The Claiming by Cooper Book 5
The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)
Chapter 76 (Jace)
I had planned on a divide and conquer, Jordan would take part of the tasks and I would take the others, but that fell by the wayside when Jordan announced that I had most likely gotten her pregnant. I really thought the pack was going to bring down the roof of the packhouse with their excitement.
I leaned in, k*issing my mate as she smirked at me. All that did was make the noise louder and then everyone was up and congratulating us.
I’ll admit, for years I never expected to be mated to Jordan. I never thought I was good enough for her and in the deepest part of my mind, I still feel that I’m not. I had intended to love her from afar for my entire life, but once I decided that I wanted to try and get her to accept me, that maybe I could be worthy of her, I wanted nothing more than to be with her. What I never considered was what that meant for me as her mate. I never considered that I’d be an Alpha, never considered that I’d be anything other than a Gamma or maybe a Beta. But now, I can feel the entire pack’s excitement that I’m Jordan’s mate, that I’m their Alpha too.
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I worry that they will try to put me in a place where I’m in a position of authority above her, which is not what I want and have never wanted. But still, it’s very strange for me to have the pack react to me this way. I was hoping they would be glad that not only has Jordan found her mate, but, that her mate is me. I’ve always put the pack first, always done my best as a leader of the pack, making time for pack members as needed and helping them solve problems, but this? This is a whole other level of expectation that I’m feeling from the pack. It’s a weight I always knew Jordan carried, but I never realized quite how heavy the weight was. Jordan’s h*and slides into mine as she feels my uneasiness with my new position. In her subtle way, she guides me through the pack, talking and laughing with them and me, helping me to feel more comfortable with the difference in how they see me. After six years of me being a Gamma, it’s almost as if the pack no longer knows how to interact with me and I have no idea how to interact with them. The constant between us is Jordan and she navigates her role as efficiently as she always has.
She expertly maneuvers us around the room until we are standing in front of Alpha Mason and Luna Jara.
“My new son, I have no doubt that I will have a new grandbaby, or grandbabies in the next five months,” Jara says, pulling me into a hug.
“Thank you,” I say to her, wrapping my arms around her.
“I love you, Jace. I have always loved you. I know you will do right by my daughter and your pups when they come.”
“I will. I promise you that, Luna.”
She pulls back, taking my face in her hands. “I’m so glad you finally figured things out.”
“Me too,” I say turning to Alpha Mason. He takes my h*and and pulls me into a hug. “It’s about time you got your head out of your a*ss, Alpha.”
I pull back and look at him, frowning. “Don’t give me that look. My daughter said you are a co-Alpha so that’s what you are. Believe me, an Alpha is never wrong,” he says, his l*ips twitching as Jara snorts beside him.
“Good to know,” I tell him.
“Finally, I get to call you brother,” Jaxon says, pulling me into a hug. “I’m so happy for you,” he whispers to me.
I hug Evangeline and k*iss Jaxon Junior before turning to look at Gianna. She looks uncomfortable with all the happiness and excitement of my mating with Jordan.
“I guess this makes you my cousin, too,” I tell her.
“Geez, two weeks ago I had no family and now I feel like my family grows every day,” she says, extending her h*and, and I shake it.
“Welcome to the family?” she says, but it’ s more of a question.
“Just wait. The twin gene passed us, but maybe if Jace did his job properly, there will be another set of Alpha twins soon,” Evangeline says to Gianna.
“Are you implying that I didn’t do my job properly?” Jaxon asks Evangeline, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“I’m just saying, you’re a twin and that’s a genetic thing. Maybe you need more practice, Alpha,” she says making Jaxon growl in a way I recognize very well.
I turn back to Gianna and look at Ezekiel. “How are things between the two of you?” I ask seriously as Jordan talks to her parents.
Gianna looks up at Ezekiel. “Ummm, well….”
“Tentative,” he says, reaching out to take her h*and.
“Ne should talk, the four of us, when things are more quiet,” I say.
“Actually, I was hoping to have time today to talk. I still don’t have the entire story of what’s going on with my mate and Alpha Mason and Luna Jordan wanted to wait until she could tell me. Everyone agreed it would be best for her to tell her story with her family present so she didn’t feel pressured or uncomfortable,” he says looking at her. “And I think I may need to explain more about the mate bond and what that means to me.”
I look around and see that everyone is starting to disperse and go about their duties for the day. “I just need to go to the pack hospital and check on the injured before we meet,” I tell them. “Actually, I did that already, Jace,” Alpha Mason says to me. “We were there last night, and I wanted to make sure Balor was okay this morning.”
“Balor? What happened?” Jordan asks. “He was injured pretty seriously and apparently, it’s very true what they say about an injured bear being more dangerous than a regular bear. But Kyra was there to help calm him down. That’s still so odd to me. She’s tiny, even by wolf standards and he’s a giant.”
“But it works. The mate bond is a strong and powerful thing,” Jara says, looking at Gianna. “You’ll see, and hopefully, one day you’ll have your wolf back and then you’ll feel it too.”
“Is that why everyone seems so in love with their…mates? Because of this bond thing? Or is that just a family thing?” Gianna asks.
“Both,” I say, looking around. “Why don’t we find a room and we can talk.”
“I’ll go order some food to be delivered.
Did everyone eat?” Jordan asks. “We were waiting for you, but Gianna ate something. Ezekiel was concerned about waiting to eat when she’s pregnant,” Jara says, smiling at Ezekiel.
“My understanding is that she-wolves are more hungry during pregnancy. The fetus grows quickly and without your wolf present, I just want to make sure you stay as strong and healthy as possible,” Ezekiel says unapologetically to Gianna.
I watch her blush, looking down. “I’m not used to having someone looking out for me,” she says quietly, but of course we all hear her.
“I hope you come to expect it from me,” Ezekiel says, smiling down at her.
I’m pretty sure I never saw Ezekiel smile during all of the training we had with him. So, seeing him smile now feels weird. It looks like his face isn’t used to smiling, so maybe it’s weird for him too.
I find a room for us and Jordan orders food. The six of us begin to head to the office when I hear Ezekiel’s name being called.
I turn and see the other elite fighters walking up. I step forward, Jordan right beside me.
“We want to thank you, all of you for coming yesterday. Without you, we may have lost some of our pack members. Your presence made a huge difference in the fight yesterday,” I tell Levi, Logan, Jameson and Mateo as they walk up. “Happy to be of assistance. I think we all understand now why the council wants us at the Beta Trials. We’ve all agreed to be there, well, except Ezekiel. But after last night, I’m guessing you’ll be there too?” Levi asks him, but he’s looking past him at Gianna as she walks to the office. A frown flickers across his face so briefly that if I hadn’t been looking, I’d have missed it. I’m sure Levi is wondering about Gianna’s pregnancy and what that means for his friend.
“Yeah, I’ll be there, but I’m staying here for now. I have some things to figure out,” Ezekiel says.
We say our goodbyes and everyone but Levi begins heading outside.
“Walk me out?” Levi asks Ezekiel. “Sure,” he says, and Jordan and I turn to head into the office.
When we get there, Gianna is watching Ezekiel.
“Is he leaving?” she asks, and I can hear sadness in her voice. Ezekiel’s head snaps up.
“I’ll be right back,” he tells her, and she nods before we all find seats so we can talk.
I make sure my mate knows that her seat is in my lap.