Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 28

Jax

I stood locked in place like a lovestruck fool for a few moments while I waged a war with my wolf.

He wanted to barge into the bathroom and finish what Willow had unintentionally started. I mean, I wanted that too, but I knew that would definitely not be the right thing to do.

Instead, I took a few moments to rein in the desire for now, and then I checked in with Ronnie through our mind link to make sure everything was set for the move later today while I waited on Willow.

I could hear her moving around in the bathroom while I paced the small room. I could not deny the satisfaction I had felt seeing her wearing my shirt when she had first emerged from the bathroom last night, but I was troubled over her lack of personal belongings.

There was a reason Ronnie was giving Willow clothes, despite their differences in size and the fact that Willow was supposed to live in this very house.

I felt the anger begin to rise up yet again, clenching my fists together, but I shoved it back to the recesses of my mind for now.

My wolf would constantly be on edge until we had disposed of Zeke, but I could not let that ruin the time I had with Willow now.

I thanked Luna for my sister and the friendships I had managed to make among the other reigning alphas along the way.

Asher and Reese were following up on a lead we had managed to get out of the two traitors, on top of the other responsibilities they had already taken over, while I took my new mate to shift.

My wolf and I were dying to chase after any trail that might lead to Zeke but helping Willow shift was more important than even that most defensible desire. Ronnie had filled me in on what Willow had told her while I was gone.

While I was unsure how long it had been since she had fully, or even partially for that matter, shifted, I knew that it would be a difficult and excruciating process for her, and that was not even adding in the ill effects of the wolfsbane leaving her system.

Putting it that way, even my wolf had to agree that this took precedence. She needed our presence to help make the transition easier.

While I was busy pondering the situation at hand, Willow emerged from the bathroom much quicker than I was expecting, looking slightly more put together.

Well, with a bright-eyed expression and less wrinkles in her clothes at least. However, I noticed that she had not done anything with her dark hair yet, though she held a brush in her left hand, I noticed.

She started speaking while I was lost in admiring her thick curves and miles of curly hair that reached just to the top of her nicely rounded a*s. She moved to sit at the end of the bed, as I caught the tail-end of what she had been saying, “…to brush my hair, and then we can head out.”

Though I fully admitted to being a bit distracted, I did notice that Willow seemed to be getting more nervous the closer it came time to leave the room.

She sat on the edge of the bed and then pulled some of her thick hair over her shoulder before she started to slowly work the brush through the various tangles and knots.

I cautiously approached her, not wanting to worry her anymore, and gently took the brush out of her hand saying, “Let me, please. Why don’t you tell me what is making you so nervous? You do know my wolf and I will protect you with our life, right?”

I started brushing a small section of Willow’s snarled locks, remembering to start from the bottom and work my way up, while she took a few minutes to process her thoughts. I found myself reminiscing back to exactly when that useful tip had lodged itself into my memory as I brushed her long mane.

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Ronnie was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, roughly running a brush through her hair and working herself up into a real fit. She was 8 now, too old for tantrums, but I knew there was a reason my father was not here right now.

He had rushed through his dinner and was already halfway out the door when I had arrived late from running with my friends, saying he had “alpha” business to take care of. Yeah, right. More like he knew my mother was going to finally force Ronnie to brush her hair tonight.

Thanks for the heads up, dad, I thought bitterly to myself, as I shoveled food as quickly as I could into my mouth at the far end of the table, wincing at the loud wail that left Ronnie’s mouth just then.

My mother was busy cleaning up the kitchen, but she paused in her tasks to go to Ronnie. She held out her hand for the brush and unwearyingly began to soothe the crying child while she gently untangled the numerous knots.

I had never understood why Ronnie always waited so long to brush her hair. It always ended the same way, in frustration, anger, and with bouts of crying mixed somewhere in between.

No matter how many times we went through the same struggle though, my mom always remained patient as she calmly explained that Ronnie needed to start brushing from the bottom, so she did not add more knots to the mess as she worked her way down.

She never listened, but, then again, I think she just liked having my mother brush her hair.

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I was broken out of my reverie by Willow’s soft words, “I know you will, Jax. You being here is actually one of the only reasons I have been able to tolerate being in this house for any period of time, and I am ready to leave.” She hesitated, waiting for me to say something before she went on.

