The Claiming by Cooper Book 5
The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)
Chapter 62 (Jordan)
I’ve never seen my Uncle Seth cry and I’ve only ever seen my mother cry on a couple of occasions in my life. I, myself, don’t cry very often. Maybe it’s an Alpha thing, or maybe it’s a family thing, but we don’t cry. However, as we wrap our arms around Gianna, none of us hold back, we let the tears flow freely.
When we all finally pull back, I go grab some tissues, handing them around. “Mom, I promised Gianna that we’d walk around the pack lands tonight, get her out of this place for a while,” I say.
My mom looks at her. “You should come stay with me. No one wants to stay in the pack hospital. Then, you could get to know me and my mate, Mason. Seth and his mate, Hana, could also stay and we could talk and show you pictures and…”
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“Mom.” I say quietly, watching as she gets more and more excited. “This is a lot for Gianna. Before you overwhelm her, why don’t you start with a walk?” I ask gently. I know my mother is over the moon excited, but Gianna is extremely new to all of this.
“Maybe we could walk by your house, and you could show me where I might be able to stay, and then I could decide?” Gianna says.
“Yes, and no pressure. If you prefer to stay here, I’ll stay with you so you’re not alone. You never have to worry about being alone again, right Seth?” mom says, looking at my uncle.
“Yes. And once you’re comfortable here, I’ d love for you to come stay with me and my mate for a while, meet your cousin Griffin, the new Alpha of our pack, and get to know our pack members. But only when you’re ready,” Uncle Seth says. “We could invite the rest of your cousins to meet you when you’re ready. They are spread out all over now that the packs are being repopulated, although a couple of them are here right now, such as Jordan’s twin Jaxon and my daughter, Taylor.”
“Taylor? Is she an Alpha?” Gianna asks.
We all stop and look at her.
“Yes. Why do you ask?” Uncle Seth says, and I’m not sure Gianna understands the difference in him, but he just went into Alpha mode.
“I heard them talking about a Taylor, something about capturing her,” she says looking at me.
“They said it about you, too, Jordan, but you seemed to already know about them. And well…there was a lot going on. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” she says. “It’s okay. You’re right, I did know and so does Taylor, but it’s nice to have it confirmed. If there’s anything else that you overheard, anything that would help us to find them or keep our packs safe, we’d appreciate it.”
“I didn’t really understand a lot of what I was hearing. I didn’t even know if Taylor was a man or a woman until just now. I’ll certainly share things with you as I remember them or they make sense enough that I have some context,” she says.
“Absolutely. You’ve had a lot thrown at you in a very short amount of time. Now, Uncle Seth,” I say, turning to him, “if you’ll step out, we’ll get Gianna up and dressed and then you and mom can show her around the pack lands and mom’s house.”
When he steps out, mom and I move to get Gianna’s clothes and help her up. “You’re not coming with us?” she asks me.
“I can if you’d like. I just thought mom and Uncle Seth would like some time alone with you. Also, if you want a room in the packhouse rather than mom and dad’s house, I can make up a room for you on the Alpha floor. But it might be overwhelming with people coming in and out all the time,” I tell her.
“Sounds like college,” she says as she puts on her shoes.
“Did you go to college?” Mom asks her. “Just a semester. I was never a great student. I much prefer the outdoors to sitting in a classroom,” she says as we begin to walk outside.
“That’s the wolf in you,” mom says to her. “Which part?” Uncle Seth asks as we walk out of the room.
“The part where we hate being cooped up inside,” I tell him.
“Ugh! I hate it!” he says, and Aunt Hana begins laughing.
“You’d think as an Alpha that he would have learned some patience, but not my mate. Hi, Gianna, I’m Hana. I’m Seth’s mate and your aunt.”
“Hi,” Gianna says quietly.
“And this is my mate, Mason,” mom says, gesturing dad to come closer.
He nods, careful to keep his distance. “Hello Gianna. I’m sure my mate and her brother have already told you, but we’re very happy to have found you.”
“Thank you…uh, Alpha?” Gianna asks, looking at me.
“How about Uncle?” my dad says, making Gianna smile. “Where are you off to?” he asks.
“Yes, that’s what I’d like to know,” Dr. Teresa says, striding up.
“Gianna is going to go for a walk with mom and Uncle Seth and then she’s going to decide if she’d prefer to move to the packhouse or mom’s house rather than being in this awful place,” I tell her. “It’s not that bad,” Dr. Teresa says.
“It’s awful,” Uncle Seth says in a stage whisper to Gianna, making her laugh. Dr. Teresa glares at him then looks at Gianna.
“I’m fine if you decide to move to the packhouse or Alpha Mason and Luna Jara’s house, but I’d like to know where you are and I’d like you to continue to come in each day for your vaccine tests and blood work,” she says.
“We can do that, right Gianna?” my mother asks her.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Aunt. I’m your aunt,” mom tells her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and k*issing the side of her head. “Now, let’s get out of this stuffy place and go see the pack lands. They are gorgeous. I remember when I first arrived after Mason claimed me “
I watch as they walk outside, Gianna,
mom, Uncle Seth and Aunt Hana.
My father stays behind, coming up to stand beside me.
“This could cause problems for your brother,” he says.
“I don’t think so. She’s been raised as a human, and she’s never had family. While I can sense the Alpha in her, I don’t think she’ll feel the need to take over Aunt Mila’ s pack lands.”
My father turns to me. “Are you sure?”
“No, but she’s not even sure she has a wolf. And based on what I’ve heard of the amulet, it’s very strong. If she’s been wearing it for over twenty years, it’s possible that her wolf will never surface. Even if it does, she has no knowledge of what it means to run a pack. I think Jaxon will be fine Dad.”
He puts his arm around me.
“You did a great job with her, Jordan.”
“Thank you.”
He turns and looks at me. “I don’t know if I tell you enough how proud I am of the woman and Alpha that you are. But you make me proud every day.”
I feel tears prick my eyes again.
I smack my father on the arm with the back of my h*and. “I’ve already cried today, dad. Stop trying to make me cry again.”
“I can’t help it, my beautiful daughter. I am so proud of you that it makes my heart want to burst.”
(Durai POV)
I watch from my spot in the forest as the human walks with two other women and a man. The pup that left me a note said that he knew I was looking for the pregnant human and that he knew how I could get her back. His note indicated that he would return to meet with me in three days’ time and if I was interested, I should meet him back at the tree.
I thought maybe it was some sort of trap, but now, as I watch the pregnant female walk with the others, I see that he was at least honest about the human being in their pack.
I need to let Mathias know that I’ve found his Beta’s missing human. And now, I need to meet with the werewolf that told me about her. I’m not sure why he’s interested in telling me that our human is here, but if he is, maybe he’s willing to give me information on the two female Alphas.
I watch as the human walks with the werewolves, talking and laughing until they walk into a house.
Baa, baa, human
Have you a baby
Yes sir, yes sir
In my tummy
One for Curtis
One for the pack
And one for the battle
Cause we will attack.