Chapter 3

Jax said we were going to his pack, the closer we got to the destination the more I wanted to shatter the window and jump out.

"So you're telling me, my father just gave me up, to you?" I asked, utter disbelief lacing my tone.

He looked at me with clenched fists, now obviously irritated by my persistence. "For the fifth time, yes he did. He didn't tell me why, he didn't say anything. He simply gave me permission to take you with me."

Bullshit.

My father wouldn't just give me up without at least talking to me at first. Jax must have done something, most likely threatened the safety of my pack. If he thought his threats would get me to feel anything other than hatred towards him, he was sorely mistaken.

I remained silent for the rest of the journey, seething with anger. Wasn't there some rule against mates lying to each other?

"We're here." Derek announced coming out of the car. I cringed as he grabbed a petit dark haired woman and began to to shove his tongue down her throat. An image I would never be able to unsee.

"That's Alexandria." Jax commented behind me. "Her and Beta Derek have been mates for two years now, I'd steer clear of her though, she's two months pregnant and a little on edge. " He chuckled as if relieving an old memory.

A spark of jealousy suddenly hit me, but I immediately shook it off, must be a side effect of the whole mate thing.

"Come on, my family's waiting inside." He entwined my fingers with his and led me through the crowd of onlookers. I felt my cheeks turn red at all the attention I was getting, my 5'6 frame couldn't handle so much scrutiny.

The warm feel of his hand was soothing and I found myself never wanting him to let go. I was shocked to find the pack staring at Jax with so much admiration, as if he was their hero, the same Alpha they perceived him to be was the exact opposite of who I saw him to be.

"Jaxon!" A woman called out, rushing to where Jax and I stood. Her auburn strands escaped the neat bun she placed them in. I'm guessing Jax got his dark brown hair from his father. "How did the meeting go?" She pulled him into a hug, careful her paint stained hands didn't go onto his clothes.

"Actually better than expected, this is Felicity." Jax smirked gesturing towards me, his mother narrowed her eyes in confusion before a wide smile of realisation graced her face and she pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's so nice to meet you, I'm Veronica. Arabelle and Axel will be so excited to know you're here." She smiled genuinely at me, I forced myself to smile back. Getting attached now would only make it harder to leave. I promised myself I wouldn't end up like Matthew.

"Axel give it back, boys don't play with Barbie dolls!" I heard a small voice shout and the sound of light footsteps as the siblings ran into the room.

"Twins, Jax found his mate!" Veronica chirped, hoping to distract them from the argument they were having. It worked.

Axel discarded the Barbie doll on the floor, completely forgetting about it's previous importance to him.

"Woah." He stared at me with wide eyes, his emerald eyes shining with curiosity.

Arabelle resembled her mother greatly, with curly auburn hair and light brown eyes, while Axel had beautiful forest green eyes and the cutest freckles running across his cheeks.

"She's pretty." Arabelle stated, walking around my timid frame. I yelped as she suddenly pinched my calf. "Sorry." She giggled innocently. "Just checking you were real."

***

Jax led me to the first floor of the pack house, it was a giant place filled with portraits and books, it was surprisingly spotless and smelt a lot like fresh pine wood which was probably his scent.

"Best view of the sunset." He opened the door and I stepped inside, amazed by how beautiful the room was. The four poster bed was made neatly with a red velvet duvet draped over it. I turned to the giant flat screen tv hanging from the wall, I couldn't believe I had this entire room to myself.

My heart shaped eyes were suddenly shattered when I noticed Jax sitting on the bed, making himself comfortable.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, shooting daggers at his back.

"It's late, I'm getting ready for bed." He replied, a small smile tugging at his lips as if I had asked a stupid question.

"Not here you're not." I argued.

He looked up at me, a wave of realisation finally hit him as he got up and walked towards me.

"We sleep together, you're my mate and it doesn't look good if the pack sees us sleeping separately." He looped his arms around my waist and pulled me towards him. I took a sharp intake of breath as his lips ran faintly along he column of my neck.

"Fine." I grit out. "I'll sleep on he floor." I pushed his towering frame away from me and proceeded to grab one of the blankets to make as a mattress.

"Fine." He muttered with clenched fists. "You'll warm up to me to eventually Felicity, it's only a matter of time."

Wrapping his arms around my torso, I didn't move as he planted a kiss on my cheek, the flow of electricity that enveloped my body made my toes curl. "Goodnight Felicity."

I looked at him suspiciously.

Why did I have a feeling I'd wake up in the morning on the bed, curled up in his arms?

****

I woke the next day to the soft sound of laughter. I guess Arabelle and Axel were already up.

An amazing scent of fresh pine wood overwhelmed me and I felt myself inhaling the intoxicating aroma. It didn't take long for me to realise that I had been moved from my roomy spot on the floor, the blankets I had created for myself were now folded and placed on a chair next to the bed.

I looked down to see Jax's solid arm draped over my body, I lay flush against his chest, basking myself in his warmth.

Careful not to wake him, I turned around and looked up at his sleeping face. His dark brown hair was all over the place, but somehow that did nothing to hinder how handsome he looked.

He is going to be so mad when he wakes up.

I couldn't spend another day in this place. Everyday brought me closer to my own demise.

Not bothering to change my clothes, I grabbed my backpack and put on the shoes I had worn yesterday and climbed out of the window.

Landing gracefully I wasted no time in running away, just as I was about to enter the woods and shift, I caught sight of a middle aged man, unfortunately before I could hide, he caught sight me at the same time.

"I now see why my son has ordered all the pack guards to look out for you." The man smiled, staring amusingly at my backpack. "I'm Holden, Jax's father."

All I could do was stare at him dumbfounded. The resemblance between him and Jax was uncanny, if it wasn't for the wrinkles on Holden's forehead and slight height difference I would have mistaken them for the same person.

"This is a major deja vu moment for me actually." He chuckled lightly. I was surprised he was yet to start shouting at me for attempting to run away from his son. "When my wife and I first met, she had tried to escape from me, for two months straight she ran before finally accepting me as her mate. It used to drive me insane." He smiled widely, wrinkles forming on the corners of his eyes.

I laughed, finding it hard to envision a young Veronica climbing out of a window like I had done.

"Jax had always thought his mate would naturally want to be with him, it's a bit of a wake up call for him to see you not so willing to be by his side. I think it has knocked his ego down a few inches." He chided.

"I know Jax is not the easiest mate to have, but rumours are rumours. Maybe get to know him more before deciding how you feel. If you decide to run now, I won't stop you. I'm much too old for that. The choice is yours." Holden gave me one last smile before walking into the pack house.

I stared between the woods and the pack house. I had to find out what happened to my dad, why he gave me up so easily. Matthew, he would never forgive me if I stayed.

Suddenly I was brought back to those dark woods, my hands wrapped around Matthew's body as he muttered his final words to me:

Mates are the greatest curse, our family's legacy proves it.

Generations of mate related deaths dating back thousands of years plagued our family name. Matthew was gone. Fighting to protect the one he loved led to his demise, he was our pack's future Alpha and now after my father dies there will be no one to replace him, our lineage destroyed by the mate bond.

I put a finger to each temple, my head began to throb and I softly shook my head to rid myself of the memories. 

Before I could make my decision, two hands held my wrists. "We've found her." One of the men stated.

I looked behind me to see Jax's enraged expression, his eyes pitch black as he followed behind. "Give her to me." He demanded.

I looked up at one of the men and vigorously shook my head. As expected he didn't spare me a single glance.

I turned away from his cold eyes, allowing him to take me back to the pack house. It was pointless, I would never stop trying to leave I vowed to myself.