Chapter 17: Weighing My Options
1818 Words
*Piper’s POV*
We finished the last lap around the perimeter and slowed down into a jog until we reached our clothing. We made our shifts back into our human forms and redressed. I had finished up as Jaxon began to approach me. I couldn’t help but stare as he finished pulling his shirt over his perfectly defined abs.
He let out a low chuckle which brought me back to reality. “How do you feel now?”
“Better.” I answered.
The trapped feeling I had was gone. I felt more relaxed and just better in general. That run had been much needed. After being in the same room for two weeks I was tired of it. Now that I knew the door wasn’t locked I sure as hell won’t be allowing myself to feel like a trapped prisoner again.
“Good.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go eat. Everyone else is already inside.”
“Okay.” I nodded as I placed my hand in his.
I realized I was beginning to be more comfortable around Jaxon. That I wanted to be around him. There were only two possibilities that I could think of for this. One, he wasn’t the monster Matteo had made him out to be and I actually was starting to like him. Two, stockholm syndrome, it would be the only other explanation.
As we approached the pack house I noticed a few of the members were outside. Their eyes landed on me as I walked with Jaxon. There were a couple of them who turned to the person next to them and spoke to them secretly. I didn’t have to try to listen in to already know it was about me.
“What’s on your mind?” Jaxon asked as we stepped inside the pack house.
“They're still not sure about me.” I responded with what I picked up on just from observing the pack members outside. “Not that I can blame them or anything.”
I was the outsider to them. Not only that but I was the outsider from the enemy pack. If someone like me had shown up to Moon Stone we would’ve all been on guard. Here I was though, and I’m apparently supposed to be their luna. An outsider as their luna, I could imagine they hated that thought.
“You’re right.” Jaxon was honest. “Only you can prove yourself worthy to them though, just like I had to. Once you do then they’ll come around and be more accepting.”
I could feel the slight want of their approval within myself. I didn’t even know why other than this was the pack of my fated mate. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not going to go out of my way just to please them. All I could do was be myself and show them that I could be a good luna. Especially if I decided to stay here with Jaxon.
“Piper.” Matteo growled in my mind.
I rolled my eyes. I had let my block down as I was too preoccupied with noticing the pack members around me. He managed to slip in and I felt more annoyed than anything. He was just becoming a pain in my ass right now. I closed the link again and blocked him out once more. If he forced me to talk right now it would only push me away.
Jaxon seemed to notice my sudden irritation. “What’s up?” He asked as his Hazel eyes studied me.
“Matteo was trying to talk to me.” I answered as we continued walking to the dining hall. This pack house wasn’t exactly small.
“I see.” I could feel he was not pleased with my response.
“Have you figured out how to remove his mark?” I raised a brow. I needed to begin to consider all options here. If I ended up leaving Matteo behind I wanted all ties cut and Jaxon had seemed so sure he could do that when he made our deal.
He pursed his lips together as he thought for a moment. “I’m still working on a few things, but I’m sure I’ll have it figured out when you’re ready.”
“If.” I corrected him. “If I’m ever ready, I never said I wanted it off now. I just need to weigh my options.”
Jaxon nodded. “Understood. Let’s go eat now.”
He opened the door to the dining hall. The room was gigantic with light grey paint on the walls and a row of floor to ceiling windows on one wall that showcased the view of the surrounding forest. There were rows of tables lined up with pack members seated. He managed to fit his entire pack inside of here to eat, and there were alot of them.
“Come on.” Jaxon gripped my hand tighter and proceeded to lead me to the table we would be seated at.
I could feel the eyes on me as we looked ahead. I could pick up on the mixed emotions of the group. Some were curious about me. Some were clearly not happy I was here as they scowled at me. And then there were the jealous ones. The young women who shot dirty glances at my hand in Jaxon’s.
We reached the head table where there were two open spots beside Nikko. This is where the most important pack members would sit. “Glad to see you both down here tonight.” Nikko smiled.
“Alpha Jaxon, I wasn’t sure if you would be joining us here in the dining hall.” Catherine had a slight panic in her tone as she approached Jaxon and I. “I’ll have your plates brought out immediately.”
“Relax Catherine.” Jaxon’s tone was calm as he spoke. “It’s not a big deal. Take your time, we’re patient.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll be back shortly.”
In her defense Jaxon and I had been eating in the room. I’m sure his pack members weren’t thrilled about that. It was important for their alpha to be around at meal times. It was the only time some of the lower ranking members would even see him. That is unless they needed something major or they were in trouble.
I looked over at the crowd in front of me. Some still were staring but most had gone back to eating the meals in front of them. This pack definitely didn’t look as evil as they had been made out to be. They looked just like my pack, regular members just trying to survive.
“You’re being too quiet. Is something wrong?” Jaxon c****d an eyebrow as he looked me over again.
“Nothing’s wrong. I guess this just wasn’t what I expected.” I responded.
“Well what did you expect?” He questioned further. “Did you expect something darker and far worse than this?”
“Yeah.” I confessed. “I guess I did.”
He let out a low chuckle. “Piper, I think it’s time you forget about all the opinions your old pack had and make your own for yourself.”
I already knew he was right. I was already open to getting to know them, but to do that I needed to forget everything I had been told. I had to not let anyone else’s opinions make my decisions for me. Not even Jaxon’s.
Catherine brought two plates to us. Tonight was a baked potato served with a pork chop and some vegetables. I was starving so I wasted no time digging in. It all tasted so good, especially after the run we had just returned from.
Jaxon and I finished up our meals. He then held my hand once more as he made his rounds in the dining hall to talk to pack members here and there. I stood by him quietly as I watched him interact with his members. I could tell by his exchanges they all had respect for him, even if he had brought in an enemy and now was parading around with her.
Once he finished he led me back to the bedroom I had been cooped up in. He shut the door behind us and I watched as he really did lock it this time so we wouldn’t be disturbed. He then walked over and wrapped his arms around me. “Well, I think that first meal with everyone went a lot better than I thought it would.”
“What did you think was going to happen?” I was curious. I wanted to know what he had expected from his pack members upon our first meeting.
“I expected some of the unhappier ones to be more outspoken about it.” He answered. “I’m pleased they respect me enough to keep their mouths shut. It makes tonight easier.”
“What do you mean?” I raised a brow.
“It means I can focus on actually relaxing instead of reminding some of my pack members who their alpha is.” His hazel eyes looked me down and then up until he met my blue orbs. “You were much quieter than normal tonight. I expected you to talk a little more.”
“I was observing.” I responded.
“Observing?” He had a curious look in his eyes. “What did you notice?”
“I noticed the unsure ones, the ones unhappy with my presence and the jealous females.” I answered.
“I see. There are indeed a few in the pack who were sure they would be my mate. I guess some of them must’ve gotten discouraged when I brought you back with me.” He stated the obvious. “They’ll get over it, especially if you stick around and become their luna. Now I’m going to go take a shower, care to join me?”
“Not this time.” I kept my tone soft as I rejected his advance. I still had some thinking I needed to do and if I went in there my judgment would be clouded. Especially since I found myself fighting back my desire right now.
He seemed slightly disappointed by my response but understood. “Very well.” He placed a kiss on my cheek which sent chills down my spine. He then let go of me and headed for the bathroom.
I found myself feeling a little guilty. I had caved into the mate bond and I enjoyed every second of it. Jaxon and I were now a little closer and I was conflicted on whether that was good or bad. What made me feel guilty the most though, was I wanted him again.
- Writer
