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Chapter 0308
Chapter 0308
He’s standing there holding the breakfast room door open with one broad hand, frowning around at all of us, looking like a god damn model. Somehow, he got his hands on a really nice pair of jeans, and a blue button-down shirt that looks like it was made for him, rolled up to his elbows. His look is all very simple, which suits him, but it’s very clearly expensive and tailored. And it suits his body completely, making him look…honestly, almost a little unreal, unnaturally perfect.
But the real coup is his hair. Jackson has always had a longish, shaggy mess of hair that really worked for his brutal, controlled-ferocity sort of vibe. But some genius has transformed that into a style, cropping Jackson’s hair closer on the sides and trimming the ends so that they’re more even. Now his hair falls into his face in a soft curtain of silky brown, and he just looks…
God, he looks like I want to jump him right now.
But if Jackson notices the effect his new appearance has on me, he doesn’t let me see it, instead quickly surveying the room and realizing that something is wrong.
When his eyes fall on me, and he sees the trace of devastation left on my face, and puts together that something happened to me?
His response is immediate.
“What is it,” he growls, slamming the door shut and striding into the room so that he stands across the table from me, leaning far across the wood to lock his eyes with me, smacking his hand down against the surface. “Who did this to you? Are you all right? What happened?”
Jackson absolutely ignores everyone else in the room and a swell of joy and pride rises in me, pride for my big scary Alpha mate who is ready to tear the world apart because something made me sad.
“I’m okay,” I say, putting a hand out on the table like he’s doing, not reaching for him but wanting to be closer. “I promise, Jacks, I’m okay.”
Incrementally Jackson relaxes, standing taller and starting to look around the room. I do the same, a little entertained by the shock on almost everyone’s faces. But some people aren’t shocked, or don’t show it. My eyes move first to Rafe, Jesse, and my dad, who look stern and pleased, like this is precisely the reaction they were expecting from him.
And then to my mom, who I see is bursting with pride for Jackson as well, not at all startled by a huge man storming around and slamming his hand on tables, demanding answers. That’s just a normal Tuesday morning for her, after all.
And then to Cora who is...perhaps a little too appreciative of Jackson's glow-up to be shocked by anything else.
"Will someone please tell me what's. going on?" Jackson asks, his voice tense as he clearly works to balance his desire to intercede and make it all better with his need to be polite.
I sigh and untangle myself from my mom, standing and rolling one of the magazines up so Jackson can't see the cover - not just yet. "Come on, Jacks," I say, moving around the table towards him and gesturing towards the door. "Let's go somewhere quiet - I'll explain." "Wait no, don't go!" Jesse gasps. "I want to see this!"
Juniper bursts into laughter at Jesse, who she always finds much funnier than any of her actual siblings.
"This is not for your entertainment, Jess," Rafe snaps under his breath, turning to glare at our cousin.
Jesse slumps down into his chair, frowning up at Rafe. "Everything is for my entertainment."
I ignore them as I reach Jackson, looping my hand around his elbow and looking up into his gorgeous face for a long moment, willing him to relax, to see that I'm all right and that this is manageable. Feeling these emotions down our band, Jackson sighs and his shoulders loosen. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
I take a moment to glance to my parents. My dad looks at me sternly but nods, just a tiny movement, to let me know that he trusts me to handle this with my mate. And, mom just beams at the two of us, her hands clasped delightedly beneath her chin. I can't help smiling at her mom, she's just so pure.
"Come on," I say softly to Jackson, tugging on his arm. "Let's go somewhere and have a chat."