Chapter 21

JAX

My body is buzzing with adrenaline. Aaron, my inner wolf, is restless, pacing inside my mind, driven by the need to protect our pack and our mate from the enemy.

Even though the immediate danger has passed, Aaron is itching to hunt down the rogues who dared to attack our pack. He wants to make them pay, slowly and painfully.

The audacity of them, trespassing on our territory and living to tell the tale.

I guide Hayley into the bedroom we share. I’m not sure if it’s mine or ours, but it’s where we sleep. I shut the door, my eyes never leaving Hayley.

I’m trembling with pent-up rage, and I need to get a grip. The last thing I want is to scare Hayley even more. But I need her. Now.

As I move towards her, Aaron warns me to be gentle.

I stop, taking a deep breath, trying to muster a shred of patience. When I meet Hayley’s gaze, I see confusion in her eyes.

She seems unsure of what to do, nervously fiddling with her fingers and shifting her feet.

I approach her ~gently~, looking into her vibrant green eyes, filled with so much pain and sorrow.

“Can I… can I hold you?” I ask, my jaw clenched. I don’t want to lose my temper. We’re making progress. I need to be patient, even if Aaron is straining at his leash.

She lowers her gaze, then slowly lifts her eyes to meet mine. I can see the conflict in her emerald orbs.

After what feels like an eternity, she gives a hesitant nod. That’s all I need. I wrap my arms around her petite frame, pulling her into my embrace.

I bury my nose in her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent. Aaron retreats, and my breathing becomes labored.

I lose myself in her. All of her. So much so, I forget myself and place a gentle kiss where her neck meets her shoulder. Hayley gasps, her legs wobble, but I hold her steady.

My fangs elongate as the bond urges me to claim my mate.

But I can’t.

Hayley and I aren’t like other couples. We’re both broken, but we can heal each other. In time.

I pull back, hoping I didn’t frighten Hayley. But when I look at her, I’m pleasantly surprised.

Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes sparkle with the mate bond. I’m sure mine look the same.

“I’m sorry I lost control,” I tell her, pulling her closer by her waist. She fits perfectly in my arms.

I realize how empty I’ve felt without my mate. But now, I’m holding her, and I’m never letting go.

She shakes her head slightly, a small smile playing on her lips. “It’s okay. I… liked it,” she whispers, her voice shaky.

She looks up at me, her eyes dark. The mate bond. Even though Hayley doesn’t have a wolf, she can feel the pull towards me because of the bond.

That’s why werewolves can have human mates. They can feel the attraction.

The bond is influencing Hayley's judgment, and I know she doesn’t want to take things further.

I would wait forever for her if I had to. I won’t pressure her or let the bond dictate her feelings for me.

I want her to love me for me, not because her instincts tell her to.

Hayley rests her cheek on my chest, closing her eyes, relaxing into me. The buzz from a few seconds ago fades into tranquility.

As I hold Hayley, her purple sweater slips off her left shoulder, revealing a long, deep scar that runs down to the middle of her spine.

A rush of emotions hits me.

Pain. Anger. Despair. Agony.

Who could do this to such a sweet, innocent woman? What kind of monster would inflict such torture on a pure soul?

“Who did this to you?” I ask, my voice choked with emotion.

Hayley pulls back, confused. When she sees what I’m staring at, she backs away, shaking her head.

She quickly covers her shoulder with her sweater, avoiding my gaze.

“Who…did this…to you?” I ask again, struggling to keep my anger in check.

“My past…complicated.”

A wave of pain washes over me. I feel it all. Her pain, her suffering, everything she’s endured. It hits me like a freight train.

The bond. Until I mark Hayley, the bond will continue to strengthen. That’s why I can feel her emotions seeping into every part of me.

Even though Hayley’s wolf is dormant, she can still feel the mate bond, just not as strongly.

The intensity of the emotions I’m feeling brings a tear to my eye.

Hayley looks up at me in surprise.

She reaches up and wipes away the tear with her thumb. I lean into her touch, but my vision blurs as I’m hit with a flood of Hayley's memories.

Brief flashbacks flash before my eyes. Hayley's mother dying in childbirth, looking at Hayley as if she’s just given birth to life itself.

The next memory is of Hayley's old pack, hurling insults at her as she walks through the village.

They blame Hayley for her mother's death. They throw her into a cell and leave her to starve for weeks.

She watches a royal ball from her cell window, held on her old pack grounds. But what I see next takes my breath away. Me.

A younger version of me, probably around fourteen, walking with my parents, while Hayley is locked in a cage, innocent and oblivious.

