Ch. 2

Jeremy POV

After showing her to her room, I went back to the study with Antonio. He sat down in one of the chairs closest to my desk. He spoke first.

"She looks like she's been through hell and back. I can't believe that Jacob killed Martin." Stated Antonio.

"Jacob is excommunicated. He is no longer welcome as a pack member after that and what he's done to her." I said quietly but angrily.

"Jer, is something wrong?" questioned Antonio. After being Jeremy's best friend for years, he knew when something was up with him.

I clenched my fists on my desk and drew in a long breath.

"There's something about her that makes the wolf in me go crazy. As I hugged her tonight, I felt this pang in my chest. Her scent felt as if it was always familiar. As she told us what had happened, I felt rage. Like a rage I've never felt before." I said.

"Could she be your mate?" questioned Antonio. "It could explain why you're feeling this way."

I stroked my beard on my chin, pondering. Could it be? I had only met her tonight and to feel this way already could explain it.

"How would I tell her that, Tonio? She would think I'm crazy if I came out and told her that she's my mate upfront." I said.

"I'd give it time and develop a good relationship with her if you ask me. Give her a chance to recover from her ordeal and to not feel blindsided by this." Said Antonio.

"Another thing, Tonio, is that she's way younger than me. She's in her upper twenties. I'm in my late forties." I stated.

"I don't think age is a discretion when it comes to wolf mates, Jer." Stated Antonio. "When she wakes up, we should help her unload her things and maybe help her figure out some permanent fencing for the two horses. I don't think it'd be all that bad having them here. At least we won't have to mow the lawn as much." He chuckled.

I chuckled with him. My thoughts kept going back to her. How dare her brother hurt her the way he did. How dare he put her through the hell he did. I vowed from this day forth that no one would hurt her like that ever again.

Jess POV

I woke up around ten in the morning. The smell of pancakes hit my nose. The light showed through the window in my room. For the first time in so long, I felt at peace. I showered and got dressed. I put on some bootcut jeans and a simple black t-shirt then headed downstairs. As I walked into the kitchen, I seen Jeremy sitting at the head of the table sipping on some coffee while Antonio was flipping the last of the pancakes he was making. My mouth began to water at the smell of them.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty!" said Antonio. "Ready for a good breakfast?"

"Oh, for sure. It's been so long since I've enjoyed a hot, peaceful meal." I said.

Jeremy motioned for me to sit on his left side and poured me some coffee. I noticed my coffee creamer on the table in front of me. Jeremy smiled.

"I took the liberty of making sure any of the things in the fridge inside the trailer were brought in the house for you. I hope I did not overstep with that." He said.

"Of course not. Thank you, Alpha."

"Just call me Jeremy, Jess. You don't have to address me as Alpha." Smiled Jeremy as he motioned for me to start piling some food on my plate. I grabbed a few pancakes and few sausages and put them on my plate. Just as I put them on my plate, a young, tall man came through the door.

"Well, hello there. And who might you be?" said the young man.

"I'm Jess. Jess Eastin. Nice to meet you. And you are?"

"I'm Nick. Antonio is my dad." Said Nick.

"And you best behave Nicki. She's a new resident here in Stonehaven." Said Antonio.

Nick smiled and began to fill his plate with food. After everyone had filled their plates and Antonio had finally sat, Nick, Antonio, and I looked to Jeremy and waited for him to take the first bite. It was the same as it was when I had eaten family meals with my family when Dad was alive. Dad always took the first bite. It was the same with Jeremy. It was a sign of respect for the Alpha, and it was an innate rule ingrained in us that the Alpha always had the first bite of the meal. After the meal, I met with Jeremy and Antonio in the study to discuss what we needed to accomplish for the day.

After we unloaded my things and brought them upstairs to my room, Jeremy offered to take me to town to pick up some things I needed and pick up some more permanent fencing for the horses. Jeremy also showed me around Bear Valley.

"Why is Jacob targeting you?" asked Jeremy as he drove.

"Jacob has always had some sort of vendetta against me. Even Dad tried to figure out what he had against me but never could figure it out. I didn't do anything to him. As a kid, he would be mentally and emotionally abusive. As I got older, he escalated to physical violence towards me. When I was six and he was sixteen and after he had his first change, he attacked me and bit me. I'm amazed that I survived the change at that age." I told Jeremy.

Jeremy looked at me with a sad gaze. I looked down out the window.

"He took so much from me, Jeremy. I didn't let him win entirely. Before all this, I did go to nursing school after I graduated and have worked as a nurse and as a paramedic for quite some time. Even had a successful career barrel racing too. I took short travel nurse and medic contracts while on the run from him." I told him.

Jeremy placed his hand on my arm and gave a gentle squeeze.

