved to see Jax standing there. Another part of me was afraid, because for the first time since I’ve met him, he didn’t look calm. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were flashing between their normal stormy color to a deep red.

“Careful, Jaxson.” The predator laughed as he watched the alpha fighting to remain in control.

My eyes swept over Jax quickly. The knife was gone from his side, leaving behind a jagged cut. It was barely bleeding anymore and not as bad as I’d thought it would be. He still wore his shredded shirt and blood covered his jeans.

“Take your hands off her.” Jax demanded once again, his hands fisted at his side. He looked like was about ready to start throwing punches.

“You might be an alpha, Jaxson, but you’re not mine. I don’t have to take orders from you.” My captor growled and I could feel the vibration of it in his chest.

“Don’t make me kill you, Ean.”

My captor, Ean, laughed loudly. “You know you can’t do that. It goes against the treaty.”

Treaty?

“Screw the treaty.” Jax growled. “If you don’t take your hands off her right now, I won’t hesitate to end your pathetic little life.”

Ean made no move to let me go. He stood there staring Jax down as he was slowly becoming unhinged. If Ean didn’t do something quick, the alpha was going to shift whether we liked it or not.

Then, he slowly retracted his arm from around me and pushed me forward. Jax made no move to catch me before I tumbled at his feet. He didn’t even look at me. His eyes stayed glued to Ean.

“Calm down, Jaxson. I didn’t come here to start a fight.” Ean shoved his hands into his pockets and cracked a smile.

“Then what do you want?”

Ean’s eyes flicked to me for a moment, causing Jax to tense behind me. He took a step forward, stepping in front of me. Ean laughed. “I have no intentions on taking what clearly isn’t mine, no need to get all territorial. I only came to let you know that they’ve asked to have a meeting with you.”

Who was they?

Jax said nothing for a moment, but I saw his back tense. “When?”

“The full moon.” Ean said calmly.

“Are you done?” Jax said. ”Leave.”

Ean raised his hands in surrender. “No worries, I’m gone.” He turned around and started heading back into the woods. He stopped mid stride, “oh and Jaxson, they’ve requested you bring along your little pet. So, I suggest you keep her on a leash.” Ean eyed me once more, “I’ll see you soon, Little Red.”

Not if I had anything to do with it.

Ean disappeared once and for all, leaving Jax to stare at the spot he’d once been. I pushed myself to my feet and dusted off my pants. I kept my distance from the alpha. A part of me wanted to thank him for saving my life. But the bigger part of me was still absolutely terrified to be near him.

He spun around then, looking just as calm as he usually is. The wolf that showed just seconds ago, was gone. He looked down at his side where the knife had once been and where his shirt was ruined and said, “This was my favorite shirt.” He then grabbed my arm and dragged me along with him.