CHAPTER SEVEN

JAX POV

I watched her for a long time while she slept on my bed.

I didn't spend the night in my room, I couldn't trust myself to exist safely in the same space as her without doing something stupid. Not after that terrific night we spent together.

The way her body moved against mine still popped up in my head sometimes, and now, watching her sleep made me think about it even more.

I shoved down the thought and stood up reluctantly before my wolf would drive me into doing something I would regret.

I carefully laid down one of my white shirts and instructed the maids to bring up her breakfast.

Then I returned back to looking at her sleeping peacefully.

She stirred, then opened her eyes with a loud yawn.

"Where… where am I?"

My face became ice immediately. "My room. Your toothbrush is in the bathroom."

She opened her eyes in shock, then looked underneath the cover. "You… you didn't"

I glared daggers at her. "I didn't do anything. Now get out, my room needs to be cleaned."

She looked at me with a pained expression and my wolf winced at the sight of it but I pretended not to care.

"I'll bathe and change in my room. It's safe right?"

"Yeah it's safe." I snapped impatiently. "There are guards outside your door."

She turned to leave and I stopped her.

"Lena, one more thing."

She stopped.

"There are strict rules you must follow if you're staying in this estate."

She rolled her eyes. Iconic, but I wasn't done.

"You mustn't leave this estate alone or take any unknown calls. And any wing marked restricted is completely restricted to you. Understood?"

"Yeah. Understood. Can I go now?" She tried to leave.

"No." I stopped her. "No speaking to anyone outside this estate—"

She left before I could say another word.

By evening, the siren of the East Wing was already blaring my ears out.

I moved to the scene without delay and to my horror Lena was seen walking through the hallway deliberately like she was after a hidden treasure.

I ran to her immediately and dragged her out of the way. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I snapped.

"Do you have a death wish or something?"

She looked horrified. "Let me go!"

But I continued dragging her out of the East Wing, my grip tightening.

"I gave you specific instructions and you went ahead to break them almost immediately. Are you trying to piss me off?"

"I'm not, I'm just exploring my new environment."

I growled at her in anger flashing my fangs at her.

She snarled. "You know what? Maybe I was deliberately trying to piss you off. Go fuck yourself."

She got away before I could get to her and that pissed me off more than ever.

"This girl should be very careful or else I'll make her life a living hell." I muttered to myself and walked away.

***

After dinner, I waited till 10pm before going to the garage to continue training the new recruits from our pack.

The fight was brutal from the start which was what I needed because Kingshade was already sniffing at our gates and I couldn't afford weakness in my ranks.

"Again." I barked at the two recruits rolling on the ground in front of me.

They scrambled back to their feet bleeding. The taller one had a split lip and the other had a swollen eye already turning purple under the garage lights.

They squared up again and I watched without mercy.

Cole threw a punch and I grabbed his wrist mid-air, twisted it hard behind his back, and slammed him face down on the mat before he even saw it coming.

"You hesitated." I said over his grunt of pain. "In a real fight, that hesitation gets your head ripped off your shoulders."

I released him and he gasped.

The other recruits lining the walls watched in dead silence. Nobody moved and nobody breathed too loudly which was how it was supposed to be.

My wolf was restless tonight. It had been restless since the East Wing incident when Lena looked at me with that fire in her eyes and told me to go fuck myself.

The wolf in me loved it too much for comfort. So I pushed harder, hit harder and growled harder.

"Next pair." I ordered, rolling my shoulders.

Two more recruits stepped forward and I stood back, watching with my arms folded across my chest.

That was when I felt it.

Something shifted in the air, moving softky through a space that was full of sweat and aggression.

I didn't turn around immediately. I already knew she was the one from the way her heart was beating fast and uneven.

Lena was standing at the far end of the garage.

I kept my eyes on the fighters. "Harder." I ordered, my voice flat and cold. "He left his ribs wide open. Make him pay for it."

The recruit obeyed and the crunch of impact was loud enough to echo.

I heard Lena's sharp inhale from across the garage.

My wolf purred. ‘Disgusting.’

I walked towards Cole again who was barely catching his breath. "Stand up."

"Alpha, I—"

"I said stand up."

He stood up on shaking legs.

I looked at him and felt an overwhelming urge to punish him just because she was hiding somewhere. Watching from the shadows.

"You fight like you're afraid to break." I said loud enough for the whole garage to hear. "Fear is a luxury we don't have. If you want to survive you must bury it every time."

I hit him once. Clean, precise and harder than necessary.

He went down immediately and remained on the floor.

I stepped back and finally turned my head slowly in Lena's direction.

She was standing very still, her arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes was wide, burning with something that wasn't quite fear but horror mixed with fascination.

I stared at her for a long second.

"Everyone out." I said quietly and the garage emptied in seconds.

***

She didn't run. I gave her credit for that.

She stood her ground as I walked towards her in my damp shirt and tight jaw. My chest still heaving from the session.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked.

"Long enough." Her voice was careful.

"You should be in your room."

"And you enjoy it." She accused with her chin high. "You enjoy the hitting, the fear in their eyes, everything."

I stopped in front of her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I saw everything." She shot back. "You didn't have to hit him that hard. He was already down."

"He was weak." I replied. "There's a difference."

"That's not training." Her voice cracked at the edge. "That's cruelty."

Something tightened in my chest. "Violence keeps people alive, Lena. A recruit who can't take a hit here will die in the field. I'm doing them a favour."

She laughed, short and bitter. "A favour. Right."

"You think this world is kind?" I stepped closer. "You think Kingshade is going to politely wait while my men figure out how to throw a punch?"

Her breath hitched.

"Every person in this garage tonight will be standing between you and something that wants you dead." My voice dropped. "So yes. I push them. Hard. Because soft men die first."

She went quiet. Her eyes moved across my face like she was searching for the lie in it and couldn't find one.

Then her gaze dropped to my chest.

My shirt was open at the collar, damp and glued to my skin and three long jagged scars running diagonally from my left collarbone down across my chest, were visible souvenirs from a fight I nearly didn't walk away from.

The air between us shifted into something thicker, something that that made me want to hold her in a garage that smelled like blood, sweat and effort.

"They're old." I said in a quiet voice.

"I know." She swallowed. "It just…" She stopped herself.

"What?"

She looked back up at my face and whatever she was about to say dissolved. Her jaw tightened. "Nothing."

But her eyes were softer now than they'd been a minute ago. SHe was starting to understand something about me, I could tell. And that was more dangerous than anything Kingshade could send through my gates.

I took a slow step back.

"Go to your room, Lena."

She opened her mouth like she wanted to argue then she closed it again and turned to leave.

She was almost at the door when I spoke without thinking.

"You should stop looking at me like that." My voice became dangerously low and she paused.

"Before I forget who you are."