The Claiming by Cooper Book 4
The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)
Chapter 36 (Jaxon)
“Nolan, I’m Alpha Jordan. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to my pack,” Jordan says, walking up to greet Nolan.
“Alpha Jordan,” he says, never taking his eyes off of hers. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Only good things I hope,” she says, and I can tell she’s a bit flattered by his attention. “Very good things,” he says, seemingly ignoring everyone else.
I step up beside my sister. “I’m Alpha Jaxon,” I say, extending my hand.
Finally, he tears his gaze away from Jordan. “Alpha Jaxon, I’ve heard a lot about you as well.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t ‘very good things’ like you heard about my twin.” It’s a not-so-subtle warning to back off. My sister is an Alpha. Every unmated male wants her. It’s made me very protective of her over the years.
“On the contrary, I heard you are an amazing fighter. I can’t wait to see for myself,” he says smoothly.
He turns back to Jordan. “Would you be so kind as to go over the plans for the week with me and show me to my room Alpha.”
“I can show you to your room,” Jace says, coming up on Jordan’s other side.
“Guys, Nolan is our guest,” Jordan says to me and Jace.
She tucks her arm through Nolan’s skillfully turning him toward the packhouse. “You’ll have to excuse my twin and my Gamma. They’re very protective of me.”
“As they should be. The only Alpha female in four generations who will take over her pack,” he says.
“You’ve done your homework, warrior,” Jordan says as I watch them walk away. “I never walk into a situation blind if I can help it. And you, my dear Alpha, are very intriguing,” I hear him say as they walk into the packhouse.
“What the f*uc*k is he doing,” Jace snarls beside me.
“Looks like he’s flirting with our Alpha,” I say, giving him a side-eye. It’s not like he has any right to act jealous.
“I don’t like it,” he growls.
“Then maybe you should spend the week in Uncle Seth’s pack with Taylor. I hear they have Jameson this week,” I say, turning and walking toward Eve. Jace needs to get his head out of his a*ss. You don’t f*uc*k with our cousin then act all possessive of your mate.
When I look at Eve, my aggravation falls away. I walk up to her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“Are you always so protective of your sister?”
“Yes,” I tell her honestly.
“Do you intend to be that protective of me?” she asks, looking up at me through her long lashes.
“Yes, and before you ask, if you think this is protective, just wait until we have daughters,” I tell her.
That gets her attention and has her head snapping up to look me in the eye. “What?” she asks, surprised.
“What?” I shrug. “You didn’t think I’d want children some day?”
“I hadn’t really thought that far in advance,” she says.
I lean down, nuzzling against her cheek. “If we’re going to run a pack, we’ll need heirs. I know we haven’t talked about it, but I definitely want to have a pups with you.”
I hear someone clearing their throat and before I look, I know it’s Alpha Luke.
Eve grits her teeth. “Yes, dad?”
I can tell he wants to rip Eve away from me, so I hold on tighter. “Will you be having dinner with your family, Evangeline?”
She turns to look at her father. “That depends on if Jaxon is also invited to sit with us.”
He gnashes his teeth for a moment before looking at me.
“I look forward to seeing you both at dinner,” he says before walking away.
“This is going to be an interesting week,” I say to Eve as I watch her father walk away. “His choice how this week goes. It can go well or not so well.”
Jordan POV
I walk Nolan inside the packhouse introducing him to my parents before taking him to the room where he’ll be staying. I’ve put him on the Alpha floor with me. Now that my parents have moved out in preparation for me taking over the pack, taking my sister Raelyn with them, there are two empty rooms on our floor. I figured it would give Nolan a quiet place to rest at the end of the night, away from pack activities if he wanted quiet time.
“Did you want some time to get cleaned up and relax, or are you ready to meet now?” I ask.
“I’m ready now, Alpha,” he says, dropping his bag in his room.
“We can go to my office and talk there,” I say, waiting for him to close his door. As we pass, I let him know where my room is, “in case you need anything at all.”
“Thank you, Alpha Jordan.”
“Please, call me Jordan,” I say, smiling at him as we walk. “What were you thinking as far as a training schedule. I created a mock schedule, but I’d like to hear your thoughts as well.”
“I was thinking the morning could be a pack training. Anyone who wants to participate could. In the evening, those that choose to come for additional training, could receive two more hours of specialized training. I would expect that the contenders for the contest would want to participate in the evening training class as well.”
“Absolutely. It sounds like that is the same schedule that Ezekiel had in Alpha Jonas’s pack.”
“We all have similar schedules. However, I would like to offer you one-on-one training, Jordan. We could meet early afternoon and spend one to two hours on your training.”
“Nolan, you said you’d only heard good things. If you think I need individualized training, then obviously what you’ve heard about me isn’t that great,” I say teasingly. “On the contrary, Jordan. I’ve heard that you will be an exceptional Alpha, that you are kind and caring but also fierce. I want to make sure that you are fierce enough to take out any opponent. By the end of the week, I want to know that I’ve left you with the skills needed to take out every one of the six warriors who are training the packs.” I stop, turning to look at him.
“Why? Why would you do that for me?”
“My great-grandmother was the last Alpha female to be heir to her pack. From what I heard, she was a great woman, a fierce warrior. It’s why I train in kickboxing. I find it to be a great equalizer. Men can become very good at kickboxing, but women are naturally more flexible and find it is easier to stretch their kicks high enough to kick their opponent in the face. You can knock them off their feet in one kick if you do it right, giving yourself the advantage in a fight.”
We’re in my office, the door closed. He steps into my space, taking my hands in his.
“And, if I’m being truthful, I’m intrigued by you, Alpha Jordan. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you. I want to get to know you better, not because you are heir to your pack, but because you are a strong female and I find that very s*exy, it doesn’t hurt that you are beautiful as well. I hope that the age difference between us doesn’t deter you from letting me get to know you better. Ten years can seem like a lot at your age, but I’ve already seen that you are a mature, confident woman. So, I hope you not only accept my offer to train with me individually, but also, that you will give me an opportunity to get to know you better and you to get to know me.”
Maybe I should be thinking of Jace right now, but he has Taylor. Maybe it’s time for me to stop pining away for a man that obviously doesn’t want me and to spend time with a man who obviously does.
“I would love to get to know you better, Nolan. And I accept your offer to train individually with you.”