The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)

Chapter 11 (Jace)

Taylor and I searched the entire packhouse and even went back outside to search the pack lands. She’s caught the

scent of her mate multiple times, but nothing that has led her to him. The longer we’ve searched, the more

concerned that I’ve become. There are several people that come and go in this pack, such as Jaxon and

Evangeline, but there is one in particular that is standing out to me.

I leave a disappointed Taylor in her room and go to find Jordan. I follow her scent to her office and knock.

“Hey Jace, come in,” she says, barely looking up at me.

I close the door, not sure what’s up with Jordan but knowing I need to prepare her for the possibility that is rolling

around in my head.

“How was your time with Taylor?” she asks, and I can hear the hurt in her voice. So that’s what’s going on.

I pull a chair up to her desk and sit in front of her, waiting for her to look at me. I watch as she clenches her teeth

together, sets her pen down, and then finally looks up at me.

“She smelled her mate. I was trying to help her find him.”

I watch the flash of happiness in her eyes. “That’s great! I mean… isn’t it?” she asks, frowning, watching me closely.

“Yes and no. And before you start thinking this is about my feelings for her, it’s not. I’m glad she found her mate, or

at least, smelled him.”

Jordan leans back in her chair. “But you didn’t find him, so what? He’s someone that has been in the pack recently

and left? Or maybe someone who came in for a delivery?”

“Not a delivery, his scent was all over the packhouse,” I tell her, and she leans forward again, looking down at her

papers, shuffling them around.

“Who’s been in and out recently. We could narrow it down for her,” she says, and I reach out, putting my hand over

hers. “Jordan.”

She stops, looking up at me. “What?”

I look at her a long moment.

“There’s a real possibility that her mate is Nolan,” I say, watching her closely.

She frowns. “No, she’s met Nolan. She must have during the training for the Contest.”

“She didn’t. Remember, even Nolan said he’s never met her. Jordan, I took her everywhere except the Alpha floor

since your family is staying there. Nolan has been in and out of this packhouse for months. His scent would be

everywhere.”

I pull my hand away from hers and she sits back in her chair again, thinking through what I’ve said.

“Does she know?” she asks me. “No. I didn’t say anything, not only because I’m not sure, but also, you’re my Alpha

and my mate and while I know you haven’t accepted that, it still means something to me. I also know….” I grit my

teeth but force myself to continue.

“I also know that you have feelings for Nolan. If he is Taylor’s mate, this could turn into a big f*uc*king mess,

Jordan. We have rogues hell bent on getting to one of you. We can’t afford to have the packs at odds. We can’t

afford to fight against each other. So, I came to warn you, to let you know so you could be prepared.”

She looks up at me. “Prepared? Prepared for another man in my life to choose my cousin over me? Is that what

you’re saying?”

“No, Jordan,” I snarl. “That is NOT what I’m saying. I screwed up, I own that. But

I haven’t chosen her over you. I’ve chosen you. I’m trying to prove that to you. I just…l don’t know what will happen

once she realizes that you’ve been in a relationship with her mate or what Nolan’s reaction will be to finding his

mate. He’s been pretty clear about wanting to take you as a mate, Jordan.”

“Well, I can tell you how she’ll feel about someone else being with her mate. I understand THAT feeling very well.”

I grit my teeth, knowing I deserve whatever venom she spews at me. But, in true Jordan fashion, she reins herself

in.

“Nolan will be back in a couple of days. Taylor should still be here when he arrives. We’ll deal with it then.” She

scrubs her face with her hands.

“Until then, I have other things to deal with.”

I watch her a moment, making up my mind. When she looks up at me, she has her arrogant Alpha face firmly in

place. “Was there something else?”

I stand, walking around her desk. She turns her chair looking up at me. “Hit me, Jordan.”

She frowns at me. “What?”

“Hit me. Other than rejecting me, you’ve never lashed out at me for what I did to you. You’ve never allowed

yourself to grieve, to be angry. You tuck it inside; you bury it deep. Stand up and hit me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jace.”

I lean over, my hands on the arms of her chair, caging her in. “I’m not the one being ridiculous, Jordan. I just

watched every possibly emotion fly across your face in the matter often minutes, anger, hurt, jealousy, sorrow,

pain, and countless others. So, stand up and hit me. You know you want to.”

She stands so quickly her chair goes flying backwards, hitting the wall, and she gets in my face. I hope she hits me,

I really do, but right now, seeing the fire in her eyes, her Alpha aura pushing out against me, she’s so f*uc*king hot I

can barely keep my hands off of her.

“You don’t know anything about me,” she snarls.

I lean down, my nose nearly t*ouching hers. “I know everything about you, Jordan Stern. I know you’re the

strongest Alpha out there, not because you have to be, which you do, but because you care about everyone around

you more than yourself. I know that you feel things so deeply that you sometimes cry in your room in the middle of

the night when you think no one can hear you. I know that you feel betrayed by Carter for wanting to leave this

pack. I know that most days, you go hungry because you don’t make time for yourself to eat because you’re too

busy taking care of others. I know that you are jealous of your siblings for the love that they have with their mates. I

know that you’re angry and hurt because I didn’t give you the same thing that they have. I know that you hold

those emotions in tight, forcing yourself to ignore your own feelings so you can be a better Alpha, so you can take

care of this pack. All of those emotions are coiled deep inside you, Jordan. Let them out. Hit me.”

She shakes her head at me, but I see the tears in her eyes.

“Hit me, Jordan,” I say softly.

She makes a fist and gently taps it on my chest, looking at her fist then looking back up at me. “I don’t want to hit

you, Jace,” she says as a tear rolls down her cheek.

I reach up, wiping it away. “It would make you feel better.”

“I don’t think it would,” she says, leaning her forehead against my chest. I wrap my arms around her, leaning down

to k*iss the top of her head. “How about you spar with me later, hmmm? Then you can hit me and it’s all in the

name of training?” I say and I get the chuckle I was hoping for.

She pulls back, looking up at me. “Do you know what I hate most about you?”

My throat tightens, but I force myself to respond.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“That I don’t hate you at all.