Extinguishing Wildfire
Chapter 11: Emotions

Jordan

“Hey, can I have a word before you head out?” Alpha called out to me as we stood up to leave his office. We briefly debriefed after the phone call with Alpha Larkin and were about to turn in for the night. Every day we were one step closer to meeting our goals of defeating Alpha Marek. At times, it still seemed surreal that this was my life now and that my parents were gone.

“What’s up Alpha?”

“You’re an Alpha, too, how about you just call me Kedrick from now on?” He patted my back and walked me over to the couches where he opened a mini bar and pulled out two glasses.

“Have a drink with me.” He poured what looked like whiskey, and I took the glass he offered. I wasn’t too sure I actually wanted the drink, but I didn’t want to be rude. “We’ve had a rough few weeks, so I thought it’d be good to check in with you.” I don’t know what I expected him to say, but this wasn’t it.

“I’m okay. I’m not gonna lie, life sucks right now, but we’ve been moving forward with this Wildfire thing. I also got my sisters back, so things are better than they were.” I took a drink, not really wanting to get into all of my feelings. It was one thing to talk about my parents, but I for sure wasn’t going to bring up my mate issues right now.

“Considering the circumstances, you seem to be doing well. You’re one of the most disciplined Alphas I know. Your father prepared you well. At 19, I was nowhere near where you are, but that’s probably why my father waited a few more years before handing over the pack.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t have that option. This is where I grow up…for my sisters, for my pack, for myself. No one in their right mind should ever hand over a pack to a 19-year-old kid, but I don’t have that option.” It wasn’t my intention to sound bitter, but I couldn’t keep the resentment from seeping into my words.

Alpha didn’t seem to mind as he chuckled at my words, “You’re not wrong. I know it’s not ideal. Your dad sent you to Harvest Moon with the hope he’d be able to retire soon, but he would have still been there to guide you through those first few years. I’m not your dad, and I still consider myself a young alpha, but I’ll be here for anything you need. You’re pack now, family…and no matter what happens with this war, we won’t abandon you and the others.”

I took another drink, unable to say anything with the lump in my throat. I miss my dad, and Alpha's words made me miss him even more. Alpha Kedrick was only 10 years older than me, so it would be weird to see him as a father figure, but at times, he was so similar to my dad. My dad is, or was, the best man I know. He always knew what to do, so it seems unfair that he's the one who had to lose his life in this. I would give anything to have my parents back.

“Thanks, Alpha. You’ve done a lot for us when you didn’t have to. It means a lot to me and the guys.” I stood up, ready to get out of there. I felt my eyes welling up with tears, and I’m not sure how I got those last words out without bursting into tears. I needed to get out of this office before I started ugly crying. I might have been close to Alpha Kedrick, but I wasn’t close enough to cry in his office in front of him. I know it isn’t very Alpha-like of me to cry, but I had tried to be strong for too long. I exited the office and quickly made my way upstairs and locked myself in my room.

I barely made it inside the room before I slid to the floor bawling my eyes out. I pulled out my phone and scrolled to the older pictures I had stored. The last family picture I had of us was from Jade’s 13th birthday in April. We were all so happy that day. Jade in the middle by her cake, me next to Mom, and Jasmine next to Dad. I scrolled over to the video of us singing to Jade. My mom’s voice was always the loudest as she loved to sing, and my dad looked on lovingly as he wrapped his arms around her.

I lost track of time as I sat there scrolling through my pictures. A knock sounded at the door, but I was in no mood to talk to anyone. Another knock sounded, and I sighed out in frustration. The time on my phone said it was just after 9 pm. The guys wouldn’t knock at this time if it weren’t important, so I picked myself off the floor and wiped my face. Another knock sounded, and I huffed out in frustration. Whoever it was had no patience. I pulled open the door and froze in place as I came face-to-face with none other than my mate.

“Can we talk?” She was wearing athletic clothes and looked like she’d been out for a run. Her mint scent overpowered everything, and her eyes were swollen as if she’d been crying. I stayed quiet but opened my door wider to let her inside. Neo howled from having our mate here in our private space. He wanted Aaliyah in our bed, and I was just in the right mood to let Neo take over...or maybe it was the wrong mood?

“I don’t want to talk.” I crashed my lips against Aaliyah and picked her up and put her on my bed. She kissed me back and wrapped her legs around me more tightly, but I tossed her onto the bed and ripped off the little crop top she was wearing.

“Jordan?” She gasped out my name, but instead of calming me down, her voice only made my wolf go crazy and my dick grow harder.

“If you don’t want this, there’s the door.”

“No,” She shook her head, “I want this.”

