The Claiming by Cooper Book 5
The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)
Chapter 84 Jordan
My mother decided to help Layan and Ella this morning, so I have Gianna staying close by me.
“I’m sorry you all feel like you have to babysit me. I really don’t want to be a burden,” she says to me.
“You’re family. You’ll never be a burden. Besides, I’d love to get your input on the Beta Trials. What do you think?”
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“So, it’s really interesting,” she says as we sit down to watch the beginning of today’s first round. “Setting it up like this, you can really see who shines and who struggles.”
I look at her. “Who do you like so far?”
She looks sheepish a moment, then pulls out a piece of paper. “I’ve been keeping notes.”
“Ohhh, I say,” moving closer to her as the first group of contestants get set up. “So, on day one, I only had a couple of them. Aunt Jara said my favorite’s name was Damien.”
I smile at her. “He was our pick for the day too,” I tell her.
“Really?” she asks.
“Yep, we narrowed it down to five and then when we talked to them after dinner, he was the only one we kept on our list.”
I’m just about to ask her what she thought of yesterday’s contestants when I hear a low growl and the thundering paws of what must be a bear racing after something. A moment later the howl of attack comes from the patrols.
“Gianna, come with me,” I tell her, as Jace grabs my arm.
“Get inside. Caleb said they have a safe room,” he says, k*issing me quickly before leaping and shifting.
“Be safe, Jace!” I shout, taking Gianna’s arm and leading her toward the packhouse. “Gianna!” Ezekiel calls, rushing over. “Alpha Jordan, I was going to get her inside to a safe room.”
“I’ve got her, Ezekiel. I’ll keep her safe,” I tell him as wolves begin shifting all around us.
Ezekiel takes Gianna’s face in his hands, k*issing her more deeply than I would have expected. “Stay safe,” he tells her before racing off.
“You too,” she calls before I begin pulling her toward the packhouse again.
“Jordan!” I hear someone call through the chaos and I turn, seeing Evangeline carrying Jaxon Jr. in her arms.
I wait, looking around, making sure no rogues have gotten close to us yet. I can hear them, hear the fighting as they snarl at the wolves attacking them. They are sorely outnumbered, but they are sick, and it doesn’t seem to matter.
I see a rogue heading straight for Evangeline and with her hands full, she can do nothing. I let go of Gianna, rushing in front of Evangeline as my claws extend and I slice the rogue across his face and throat.
The power of my hit sends him tumbling aside and I hear Evangeline passing JJ to Gianna. A moment later she’s beside me as the rogue leaps again. This time, we both attack him, our claws slicing down both sides of his b*ody as we snarl our anger at him.
He drops to the ground, p*anting, his b*ody slashed into ribbons from our claws. I’m not paying attention, so I’m shocked when Magdalena stomps on the wolf’s head, crushing it.
“Come on, pregnant women, let’s get inside,” she says.
I turn, making sure that Gianna is safe, and the three of us, me, Magdalena, and Evangeline make a circle around Gianna and JJ as we make our way to the packhouse.
Just before we get to the back doors, a stranger steps out of the bushes.
“Hello, Alpha females,” he says, looking at us. When his gaze falls on Gianna, his smile gets even broader. “And the runner. Good. We’re going to need that pup back, so you’ re coming with me,” he says to her.
To her credit, she doesn’t whimper, and I don’t smell an ounce of fear on her. “If, by some chance, you survive my friends here, my mate will happily tear you to shreds,” she says and the smile fades. But then it’s replaced by a much nastier grin as he looks at her n*eck.
“I don’t see a mark on your n*eck, human,” he says, emphasizing that she’s not a wolf. “Oh, you stupid rogue. She’s no human,” I say to him.
He looks at her again, before looking back at me, finally seeing the family resemblance.
“Took you long enough, a*sshole,”
Magdalena says to him.
He snarls at her, taking a step forward.
“You’ll pay forthat insolence! I am an Alpha!” he shouts.
“Really? Who cares? We’re all Alphas here. In this company, you’re nothing special,” Evangeline says to him.
We can all see him losing control. My only concern is Gianna and JJ. I know that between Evangeline, Magdalena and I, we can take this a*sshole out. But Gianna doesn’t have her wolf and now she’s holding JJ.
