Chapter 42

KNOX

"I'm relieved you're not mad at me." I tell her honestly.

She pulls me up by the collar of my T-shirt and stands on tiptoe before kissing me. She opens her mouth to let my tongue in and I'm finally home.

"Shall we go up to my room?" I ask her.

"I promised Jax I'd spend the night with him. He'll realize I'm gone."

She kisses me one last time before climbing the stairs and leaving me alone in the kitchen. I pour myself a glass of water just when Asher and Mom walk through the front door.

"From the smell of it, I'd say she's forgiven you." Mom says before giving me a peck on the cheek. I nod. "I knew she had the shoulders the moment I met her."

"You didn't even know who she was when you met her." I tell her before taking a sip of water.

"She knew who she was." Asher says as he looks at her. Why do I get the feeling that's a statement and not a question.

"How..."

"When I walked into that café I recognized her scent right away. When I arrived at your place, I caught the distinct scent of strawberry in the room and on Jax as I greeted him." She cuts me off.

"I can't believe it." Ash tells her, shaking his head. "You knowingly brought her here without knowing if she knew what we were."

"Of course and I don't regret it. This all had to end quickly. Nicole was starting to tell everyone that you were going to make your relationship official and I was afraid she was going to try to have a cub behind your back. You'd found your mate, she had to join the pack quickly. Without knowing it, she marked her territory."

"You went to Joe's for lunch, passed the pack house and she met some pack elders." Asher summarizes. "But that's not enough to make her a member of the pack, she's only got one foot in it but I guess you're right."

"I don't know whether to be proud or afraid of you." I tell her, frowning.

"Thanks Mom... but please don't interfere in our private life anymore. From now on we'll manage." Asher tells her.

"Yeah like you handled tonight." She responds by shaking her head. With that, she walks down the hall to her room.

Once Mom is in her bedroom, I look at Asher with a frown. "What's up? Did you talk to Nicole?"

"You were right." He tells me as he runs his hands through his hair. "She had the audacity to tell me that you and Jax should be enough for Isabella. Fuck."

"And so?" I ask him to continue as he pauses.

"I told her that even if I'd never met Isabella, I would never have made our relationship official and that I intended to end it anyway."

"Did you? You were going to end it all with her, even if Isabella wasn't part of the picture."

"Yes." He confirms me, noding his head. "I had the feeling we weren't on the same page anymore. She wanted things I didn't."

"And you think she'll leave it at that?" I ask him crossing my arms.

"She's jealous, but I can't imagine her hurting my fucking mate."

"Are you sure?" I insist, leaning toward him.

"Do you think I'd take the slightest risk if I wasn't sure?" He asks me annoyed and offended at the same time.

"That's not what I'm saying but... you've been seeing Nicole for a while so maybe your opinion is skewed."

"Fuck you, Knox. I'm more than capable of protecting my mate..."

"She's mine too!" I yell at him and we stop dead in our tracks when we hear a door upstairs.

We both look towards the stairs and a pair of bare legs appear, then the rest of Isa's body, complete with satin shorts and matching red strapless top, followed closely by Jax wearing only his boxer shorts.

"Stop arguing you two!" She tells us in an angry whisper. "Couldn't this discussion wait until tomorrow morning?" She shakes her head, placing her hands on her hips. Damn she's sexy when she's angry. She rolls her eyes and I realize all three of us had the same facial expression. "Stop looking at me like that... it's confusing me and I don't want to be confused."

"Sorry I woke you up." Asher tells her as he moves in to kiss her. She relents and I think I hear a sigh of relief come from Ash's mouth.

"I wasn't sleeping. I don't think Nicole would do anything to me. She seemed to me to be speaking in anger. She's jealous and upset and the fact that I'm a human doesn't help. She told me that the succession could end because of me if we ever had children and they were human."

You can tell the bitch has thought this through. I hadn't thought that far ahead about our future even though nothing would please me more than to have a child with her. It would be perfectly normal for us to start a family together, but I hadn't thought about the possibility that our offspring might be a human and not a werewolf.

"It doesn't matter to us. The most important thing is you and if we have human children we'll love them with all our being." Jax tells her, hugging her from behind and kissing her on her cheek.

I look at Asher out of the corner of my eye, but he remains silent. Why do I get the feeling he doesn't share Jax's opinion, and mine by extension?

Our gazes turn to our older brother, and he gives Isabella a small smile before telling her. "Of course." Just then his gaze avoids her.

Is the throne and our offspring more important to him than our mate?