CHAPTER 20

It had been one day since Jayla stayed with the pack, and she was already fascinated by werewolves. She took the chance to wake up early to meet other people. She lifted Max's arms away from her waist slowly, not wanting to wake him up.

But he growled and tightened his hold on her waist. She gasped as she felt like she was being suffocated in his tight hold.

"Max." She groaned, trying to take off his arms.

"What?" he grumbled huskily in her ear.

"Let me go to the bathroom," she said. He opened his eyes lazily and put open-mouthed kisses on her bare shoulders.

"Dude!" She squealed, surprised by the wet spot on her shoulders.

"I know that you don't want to fuck because you are not ready, but let me do this," he muttered as he sucked the soft spot on her neck. He threaded his fingers softly through her hair.

She turned to see him and held his cheek. He looked shocked. "I'm going to the bathroom," she said, and he nodded.

"Don't take too long!" he yelled, and she rolled her eyes, taking her sweet time in the bathroom.

"What did I say about not taking too long?" Max sat up, wide awake with a grumpy face.

"A woman needs her sweet time," Jayla said with a wink. She crouched down and picked out her outfit of the day.

Max widened his eyes as he stared at his mate's butt, licking his lips and feeling blessed. He could definitely watch her butt for hours, even days, and not get bored of it.

"Are you staring at my ass?" Jayla asked, feeling the stare.

"Yeah, I bet it's firm and soft," he said with a smirk, using his triceps to support his body on the bed.

"Why are you so bold?" she said, picking out a long-sleeved white shirt, a black skirt, and a black cropped jacket.

"Because I'm not Max if I'm not bold and straightforward," he said, picking a cigarette out of his pocket.

"Yeah, you wouldn't be Max the snitch," she chuckled.

"Fuck off, I don't snitch," he growled.

"Max is a rat and a straightforward, hurtful, show-off, and arrogant man," she said, listing his personality traits.

"I'm fucking not!" he defended himself.

"Also, I forgot something." She smirked.

"What is it?"

"You are also selfish and love to use crude words," she said, blowing a kiss at him and running out of the room while putting on her jacket.

"Jayla, come back here!" he shouted angrily.

"Oh, Cole, please don't anger the Alpha anymore," Jayla said to Cole, who was walking beside her.

"No fucking way! I'm dead," he groaned.

"Good luck." She laughed and ran into the mansion. She sighed happily and skipped, landing on Giovanni's body, who was playing video games.

"Get off, you fat cow!" he shouted and pushed her. She fell.

She huffed in annoyance, and Eleanor helped her get up with a chuckle.

"No! That's not fucking true!" Giovanni roared as he threw the controller at the wall.

"That shit is expensive, dude," Keaton stated with a cringe.

"Can I play?" Jayla asked with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, please do! This motherfucker with anger issues is always throwing his controller." Huxley said, giving her another controller.

"Just like Max," Peyton sighed deeply.

"Since I'm protecting you, my lady, don't you ever play against Max," Keaton warned her.

"It's death or life with him," Peyton continued.

"He's my mate. He won't kill me." She rolled her eyes.

"But he can hurt you. That's why I'm here to protect you," Keaton said, tapping his chest proudly.

"Thanks for adding more complications into our relationship. Don't fucking get in my way," Max whispered in his ear with a threatening tone. Keaton jumped out of fright. Everyone saluted him, except Jayla, who was confused.

"I can't believe you left me," he growled at Jayla, who smiled. He walked toward her and pressed his lips forcefully against hers.

"Oh shit!" Giovanni groaned.

"Here we go again." Keaton sighed.

Max let go of her mouth, leaving her with a flushed face.

"I'm going to meet the other Alpha. Be good," he said, patting her hair.

Jayla looked at his outfit. He was beautiful.

He wore a navy suit without a tie with a grey Rolex. A thin gold necklace was around his neck, and a large cape with a moon and a sword was on his back. She was surprised and loved his outfit.

"Keaton, you are in charge of the pack for today," Max commanded them coldly. He nodded.

"See you later, guys," he said, waving at them with Cole following him, wearing the same outfit, except the cape was shorter than Max's.

"Why are they wearing capes?" she asked Eleanor, who was sitting on Huxley's lap.

"Because other Alphas that are out there are members of the council, and every member of the council are obligated to wear a cape that shows their pack's symbol."

"Alpha Max is wearing a cape of our symbol, moon and a sword, so that's why the name of our pack is the Dark Knights," Huxley said as he caressed the cheek of his mate.

"Yeah, and since Mathis took over the Blood Stone Pack, their symbol is a red cross with a snake around it," Keaton said.

"But Mathis went out of the country, so who is replacing him?"

"Queen Mia is going to that meeting with Beta Ach while Beta Lydia, Ach's mate, and Jake will take control of the pack when Mathis or Alpha Blaze isn't available," Peyton said as if he knew the laws about another pack.

"Dude, how the fuck do you know so much about my pack?" Keaton asked with a surprised face.

