When I glance at Emmett and Knox, they both just look at me and shake their head. They aren’t moving without her and neither am I.
“Ok. Ok.” Everlee looks at the wolf. “I’m going to leave.” She takes a step towards us and Emmett and Knox both shift.
Wait,Jax cries out, and she stops. She heard it in his voice. We all did.Nevermind. Go.
“Jax.” Her voice is soft and full of pain. She knows he doesn’t want her to go because that probably means his wolf goes and he’s wanted him back for so long.
Go.
Everlee turns her back and walks out of the door, then runs through the room and down the hall.
“Give him some space,” I say, running after her.
By the time I get to her room, the hairs on my arms stand and then fall. He’s back. Jax is back.
My knuckles knock softly on the door. “Everlee?” I push the door open and find her laying in bed curled into a ball. “Everlee?”
Her sniffles pull at strings on my heart and I want to wrap her in my arms. Before I know what’s happening, I’m climbing into bed and pulling her into my arms. “It’s ok.”
“It’s not ok. I know why he doesn’t want me here. It’s because I’m like this big tease. He’s been feeling his wolf. Hearing him. And tonight, he shifted. He shifted.” She rolls over and looks up at me. “He’s going to be so mad at me. He won’t forgive me. I showed him what he’s been longing for and when I’m gone, so is his wolf.”
“He’s not going to be mad.”
She snort chuckles. “Have you met him? He’s always mad.”
“Well then, this won’t be any different.” I smile and brush my lips across her forehead.
“I want to talk to him and apologize. Which pisses me off almost as much. He’s such an ass. He was teasing me and when I was about to come, he fucking walked away. I was so mad… and now fuck! I just want to hold him. Ugh!” She pounds her fist against my chest.
“Jax is a complicated guy. He’s fiercely loyal, but he doesn’t let many people in. His problem is that he wants to let you in, but he’s scared. You came like a force into our lives and have blown our family apart.” I hurry to add, “In a good way. In a very good way. We were all sort of just moving through life before you, and now there is a purpose. A renewed sense of energy. We always talked about going after Samara. Fighting to break her spell, but we didn’t know how to. We’ve been waiting for you. You are the piece that we didn’t know we were missing and I know it sounds crazy because it hasn’t been very long, but I felt you when you walked in to the bar. My whole body knew.”
“You speak of family… and a question has been on my mind.”
I know what she’s going to ask. It’s the same question we’ve been asked a hundred times. “Go on.”
“You all don’t seem to have a problem with someone else laying in my bed or holding me in their arms…”
Chuckling and running my finger down her arm from her shoulder, I answer, “Yes. We don’t mind with anyone in this house. We are a family, a unit. We share. But if you went outside of this house…and another man held you, then I think at this point we would all very much care. Even Jax.” I gently tap the end of her nose.
We lay in bed for a while, listening to each other breathe. She keeps twisting and turning, but she’s not talking. Just gnawing on her lip, or running her fingers up and down my arm.
“Do you want to go see him?”
She turns and looks at me with a shocked face, then nods slowly. “Guilt is tearing me up inside. I didn’t mean to make him shift.”
“I know. Go see him.”
“But… we’re-”
I cut her off. “We’re fine. Go see him. I will see you tomorrow morning. Maybe we’ll work on controlling your Luxphera.”
“What if he doesn’t want to see me?”
“Then come to my room.”
She smiles and rolls out of bed. “I’m going to shower first.”
My dick twitches at the thought of joining her, but she doesn’t need me right now. She needs Jax and Jax needs her, whether or not he wants to admit it.
