The Claiming by Cooper

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)

Chapter 69 (Jace)

Jordan immediately steps out of my grasp. F*uc*king Nolan, this is twice he's interrupted a conversation I was having with Jordan. "Nolan, what are you doing here?" she asks him.

"I came to see if I could pry you away from your work and take you to dinner," he says, eyeing me.

"Yes, absolutely," she says, turning to me.

"We'll talk later, Jace."

I take a step back. "Remember what I said, Jordan," I say, holding her gaze until she nods.

I walk past Nolan, nodding my head in greeting before walking out. As I get to the end of the hall, I hear him. "So, he's the mate, huh?"

So, Jordan told him about me, or at least that she has a mate. I'm guessing that he also knows that she rejected me.

I walk downstairs, going to the kitchen to grab something quick to eat before heading back upstairs to my room. On my way out of the kitchen, I hear his voice. "She's made her choice, Gamma. You should accept her rejection and let her move on with her life."

I stop, turning to face him. "You mean move on with you, don't you? Isn't that what this is about?"

"You betrayed the mate bond, and her. She needs someone that will stand by her side, support her in being the best Alpha she can possibly be," he says. "And you think that's you? Here's a clue, Nolan. Date nights and dinners aren't what Jordan needs. She needs someone who understands how to help her run a pack, someone who is here to have her back, who understands the difficulties she faces on a daily basis and runs interference on those difficulties, so she doesn't have to fight for herself and her position every f*uc*king day. You know nothing about what Jordan needs. And what do think will happen if she accepts you as her mate? That you would just continue to go off and train people around the world? Leaving her here to run and pack AND raise her pups? What kind of life is that for Jordan? I'll tell you. It isn't one and it's not one that she'll want, I can guarantee you that. So maybe it's you, Nolan, that needs to accept that and let her move on with her life." "You know nothing about me or my intentions, pup," he says condescendingly, getting in my face.

I don't back down. "I know enough to know that you have no idea how to live in a pack. When's the last time you spent more than a week or two in any pack, much less your own? You're a wanderer, a lone wolf. Leave my Alpha alone. She may not want me, but she deserves better than you."

"Jace!" Jordan's tone is sharp. I take a step back, my eyes never leaving Nolan's.

"Enjoy your dinner, Alpha," I say before heading upstairs.

Evangeline POV

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the complete disarray of these pack lands wasn't it. They are a disaster and all I can think about is, where am I going to put my pup when he's born?

In the first one we went to, the packhouse had already started crumbling to the ground, literally falling apart in front of us. The second one had vines and trees growing inside the packhouse, looking like something out of a movie.

By the time we get to the third one two days later, the excitement in our group is gone. We're all overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that will need to be done once we claim our packs. Well, let's be honest, no one is going to move to any of these pack lands while they are in this state. Why would you go from a fully functioning pack to this? We couldn't even find clean water in the first two. So, well have pack lands but no pack.

When we get there, the packhouse is just as dilapidated as the first one was. Jaxon comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me.

"Don't think about what it looks like now. Think about what it will look like when we've made this place our home," he says, making me turn to look at him over my shoulder.

"Was this your aunt's pack?" I ask. It's the first time he's said something like this to me.

"Yes, see the mountain range I told you about? All of this land is the pack lands. Personally, I think it was foolish to put the packhouse way out here. I much prefer having it like it is in Jordan's pack, closer to the mountains. So, rather than rebuilding what is falling apart, we start fresh, new, making these pack lands something better than they ever were before."

I look at the space differently as I listen to Jaxon, seeing his image of what this place could look like.

"Maybe out here we could put a small town where we could have pack members open their own shops, making it easier to get things that we need without having to go into town or to other packs."

He nuzzles my ear. "I love that idea, and I love you. So, do you agree, we can put this one on our list?" he asks.

"Let's look at the others before deciding completely, but right now, this one is at the top of the list." I say. "Well, it isn't for me," Maggie says, coming up to us. "The old claiming territory is looking better and better. I know it's been well used over the past year, but honestly, I'll take well-used to broken down," she says.

"Before we make any decisions, let's see the rest of them, love. We still have five more to see before we have to be back."

"You're right, of course," she says to him, turning and wrapping her arms around him.

The rest of the week is pretty much the same, with Rowan and Enzo picking their favorite pack lands, Maggie and Caleb choosing their and Lazio picking a couple.

"I wish I at least knew who my mate is so I could get her input. What if I choose a pack land and she ends up hating it?" he asks as we head back to the claiming territory. "She'll love it because you're there, Lazio," I tell him.

"And, if she was in the earlier part of the competition and didn't make it through, it's possible she'll come to see the announcements of the winners," Jaxon says.

"If she's a ranked member," Lazio clarifies.

"True, but we're all mated to Alphas at this point, so, it's likely that you will be too, Laz," Maggie says to him.

"I guess we'll see," he says sadly as we pull back up to the packhouse we've all become accustomed to.

Tomorrow is the big day, the final event. And then, the following day, the council will host a dinner and announce the ten new Alphas, letting them choose their new pack lands.