"My dad is a lawyer," he said.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you who we are in the pack!" Eleanor exclaimed as she got off Huxley's lap and sat down next to Jayla.

"I'm the daughter of the pack doctor, so I'm going to be a doctor," she said, passing a hand in front of her face.

"I'm the gamma's son. When I'm 17, I can finally be a gamma," Huxley said briefly.

"Since I'm the Alpha son, I'm basically the beta because I'm younger than Max," Giovanni said when it was his turn.

"You already know me, my lady. My father is the punisher and the third-in-command of his pack," Keaton said with a smirk. "And Marco, who isn't here because he's the guard of Max, is the son of the head warrior, but now the head warrior is his cousin since his dad retired," Eleanor added.

"That's so cool." She clapped her hands happily.

"Also, we can only inherit our assigned job at the age of 17, so Huxley, Peyton, Giovanni, and I are just normal pack members," she continued and went back to Huxley.

"Let's leave those lovebirds alone," Peyton said as he gave her the controller, and they started to play Call of Duty.

"I'm going to kill you! How the fuck did you do that?" Peyton yelled as she finished killing his members. She sighed in content and held out her hand.

"Pay up, buddy," she said with a smirk. Peyton glared at her and gave her the amount that he owed.

He shouldn't bet money with her.

"How did you learn to play like that, my lady?" Keaton asked, who was obsessed with the way she was playing.

"Well, when you are surrounded by a brother who is a gamer, you sure learn a lot of things."

"Darby? Man, that guy is so damn good at every game!" he said, huffing with exasperation.

"I know, right. What do you want to eat, guys?" she said, standing up.

"You don't need to cook. There are maids here and a chef," Eleanor said, and Jayla rolled her eyes.

"Rich kids," she muttered quietly.

"Heard that," everyone replied to her.

"Damn, guys! Anyway, since I'm not a rich kid, I will make my own food." She sighed.

"I'll help you; I love making food!" Peyton said in happiness, and they both walked to the kitchen. She took out a bowl and the ingredients to prepare a roast with salad and a dessert to accompany it.

"Since you are my partner, I want you to defrost the chicken that is in the fridge," Jayla ordered Peyton, who nodded like a soldier.

Jayla was good at making food since her mother was barely there since she worked all the time. Her town was small, which meant there were few nurses, not enough for 10,000 people.

So, when her parents weren't there, Darby and Jayla were always trying out new things from new cultures, so that's how she was basically an international chef.

The best food that she made was Indian curry.

"I hope you know what you are doing," Peyton stated with uncertainty.

"Get the fuck out of the kitchen if you are still doubting my talents," she sassed, flipping her hair.

"Alright, Luna," he mocked and did what he had to do while Jayla started to prepare the mixing.

"I have a question, Jayla," he said as he took out the chicken.

"Sure," she replied.

"How are you so comfortable around us even though you know that we are werewolves?"

She stopped what she was doing. She put down the bowl and softly slammed her hands on the counter, sighing deeply.

"If you can't answer that, it's okay! I don't mind! Really! I just wanted to know. Me and my damn curiosity—"

"I honestly don't have any idea," she said, interrupting his random rant. He breathed for a moment and looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?"

She didn't know how on earth she felt comfortable around them.

Humans would probably get scared and run away from them, just for the sake of their lives, but Jayla didn't run from them and also didn't want to hurt them. She accepted the way Max was because it didn't matter to her.

"Human mates aren't supposed to feel that intense when they meet their werewolf mate?" She ignored his last question by asking another one.

"Not really. Werewolves who find their mates who are humans tend to be dangerous because humans get scared of them and reject them, leaving them with a second chance mate for which they won't feel the raw feelings. It's a surprise that you didn't reject him. It might be the first time that's happened in our werewolf generation, so I must say congratulations." He chuckled as he watched the chicken.

"I don't understand," she said, confused.

"Same, but one thing I got to say is that we are going to have a strong human Luna. Show them what you got," he said, encouraging her. She chuckled and slapped his shoulders playfully, earning a fake whine from him.

"Seriously, you literally are going to be the first human Luna, so that's why we have to protect you," he said with a small smile on his face.

Jayla smiled as well when she saw his smile. She still didn't know why she felt comfortable with them. But she found a second family where she could act like herself and not like a fake person.

She was happy, and that was all that mattered.

Meanwhile, at the Council meeting:

Max was sitting next to Alpha Blaze, who was sitting on the throne with Mia beside and Ach behind them. Cole was also standing behind Max. Clay saluted the members who were Alphas.

"15 Alphas in one room. Get ready," Ach said with amusement.

"Please, Max. I'm begging you. Don't you dare throw the table again!" Cole begged Max, who waved him off.

"He's right, your Guardian. Don't let your anger control you!" Blaze warned beside him. Max rolled his eyes in annoyance and met with the other Alphas.

All he wanted was to go where his mate was and cuddle with her, plus give her a lot of kisses.

He just wanted to be with her.