Greykin Valley

| 74 | An Impending Choice

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| Jackson |

Nobody said anything as the pack followed Cyrus and his wolves through the sunlit forest. Jackson kept his eyes forward because he knew that if he caught a glimpse of Damon's face, he'd cave and let him try to explain why he was right to attack Wilson. He could also feel the stares of his packmates, and Julian glanced at him every minute or so, but he didn't want to talk to any of them; he just wanted to get this done with so that they could get to the lab and finish what they'd come out here to do in the first place.

"Hey," came Tokala's hushed voice. "You okay?"

Jackson turned his head and looked at the orange wolf, who'd caught up and was walking beside him. "Yeah," he lied. He didn't want to talk about it.

"What happened back there...I'm sure it was kinda scary, and—"

"I really don't wanna talk about it," he interjected, cutting Tokala off.

The orange wolf frowned hesitantly. "Look, there's still a lot that you don't know about wolf walkers and the way we do things; the chief had every right to go for Wilson the way he did. There are very firm rules among all lycans when it comes to someone's mate, and if Alpha Damon so much as heard a rumour that Wilson was planning on doing what he did, he'd have the right to defend your bond. You don't ever try something with a lycan who's already mated; it's literally the most disgusting thing a lycan can do."

Jackson sighed heavily. He didn't know what to say. What Wilson did was wrong in so many ways, but as upset as Jackson was, he didn't want to see his friend hurt...or worse. However, he was over wishing that Damon and Wilson could get on—that would never happen, especially not now. And knowing that he was likely going to have to choose between the man he loved and his childhood friend broke his aching heart.

"I'll leave you alone, but first...I should warn you about what's going to happen once we're done with Kane," Tokala said quietly. "You're going to have to choose between Alpha Damon and Wilson; there's no way in hell Wilson's going to be allowed to stay around—he'd be a goddamn idiot to even try. The chief is going to exercise his right to kill him, and if you don't want that to happen...you're going to have to stop him."

With a horrified frown, Jackson shifted his sights to the orange wolf. "Stop him how?"

"Convince him. Make a case. Just try to persuade him to exile Wilson instead of killing him. That's the only way your muto friend gets to live." Tokala then left his side and returned to Wesley.

Jackson's heart broke a little more. He tried to focus on the forest around him as he followed Cyrus' pack, but he couldn't. Tokala was right. If he didn't do something, Damon was going to kill Wilson. He scowled despondently and tensed a little as frustration surged through him. He'd come all the way to Ascela to find Wilson, and after everything he'd been through, he didn't want to lose him again, least of all be the one to tell him to leave.

But he couldn't have both, could he? It was either new a life with the man he loved—his mate—or back to his old life with the friend who'd been there for him for fifteen years. Picking Damon would make him the biggest asshole of the century, wouldn't it?

Would it? He loved Damon. Against all the odds in this dangerous, horrifying tundra, he'd found the man he was supposed to spend his life with. He found someone who protected him, someone who didn't treat him like a freak or unwanted garbage—someone who saved his life, and someone who he'd die for.

He'd die for Wilson, too, though. He did love Wilson—of course he did—but not in the way Wilson wanted him to. Wilson was like a brother, and that was all he'd ever be. Jackson wished he could have his mate and his best friend, but if he really did have to choose...it would be Damon, wouldn't it?