The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline) Chapter 10 Jaxon

My original idea of asking each other a question at each mile marker was to pass the time, help me to think of something, anything other than my sore muscles, my aching feet and the cramp in my stomach that could be from running, hunger or both.

However, I realize quickly that this is a great opportunity to get to know the woman that I intend to take as a mate. I just hope she's not going to be like Taylor and string me along. Which gives me my idea for the next question.

We run through the 70-mile marker, grabbing cups of water and getting cheers. My cousin Griffin is at this rest stop. He will be taking over for my Uncle Seth in a couple of months.

"Only Tobias and Taylor are ahead of you Jax! And they both look like they are running out of steam. You've got this!" He says as I pass.

"Keep it up, Evangeline, you've can do it!" He encourages her.

Griffin is great. I like him a lot. But he got some of his mother's bubbly, cheerleader qualities, and right now, while I appreciate the sentiment, it's a bit tough to take.

"Thanks, Griff." I say, downing my water.

"Thank you, Alpha Griffin." Evangeline says and we continue on our way.

I wait until we're well past the rest area before I look at Evangeline.

"Ready for the next question?" I ask her.

"Sure." She says.

"If you win, how are you going to handle it when you find your mate?" I ask her.

She sighs. "Honestly, I don't know. It might depend on who he is, how he feels about being co-Alphas. Right now, I'm leaning toward staying single. I'm sure I could find a sperm donor so I could have an heir." She tells me.

Oh no, this is not the answer I was hoping for.

"What if he's willing to be co-Alphas?" I ask. My parents do that, and my sister intends to do the same. I would definitely be okay with that.

"Except, it's MY title that has to change, right? Even if I win the pack lands, possibly defeating him in this contest, if I take him as my mate, he still gets to be Alpha, and I have to be Luna. The titles alone imply that he is head of the pack, and I would be second."

I frown at that. "That's not how it is in my pack. My mother has the title of Luna, yes, but no one thinks that she's second to my father, not even my father. He treats my mother as an equal, and so does everyone else in our pack. I expect it will be the same for Jordan. At least, that's what she's hoping to find in her mate." I say, thinking of Jace and wondering if he would be okay with that.

"But not all the packs are ran like that." She insists.

"No, you're right. What about your parents? You mother is technically a higher ranked wolf than your father." I ask her.

She thinks about that for a moment. "I guess he does treat her as an equal. And, at least toward us kids, she is the iron fist and Dad is the softy, It's not that way outside of our family, but everyone also knows that they better not overstep around our mother, or she'll put you in line quickly."

"So, that sounds like it could be an acceptable solution too." I say, crossing my mental fingers.

"I guess so. I don't know, I guess it will very much depend on who my mate is, if I even find him." She says.

"I expect that you'll find him during this competition." I tell her, feeling like I've dodged a bullet and glad I asked that question.

We catch our breath over for the next couple of miles before she asks her question.

"What's it like being a twin? I mean, I know you aren't identical, but you seem really close to your sister."

I think about her question for a moment. "I'm not sure I know how to answer that. I guess it would be the same as asking you what it's like not being a twin. I don't know any other way. But I guess, from seeing my other sisters. I'd say that it's nice having a close bond with Jordan. We're very close, closer than either of us are to our other sisters. Although, based on my observations, your relationship with Magdalena is probably similar. You two seem very close as well." I say.

"We are more like best friends than sisters. We share just about everything. We are only 6 months apart in age, so we have a lot in common, unlike Makayla who is two years younger than I am.

"I get that. I guess I'd say Jordan is my best friend, my closest friend. I have other guy friends, but if something is bothering me, she always knows, even if no one else does. And the same is true for her. We are in tune with each other in a way that is probably only rivaled by the mate bond." I tell her.

"It sounds nice." She says and we fall back into silence, each of us getting caught up in our own thoughts.

Before I know it, mile marker 80 is coming up.

"Wow, we're getting so close!" Evangeline says.

"We are, we're definitely going to make the first round." I say to her, putting my fist out.

She gives me a fist bump as we jog into the 80-mile rest stop, grabbing our waters.

"How far ahead are Taylor and Tobias?" I ask Alpha Maximus. He is Alpha Davis and Luna McKenna's oldest son and one of the people manning this rest station.

"Just a few minutes. You're really close to them."

"Thanks, Alpha Max." I tell him.

"What time is it?" Evangeline asks him.

"It's 1 am." He says.

We jog on and once we're far enough away, I look at her. "Your turn."

She looks at me a moment before sighing. "I hate to say this, but I have to slow down. I can't keep up this pace. So, while it's been great chatting with you, I can't keep up anymore. You'll have to leave me behind." She tells me.

Winning this competition is everything to me, but I only need to be in the top 100 for this event and right now, she and I are in the third and fourth places. I can afford to slow down and continue my conversation with my future mate, which is just as important to me at the moment as winning is.

I slow my pace, waiting for her to match it.

"You don't have to stay with me. Really. It's a race." She says.

"It's an endurance challenge. One that we are both going to finish and move to the next round. It's the middle of the night. I'm tired too. As long as there aren't too many people that pass us, I think we're good.' She looks at me a long moment. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She asks.

"Is that your question?" I ask her.

"Sure."

"Okay, well, truth is, I was drawn to you the minute I saw you in that clearing." I frown. "Was that yesterday? The day before? Whenever it was, I saw you and I wanted to get to know you better." "Wow, that was very honest."

I shrug. "I have nothing but time and honesty on my side. And, for some reason, it's always easier to bare your soul in the dead of night, don't you think?"

"Yes. And then the morning comes and brings along all that regret." She says, smiling.

"Well, unless you run kicking and screaming from me in the light of day, I won't regret being honest with you."

"You don't scare me, Alpha Jaxon." She says, teasingly.

I chuckle. I like this side of her.

"Your turn." She says.

"Since we're talking about that time in the clearing, what was your first impression of me?" I ask, really hoping it was positive.

She looks away from me and I can feel her discomfort. Uh oh, this can't be good.

"Well, full disclosure, I didn't know who you were at first. It wasn't until Maggie saw Gamma Jace beside you that we figured it out."

"Why were you and Magdalena trying to figure out who I was? Because you caught me looking at you?" I ask.

"Well, yes, but...." She huffs.

"Fine, you were honest with me, so I'll be honest with you. It's not like you haven't heard it before, I'm sure. Before I knew it was you, I was calling you....Super Hotty." Oh, hell yeah! My smile is so big I'm sure she can see my teeth gleaming in the moonlight.

"You can wipe that smug look off your face. I'm sure you know how hot you are. I just...I mean..." She sighs again. "You're not exactly what I thought you'd be like." "What did you think I'd be like?" I ask her.

"Well, you know, or maybe you don't, but most of the other Alphas tend to be arrogant or aloof, you're neither. You're really nice."

"I'm sure there are those out there that would call me arrogant AND aloof, but, you're not exactly the snobby Alpha female type I've run into either. There's a lot of that going around too." "True enough." She says.

We fall into silence as we run.

Super hotty. Damn I like the sound of that.

"You know I can hear your arrogant mind from here?" She says, watching me.

"Ha! Guilty as charged." I give her a side-eye. "I like your nickname for me. Feel free to use it anytime."

She just shakes her head. It feels like we've barely run a mile when the 90-mile marker flashes in front of us.