The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)

Chapter 27 (Evangeline)

When we get to my grandmother's pack,

Alpha Jonas and Luna Melinda are there to greet me.

"Alpha Jonas," I say, as I get out of the car, "I hope it's okay that I stay here for a while."

"I've already spoken to your mother. You can stay as long as you like," he tells me.

"How about I show you to your room? I've put you down the hall from your grandmother," Luna Melinda says to me, hooking her arm through mine.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this," I say.

"It's no problem. I understand difficult parents when it comes to the mate bond," she says, looking at her mate.

I'm glad they finally worked things out. I had heard rumblings, some overheard conversations between my mother and father or my mother and grandmother. And since Alpha Jonas was both of their alpha at one point, they had been angry that Luna Melinda's mother was keeping her from her mate.

As we walk, she continues talking. "I knew Jonas was my mate before I turned 18, too. You just feel the pull to them, right?" she asks me.

I've never had the opportunity to spend time with Luna Melinda, but I like her already.

"Right! Everything about him just draws me to him," I tell her.

"And, Alpha Jaxon is 18, so he would be feeling the bond as well."

I turn and look at her. I'd forgotten that she came from his pack.

She smiles at me. "I grew up with Jaxon. He's a good man and he'll make a great Alpha. I'm quite sure that he'll win this competition and get his pack. He deserves it."

She leads me down a hallway, my grandmother and Alpha Jonas trailing behind us with my bag.

"And what about you, Alpha Evangeline. If you know that Jaxon is your mate, do you plan to continue to compete in the contest?" she asks.

"Melinda," Alpha Jonas's tone is one of tolerant warning.

"Jonas, I'm just asking. Evangeline is an Alpha, and she may want her own pack, separate from her mate," she says, and I swear I see Alpha Jonas roll his eyes to the ceiling, possibly asking the Moon Goddess for patience.

I know my lips are twitching and she winks at me.

"So? What's your plan?"

"I plan to continue to fight and win the contest."

"Good for you!" she says as we get to a door at the end of the hallway. "Here you go. Now, why don't you get settled and then come join us on the back porch. It has a lovely view of the forest line, and your grandmother makes a mean sweet tea."

I turn and I suddenly feel very emotional after the morning that I've had. I throw my arms around Luna Melinda and hug her.

Her arms come around me. "It will all work out in the end, just the way it's supposed to," she says quietly in my ear. "It may not seem like it now, but it will."

I nod and pull back. She takes my hands in hers and squeezes them before turning and walking to the door.

"Jonas, will you be joining us on the back patio?" she asks her mate, looking up at him.

"I need to go check on the kids first. If they are still sleeping, I'll be down. If not..."

"If not, bring them with you and come join us. They can run around in the grass and wear themselves out before dinner. I'll have the kitchen staff make some food so they have something to eat when they do get up," she tells him.

Alpha Jonas seems very tolerant of his mate's expectations and demands. From what I heard from my mother, he had become a very rigid Alpha, devoting his life to his pack. From what I'm seeing, being mated to Melinda has loosened him up quite a bit.

"Ohhh, I hope Ryder and Molly are awake. I could use some baby and toddler time," my grandmother says.

"You have two children already?" I ask her.

She puts her hands on her stomach. "Soon to be three. But it's too soon to know if this one will be a boy or a girl." Melinda looks up at her mate. "But it doesn't matter to us."

"As long as our child is healthy," Alpha Jonas says, putting his hand protectively over her stomach.

As they take their leave, I wonder if Jonas and Melinda having another child will make a difference to Beta Jared's younger son, Damien. Since it took Alpha Jonas so long to find his mate, his brother Jared had assumed, as did everyone else, that his sons would take over the pack. The oldest, Collin, was slated to become the next Alpha. Because Jonas and Melinda have a son now, Collin is participating in the contest. He's made it to the next round. If this next child is a boy, I would expect that Damien will be participating in the Beta trials when those are held.

After they are gone, I open my bag, smelling Jaxon's scent and getting sad all over again. I pull the jacket out of the bag and hold it to my nose, breathing deeply. I'll need to do some laundry, but I have enough clothes to get by for a while. I grab my phone, knowing that my mother will be calling at some point and I head downstairs. When I get outside, I see that the children are awake. Both children have Melinda's blond curly hair and as Ryder squeals and runs around, I can see that he has his father's dark blue eyes.

My grandmother has Molly in her lap, playing pat-a-cake with her.

"We have a seat for you right here, Alpha Evangeline," Melinda says to me. "Thank you, Luna. Please call me Evangeline or Evie."

"Then you can call me Melinda, Evie."

I sit down, close my eyes, take a deep breath and let the stress of the morning wash away. I don't know what's going to happen, but for now, right this minute, I'm okay. I wish I'd thought to exchange phone numbers with Jaxon. At least then I could call him. I'll talk to Melinda later and see if I can get the main pack number for Jaxon's pack and try to reach him that way. He deserves to know what happened and why I didn't speak to him this morning.

Alpha Jonas is chasing after his son, tickling him everytime he gets him, Ryder squealing in delight and racing off again. Because I'm watching, I see when he stands up suddenly, his eyes glazing over. Melinda looks at him, but when his eyes refocus, he turns to me.

"You have a visitor," he says, just as I hear the pounding of paws coming our way.

I stand and see the giant black wolf that must be Jaxon, racing toward me. I hurriedly walk off the porch and begin jogging toward him. The minute he's close enough, he shifts, rushing to me and taking me in his arms.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry if you didn't want to see me, but I needed to know that you were okay."

I wrap my arms around him, burying my nose in his neck.

"I'm much better now."