Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 27

Willow

I had fallen asleep, feeling optimistic for the future after having received a promise from Jax for us to move into his lodge after we had rested for a while.

I would have insisted on moving immediately, with as much as I hated being inside this house, but I had found myself exhausted and slightly weak still, most likely caused by the remnants of wolfsbane in my system.

Jax’s tired eyes had also further encouraged me to wait until after we had gotten some sleep to make the move. I had allowed myself to fall asleep within the safety of his arms, all of my worries having faded away for the time being.

I felt more revitalized after my nap with Jax, much more so than I could recall ever feeling, in fact. I had been having a dream, though I could not remember what it had been about, but I awoke feeling blissfully happy so it must have been good.

I paused before opening my eyes, soaking in the feeling of having my mate’s strong arms surrounding me, as his chest continued to rise and fall in a steady rhythm.

I wanted this moment to last forever, the feeling of serenity that permeated the air was one that I wanted to never end, but it seemed my stomach had different ideas.

A loud growl erupted from my middle, causing me to g***n when Jax jolted awake at the ravenous sound. I felt the heat spreading in my cheeks, while Jax kept me tight in his arms, as his head quickly pivoted from side to side, no doubt looking for the source of the sound that had awoken him from his slumber.

Despite myself, I allowed a small chuckle to escape at the absurdity of the situation. I was about to tell him that he could stop looking for the intruder; however, my stomach chose that moment to repeat its earlier performance, causing him to immediately glance down at it with a sleepy smile.

I was honestly surprised to find that I felt like I was starving, in spite of all the extra food Jax had been feeding me. I was used to eating small portions, not what most would consider a meal, and it was not uncommon for me to go a day or two without eating anything of substance at all.

Don’t get me wrong, the normal hunger pangs and the nausea that almost always accompanied an empty stomach came, but by the time I was able to do something about it, the spasms of pain had passed, leaving the sickness behind.

It was never worth it to eat when I got to that point, though now that I knew about the wolfsbane Zeke had been poisoning me with, I considered the plausibility of this also contributing to my recent aversion to food.

I had always loved to eat, my generous sized h**s that had managed to linger could attest to that, but even the thought of food had sent my stomach rolling until recently, until I met Jax.

“I guess that was your stomach’s way of telling me it is time to feed my gorgeous mate, huh?” Jax sniggered, gathering me even tighter in his arms for a few seconds before he let me go and moved to get off the bed.

I admired his lean physique and tried my best not to drool when the hem of his t-shirt was raised a few inches above his low-cut jeans as he stretched his thickly muscled arms over his head. The dark trail of hair that I could just barely see, led down to the delicious v of his tapered waist.

Too quickly, the hint of dark ink I had just barely managed to get a glimpse of, disappeared and a smirk set in on his face while he waited for me to join him. His dark hair and hazel eyes provided an alluring contrast that seemed to draw me in.

I moved to join him standing beside the bed, despite my rumpled clothes and tangled hair, but then I stopped, unsure where we were going. I was a little uncomfortable looking as frumpy as I did with Jax around, but I could see the clear adoration in his eyes, regardless of what I was wearing. Going anywhere else like this was out of the question.

Jax’s easy compliment sent butterflies dancing in the pit of my stomach as I responded, “I actually am pretty hungry. Sorry for waking you up, by the way,” I said a bit sheepishly before going on, “But, if you want to go somewhere, I am going to need a few moments to freshen up.” I finished in an even tone.

I was secretly thrilled that Jax was being so lax about the whole mate bond thing. I was definitely going to accept him, but it was nice having him ease into all of the changes.

I may not have paid much attention when my mother was going over everything, but Ronnie had filled me in on a few of the important details between Jax’s arrivals.

The mating bond would continue to pull us together until we cemented our claims. The fact that he was able to resist said something about his self-control.

My wolf was driving me insane, and I now knew that she had been repressed and was still coming back into her full strength. I could not even imagine how hard his wolf must have been riding him to complete the bond.

Even so, I did notice that he was unable to escape the pull completely, with his possessive holds and near constant skin contact. The not so subtle sniffs he had been sneaking had not gone unnoticed either.

I found myself reveling in being so desired, in feeling so wanted. I also could not resist sneaking my own whiff of his delectable scent when I thought he was not looking. I further found that I loved having his rough-hewn hands on, around, or anywhere near me.

Jax replied, with a bit of a red tint to his cheeks, thankfully distracting me from my line of thought, “I did not even think about that. I must admit that I have been around mostly males the past two years. Please take all the time you need.” He entreated warmly before he went on, “I figured we could grab something to go in the kitchen before heading out to find somewhere quiet to shift.”

At the mention of shifting, my wolf surged forward yet again, making her wishes well known and causing me to stumble while I struggled to regain control, but it was not like she had let me forget about her with her incessant moaning in my head.

I did have to admit that it was nice to have her presence back more fully in my mind. She had been fading out the longer I had been here, getting weaker. Now, I knew the reason why at least, and we were both getting stronger the longer we remained close to Jax.

Speaking of Jax, his strong arms shot out, keeping me from face planting yet again and automatically pulled me closer to his warm body.

I felt my face flame for what felt like the five millionth time today, as I glanced up to meet his eyes while I thanked him, “Thank you. Give me five minutes, and then we can go. My wolf is itching to get out.”

I am not sure who spurred me to do what I did, my wolf or some other unknown part of me, but the next thing I knew, I was leaning up on my tippy toes and quickly pressing a chaste k**s to his smooth face before swiftly hightailing it out of there and into the bathroom without a backward glance, surely leaving a trail of fire in my wake.

You see, Jax had apparently been turning at the same moment I had leaned forward, inadvertently causing me to press my lips against most of his soft mouth. We both had seemed frozen for that one moment in time, and then I was fleeing to the safety of the bathroom.

I could not help but press my hand against my mouth as I leaned up against the closed bathroom door, pausing to take in my first k**s. My first k**s, and I had been the one to initiate it.

It was unintentional, but the outpouring of confidence I felt as a result, made me feel invincible, despite all that Zeke had put me through, I could still be that spontaneous, carefree girl I was years ago, before Zeke’s torment had dulled my light.