Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 54

Jax

I had only been waiting for a few minutes when Willow had returned from the bathroom, looking like the vision she was, despite her only being absent for a short period of time. I loved that her beauty was the effortless type, the kind she was not even aware of.

I admit I may have lost myself daydreaming about our future momentarily until she had reached up to gently brush her thumb across my lower l*p in a slow, sensual move that ignited my l**t de novo.

My mate had, understandably, been guarded with her emotions when we had first met, but she had also gradually begun to open up with me over time when we were by ourselves.

Be that as it may, there was no mistaking the look of utter devotion that spilled over from her molten chocolate gaze as her eyes locked with mine for a seemingly endless moment in time.

And then, Ronnie’s voice had intruded on my awareness from somewhere beneath us, the shock of her presence being enough to tear me away from Willow’s entrancing stare long enough to steer us both in the direction of our company.

Willow appeared to have shaken off whatever trance she had been in, as well, as we descended the stairs and located the others lounging around the kitchen, stuffing their faces with various treats that Ronnie had considerately thought to bring, no doubt.

I perfunctorily greeted the others as we entered the room, noticing that Theo had tagged along today, additionally, but my concentration was solely on the radiant smile that had broken out the second my mate’s eyes landed on my sister’s slim figure propped up on the counter.

However, I did not miss the transitory glance of confusion she aimed in Theo’s direction. I gave her hand a light squeeze, where we were connected, before releasing it so that she could join Ronnie to make her own breakfast.

I was pleased to see that she was becoming more comfortable around my family and that she was starting to eat a more regular diet of food with minimal prompting now that the wolfsbane had entirely departed from her system.

My wolf and I had been anxious about her recovery, but Ronnie had assured me numerous times that Luna had blessed me with a truly resilient mate.

The small talk persisted for a while longer as everyone consumed their pastries and caffeine. Asher was particularly vocal about his appreciation, but that was nothing new.

After our morning meal was out of the way and everyone was a touch more awake, we all made our way back into the adjacent living room. I resumed my same seat from the night before with Willow seated snugly in my lap and Ronnie directly at our right.

I vaguely noticed the others spread out among the rest of the cozy room, but they did not fully register until Reese began speaking with no further preamble, “I was able to ascertain how Zeke managed to elude the defenses we put in place to forewarn us of any such ploys, though it was honestly more an annoyance than anything fending him off.” He finished in an irritated tenor of voice.

His serious tone had instantly drawn my observation, and I could not say that I disagreed with his last grumbled assertion. Even so, the situation remained problematic.

“Man, I am still pissed I did not get a shot at those bears, Jax! Then, Theo and Reese took care of the rest of the rogues at the pack house before I could drag my a*s over there, and I missed out on all of the fun. It is just my luck.”

At Asher’s words, Ronnie and Willow seemed to both roll their eyes simultaneously before tuning out our conversation as they discussed other topics more suited to their own interests.

I kept my hand glued to the body-hugging denim separating my mate’s silky upper thigh from the skin of my rough palm, occasionally tracing random patterns over the coarse fabric to draw her attention as we conversed.

I ignored Asher’s bellyaching and directed my response towards the other two males, “Tell me what happened and any leads you found regarding where he fled to this time.” I demanded, my tone already creeping into a near snarl at the mere thought of Zeke slipping through my clutches once more.

Reese did most of the talking, paying no mind to my scowls, as Asher and I listened to him inform us concerning the events of the previous night, with Theo’s sporadic commentary interspersed through the duration and adding supplementary details to fill in whatever he had missed along the way.

Nevertheless, I got the impression that Reese had most likely gone over some of the news with Asher formerly based on the bored glances that he was shooting around the room periodically.

I was also a bit unnerved by the number of furtive glances I detected Willow aiming Theo’s way as the sun continued its revolving cycle of rising and setting at the same unending pace, day in and day out.

All in all, I gathered that Zeke had been able to advance past the boundary as far as he had only through the sheer fact that he had known about a secret entrance that few others knew the existence of. I supposed each territory safeguarded their own enigmas, similar to the caves that few knew how to replace in my own home domain.

Thank Luna that the males had been able to successfully track the irrefutable scent trail of the former alpha to the hidden ingress. It would no longer be a viable route past the border when Asher was through, and I received the added bonus of a starting point to finally locate the treacherous coward now that I had an idea regarding his direction of travel.

It was also unanimously decided through our conversing that Zeke had been assisted in his maneuver to attempt to spirit away with my mate.

Ronnie and Willow had weighed in intermittently when they felt it was warranted as we conferred, but Willow’s proposition that the elders had backed Zeke up seemed to carry the most heft after all the other possibilities were discussed.

The bears’ involvement was another matter entirely, which no one wanted to delve too deeply into at the moment. It was nearing lunchtime, so it had been decided prior that we would break for food as soon as, at best, a temporary resolution was settled upon.

However, the issue of our own territories requiring attention was also raised, serving to add an extra delay until our agreed upon resting point. I trusted Ryker to hold down the fort while I was away, but my wolf and I were eager to finally get our mate home and established.

Reese was ultimately the one who landed on the best compromise, averring, “It is obvious that we are not going to come up with the perfect solution to cure the sudden power vacuum here in the South, and we all need to attend to our own provinces.”

Asher interjected, “What we need is someone who is strong enough to maintain control here while we supervise their actions to ensure we do not have another repeat situation, but preferably someone who is more familiar with the area than we evidently are.”

“That is exactly where I was going with this,” Reese went on, confirming that he had our undivided consideration before continuing, “We are going to have to split up sooner or later. I would suggest that you guys head for the Northern Province since we know Zeke is specifically after Willow, and Asher and I can switch out checking in here until he is apprehended for good or we all agree on a replacement for his ex-position here in the South.”

I had to admit that it seemed like a solid plan, especially the part about removing Willow from danger wholly.

I considered what the best course of action would be as the others continued talking, but Ronnie’s voice drew my notice as she declared, “Ryker mentioned being well acquainted with the Southern Province before. Maybe he could help out if you are arranging a trip home.”

Her words were innocent, but I was immediately suspicious of the connections that subsisted in arising where they were both concerned, Ryker’s recent interest in my sister at the forefront of my mind.

All the same, the others jumped in, enthusiastically embracing Ronnie’s suggestion before I could probe further, encouraging me to wait for a better time to broach the subject.

The next several minutes passed in a blur as we finalized plans and organized a last meeting later tonight before we would depart for home the next morning. There was still a lot to figure out, but we were making progress at any rate.

As the other men rose from their seats and ambled towards the exit, I was thrown for a moment by Theo’s direct eye contact with my mate.

Yet, the male’s words halted the growl that had arisen in my throat with the strength of their genuineness as he stated, “I am sincerely sorry that I never had the privilege of learning your name until now, but I swear that I will continue endeavoring to do everything in my power to ensure your safety from here on out, Willow.”