The bittersweet memory I had just been engrossed in had caused me to lose a little of the joy I had felt previously at the simple act of running a brush through my mate’s lengthy locks.

I noticed that it actually reached a little past her waist now that I had managed to disentangle the majority of the snarls, and it was more gentle waves than curls now.

I took a moment to refocus on the here and now, brushing out the remainder of Willow’s hair and rejoicing in her revelation, before responding, “I am thrilled that I make you feel more at ease, though I will tell you that I have never felt as at peace with the world as I do when I am with you.”

I set the brush down and turned Willow in my arms so that she was facing me before I went on, “Tell me what is bothering you. You were excited to shift just a little while ago. What happened between then and now?”

She seemed to fortify her resolve, subconsciously leaning further into my hold, before she looked up into my eyes replying, “I am still excited to shift, my wolf is dying to run through the forest again, especially with you.”

A light blush accompanied her statement, but she did not stop talking, “It’s just…I can hear other people moving around in the house out there. I know you promised to keep me safe, and I believe you. But it is like everything changed overnight. One minute, I was forbidden to even step one foot outside the house, and the next, I am supposed to just walk around like nothing ever happened, like there were not countless males watching me be abused daily and yet still barring my only means to escape. What if I run into them again? What do I say? What do I…”?

Even my wolf could tell that she was working herself up into a state of panic again, and her words were only serving to increase my ire. So, I pulled her tighter into my arms, swiftly cutting her off by pressing my firm lips against her soft mouth.

I had been dying to k**s her ever since laying eyes on her, but I had been taking it slow, not wanting to pressure her. However, all bets were off now that she had opened those floodgates, albeit unintentionally. My wolf did not care, and, frankly, neither did I.

I had thought she might protest the domineering move, but, to my utter delight, she melted even further into my embrace.

I gently ran my large hands down the length of her body, allowing them to settle on her round h**s, just barely grazing the top of her a*s, while I simultaneously pulled her tightly against my chest, plastering our bodies together from shoulder to stomach, stopping just short of pulling her into my lap. I did not want to scare her with too much too fast, despite my wolf’s relentless howling for more in my head.

I played with the hem of her shirt with my left hand, allowing my fingertips to roam over the expanse of smooth skin that I had exposed between her top and tight-fitting pants.

Meanwhile, I used my right hand to reach up and grab a handful of Willow’s luscious hair, using my leverage to tilt her head back to the perfect angle so that I could devour her pretty lips the way my wolf was begging me to, at least I could give him this for now.

I gently nipped her lower l*p with my teeth, eliciting the exact response I had been hoping for. Her soft gasp allowed me the perfect opportunity to slip my tongue into her willing mouth. The delicious m**n that escaped her lips as my tongue tangled with hers was just icing on the cake.

I delighted in her minty taste, but I truly thrived off the underlying natural flavors, the essence that perfectly captured her addicting fragrance, that somehow managed to overpower the strong taste of the toothpaste she had used.

I could smell her arousal begin to permeate the room, further driving my wolf and I insane with l**t, as I continued to plunder her mouth and grip her body recklessly close.

As painful as it was, I gave Willow one more soft, lingering k**s, sweeping my tongue slowly through her mouth and savoring the feeling, before I reluctantly pulled my face back, still keeping her within the circle of my arms.

I took a few deep breaths to calm my breathing and my pent-up wolf, leaning my forehead up against hers.

I noticed that the redness from her cheeks had spread down to what I could see of the top of her chest in my t-shirt, adding to the near perfect picture of her glistening, swollen lips that I had just been consuming.

I wanted nothing more than to dive back in, but Willow needed to shift, and to do that, we needed to leave this bedroom. I think it was safe to say that Willow’s brief bout of panic had passed, exactly as I had intended my distraction to go.

I pressed a soft k**s to her forehead before getting up from the bed and pulling her wobbly body with me. I wrapped an arm securely around her waist and then headed for the door when she made no protest.

I led her through the massive house, with her seemingly lost in her own world, and even remembered to stop in the kitchen for some food on the way out, but no one interfered with our plans.

I had not expected anyone to really. Reese had been weeding out those that were loyal to Zeke, but my wolf and I would remain on guard at all times. We stayed on high alert as we walked out of the pack house and followed the first path Willow decided on.