Demonic Regime

Chapter 34: The Male Ego (Jax)

I shuffled my feet through the grass. I never thought I'd ever be able to do this again.

Max grabbed my arm. "Do you want to shift to human? It might be easier."

"I'm getting the hang of it. I'll be okay."

I swallowed hard and made my way to the bench in the garden. The ground was little uneven, but as long as I took it slow, I'd be able to make it. Only a couple more steps and this would have been the farthest I had walked in years. My legs started to shake, but I wasn't going to ask for help. I stumbled forward and fell onto the bench. Sitting down, I rested my head back and peered up at the sky while I caught my breath.

Max sat down beside me. "You did it." He patted my leg. "You're doing so good. It's only a matter of time before you're running around. I probably barely be able to keep up with you," he laughed.

"I doubt it, but thanks."

I leaned against his side and grabbed his hand. Max seemed a little surprised, but I caught him struggling not to smile. It was so peaceful in the garden. With a sigh, I pressed my face against his shoulder and took in a deep breath of his scent.

Max's tail was sticking out of the back of the bench and was wagging. I smiled to myself as a laugh escaped me.

"What?" He turned to me confused.

"Lately, you've..." I sucked in my lips to keep from smiling.

"What?" One of his ears fell to the side.

"For the next alpha, you can be really cute at times."

Max groaned and the cuteness was gone. He flung his head back. "It's this, right?" He snatched his tail. "Stupid thing. I got so much shit in school because of my damn tail." Folding his arms, he shook his head. "Didn't help I was in the running for the next alpha, either."

"What?" I chuckled. "It's cute. I mean it makes you less like 'I'm going to kill you' and more approachable, I guess."

He was kind of cute when he pouted as well.

Max muttered under his breath. "How are people going to respect me? No one will, let alone the leaders from other packs."

I guess this is what dominants were self-conscious about. "You're still intimidating."

His ear twitched toward me.

"When we first met I was scared of you. I mean you were this huge werewolf and I was a less than an impressive human." I wrung my hands in my lap. "I thought it was nice that you were more open with me. It's not exactly healthy to be afraid of your mate, right?" I smiled at him.

With a sigh, Max put his arm around my shoulders. "Don't mention it to anyone else, alright?"

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Good." He relaxed into his seat. "Do you want to visit your parents this weekend?"

I hugged him tightly. "Yes! Can we?"

"Yeah, I have some time. Now that you're getting better I feel okay with letting people around you."

I arched a brow. "Is this why I've been practically banished to the bedroom."

"I was worried, alright." He ran a hand down his face. "I didn't know how much you could take. Having the press over was bad enough."

"You do know I'm a werewolf too. I'm not going to keel over."

"I guess," Max breathed. "Andreas wants Clark to start coming over to do lessons again."

Groaning, I slumped over against him. "He makes my head hurt. I was enjoying not having him around."

"Clark's good at what he does. He keeps me organized, which is a full-time job right there."

"It so hard telling you all apart."

"It easier once you know people by smell."

I was still not excited about it.

"Come on, Jax." He sat me upright and nuzzled my cheek. "It's not that bad. He's just going to fill in the holes in your education and help you prepare for events. Your First Appearance will be soon."

"I thought we did all of that first crap," I groaned.

"No, your first moon is for the family. Your First Appearance is for the pack. It'll be television and the guest count will go up quite a bit, knowing my mother."

Peering off across the garden, I wasn't convinced. "After this, we're done, right? There's no first run around the block, or whatever."

Max laughed. "This is it. And if you keep improving at this rate, everyone will get to see you walk all by yourself."

"Well that will be nice," I let out a sigh. "Maybe I'll regain some of my dignity from being carried around." I fell into his side. His scent was nice. It had a calming effect on me. "Do we have to invite your dad's side of the family."

"Jax, they're family. If we didn't invite them, it would be an insult to them and Wolfsbane. My dad comes from the beta line."

I ran my hand down my muzzle. "And we both know how delicate the male dominant ego can be."

***

(Jed)

"So how does it feel to be back in your inferior form?"

"It's my only form," I stated, gazing out the car window. The shifting to human had been just as bad as changing in the first place.

"For the moment." He shifted in his seat. "I'll remind you to watch what you say. It may be a family dinner, but they are important leaders in the pack. Don't embarrass me." He rapped his claws on the armrest.

"I'm not planning on saying anything to them."

"Sounds great to me."

We rode in silence the rest of the way to wherever we were going. Axil should have just left me home. I wasn't stupid enough to run my mouth in front of his family, though. If they were anything like Axil, it wouldn't take much to set them off and toxins hurt like a bitch.

The car took us to a residential area, away from the towering buildings. We pulled up a drive and stopped outside a large home. I peered up at it. Why were werewolves so over the top?

"Let's go. We're late." Axil climbed out and held out his hand.

I went through the other door and slammed it.

Axil leaned over the car with an annoyed look on his face. "You make it so hard to trust you."

"I fully capable of opening and closing a door." I walked around the end of the vehicle.

He shook his head and grabbed my wrist. "Stay right by me. I don't need you wandering off and running your mouth. These people are not afraid to put you back in line if you step out of it."

"Well aware," I muttered as we walked up to the door. "I'm human. The omegas rank higher than me."

"That could change very easily."

"Answer is still no."

We stopped on the doorstep and Axil looked me over. "Try not to seem so miserable."

"I feel like shit." I shrugged. "If someone complains, tell them my body has been through hell twice in the same month."

Axil cursed under his breath and rubbed his forehead. "This is going to be one hell of a night."