Forced Mate

16: The Pied Piper

"Everyone clear out! Get into position. Make sure to be close enough to reach Isabelle if there's trouble, but far enough away that Hayes can't sense you. Remember, Mistletoe isn't as trained as Moonlight is, so his senses probably won't be as sharp. Jason will get everything organized," Jaxon shoots Jason a severe look from the corner of his eye and Jason inclines his head forward before spinning around on one toe and exiting after the rest of the warriors.

I linger in my chair for only a moment as Jaxon settles his palms flat against the desk and drops his head. Slowly, I rise from my seat and start for the door, aiming to give him some privacy.

"Where do you think you're going?" His voice is coarse and low, but loud and domineering enough for me to hear it.

"I was going to give you a moment alone," I state, whirling back around to meet his icy blue eyes. They're harder than I expected them to be, but there's something else encapsulated in those blue orbs—worry.

"Oh no," He shakes his head and rises to his full height, "you're not leaving my side up to this meeting and immediately after." He motions me toward him with a two-finger wave and I wake up my limbs to heed his command.

When I stop, only the corner of his desk separates us and he exhales deeply, seemingly looking upon me with disappointment.

"What did I do?" I question, absent-mindedly running my finger down the grooves in the side of the desk.

"What did you do?" He hisses my question back to me like it's a curse on his tongue. "What did you do? Your plan is completely idiotic and out of line. Not to mention, it's dangerous. Do you even know what Hayes is capable of?" He lectures me, his voice rising in volume.

Befuddlement envelops me and I furrow my brow, "You just told your warriors he's weak."

"Physically, yes. But in strategy and magic, well, he's the best Alpha in the South—maybe even the entire country— when it comes to that. We've lost so much to Mistletoe under Hayes. I've lost so much," Jaxon's expression turns pained for a brief second. However, it's as if he realizes he's showing weakness and he masks it with a frown. "Do you even know how old Hayes is?"

"I don't know, twenty-seven?" I shrug, unsure at this line of questioning.

"Try four-hundred," Jaxon enunciates and I stumble back a step. "He used his magic to suspend his aging as well as some of the other members of his pack. So physically, we can beat him. But he's had four-hundred years to perfect his spells and strategy. He also has had that many years to pinpoint Moonlight's weaknesses and use them against every Alpha in the Moonlight succession."

"You seemed to be getting along fine, before this and my encounter with him in the woods. I mean, didn't he lend you something so I wouldn't die during my induction?"

"It appears he's only cooperative when you are involved. And I want to know why."

Silence settles between us and I finally lift my gaze to his again to find him watching me intently. "Are you asking me?" I wonder aloud. "Because I have no idea."

"When you first met Hayes, what were you doing?"

Uh-oh.

"Does it matter?" Sweat rises over the back of my neck as my heart rate shoots up. I can't tell Jaxon—he'll be furious. He may even kill me out of spite.

He will not kill you, stop being melodramatic, My wolf breaks into my thoughts and I jump at her sudden presence.

"I wouldn't ask if it didn't. Why are you so reluctant to tell? Don't tell me it was some sort of clandestine meeting between lovers?" His words hit my skin like acid and I recoil even further away from him.