When he lunges, the three of us do too, as if we’ve been fighting together in our human form our entire lives. In a revolving circle that keeps one of us between the rogue Alpha and Gianna, the three of us take turns swiping at him, slashing at him.
At first, he heals quickly, but as the three of us slice at him over and over, he gets more and more angry until finally, he shifts into his wolf. He leaps at Gianna, intending to knock her to the ground, but I reach out, grabbing him by the throat just as Evangeline and Magdalena slam their claws into either side of his b*ody. He yelps as blood begins dripping down his sides.
He begins to shift in my hands, none of us pulling our claws out of him. Once he’s back in human form, I pull him to my face.
“You should never have come after a group of pregnant Alpha females. We will tear you to shreds before we allow you to hurt our pups,” I snarl at him, taking a step back and nodding.
Evangeline and Magdalena rip their claws out of him, slashing him to pieces.
I drop his head and turn to Gianna. “Are you okay?” I ask, worried that this was much too violence for her.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she says, clutching JJ to her b*ody.
“Okay, let’s go,” I say and the four of us turn, heading into the packhouse, helping others get into the safe room.
Layan POV
I’ve been helping Ella with preparations for the Beta Trials all morning. We need to cordon off each of the areas, making sure they have enough room for the day’s events, and then we have to make sure that there is water available for all the contestants.
We’re setting up the last tub of ice water, filled with water bottles when I see a huge bear come rushing past us, snarling. I grab Ella, watching the bear pass by as another goes barreling after it.
“Ella, we need to move,” I tell her just as the howl of alarm goes us.
My heart sinks. Ella and I are out here, away from the others, finishing the set up. Jara left us a few minutes ago to check on Gianna and Jordan.
“Run Ella,” I say to her as I hear the snarl of multiple wolves heading our way. She leaps, shifting and I wait until she’s running before shifting and following her.
I can feel the wolves coming up behind us, and I can see the warriors in front of us, coming to fight, but at this moment, it’s just her and I out here against the rogues.
I see a large wolf, an Alpha, coming at her and I leap, tackling it to the ground. Ella stops, turning to help me, but I bark at her to keep going.
The Alpha gets up, as I put myself between him and my daughter. He lowers his head and growls at me, and I do the same. No one is taking my daughter.
He rushes at me, leaping at me at the same moment that I leap at him. His teeth snap, aiming for my throat, but I arch my b*ody and his teeth sink into my shoulder.
I cry out, the sound a howl of pain from my wolf.
“LAYAN!” I hear Elijah in our mind link.
“Protect Ella! They’re coming for her!” I tell him as I rip myself from the Alpha’s teeth, turning to fight him again.
I may have been born an omega, but I’ve been a Beta female for two decades and no one, definitely not some a*sshole rogue, is going to get past me to get my child.
I leap again, this time it’s my teeth that sink into his filthy coat, biting the side of his n*eck. Then he shakes his head, tossing me side to side, before biting into my flank and ripping me off of him.
I roll, ready to get back on my feet but he pounces on me, pinning me to the ground. I feel his teeth sink into the back of my n*eck and I know I only have a couple of seconds left to live.
“Elijah, I love you. You were always the love of my life.”
“N000000!” I hear my mate scream as the rogue lifts my n*eck off the ground.
Just as he’s about to snap my n*eck and end my life, I smell a familiar scent and I feel the rogue ripped off of me.
My b*ody shifts from the damage of the battle and I look up to see my son’s wolf. “Carter!”
‘Run mother,’ he says in the family link just as the Alpha leaps at him.
The two of them begin rolling around on the ground, snapping and snarling at each other in a mass of fur and fangs.
I hear a yelp and then Carter’s wolf shifts back to his human form, blood dripping from several places on his b*ody.
He turns and looks at me and I can see the defeat in his eyes.
“Run, mother. Go,” he says quietly, just as the Alpha leaps onto him again, ripping his throat out.
I scream and suddenly there are wolves all around me. Elijah’s scent floods my senses as he pulls my face into his c*hest, and I watch Griffin’s wolf chasing off the Alpha.
I begin sobbing as Elijah holds me to him.
My baby is gone. My first born, the child I never thought I could have, gave his life to save me.