Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 25

Jax

I glanced down at Willow after the door had shut completely. She still appeared to be doing alright, but my wolf and I would continue to worry until we completed the mating bond.

I still had the overwhelming urge to claim Willow; it was nearly unbearable to resist, in fact, despite my exhausted state. The only thing that allowed me to abstain was knowing that her fragile mental state could not handle it yet. Her needs would always come before my own, and she just was not ready.

I was thankful she allowed me to hold her, cradled in my lap as she did, but I suspected that had more to do with her alarm when I had first arrived in the room earlier.

Nevertheless, I could see the clear adoration in her eyes as she gazed up into mine. I could also see the hesitation, unfortunately.

I knew that was only in response to how Zeke had treated her, but I never wanted her to waver or be frightened of talking to me about anything. I would make sure she was aware of that too, right after I made sure she ate something.

“Love, I am sure you probably have a lot of questions. We can talk about anything you want, but can I suggest we eat while we do so?”

Willow nodded her head shyly in acquiescence, her face colored a lovely shade of red as she attempted to climb out of my lap.

I firmly grabbed her h**s, holding her in place and pulling her closer to my body, but I ensured my grip remained gentle and watched for any signs of denial coming from her. There were none.

“Ronnie said the best way to help you heal would be for us to stay close together.”

At the look of defiance that flashed across her face, I quickly added before she could start speaking, “And, I will also admit that I like having you in my lap. My wolf has been hounding me to claim you since laying eyes on you in that clearing, and this is one of the few times I have managed to calm him to this extent since then.”

My honest words seemed to have stopped whatever snarky reply she had ready to go on her luscious lips, though the redness in her face appeared to be spreading.

I leaned forward slightly, wanting nothing more than to close the distance between our lips, but I quickly shook the urge off for the time being and shifted Willow in my arms so that I could reach over and pluck the tray of food off the small table.

Keeping my other arm wrapped tightly around Willow’s body, I settled the tray beside us on the bed and began feeding her grapes from the bowl of mixed fruit.

Her indignation rose yet again, “I can feed myself, Jax.”

I knew I should not like it when she was angry, but damn, the way she just said my name did something to me.

My wolf howled his agreement as I felt my member begin to harden in the slightly suffocating jeans that I had squeezed my a*s into. Shit. That was the last thing I needed right now.

I had only managed to restrain myself from cocking a semi so far because of Willow’s obvious emotional distress, but her anger fueled the need in me to dominate her, spurred on by the incomplete mating bond.

However, I swiftly shoved aside the reckless desires just as quickly as they appeared in my brain. That was not the point of any of this right now.

“I know you can, sweetheart.” I soothed, going on, “But, I want to feed you. It makes my wolf happy to provide for our mate.”

I watched as a range of emotions flickered across her face before it finally settled on a mix between a bit of hopefulness, appreciation, and a tiny hint of rebelliousness.

However, she ultimately did not say anything as she allowed me to continue feeding her, though I noticed the rosy color also never left her cheeks while I did so.

I began talking as I fed her a few bites of the chocolate muffin I had found when I raided the kitchen earlier. Now that I thought about it, I would bet anything that she was the very person who had made this delicious treat.

“I have actually been meaning to ask you how you felt about staying here in the south a little longer. I know you were trying to leave before, but some things have clearly changed since then. Even then, you probably should know that I am the Alpha of the Northern Province, so that is ultimately where we will live if you are okay with that.”

I continued to feed her small bites of food while I waited for her response. I was not sure how much she would know, and I wanted to be straightforward from the beginning.

There would not be any secrets between us. I wanted to cherish my mate and protect her from the world, the same way that my father used to treasure my mother.

Therefore, I was shocked when I heard a small giggle escape from her berry stained lips, her having just finished the strawberry I had held up to her mouth.

My eyes immediately sought her chocolate colored ones to see what had caused that adorable sound to fall from her lips.

She giggled again at my intense reaction before saying, “You are pretty well known, well everywhere, and I would have to be blind to not notice that you are an alpha.”

She went on before I could respond, “I was actually on my way to the Northern Province anyway. That is where I am from.”

She seemed proud of where she had come from, which pleased my wolf and I to no end.

There would not be any issues with me making my mate happy on the home front at least. However, I did notice that she did not mention anything about how she felt about delaying our departure to the North.

I was hesitant to ask, given her history here, but as one of only three alphas remaining within the wolves’ territories, I needed to fulfill my responsibilities.

With that in mind, I carefully searched for a possible reason for her reluctance, “I suppose Luna did know what she was doing when she paired us together. I noticed you did not say how you would feel about remaining here a little longer though. It would only be for a few weeks. I have left Ryker in charge back home, but that is only temporary.”

She paused for a moment, appearing to gather her courage, before speaking in a soft, but still confidant tone of voice, “I am okay with staying here for another few weeks. I do want to help Ronnie and the others plan the ball after all, but I do actually have one request if we are going to stay here.”

Willow waited to go on until her gaze locked onto my serious, hazel colored eyes, ensuring that I understood whatever she asked me for would be important.

“Would you mind if we stayed somewhere other than this house?”

She had started out by demanding eye contact, but by the time she had finished her inquiry, she was looking down at the blue fabric of my shirt again.

I must admit, I was a bit ashamed of myself for not considering the fact that she might not want to be in the house that had served as her prison for the past two years.

My wolf growled his annoyance at me in my head for not being more considerate of our mate’s needs, not like he was saying anything before either, but whatever.

I reached out and gently pulled her face back up, until her eyes met mine again. I saw apprehension, but also a look of optimism on her beautiful face.

“I always want you to speak your mind no matter what, and I am sorry that I did not think of asking you sooner how you felt about being back in this house. We can absolutely move to a different residence. In fact, my belongings are currently in one of the lodges if you would prefer that. Ryker is gone for now so we would be alone too.” I mused to myself, noticing the heat rising in her face yet again from my comment.

The relief I could sense pouring out of her told me that I had said the right thing. Despite her slight embarrassment, the gratitude filling her voice nearly staggered me with its intensity, “I think the lodge sounds perfect. I just need to get away from the memories this place holds. Do you think we could move there later today after resting some?”

She punctuated her words with a loud yawn that managed to escape past her perfect lips, before she went on, “I must admit I am more tired than I care to admit, despite my lack of activity.”

I had continued feeding her the finger foods while we had talked, but she appeared to be about done for now. I moved the tray so that it was sitting back on the small table, then I rearranged Willow into a more comfortable position, surrounding her in the circle of my arms while she draped her upper body across my chest.

She made no objection to the intimate position, and I sure as hell was not about to protest so I relaxed back into the fluffy pillows, enjoying the feeling of having my mate so close to me, as I waited for the darkness to claim me.