I Will Always Be By Your Side

Chapter 4: Jaxon

Jaxon’s POV:

The ballroom was bustling with guests, and the party was in full swing. Over the roar of music, a distant, hazy chatter could be heard. I could not make out any words, but laughter rang in my ears. I looked over in the direction of some of the loudest chatter and could see Eric talking to a blonde-haired girl wearing a short red cocktail dress. Her hair was short and I could see a small tattoo on the back of her neck. She was standing with two guys who seemed to be helping out with security. One was quite tall. He was probably only 2 or 3 inches shorter than Eric and myself, he was the more muscly one of the two, he had dark brown hair and had his hand on the girl's waist. I guessed that they were together by the way he kept looking at her checking that she was okay, but i could have been fooled by the way he kept staring at the waitress's ass. The other one was a blonde-haired boy who looked agitated, which was never a good emotion for a security guard. He kept checking the entrance like he was waiting for something. Eric looked like he was having fun.

I felt a hand on the back of my neck and looked to see my brother ‘How are you doing?’ My younger brother, Andrew, looked at me with the biggest smile on his face I had ever seen, his long floppy red hair falling in front of his eyes, his tie slightly lopsided, and his top button undone.

‘I am fine. Wish people would stop asking me that though.’ I huffed. I knew he meant nothing bad by it, but everyone was asking me the same questions tonight. ‘Mum and Dad seen how dishevelled you look?’ I said, glancing down at his now untucked shirt. He scoffed at my comment ‘No one is looking at me tonight, big brother. All eyes are on you.’ He was right. Tonight was meant to be fun but with all the constant gawking and questions, I had barely gotten a moment to think.

‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, this whole situation just feels weird.’ I turned to my brother, keeping my voice low so that no one would overhear us. ‘I’m not ready for all of this, it doesn’t feel right.’ My brother looked at me with a worried smile on his face ‘No one ever said the rules made sense Jonathon. And no one said this was going to be easy, but you know just as I do, you need to be married before you can take over from father.’ He looked at me sympathetically. I knew he was right, but it did not make it any more comfortable. The idea of an arranged marriage had never sat well with me.

‘Jax’ I heard Eric yell, waving at me to come join him, ‘Come meet my friends’ he insisted. I walked up to the group politely smiling ‘This is Abbie, one of my friends from school.’ I nodded at the small blonde-haired girl, her hair fell in a straight line down to her collarbone, she was almost innocent-looking with olive skin and light freckles, but her eyes had such am daunting look in them as if she could destroy you with a single word. Her smile was playful, as if she knew what I was thinking. ‘Hi’ she nodded ‘this is my boyfriend, Dave.’ She gestured to the tall dark-haired boy clutching at her waist. He looked at me with a worried yet protective look on his face. I smiled at him, which only threw him off guard more. He clumsily reached out to shake my hand. As I shook it, I noticed his grip trying to tighten, in a desperate plea to seem more masculine.

I could sense the other boy looking at me irritably. I had never met him, so I did not understand his obvious irritation towards me. ‘This is Charlie’, Eric gestured to the blonde-haired guy. He was slightly smaller than me and his dark brown eyes looked at me with annoyance, as if I had done something to hurt him personally. I could tell what type of person he was; I knew guys like him. The type of guy who would try and make everyone nervous of them. They always seemed to make people walk on eggshells. I never liked guys like that. ‘So how do you know Eric then, and how come we’ve never met you?’ he said with a judgmental tone.

‘Our fathers were best friends growing up, we were practically raised together’ I stated ‘But after Eric’s family moved up here, we did not get to see each other as much anymore. But me and the family still visit a lot of the time.’ His eyes narrowed ‘Well it’s great to finally meet you’ he said with a phony smile plastered on his face. I could tell he was lying, but I did not worry, as the feeling was mutual. Eric looked at me nervously as he sensed my disdain for his friend, ‘So where’s Chloe, I’ve missed her.’ He said swiftly, moving the conversation on to avoid any awkwardness. However, as soon as he did, the mood between the 3 friends seemed to shift. I could see the girl glaring at the blonde-haired boy. ‘Yeah, where is Chloe Charlie? I was surprised when you arrived alone.’ She uttered through gritted teeth her tone suspicious, Charlie looked at the floor and mumbled something under his breath. I could tell that this situation was personal and decided to take myself off to the bar for a refill.

I walked along the dance floor; I noticed my parents deep in conversation with Arabella and Marcus, Eric’s parents. I could have guessed the topic of conversation but when they all turned to look at me and hurryingly averted their gaze, I knew that it was about myself and the upcoming possibility of an arranged marriage. As I reached the bar, I pointed to the empty bottle in my hand and the bartender placed a new opened bottle down onto the bar surface. I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts. Tonight had not been as fun as I had hoped.

As I turned around, that is when I saw her. She was breathtaking. She wasn't beautiful in the classical way, no flowing golden curls or ivory skin, no piercing eyes of green. There was a shyness to her, hesitation in her body movements, but her blue eyes, like the sea, were calm as she scanned the room. Her long dark hair draped down the ends, stopping midway down her back, where they slightly curled, the shorter strands hung forwards to try and hide her eyes. Her dress clung to her, showing off her curvaceous body. The low neckline of her dress showed her cleavage slightly, I could see her perky breasts just hidden by the silky fabric. But I kept being drawn in by her eyes. My god, her eyes were simply spellbinding. I could feel my wolf intensify and become restless. f**k.