All Chapters of Back In Alpha's Arms : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The rest of my afternoon and evening went by in a strange, fuzzy blur. I listened to Leo talk about all he and Jaxon had done, but very little sank in. Even as I cooked dinner and ate with him, my mind was on days long past and emotions long dormant. “I’m going to bed,” I said to Leo once we’d finished with the dishes. He was sitting on the sofa, trying to find something to watch on the new TV we purchased recently. He frowned. “I thought we were gonna watch a movie.” “It’s okay,” I said. “I’ve, uh, I’ve got a headache. You pick something for yourself. I know you love horror movies, and I hate them.” He smiled. “Sweet.” “Just nothing too bloody, okay?” He smiled sheepishly, “Sure, nothing too bloody. Good night. I love you.” “Love you too.” My head felt fine, but my body and mind were exhausted. Going to bed early would do me some good. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. Rather than sliding into a blissful and dreamless sleep, I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. Old me

When Nora arrived a while later, I could see the fear in her eyes. She probably assumed I wanted to chew her ass out again. “I’m here,” she said as she came through the front door. “Is everything okay?” As pissed off and betrayed as I felt toward her, the terrified, remorseful look on her face made me regret how things had gone. If the roles were reversed, would I have done the same thing? A promise to an alpha was something you couldn’t back out of. Still, it would take time for me to forgive her wholeheartedly. “Calm down,” I said. “I’m not going to yell at you. We need to talk about Dad.” “What about him?” I explained all that I’d heard from Holden and Eliana that morning, then I showed her the file I’d found.“This can’t be happening,” she said. “What are we going to do about this guy?” “It’s worse than that,” I said, tapping Alan's signature. “He confronted Emery in a store the other day. Didn’t threaten her, but he made it clear that he and I were somehow business acquaintances.

 Even though she was being sarcastic, the words irked me. I truly did remember what it was like when I was that age. All this time, Emery had been handling things on her own. They were my family. My mate and my child. Even though I’d left, it didn’t change how my wolf and I saw them. If anything, it made me angrier at myself for everything I’d put them through by walking away all those years ago. “You say the word, and I’ll put in a call at the grocery store. The owner is a member of the pack. I’ll put down a line of credit on my name you can use. No reason you should go bankrupt. It’s the least I could do. After everything,” I offered lamely.   Emery studied me, as though judging my offer. Finally, she smiled. “I don’t think it’ll come to that, but I’ll call you if I need it. I appreciate that, Jaxon.” My wolf gave a happy growl deep in my mind, and I ha

Jaxon and Leo froze at Caleb's arrival. Alan, still smiling that crocodile smile of his, appraised the new arrival speculatively. “Well, who do we have here?” Alan said with a wink. “Caleb, right? Jaxon's right-hand man?” Caleb threw a look of disgust at the man and hurried across to Jaxon. “You said you’d be here,” he said, then leaned in close to whisper to Jaxon, keeping his voice low. “Now, now,” Alan said, gesturing around to confused patrons. “Speak up, so the whole class can hear.” Whatever Caleb said to Jaxon calmed him down. The burning rage on his face faded to a simmering anger. Alan waved a hand at both of them, as if shooing a fly. “I’m bored of this. Jaxon, you’ve got thirty days to get me my money. After that?” He made a gun with his hand and aimed it at Jaxon. “I start taking things you value.” He turned and winked at me. Jaxon, Leo and Caleb all let loose low, threatening growls as the man slipped out the door of the diner. For a moment, everyone remained silent, but

Just a minute ago, I felt like a massive and crushing weight had been lifted off my chest, but now it's only replaced by a suffocating dread as Emery pulled her hand away. My stomach sank. “You fucking asshole! You can’t be serious, Jaxon. How could you?” “I’m sorry. I know it was dumb, and I’ve regretted it for years, and —” “Regretted it? Oh, good. I’m glad you feel bad, you stupid prick.” Her words stung, but I couldn’t blame her. Leaving, never speaking to her again, yet keeping our mating bond intact? It was a fucking awful thing to do. All these years, I could have severed it, but I never did. “How does this shit even work, Jaxon? You never officially claimed me as your mate. We were waiting until I was out of college. How could the connection still be viable?” I swallowed hard, knowing how the rest of the story would be taken, but forcing myself to tell the truth. “I never told you all the rules that come from a fated-mate pairing. Hell, I didn’t even know how strong it really