Just protect mate

Jax’s POV

I had been feeling agitated all day, both at myself and at the people around me. I had been yelling at my pack members all day for no apparent reason, either someone was working too hard and were going to hurt themselves, or they we being lazy and weren’t working hard enough. They were interrupting me too much, they weren’t keeping me enough informed. It was safe to say the whole pack had been on edge today because of the mood I had been in.

I sighed in frustration as I tried to focus on the paperwork in front of me. I had locked myself into my home office all day until the early hours of the morning, not wanting to snap at another person for fear my anger would get out of control. I had never been like this before, this angry and out of control, I had always taken pride in being a fairly level-headed Alpha, but today something just seemed off and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I took a sip of my black coffee as I ran my other hand through my hair, refusing to give into the exhaustion that was trying to take over me, no matter how much caffeine I pumped into my system. I had been putting off doing paperwork for weeks now and it was about time I actually sat down and got some of it done, it being the perfect excuse for me locking myself away.

I had gotten about halfway through the pile of papers that needed my signature and approval when I suddenly felt someone trying to push into my head and try to get my attention. I growled slightly at the irritation, hoping to ignore whoever wanted me, but when whoever it was didn’t give up, I released my walls and growled at them, letting my frustration be known.

“This better be good”.

“I’m sorry to bother you Alpha” Henry, one of my warriors who was on patrol tonight apologised, having felt the irritation coming off me in waves even through our packs mind link ”we have a lone trespasser on the south side of our border" he explained.

I growled in frustration ”then deal with it, you have your training, use it”. Was he seriously interrupting me for a problem as simple as a single rogue trespassing on our territory? Surely something as simple as that could easily be handled without me?

"Of course Alpha, the only reason I thought it was best you knew about her is because she seems rather frightened and hurt. It also appears to be the first time she has shifted and doesn’t really know what is going on or what to do. Xavier is talking to her now but with his history with rogues and his temperament I thought it would maybe be best if you came out here yourself and assess the situation?”

I frown in confusion; how could you not know what the shift meant when we’ve been told all our lives that on our sixteenth birthday our wolf will appear. This girl that Henry was referring to intrigued me and for some reason I found myself walking out of my office and into the night air. I kept telling myself it was because she was a rogue and I just wanted an excuse to get away from my pile of paperwork, but I knew it was because it was something else. Sixteen seemed way too young for someone to become a rogue and being out there on your own at this time of night was just plain dangerous.

"I’m on my way Henry, please keep watch until I get there” I informed him as I made my way over to the south side of our border.

"Yes Alpha” he replied before shutting the mind link off.

Why did I feel so drawn into this situation? I mean it wasn’t like this is the first time we have had a rogue trespass on our land before. Why is it all of a sudden my pack, and me in particular, are drawn into helping this girl. As I got into the tree line that lined the outskirts of our small town I stopped as an amazing scent hit me and I stopped dead in my tracks. Smelling this scent felt like I had been struggling for breath all my life and I had just had my first taste of proper air, like I could finally breathe after being submerged under water all my life.

I broke out into a full sprint as I immediately recognised what this meant. Mate. I felt like I couldn’t get there quick enough, couldn’t get her in my arm fast enough. I had been waiting for my mate for years and the day had finally come when I got to hold her close to me and call her mine.

I was finally in hearing range of her and I could hear her whimpering quietly as she was surrounded by some of my warriors and my Beta, Xavier. Don’t worry baby, no one’s going to hurt you here I thought but as I heard Xavier demand her to shift, I let out an almighty howl in anger. If she shifted and if what Henry had told me earlier was true, she would be shifting into her human form with nothing to change into. She would be naked for four males to see and my wolf went crazy at the thought, not liking the idea of her being so vulnerable in front of so many people.

Before I even had a say in it or a chance to think about my options my beast was unleashed and I heard my clothes rip and tear as my black wolf materialised and sprinted towards the scene. The first born in the Alpha’s bloodline was always a black wolf, apparently it was a symbol from our Moon Goddess, to help solidify our role as future leader of the pack. It also had a hunting advantage to it, it was easier for me to blended into the dark woods, making it easy for me to hide and attack.

When I finally got to the clearing what I saw had anger pumping through my veins, mixing with the adrenaline that was already there. My mate was surrounded by three on my warriors in wolf form, one of them being Henry, and Xavier in his human form whilst she stood in the centre of the circle shaking with fear and cuts all over her body. She looked so fragile and lost in that moment I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and promise her that everything was going to be okay now that we were together.

“Shift!” Xavier demanded and I let out a ferocious growl at how he was treating his future Luna. No one spoke to my mate like that, not even my Beta.

Xavier turned to me in shock, not believing that I was defending a rogue, but I wasn’t paying him any attention. All my focus was on my mate as I watched her eyes roll into the back of her head as she passed out.

I growled and started stalking towards Xavier, determined to teach him a lesson in how he should treat his Luna, but as I took a step towards Xavier’s direction I saw from the corner of my eye my mate’s body start to twitch and contort into odd angles and I know instantly that she was shifting back into her human form.

Xavier was quickly forgotten about as I made my way over to her, making it just in time to lay my whole body over hers and hide her nakedness from the other males prying eyes. She was so tiny I could easily hide her slender form with just half of my wolf body. What had happened to my poor mate to make her this thin?

"Look away” I growled at the four of them through the mind link, no one was to even look in her direction when she was in this state.

“But Jax she’s a rogue” Xavier stated, bewildered at my odd behaviour. “Why the hell are you protecting her?” Xavier demanded, confused by my actions but I couldn’t respond, the only thing that was repeatedly going through my head was the word mate. Must protect mate.