If I'd known back then, I could've spared Hayley from years of torment. But I was too young to realize my mate was so close.

The scene shifts to Hayley, alone in her cell, sobbing uncontrollably. The pain inside her is so intense it triggers a full-blown panic attack.

The next memory is almost too painful to bear. Hayley, violated repeatedly by an older male. The images change, but the act remains the same. It's a horrifying, heart-wrenching scene.

The final memory is of Hayley running. She's sprinting as fast as her legs can carry her, away from her past and towards a better future.

When I return to the present, Hayley is holding my face in her delicate hands, a frown etched on her beautiful face.

That's when I realize I'm crying. Not just a single tear, but full-on sobbing. My body shakes, and Hayley tries to support me, but I'm too heavy for her.

We both crumple to the floor, our hands still intertwined.

I gaze deeply into Hayley’s eyes and whisper, “I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. That you had to endure all that pain alone, with no one to help you. I understand now.

“Why you're so wary of me, and that's completely okay. I want you to know that you'll never have to feel alone again. I'll be by your side forever, and I'm not going anywhere.”

Hayley is gasping for air when I finish, tears streaming down her soft cheeks. “How did…you know?”

“The bond. It showed me everything you went through. I saw it all through your eyes. It wanted me to know so I can protect my mate, so it never happens again.”

I take a deep breath, trying to process everything I've just seen.

“I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Hayley. You should never have had to experience any of that, and you need to know that your mom's death isn't your fault.

“You couldn't have done anything, you were just a baby. I promise you, you're innocent. You can't blame yourself when you did nothing wrong. The Bloodnight Pack will pay for what they did to you.

“Even though the ceremony hasn't happened yet, you're the Luna of this pack, and everyone in the Midnight Rose Pack would die to protect you. You have alpha blood in your veins; you were born to lead this pack.”

I pause to gather my thoughts, then add, “Trust me, they won't be breathing much longer.”

Hayley crawls into my lap and lets out a wail, releasing years of pent-up pain. The soft whimpers escaping her lips are heart-wrenching. “Thank you.”

I wrap my arms tightly around Hayley, letting her feel loved. She's spent nineteen years without love, and I'm determined to make sure she never experiences another day like that.

I pull her in even closer and tuck her head under my chin.

When Hayley starts to calm down and her breathing steadies, she pulls back slightly to look at my face. I gently wipe away the tears staining her cheeks.

“I think it's my fault,” she whispers.

“What? Hayley, your mom's death is definitely not your fault. You had no—”

“No, no, no,” she interrupts me. “I mean…the attack…today. I think it happened… because my dad did something.”

“I didn't smell any pack scent on the rogues; I would've recognized it. Unless the Bloodnight Pack is working with rogues… I'll look into it.

“And Hayley, you don't have to call that monster your dad anymore. He doesn't deserve that title, let alone that of Alpha.”

“I don't deserve you. You're too good for me.”

“No, Hayley. You deserve the world, you've just been told otherwise. But I'm here to change that.”

We spend a few moments just staring into each other's eyes, taking each other in.

“Please don't tell anyone... I don't want the same thing to happen here... I like it here,” she pleads.

“Hayley, what happened in the Bloodnight Pack won't happen here, I swear on the pack, nothing bad will happen to you here. But I respect your wishes, and I won't tell anyone. Does anyone else know?”

“Lily.”

“Lily? The little pup?”

I wonder why she told Lily. I nod and gather the courage to share my own darkest secret. It's only fair, now that I know hers.

I take a deep breath and say, “My dad died during a rogue attack a few years ago. He died protecting me. There were five of them, and I watched as they tore him apart.”

As I continue, Hayley's thumb strokes my stubbled jaw in comfort.

“I blamed myself for years for what happened to my dad. I couldn't protect myself, I was too weak. So I made a pact with myself to make sure I could protect the people I love, just like my dad did. We both need to accept that our parents' deaths weren't our fault.”

It's all out now. The burdens that have weighed us down for too long are finally lifted. We can now work together to help each other become better versions of ourselves.

“Thank you for... telling me, Jax,” she says sincerely.

I gaze into Hayley's eyes. They're even more beautiful now, the green intensified by her tears.

If I look closely, I can see a lush, vibrant forest, teeming with life.

One of my arms wraps around her waist, while the other hand goes to the back of Hayley's neck, pulling her even closer.

Our breaths mingle, our pulses race. Her eyes start to flutter closed, surrendering to the sensation, allowing me to take the lead.

“I love you, Hayley,” I whisper, and slowly lean in to kiss my mate…