Jax's POV
Taking the flavoured water, I hand it over to her after opening the plastic bottle, Megan takes a long drink before she answers me. She's distracted thinking of the muscled woman, who could be no more than five years our senior. "Uh, yeah, I guess, if you're into the bad attitude, would beat you up type. I heard she ate a dog once. It's a rumour I do not believe but it does give me some sort of entertainment."
Laughing at the last part, Meg covers her mouth when it turns to giggles.
Grinning because I achieved my goal, my stomach grumbled then, reminding me of the purpose of bringing a basket of goodies.
But her smile vanishes when I open the kit that has- hmm, beef sandwiches. Yum.
After a light meal, Meg watches while I give Blue reign over me and he alters into the wolf. Her entire face lights up and he walks over to her, encouraging her and Red to touch him. He hopes it will encourage Meg to give her wolf this chance as well.
Red is in awe and Blue tells me she loves butterflies and that she is frustrated that she cannot chase them. He tells me she is sad and also, she has blocked Megan from their conversation.
Interesting.
Today is the only day that Blue chases butterflies, and attempts to look cute. I did not dissuade him though I did laugh at him and poked fun at his lack of blood and gore, and he growled back at me in serious jest.
Nearly an hour later he allows me back out because he is famished. He's used up the little energy the sandwiches brought me, and we will certainly need to go on the prowl tonight. And rabbits will not be enough to satisfy him, he tells me.
Ugh, I dislike the aftertaste of raw flesh inside my mouth after he hunts.
Once again, heading to shield my nakedness from Meg, I put on my clothing before taking my place on the blanket again. The joy is evident still on her facial features and not wanting to bring it up, but I must, I query, "Are you telling him?" She knows who and what I meant because her smile slowly fades.
My eyes are on her stomach area again when I give her a paper plate and sandwich and I skitter over the thick blanket to make room for the basket that I move to the centre of it, almost between us.
Cringing outwardly, her words are hesitant, but she admits, "I was actually on my way to do that the day I met you."
Both my wolf and I gape at her. Sh*t we are the reason for her lack of courage now?
Following her movements, I bit into one sandwich, followed by another and the thing disappears down my throat. "Hmm." Another sandwich vanishes down my throat while Meg is on her second bite. Not wanting her to be gloomy, I lean over and remove the rest of the sandwich from her hand, laughing at her shocked expression.
How does she do that? I gaped at my hands, about to take another bite from my sandwich when I felt the mental blockage
Meg is quick to grab the water I saw her watching. "Eat Jax, I've had enough of this for the next week." She does not mean the food but the topic of conversation.
One mouthful of water later, Megan turns to the side and hurls.
***
For the second time today, I pick up Meg again- this time with success. Her smell is so inviting-
Indeed. He's right. I change my thinking direction. Adding beef to the list of things Meg's baby dislikes. Beef, my cologne, dishwashing liquid- anything citrusy I will remove from my house and not repurchase, I vow as I scoop up the exhausted woman from the sofa and walk towards my room, slowly, not taking my eyes away from her.
Add banana. She's only eaten bananas after she emptied her stomach on the picnic. And milk. What a not-nice combination for later. I have to talk to her about getting the correct vitamins as well. My mother had so many supplements to take while she was pregnant with my stepbrother, and I remember how she took them in perfect timing too.
And doctor's appointments. As far as I know, Meg hadn't gotten around to any of that yet.
Blue is in a wary state of mind.
Megan was fatigued from our little hike to and from the picnic, I held her hand watching her peaceful slumber after gently placing her onto the wide mattress.
Her tiny ankles were a bit swollen so I massaged her dainty feet, hoping it would ease the pain by the time she was ready to use them again. I move up and give her calves a bit of love from my fingers as well.
All the while I smell her intoxicating scent. Rich, nutty, a sweet aroma-
Right. Blue is correct, I must stop it. What is this anyway? Who cares what soap smells like on perfectly soft skin?
Blue is full of pity but encourages me to stop touching her. He has been contemplating Meg's declaration of the alpha's claim on her. What if her words were true? What if Red was the one blocking Meg from feeling it, unknowingly?
My wolf used 'unknowingly' because he sensed that though Red is weak, Meg cannot do what she is doing without her. A human only gets her wolf instinct and aura after a wolf is merged with them and both are not joined as one.
