Demonic Regime

Chapter 37: Shifting Dynamic (Jed)

"So you disobeyed me?"

"He's sick."

"Since when did toxins not make someone sick?"

"Jed is seriously ill. He's losing weight, won't eat anything. He's human, Judah. They can only take so much. Lower ranks have died from less."

"You're just going to give up then?"

"No, my mark is already there. To me, Jed is already my mate."

"That boy will never agree. This is how it has to be done. We've already made some progress with him, so if we stop now, we'll have to start all over."

"I'll figure it out."

"The pack is depending on you to produce an heir."

"I will."

"Not at this rate! I'm with the patriarch. Mate him."

"I'm not a rapist. Doing that will only confirm to him we're animals. He's my mate. I want to do this my way."

"I'll give you a month. If you're not mated by then, I'm stepping in. I'm not putting the pack's future at risk because you can't control a human."

A door slammed. I shifted on the bed and pulled the covers further up. A red hair was sticking to the pillow. I picked it off. It was darker than my hair. Never, I'd never do it.

Light filled the room.

"Jed? Are you awake?"

"What?"

He turned on the lights.

Groaning, I covered my eyes. "Goddammit, Axil."

He sat on the end of the bed. "Are you hungry?"

"Depends, is Judah going to stick me again?"

"The alpha left." He leaned back on his arms. "Did you hear us?"

I was quiet for a moment. "Was Judah mad that you healed me?"

"Yep." His ear flicked to the side. "Not as mad as our grandpa is going to be." He let out a sharp breath. "The beta failing to handle a human, comical."

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't break when the alpha tried either."

Axil laughed to himself. "I guess, just don't mention that to him."

"I wasn't going to. He'd just stab me again."

He fell back on the bed. "Can't you just agree to be my mate?"

"You know the answer."

He sighed. "Yeah, I do. I'll bring you something to eat. We better keep your strength up so you can keep telling me no."

I rolled over and tugged on the blankets. "Glad to see you understand."

***

(Jax)

"So here's the guest list." Alice handed her tablet to her son. "Go through it, but don't you dare cross anyone off without checking with me. Got it?"

"Wasn't going to." He started scrolling through the names.

"Everything's coming together. I finalized the catering this morning. The invitations should go out tomorrow." Alice looked at me. "Is there anyone besides your family that you'd like to invite?"

I shrugged. "I don't know anyone else."

"No one from back home?"

I shook my head. "No. My mother was always worried about my health, so we never had any visitors."