She kicked off her shoes, and my shirt and pants were discarded before helping her with the rest of her clothes. I didn’t leave room for pleasantries as I pulled her legs open and entered her in one swift motion.

The heartbreak, the anger, the pain. I took it all out on her as I continued thrusting into her with long, deep strokes. She took everything I gave her, and her soft moans spurred me on further. Neo’s howling grew louder in my head, and I was certain my eyes were the blue of Neo’s right now.

Aaliyah spread out on my bed was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Our eyes met, and I saw the soft gold of Hope’s eyes shining in place of Aaliyah’s regular brown. This wasn’t going to last long, but it didn’t matter as that wasn’t my intention when I started this. All I wanted was to stop all of these damned emotions running through my brain. To forget for just a moment and pretend life is good with just me and my mate.

My movements became faster, and Aliyah reached down to rub herself. She came hard, her loud moans pushing my orgasm forward, and I quickly pulled out, finishing on her stomach. I was worried she wouldn’t like that, but she ran her hand up through the mess I'd made on her stomach, looking me straight in the eye to make sure I noticed.

I wasn’t usually this aggressive, but she seemed to like it. “Come here.” I pulled her into my arms and wrapped her legs around me as I walked us into the bathroom. With Aaliyah still in my arms, I turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up before walking in and setting her down.

“Jordan,” She looked up at me, her eyes now her normal chocolaty brown.

“Not now,” I silenced her by putting my forefinger against her lips, and she just nodded as I pushed us further into the water. The scent of the body wash enveloped us as I poured the body wash on the loofah and started slowly washing her body. She seemed to understand my need for silence as she let me wash her. When I was finished, she wordlessly took the loofah from me and added more soap before she started washing me. We spent the rest of the shower in peaceful silence as we took care of each other. After I helped her rinse off, I pulled her into my arms and just held her as the warm water ran over our bodies.

When we finished, I wrapped Aaliyah up in a towel and carried her back to my bed. I pulled on a pair of shorts and grabbed one of my shirts for her to wear. By the look on her face, she wasn’t sure what to make of things but didn’t say anything.

I picked her up bridal style and laid her on one side of the bed while I got on the other side. She fit perfectly in my arms, and I was certain Neo and I could die happy with her in my arms. I wasn’t delusional enough to think tonight would change anything between us, but I also wasn’t strong enough to let this moment slip past me. “Sleep,” I whispered in her ear, and she relaxed more into me.

Aaliyah

That was the best sleep I have ever had. I woke up still tangled in Jordan’s arms. When I came up to Jordan’s room yesterday, I hadn't intended for the night to go the way it did. I had spent most of the day with my mom before running back to the packhouse. I intended to talk to Jordan and see what exactly he thought about us being mates and my going to school. There was no talking last night, and now I don’t know if I have the courage to talk.

‘You have to talk with him. Stop being stubborn, things don’t always have to go exactly as planned.’

‘Hope, stop. I’ll talk to him. Last night was just…’

‘Perfect? Amazing?’

‘No, stop trying to finish my sentences.’

’Please! We both know I know you better than you know yourself.”

I groaned internally, hating how right Hope was. Last night was pretty perfect. Jordan was so sweet and giving…and the sex was…good…very good. I smiled to myself as I remembered last night.

“Good morning,” Jordan whispered in my ear as he tightened his arms around me. This was the nicest way to wake up, but I knew we needed to get back to reality.

“I have to head out now.”

“We never got to talk.”

“I know…and we will. I just have to head out now. My brothers and I have breakfast with my parents on Sundays.”

I pushed off the bed and searched the room for the rest of my clothes. Jordan sat up on the edge of the bed, watching me get dressed.

“Will you still make time to talk with me, or are you going to ignore me again once you step outside of this room?”

I looked down at the floor hating how he wasn’t wrong to ask me that. “We’ll talk. How about lunch tomorrow?”

“That works,” He stood up and pulled me to his chest. “Just tell me one thing, are you gonna try to reject me again?”

My breath faltered at his question as I wasn’t prepared to answer him yet, but I know I can't avoid responding,

“No.”

His eyes traced over my face, and he softly brushed his lips over mine before opening the door and letting me go.

As luck would have it, his sister was walking down the hall toward his room as I came out. The two of us made eye contact, and I could tell Jasmine had fire in her eyes.

“I see you didn’t take our conversation yesterday morning into consideration.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and even though she was much shorter than me, that look in her eyes told me she could take me in a fight.

“It’s not what you think, maybe talk to Jordan before jumping to conclusions.”

She didn’t say anything and just brushed past me to her brother’s room. It looks like Jordan’s not the only one I have to get a second chance from.