The Claiming by Cooper Book 5
The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)
Chapter 53 (Jace)
When we get back up to caves, Dr. Braxton is there waiting for us. “Ms. Gianna, I have some preliminary results of your blood tests. If you will come with me, I’d like to go over them with you,” he says.
She turns and looks at Jordan. “Will you come with me?”
“Of course,” Jordan says and nods at me as she follows Gianna into the cave where they have her staying.
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I’m listening to the conversation when I hear my father in my mind. He’s close enough that he’s able to mind link me, meaning that he’ll be here in the next hour.
I tune back into the discussion with Dr. Braxton as he explains that Gianna is showing signs of having mutations of rabies and distemper, meaning she has feral fever and the claiming haze viruses in her system.
She begins crying and I know Jordan is holding her as she cries, letting her know that we will do whatever we can to help her. I look at Darryl who has his l*ips pressed t*ightly together.
Finally, Gianna pulls herself together. “What about my baby?” she asks.
“I’m not an obstetrician, but I can tell you that anything that the mother carries is usually passed on to the fetus. So, potentially, the vaccine will work for your unborn child, but we won’t know that until we have more tests done, specifically for your child. I would suggest that you return to Al….Jordan’s “
I can hear Dr. Braxton struggling to figure out how to relate to Jordan and the pack in front of a human.
“My community,” Jordan says to Gianna. “And she knows my title is Alpha,” she says to Dr. Braxton.
“Oh, thank goodness. It’s not polite to not use your title. I wouldn’t want you to think I was being disrespectful.”
“Never, Dr. Braxton,” Jordan says and I can hear the smile in her voice. “When will you be returning to my community?” she asks him.
“Well, after I make sure that the others in this…community are safe, I can follow you. I can call your pa community doctor and let them know what tests to run for the fetus and then I can provide my assessment when I arrive in a day or so. Until then, I’d like to give you a shot, a vaccine and see how your b*ody responds overnight,” he says to Gianna.
“How far do you live from here?” Gianna asks Jordan as Dr. Braxton gives Gianna the vaccine.
“About four hours. Do you know where you were in the forest? Where those men found you?” Jordan asks her.
“I was near Overlook Falls,” she says, and I look at Darryl as I reach out to my father. ‘The woman says she was near Overlook Falls when they took her. Did you check up there?’
‘No, but your mother and I can go check it out,’ he says.
‘Be careful. If the pack is out there, they might attack you. It’s also possible that they have another bunker out there where they are hiding the females. If so, you need to be careful.’
Tm a Gamma, son. I know how to track and hunt,’ he says before cutting off our mind link.
“My parents are going to check it out,” I tell Darryl.
“Make sure they tell Balor what they are doing. If nothing else, he’ll send Apollo with them,” Darryl tells me.
I send the message to my father as Jordan and Gianna emerge from the cave.
Gianna’s arms are crossed over her mid-section as if she is trying to protect her child as well as herself.
“What now?”
“It’s too late to leave tonight. We’ll leave first thing in the morning. Why don’t you try to get a good night’s sleep. The people here will keep watch overnight to make sure that those men don’t attack us. You’ll be safe.”
“I don’t feel safe,” she says quietly.
“Do you want me to stay with you?” Jordan asks her.
“No. Something tells me that I need to put my big girl p*ants on and toughen up. Life, as I know it, is about to change. I know you’re still keeping secrets from me, and I know that we still have a lot of trust issues to work through, but there is nothing for me in my old life. The idea of starting a new life, especially if that life gives my child a real chance, is something that I’m very interested in,” she says.
“As I said before, let’s make sure that you and your child are safe and then we can talk about everything else. I have a council that I have to answer to, and I’ll already be in trouble for telling you about my title, but we’ll figure it out.”
“Ask for forgiveness, not permission. I learned that lesson a long time ago,” Gianna says smiling.
“Thanks for the tip,” Jordan says and hugs Gianna before she walks back into the cave.
Darryl steps away from me, toward Gianna. “Before you leave, Alpha, can you hold on a moment?”
“Sure.”
“Miss,” he calls out to Gianna.
“Yes,” she says, turning and looking nervous until she sees Jordan.
“Do you want us to put a fire outside your cave? I know you were in the lake, and it gets cold. We could make a fire for you,” Darryl says to her.
“I wouldn’t want to put you out,” Gianna says.
“No, ma’am. You’re our guest. My Alpha would be upset if I didn’t take care of our guest. If you’re cold, we’ll put a small fire out here to keep you warm.”
She looks at Darryl a moment, then smiles at him. “I’d like that, thank you.”
He nods and turns to get some folks to begin putting a fire together. “If you need anything at all, Miss, you let me know. My name is Darryl and I’m the Beta in this… community.”
“Thank you, Darryl. My name is Gianna.”
I take Jordan’s h*and and walk her back to our cave.
“How are you feeling, Jordan?” I ask her. “Nervous. I don’t know what’s going to happen with her child. What if we can’t save her child? But more importantly, what if we do? What does that mean, Jace? He’s a wolf hybrid. We’ve never had a human-wolf hybrid before.”
“One step at a time, Jordan. Let’s get them safe, let’s keep them alive, then we can take the next steps.”
She turns to me as we get to our cave. “How did you get so smart?” she asks, leaning into me, and wrapping her arms around my n*eck.
“It’s not about being smart, it’s about helping my mate pace herself so she can save the world like she wants to,” I tell her, leaning in and k*issing her.
She pushes me backward until my back hits the wall, taking my m*outh and attempting to dominate our k*iss. No way I’m letting that happen and I turn us, so I have her pressed against the wall and I k*iss her, owning her m*outh until she becomes a m*oaning, whimpering, compliant mate in my arms. Then, I pick her up, carry her to our bed, and proceed to s*uck, l*ick, and dine on the best peppermint taste I’ve ever found in my life.
I don’t let up when she screams loudly, I don’t let up when her b*ody becomes a quivering mass under me, and I don’t let up when she begins to chant my name. I feast on her b*ody until I’ve finally, finally taken my fill and then I wrap myself around her, holding her b*ody that still twitches with aftershocks until we both fall asleep.
The next day, we pack our bags, ready to head back to the pack.
“You know we bears can hear well, right?” Darryl asks me.
“Yep,” I say, unapologetic.
“And you know we could hear your girl screaming your name for hours last night, right?”
“Yep,” I say.
He gives me a look.
“Sorry, not sorry?” I say, smirking.
“Next time, save that s*hit for when you get home,” he says.
“Don’t be a hater, Darryl. Find yourself a mate,” I tell him.
“If only,” he grumbles as he walks away.
When we walk to Gianna’s cave, she looks between me and Jordan. It appears that even the human heard Jordan last night.
“Ready?” Jordan asks her.
She chuckles. “Yeah, I’m ready,” she says, and we head to the car.