"You won't ever have to worry about that ever again. If you want to continue your career, I and the pack are here to support you. I hope your brother isn't foolish and tries to come after you here in pack territory." Said Jeremy.

"You would kill him?" I asked.

"Only if he comes near you or threatens us. He's been excommunicated from the pack and has been notified of it. He didn't take to lightly to that. He was warned if he comes near you, that he would be killed on sight." Said Jeremy.

"Thank you. You really don't have to go through all this trouble for me." I told him.

"You're one of the pack. It's my job to keep you safe as you are one of my pack members." Stated Jeremy.

He patted my arm and moved his hand back to the steering wheel. Jeremy showed me where everything was in Bear Valley. We headed back home and started working on the fence. After we finished the fence, it was time for dinner. Jeremy ate quickly and headed up to his workspace to finish up a piece of work that he had been working on. Antonio, Nick, and I were still working on our meal.

"How was your tour of Bear Valley with Jeremy?" asked Antonio.

"It was good. He showed me all the places I need to know about and we picked up the fencing for the horses. He even helped me put up the fencing this afternoon too. I'm really thankful to be here." I told the two.

"How long will you two be here?" I asked

"At least until the end of the week or next week. Clay is teaching in Toronto until the end of the month then he'll be back for the summer. At least you'll have the chance to prepare yourself for meeting him. He can be a bit of a handful, especially when he doesn't know you." Said Antonio. I looked at him with worry.

"Don't worry. Jeremy will let him know about you before he comes home. It'll be fine." He assured me.

I finished my meal and headed upstairs. As I was walking down the hall, the door to Jeremy's workspace opened and Jeremy stepped out. Without realizing it, I walked right into his chest. Startled and almost falling backwards, Jeremy caught me. Our eyes locked and we stared at each other for a minute. After a minute, we both realized that we were staring at each other and Jeremy had helped me to my feet.

"I'm so sorry about that. I need to pay attention to where I'm going." I said shyly.

"It's alright. Do you need anything for the night?" asked Jeremy.

"I should be okay. Thank you though." I said. I turned to my room. As I went into my room, Jeremy went into his room which was just down the hall from mine.

As I tried to sleep, the day of my dad's death plagued my dreams. The encounters that I had with my brother after I went on the run. I tossed and turned in bed. I had broken into a cold sweat. My dreams went to the moment that Jacob lunged at me as a wolf. I yelled out and began to cry. As I sat up, I looked to my left and Jeremy was sitting on the side of my bed. Without any word, Jeremy pulled me into his arms and I cried. As I cried into his chest, he pulled me around so that his back was against the headboard and held me in his lap. Even though I had just met our Alpha yesterday morning, I felt safe in his arms and fell asleep.

Jeremy POV

I laid in my bed unable to sleep. I could hear her tossing and turning. I suddenly heard her say in her sleep, "No, Jacob why did you do it.". With that, I crawled out of bed and went to her room. She was still restlessly sleeping when I entered. I sat on the side of the bed and put my hand on her arm. Suddenly she jolted up and began to cry. I couldn't stand seeing her like this. It pained both me and my inner wolf to see her in such distress. Without a word, I pulled her to my chest and gave her that safe space to cry and let it out. I gently moved her with me so I could put my back against the backboard and pulled her into my lap. Even though she just arrived yesterday, she needed this comfort. After a short time, she had fallen asleep. As she slept, I stroked her back and laid my head on hers. Every feeling possible went through me. Anger, rage, hurt, guilt, sadness, and fear went through my mind. Never had I felt so close to being out of control of my emotions. I could have left her for the night, but I did not want to chance her waking up and going through the same ordeal again. I fell asleep with her in my arms. It had never felt any more right than this. I began to wonder if Antonio was really right. Was she my mate? Was it really a thing?

I woke up before her. Gently, I laid her down and covered her with the sheets. I went to my room to shower and change clothes. I headed downstairs and seen that Antonio was up and reading the paper at the table with a cup of coffee.

"How was last night?" He asked, pouring me a cup and pushing it towards me as I sat.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You ended up spending the night with her, Jer. I heard her too and I heard you get out of bed as well. She calmed after you went in to comfort her." Said Antonio.

"I didn't intend to spend the night in bed with her, but I couldn't leave her in the state she was. It felt like someone was stabbing me with a thousand needles to see her like that. I hope she doesn't feel that I want more from her so quickly. I would never do that to her. I'm not like my father." I told him.

"You are nothing like Malcolm, Jer. You would never do the things that he would have done already if he was in your place. I really do think she is your mate, Jer. Why else would you feel this way if she wasn't?" Said Antonio.

"That's a good point." I replied. "So, what is the plan for helping protect her against Jacob?"

