The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)

Chapter 31 (Evangeline)

I'm so angry at my mother right now. Not as angry and hurt as I am by my father, but it's close. She basically implied that Jaxon only wants me for s*ex. Honestly, if that were the case, he could have taken my virginity last night. We pretty much did everything else.

And now, this man is sitting here, asking me what I want. Man did I hit the mate bond jackpot!

When I tell him I'll punch him if he tries to go three months without seeing me, he bursts out laughing.

"You think I'm joking? It would be a travesty, but I'll rearrange that Super Hotty face of yours," I say. He pulls me in, pressing his lips to mine while still laughing.

"Oh Eve, I swear I'm already so in love with you," he says, making my heart flutter.

It should feel weird, we only really met about a week ago, but I feel the same way. Maybe not IN love yet, but my feelings for Jaxon are very strong. And according to him, he thinks my feelings aren't as strong as his, because I'm not yet 18. He may be right, because if my feelings for him get stronger than this, I would definitely be saying that I'm in love with him too.

As he calms down, he tucks my hair behind my ear, the smile still on his face.

"So, what do you want, my love? What do you think we should do?"

"Well, I'm not going home until I know for sure that my parents will let us see each other. As I mentioned, I have no intention of going months without seeing you."

"I'm glad to hear it," he says, running his fingers through my hair and watching as my hair slides through easily.

"What about you? What do you want?" I ask him.

"I want three months to flash forward so you are 18 and we can be together, but....until then, I really do want to do what I told your mom. I want us to get to know each other better, physically AND emotionally. I think we have some things to discuss and work out, not the least of which is what happens if we both win."

"Oh, I've already figured that one out," I say. "Oh, you have? And what did you figure out?" he asks, his fingers still stroking my face, my neck and my hair while we talk. I turn, so I'm straddling him and can wrap my arms around his neck, run my fingers through his hair too, as we talk too.

"We'll get adjoining pack lands and make them into one large pack. And if only one of us wins, then I'd think we'd have the same people in our pack. Either way, those that would choose you or me as their leader will come together in one pack."

"Beautiful AND intelligent. How did I get so lucky?" he asks then frowns. "Are there pack lands that are adjoining?"

"I think so. We'll have to look and of course, that's assuming that we come in the top couple of spots so no one else picks one of the two pack lands that connect."

This time he looks thoughtful. "Yeah, we'll have to think about that one. But first, we have to both get through the next competition. I'm guessing you didn't have time to talk to Alejandro about which fighters he got?"

"No. What about you, did you have a chance to talk to Jordan?" I ask.

"Yes, but not about that. I was getting her help to get you back."

"You were going to use your sister and her influence as an Alpha to help get me back?" I ask, shyly. It's very sweet and not an easy task.

"Yes. Jordan is much more diplomatic than I am, but when Magdalena called and said you were here, all that went out the window. I just jumped out of the car, shifted and ran here."

"Wait, what did Maggie call your sister about?"

"She wanted Jordan to relay a message to me that this morning wasn't about me and that you had left to come here. Just so you know, she sounded really upset."

"I'm sure she is. She and I are best friends. I'll call her tonight and let her know that everything is okay."

"What happens if your parents don't change their mind? What will you do?" he asks me.

I run my fingers over the muscles of his chest. "I'll stay here or go to my Aunt Sophia's pack."

"I could see if Jordan is willing to have you come stay with us," he says hopefully.

"That might start a pack war and I don't want to do that, neither do you. For now, I'm going to stay here and see what happens when I speak to my mother in a few days."

I stroke my fingers over his chest. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you going to stay here too?" I ask, hopefully.

"Do you want me to?"

I look up at him and nod. "Do you think Alpha Jonas would mind?"

"We can ask him. As of right now, it doesn't put any kind of pressure on his pack, so he should be okay with it."

"If not, I'll call my Aunt Sophia and see if we could stay with her," I say, not wanting to be away from him.

"Even if they say no, it doesn't mean I won't come back to see you tomorrow and the next day and the next day. My only job right now is preparing for the next contest. As long as we get in sparring every day, I don't care about driving back and forth."

"Wouldn't you rather spend the night with me?" I ask, feeling shy again.

"Why, Alpha Evangeline, are you trying to seduce me?" he asks, tilting my chin up to look at him.

"What if I am?"

"Let's not give your parents any more reason to hate me just yet."

I push out my bottom lip, ever so slightly and look down again. His low growl lets me know that my pout is working.

"None of that," he says.

I look up at him through my lashes. How can I already want this man again? It's been less than 8 hours.

This time, the growl is louder, and he flips me onto my back. We spend the next few hours enjoying each other, touching and tasting each other, laughing and talking, before heading back to the packhouse. When we walk up, Alpha Jonas is sitting on the back porch with his daughter in his arms.

He watches us as we approach and his nose tilts up in the air.

"I can see why your father flipped out, you two smell like you've been going at it all afternoon." He raises a hand before I can say anything.

"I'm not asking, nor do I care. I'm just saying, I can see why your father went all Alpha on you, Evangeline."

I look at him. "So, is now a bad time to ask if Jaxon can stay while I'm here?"