The Claiming by Cooper (Jara & Mason)
Chapter 65
Mason
As soon as I saw Typhon chasing Jara, Elijah and I started climbing down the cliff. I had seen her heading for the stream off to our right, so we started racing in that direction.
When we get there, she has already left the stream and so have they. I follow the edge of the stream until I see paw prints. When I look further, I see her shredded clothing laying on the forest floor.
“She shifted.” I say and we turn, rushing through the underbrush to get to her. I can’t let her get taken by Typhon. I know Seth said he’d get her out, and I would certainly help him, but I won’t let her suffer at his hands, not for one moment.
When I hear her scream, I begin running faster, no longer caring if I make too much noise. She would only scream if she were caught. And, I know, two against one, she’ll never win.
I realize she’s headed back to the cliff face that we just left. When we finally break through the clearing, I see red. Typhon is doubled over, vomiting, but the Beta has my n*ak*ed mate lifted off the ground by her throat and he’ s about to mark her. MY mate.
I snarl and dive at him, grabbing him and yanking him off Jara. It sends her tumbling through the brush, but I can’t stop yet to check on her. I punch the Beta, knocking him back before jumping on him and beating his face and slashing at his ribs with all my strength, feeling my anger at him nearly stealing my mate from me in every slash. My wolf and 1 are in total agreement, this man must die for touching what is mine.
When I see that the Beta is starting to lose some of his strength, 1 take a chance to look at Jara. She’s standing there, staring at me, her eyes wide. I’m not sure if there is something in my look that is scaring her or if her nearly being marked by this Beta is giving her that look, but I realize she’s too exposed here.
I tell her to run and when she doesn’t immediately respond, I yell at her to get out of here.
When she does, I turn my attention back to the Beta. I go to punch him in his throat, planning to crush his windpipe and cause him to suffocate, when his fist connects with my face.
Since I was focused on Jara, I didn’t see it coming and it knocks me back. I fall off of him and he jumps up. He looks at Typhon, who is still being beaten by Elijah. The Beta runs over, knocking Elijah off Typhon before grabbing Typhon and taking off.
I rush over to Elijah, making sure he’s alright.
“I’m good, Alpha. But I don’t think I k*illed him. At least, he was still breathing when the Beta knocked me off of him.” He turns, looking around.
“Yeah.” I say, just as several wolves and men come rushing into the clearing.
When they see us covered in blood, they stop short.
I stand, still in my bloodlust at having seen Jara, n*aked, vulnerable and nearly marked by another.
“If any of you think you can take me, come on.” I say, moving into an attack stance.
Several of the men look at each other before turning and racing off. Some of those that remain are my pack members. They don’t leave, but they don’t come closer either.
“Alpha. Are you okay? Are you and Beta Elijah injured?”
They don’t approach me, which is good. I’m not sure I’m totally in control in this moment.
I look at Elijah, who nods. “Yeah. We’re good.”
“Did our Luna….” One of my pack members starts to ask. “She ran off. As far as we know, she’s safe.” Elijah answers for me.
“We can go check on her, Alpha. If you want us to.”
Another one of our pack members says.
Elijah looks at me. He knows how close I came to losing my shit just now. I take a couple deep breaths, putting my hands on my hips and looking down at the ground. T focus on the fact that I made it in time and that Jara got away.
“No. Elijah and I will go check on her.” I say, pulling myself together. My mate needs me.
“Alpha.” One of my pack members says, looking at the others with him. “We want you to know, we don’t plan to claim Alpha Jara. We want you to claim her. We want her as our Luna. So, if there is anything we can do to help you claim her, please let us know.”
I look at all of them and get nothing but honesty and truthfulness from their eyes and their bond to me as their Alpha.
“I can’t ask that of you…” I begin.
“You aren’t asking, Alpha. We’re offering.”
I look at them for a long moment. “I am one lucky bastard to have you all as members of my pack.” I tell them. From their smiles and smirks, I know they are proud of my acknowledgement.
“If you are willing, keep an eye out for her. If you find her cornered or fighting against someone trying to claim her, howl for help. Elijah and I will come. In the meantime, be safe and stay sharp. I don’t want to lose any more pack members to this f*uc*king claiming.”
“Yes Alpha.” They say in unison before turning and heading out.
I turn to Elijah. “Ready?”
“She shifted quickly. She no longer has anything to wear. It will put her at even more risk than she was at before.”
He nods, waiting for me to continue. I tell him my plan and we begin to following her scent.
As I expected, it leads back to the lake. There are a few males lingering around the lake, so I take my shirt off and wash it out, getting as much blood out of it as possible.
I’m not exactly sure where she is, but I know she’s close. I keep getting whiffs of her scent.
“Jara.” I say quietly. “I know you’ve destroyed your clothes. My shirt is stained, but I think I got most of the blood out. I’ll leave it to dry and when you’re ready, come take it so you aren’t cold tonight. Find a tree and be safe. I won’t try to claim you when I know you’ve just suffered a shock.”
I stand, rubbing my shirt on my chest and neck, scenting it before putting it on a rock make its arc toward the horizon, so I hope it dries before the sun sets.
“Be safe, my love. I’ll see you soon.”
I turn, motioning for Elijah to follow me. I leave, giving her space to calm down and my shirt which will hopefully keep her warm and has my lingering scent on it.
Typhon POV
“What the f*uc*k, Axel?” I say, as my Beta drops me onto the ground.
“What?” He asks me defiantly.
In truth, I had questioned if making him my Beta was a good decision. But after Mila’s death, I had become weaker. That weakness had only grown in the last couple of years. It’s why I knew I needed to claim Jara this year.
“You nearly marked Jara. We had an agreement.”
He shrugs, obviously not caring about our agreement. “You were incapacitated, and I was available.”
“She is mine.” I snarl at him.
He leans over me, his huge body towering over mine. He’s not old enough to be close to going feral. He’s being weak and needing a woman to make me strong.
“Let’s not start getting too big for our britches, Alpha.” He says my title with a sarcastic snarl. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have caught her. And if it wasn’t for me, that Beta would have killed you.” He stresses that it was a Beta, not an Alpha that would have k*illed me.
“We had an agreement.” I say again.
“That was before I saw her n*aked. Now, I want her for myself. Then, maybe I’ll come take your pathetic pack from you, and I’ll be Alpha. Or, I could just wait until you go feral and then take your pack. With Jara as my mate, no one will challenge my role as Alpha.” He says before standing back up.
He smirks at me before continuing. “I, Beta Axel Thorn, reject you, Typhon Wright as my Alpha.”
“You cant!” I scream at him, feeling the tether snap.
“I can and did. F*uc*k you, Typhon. Jara is mine.” He says before walking off.