Chapter 269


    The iming by Cooper Book 4


    The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)


    Chapter 69 (Jace)


    Jordan immediately steps out of my grasp. F*uc*king Nn, this is twice he’s interrupted a


    conversation I was having with Jordan.


    “Nn, what are you doing here?” she asks him.


    “I came to see if I could pry you away from your work and take you to dinner,” he says, eyeing me.


    “Yes, absolutely,” she says, turning to me.


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    “We’ll talkter, Jace.”


    I take a step back. “Remember what I said, Jordan,” I say, holding her gaze until she nods.


    I walk past Nn, nodding my head in greeting before walking out. As I get to the end of the hall, I hear


    him. “So, he’s the mate, huh?”


    So, Jordan told him about me, or at least that she has a mate. I’m guessing that he also knows that she


    rejected me.


    I walk downstairs, going to the kitchen to grab something quick to eat before heading back upstairs to


    my room. On my way out of the kitchen, I hear his voice.


    “She’s made her choice, Gamma. You should ept her rejection and let her move on with her life.”


    I stop, turning to face him. “You mean move on with you, don’t you? Isn’t that what this is about?”


    “You betrayed the mate bond, and her. She needs someone that will stand by her side, support her in


    being the best Alpha she can possibly be,” he says.


    “And you think that’s you? Here’s a clue, Nn. Date nights and dinners aren’t what Jordan needs.


    She needs someone who understands how to help her run a pack, someone who is here to have her


    back, who understands the difficulties she faces on a daily basis and runs interference on those


    difficulties, so she doesn’t have to fight for herself and her position every f*uc*king day. You know


    nothing about what Jordan needs. And what do think will happen if she epts you as her mate? That


    you would just continue to go off and train people around the world? Leaving her here to run and pack


    AND raise her pups? What kind of life is that for Jordan? I’ll tell you. It isn’t one and it’s not one that


    she’ll want, I can guarantee you that. So maybe it’s you, Nn, that needs to ept that and let her


    move on with her life.”


    “You know nothing about me or my intentions, pup,” he says condescendingly, getting in my face.


    I don’t back down. “I know enough to know that you have no idea how to live in a pack. When’s thest


    time you spent more than a week or two in any pack, much less your own? You’re a wanderer, a lone


    wolf. Leave my Alpha alone. She may not want me, but she deserves better than you.”


    “Jace!” Jordan’s tone is sharp. I take a step back, my eyes never leaving Nn’s.


    “Enjoy your dinner, Alpha,” I say before heading upstairs.


    Evangeline POV


    I’m not sure what I was expecting, but theplete disarray of these packnds wasn’t it. They are a


    disaster and all I can think about is, where am I going to put my pup when he’s born?


    In the first one we went to, the packhouse had already started crumbling to the ground, literally falling


    apart in front of us. The second one had vines and trees growing inside the packhouse, looking like


    something out of a movie.


    By the time we get to the third one two dayster, the excitement in our group is gone. We’re all


    overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that will need to be done once we im our packs. Well,


    let’s be honest, no one is going to move to any of these packnds while they are in this state. Why


    would you go from a fully functioning pack to this? We couldn’t even find clean water in the first two.


    So, well have packnds but no pack.


    When we get there, the packhouse is just as dpidated as the first one was. Jaxones up behind


    me and wraps his arms around me.


    “Don’t think about what it looks like now. Think about what it will look like when we’ve made this ce


    our home,” he says, making me turn to look at him over my shoulder.


    “Was this your aunt’s pack?” I ask. It’s the first time he’s said something like this to me.


    “Yes, see the mountain range I told you about? All of thisnd is the packnds. Personally, I think it


    was foolish to put the packhouse way out here. I much prefer having it like it is in Jordan’s pack, closer


    to the mountains. So, rather than rebuilding what is falling apart, we start fresh, new, making these


    packnds something better than they ever were before.”


    I look at the space differently as I listen to Jaxon, seeing his image of what this ce could look like.


    “Maybe out here we could put a small town where we could have pack members open their own shops,


    making it easier to get things that we need without having to go into town or to other packs.”


    He nuzzles my ear. “I love that idea, and I love you. So, do you agree, we can put this one on our list?”


    he asks.


    “Let’s look at the others before decidingpletely, but right now, this one is at the top of the list.” I say.


    “Well, it isn’t for me,” Maggie says,ing up to us. “The old iming territory is looking better and


    better. I know it’s been well used over the past year, but honestly, I’ll take well-used to broken down,”


    she says.


    “Before we make any decisions, let’s see the rest of them, love. We still have five more to see before


    we have to be back.”


    “You’re right, of course,” she says to him, turning and wrapping her arms around him.


    The rest of the week is pretty much the same, with Rowan and Enzo picking their favorite packnds,


    Maggie and Caleb choosing their and Lazio picking a couple.


    “I wish I at least knew who my mate is so I could get her input. What if I choose a packnd and she


    ends up hating it?” he asks as we head back to the iming territory.


    “She’ll love it because you’re there, Lazio,” I tell him.


    “And, if she was in the earlier part of thepetition and didn’t make it through, it’s possible she’ll


    come to see the announcements of the winners,” Jaxon says.


    “If she’s a ranked member,” Lazio rifies.


    “True, but we’re all mated to Alphas at this point, so, it’s likely that you will be too, Laz,” Maggie says to


    him.


    “I guess we’ll see,” he says sadly as we pull back up to the packhouse we’ve all be ustomed


    to.


    Tomorrow is the big day, the final event. And then, the following day, the council will host a dinner and


    announce the ten new Alphas, letting them choose their new packnds.