"I had a couple plans, but I don't know how either of you would take them though." He said.

"What are they, Tonio?" I asked.

"Well, for one, we should at least get her last name changed. Maybe have you both legally marry and she uses the Danvers name instead of Eastin? I think it would be easier to pass her off as your wife than it would be to pass her off as a niece or cousin as we have for most of the pack. The other option would change her last name to Sorentino, but she does not resemble any of my family. At least with a name change it would give her more protection in a sense. Maybe if Jacob knows that you're not only the Alpha but also her husband, that would be just enough to keep him at bay and keep him away from her?" said Antonio.

"That could work. We would have to do it at the courthouse wouldn't we? I'll gladly marry her and give her my last name if it means protecting her. I will not force her to act on a marriage unless she chooses to." I said.

"Of course, you two wouldn't have to share a room or anything that marriage entails unless you guys decide to. But you two will have to kiss at the courthouse and act in love to make it believable. If you guys don't, that could raise suspicion." Antonio told me.

"True. But how to explain this to her is the next question." I said, folding my arms on my chest.

"I think she would take it well knowing that it's in the interest of protecting her and not because you want to have an excuse to marry her. If she says yes, we'll need to get rings fitted for you both and get a dress for her. I'd say at home, you two wouldn't have to wear them but if you guys are in public, you will need to wear them so there are no questions." Said Antonio.

"How do you come up with these elaborate plans, Tonio?" I asked. "I wouldn't have even came up with this."

"Lots of practice, old friend. Lots of practice." Antonio chuckled and took a sip of his coffee.

She was coming down the stairs and I heard her walking down the hall to the kitchen. She looked tired but rested.

"Good morning. Come, sit. We have coffee ready." I told her with a smile.

She came to sit in the spot next to me and I went to the fridge to grab her coffee creamer. She went and poured in her creamer and began to sip her coffee.

"You sure like your creamer." Chuckled Antonio.

"If I'm drinking black coffee, you better run as that usually means my day has been shit." She smirked as she took a sip. "When I worked on the ambulance for twenty-four plus hours or work a rough shift at the hospital, that would be the case sometimes."

"Jeremy was telling me that you had worked as a nurse and medic. That would be super helpful to the pack. Jeremy has been our stand in as the pack medic for a long time. Hey, Jer, maybe you could learn a thing or two from her." Said Antonio as he nudged me in the side.

"I would love that. I'm sure you were and still are an amazing nurse and medic. If something comes up that would require medical attention, you may take the lead on it." I told her. She smiled at me and continued sipping on her coffee. We all ate a small breakfast together.

"Hey Jess. I think we should discuss figuring out the best way to protect you from Jacob. I brought up a couple of scenarios to Jeremy before you came downstairs. The first one is to have you and Jeremy legally marry, so then we legally change your last name to Danvers rather than Eastin. Maybe if Jacob sees your last name as Danvers instead of Eastin and knows Jeremy isn't only just the Alpha but also your husband that it could keep him at bay? I feel that he may not be the brightest one out there, but he would leave you alone knowing that. The other one is to have your name changed to Sorentino, but we already have so many "cousins" that it might not make that as believable." Antonio explained.

"So, Jeremy and I would get married to help conceal my name and make it harder for Jacob to find me but even when he does find me, he would be too scared to approach me because Jeremy has a dual purpose in my life? It sounds insane but if it means he'll fuck off, I'm down. Where do we start?" she said.

My jaw dropped and Antonio looked just as shocked as me. She didn't even question it.

"Are you sure, Jess. You do know we will have to pretend to be married in public and go to the courthouse to make it as real as possible to keep anyone from questioning anything?" I asked her, still shocked.

"I think we could pull it off, Jeremy. With good acting, anything's possible." She told me.

"So, both of you are good with this plan then?" asked Antonio.

"Yes." Jess and I said simultaneously.

"Okay. The first order of business is to get rings fitted for you both and secure a wedding dress for Jess. Nick has a professional camera and could take some photos of you two together for that and even just some "engagement" photos just so we make it as realistic as possible." Antonio smiled at both of us. "You two start discussing how you want to execute this and figure out when you two will go out and pick out rings."

Antonio got up and went to work on everything straight away. Jess and I looked at each other and started laughing.

"That was the most insane but brilliant plan I've ever heard of!" Jess said. "Come to Stonehaven and get married within a week!"

She was laughing. It was so good to see her laugh and not be distressed like last night. She looked happy. Even if it was a "fake" marriage, if it made her happy, I was happy. We discussed going out to find us rings and what our expectations were when out in public and at home. Jess and Antonio discussed a time to go find a dress. Never had I planned on "marrying" but nonetheless, I'm glad it was her over all others. If her being my mate was true, hopefully one day we would won't have to pretend.