Chapter 239
The iming by Cooper Book 4
The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)
Chapter 39 (Jordan)
This morning’s routine was great. I could tell immediately that Nn was right. The women in the ss
were having a much easier time with the stretching and the kicks. By the time we got to punching, the
men were wiped out and struggling and the women were still going strong. Now, more than ever, I’m
excited about my extra training with Nn.
As an Alpha, I know I’m strong. It’s the same with Evangeline and her sisters, my cousin Taylor and her
sisters and every other group of Alpha females in our generation. And there are lots of us. But I’ m the
only one that is taking over my pack, and because of that, I feel the need to be stronger, faster and
smarter than every other Alpha, male or female, out there. I not only have to prove my ability and worth
to my pack, but I have to do the same for the other packs.
Thankfully, we’re not in a situation where there is the possibility of a pack war, but those things can
change quickly. Jaxon’s situation with Evangeline and Jonas’s situation with Melinda are perfect
examples of how quickly those things can change.
Title of the document
I’m just about ready to go find Nn for our first afternoon sparring match when there’s a knock on my
open door. I look up and see Jace. Even now, nearly a year after turning 18, my heart still flutters when
I see him.
“Hey Jace, what’s up?” I ask. I learned a long time ago how to act normal and put on a good front, even
if my insides are in turmoil.
He frowns, seeing me putting my desk in order. “Are you going somewhere?” he asks.
“Yeah, but I have a minute, did you need something?” I ask.
Jace is my Gamma, he has been since I became Alpha, and he was my father’s Gamma for years
before that. He’s great at his job, I trust him with my life. I’ve just realized that I can’t trust him with my
heart.
“I was hoping to talk with you. Where are you going? Maybe I can walk with you?” he asks.
“Jordan has a date,” Nn says, walking in.
I look up and smile at him. “I’m not sure I’ d call you kicking my ass, a date,” I say. “Well, after this
morning, I’m not sure I’ll be kicking your ass at all. I was very impressed with you, Jordan.”
“Alpha Jordan,” Jace says and it’s just shy of being a growl.
Jace has be ustomed to supporting me with others who try to make me seem less than the
Alpha heir that I am, and I appreciate it. But in this instance, I have given Nn permission to be
familiar with me, and I tell Jace as much.
I can see that this information doesn’t sit well with him, but I don’t have time to worry about that.
“Oh, Taylor called. I’m guessing she wants to invite you to spend the week training with them. They
have Jameson this week. Feel free to join them if you’d like. I can take care of things here if you decide
to go.” I tell him, moving to leave.
“I’m here this week,” he says, grinding his teeth together.
I want to ask him what’s going on, if something happened between him and Taylor, but it’s not
appropriate with Nn standing here.
“We’ll talkter, Jace. Maybe after dinner tonight, or before training. Let me know what works best for
you.”
“After dinner works for me,” he says, just as Nn says, “I was hoping to speak with you after dinner.”
I look between them. This feels a lot like masculine posturing, but that can’t be right. Jace never
postures, at least not like this.
“I can meet with you first, Jace and then, if there’s time, Nn, I’ll meet with you. Otherwise, I’ll make
some time for you tomorrow morning, or after our session now.” I say, holding the door open.
“After you,” Nn says, holding his hand out for me to precede him. I step out into the hallway, waiting
for the two of them to exit before closing and locking my door.
“I’ll see youter Jace. If anything happens in the next hour, can you let Elijah know? I should be back
after that.”
“I’ll handle anything thates up,” Jace says grumpily.
“Oh, and don’t forget to call Taylor,” I say as Nn and I walk outside, heading toward my individual
training session.
Jace POV
I watch Jordan walk outside with Nn. She’s never shown an interest in anyone before. I had no idea
it would feel like this. F*uck! Is this what it has felt like for her since she turned 18?
If so, my mate is a master at hiding her emotions. I guess she has to be if she’s going to be a good
Alpha. And I know that she’ll make a damn good Alpha.
I go to my office and dial Taylor’s number. Honestly, I’m surprised to hear from her. I pull my cell phone
out and realize that she’s been trying to reach me, but I had it on silent.
She answers almost instantly. “Hey Tay, what’s up?”
“Hey, Jace. I….”
I frown, looking at the phone. Taylor never hesitates. She’s always strong, confident.
“Taylor, is everything okay?”
“I…” I hear her take a deep breath. “I wanted to make sure everything is good between us, Jace. You
know thepetition is important to me, but so are you. I don’t want you to think that you are any less
important to me than being an Alpha.”
Honestly, it does shock me. Taylor is very driven. In a lot of ways, she’s like Jordan. If I was a betting
man, I’d say that of all the Alpha females in thispetition, she’s the one that will beat out the guys to
get a pack. She’s strong, fierce and exactly what a pack needs, just like Jordan. It’s what drew me to
her. She and
Jordan have a lot of the same qualities, qualities that will make a good leader of a pack. The difference
is, when Taylor and I started seeing each other, she didn’t have the option of being the leader of a
pack. Now she does, and she should focus on that.
“Taylor, I know this is important to you, for a lot of reasons. And of all the females that are in this
competition, I think you have the best shot at winning a pack.”
“Really?”
“Of course. You have to know that too.”
“Maybe,” she says and I can hear the smile. But in her next sentence, I can hear that the smile is gone.
“I just… this isn’t about me wanting to wait to see if I can find my fated mate, is it? I thought you
understood that I wanted to save myself until we decided that we would take each other as chosen
mates.”
“I do understand, Taylor. And I’m perfectly okay with that.”
It’s actually one of the reasons I was willing to get into a rtionship with Taylor. She wanted to save
herself in case she found her mate. I’m a bit surprised she hasn’t yet. I honestly thought this would be a
short-term thing between us. But then people got used to seeing us together, she didn’t find her mate,
and it just went on longer than I expected it would. But her desire to save herself for her mate allowed
me to date her without causing Jordan any pain through the mate bond.
At least not any physical pain. If seeing me with Taylor bothers Jordan as much as me watching her flirt
with Nn, then I’ve been unintentionally cruel. Another reason to cut things off with Taylor.
“I think you need to focus on this contest. There’s a lot at stake and I know you want this. The
competition is going to be fierce, and you don’t need any distractions.”
“Are you sure, Jace? I coulde there this week. I hear you have Nn. I could train with him instead
of Jameson. Or you coulde here if Jordan can part with you for a week.”
“No, Taylor. You focus on your training, and I’ll focus on mine here. There’s a lot of work that I need to
do anyway. Nn is apparently giving Jordan extra sses to help her get stronger, and I need to
make sure that everything continues to run smoothly.”
“Okay Jace. As long as you’re sure.”
“I am Taylor. I expect to see you kick ass at the nextpetition,” I tell her.
“You’d better hope that you don’t get ted against me, Jace. You know I’d have to take you down.”
Iugh, a good heartyugh. Taylor really is a great person. I like her a lot. “Yeah, I know. I would
expect nothing else from you, Tay.”
“Okay, I’ve got to run. Don’t be a stranger, Jace.”
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“Talk soon, Tay.” I say, before hanging up.
When I’m done, I put my head in my hands.
Now, how do I exin to my mate that I’ve been trying to give her a chance to take a better mate and
that nothing really ever happened between me and her cousin and that, if she wants me, we need to
talk about how that would work? And, most important, does she truly believe that I am strong enough to
lead at her side.