And if what we believe to be true, is in actuality the truth- then they had more to give. Capable of greater things. But Meg's path is lonely and much inexperienced- minus the s*x part. I meant in fusing her beast and her together.
If Meg's path is so lonely and isolated, then I figured her wolf would be the same. Red would have followed along her human's path- just as Blue had followed along with my choice to be less in the pack and not be gamma.
But we need to figure out a way to bring them together.
It's a fact that the pack did not adopt her well. Even my mother felt sorry for Megan when we were small and often fed her and encouraged me to play with her when the others made fun of her instead. Even, my friends bullied her, and I never stopped playing with them, did I?
Admiring her beauty, I ponder how the alpha mistreats her this way. Admitting he does not could her bodily harm- if you didn't count the inner bodily harm. But why use her? She's so meek and innocent. Kind. Everything a werewolf is not- is that what the attraction was to him? That she was unlike everyone else in the pack?
I swallow when Meg turns from her side and now faces me and releases a sound- to normal ears almost unheard but with my wolf's senses...I like it. Too much because my eyes are drawn to her slightly parted lips now. Full and begging to be loved correctly.
My heart speeds up in my chest and I feel almost animated.
Detecting Blue's unease when I kissed Meg's cheeks, I decided to take him for his feeding then. After all, it must be my weakened mind from lack of nourishment that has me drawn to Meg like that. Stripping down my clothing, I leave them in a pile on the floor inside my bedroom, giving Meg one last glance before I dash out, transforming as soon as I hit the outskirts of the trees.
While Blue chases behind rabbits he lectures me on touching Megan. Giving me visuals of Soren cutting my fingers off one by one- even if he is not mated to Megan, messing with any woman that the alpha is frolicking with is forbidden.
Spotting a deer, he runs after it.
By dark, he's fed, and he lay sprawled along the riverbed drained but his hunger satisfied. Remaining in wolf form, I can't help but wonder- am I also part of the problem? I know we failed Meg as a pack- h*ck, we failed all the omegas that reside here.
Blue is listening to my surface thoughts intently in silence.
While I was on the outside, I met other werewolves who were also studying- turns out that many of us use the wolf ability to further our minds in the human world. Anyway, I accompanied some of them home and their packs might not have been huge, but they definitely treated all wolves with respect. Sure, omegas did mostly domesticated chores, but they were paid for it.
Not handsomely, but most definitely way more than Meg.
Meg's salary could not afford food for her fridge and there were almost ten of them there whereas the other packs, omegas lived normal affordable lives. Meaning they bought their own food, drinks and clothing. They paid their bills and sent their omega kids to school...
What was Meg being paid anyway? How about all the omegas?
A sudden realization hits me when I think back to how long Meg told me she had been saving for the stupid jacket. What the actual f*ck? She wasn't being paid at all! Pocket change? If I calculated correctly, she had to be given spare change... the kind of money that I received as a kid for snack money!
Converting to my human form, I did not even taste the metallic gamey flavour the deer meat had on my tongue as horror filled me at the beta and alpha's appalling actions. Will is usually in charge of payments but nothing gets past Soren, and he had to okay everything- so he is aware.
Almost immediately, I am attacked by a swarm of mosquitos, but it goes unnoticed until one flies inside my nostrils. Blue turns on his tapetum lucidum as if that will help me get rid of the darn insect, but I do see a huge reptile in the water lurking at me.
As if.
Blue is raging already, and he was just about to sleep. But it's not the mosquito I am failing to get out of my nose that he's raging about. Nor is it the middle-sized crocodile inching towards me when I turn to head back home.
In a fury, we take on our true beast form releasing a guttural growl. The switch from human form to werewolf was so rapid that the change in body temperature during our transformation caused the moisture in our breath to condense, creating a visible mist.
I would have thought it 'cool' had my mind not been occupied with Meg already.
It is disturbing to know what Meg and the others were facing here. I might not be able to help them all, but Meg I was undoubtedly getting out of here- whether she carried the alpha's baby or not!
A fierce unwavering sense of guardianship enters my spirit then. Never before in my life, have I felt the need to shield or defend anyone, like I do now. My jaw becomes tense, and my lips are pulled back, making my clenched teeth visible. My nostrils flare and I see red- not Meg's wolf but the state of my rage.
When had my feelings for Meg changed?