When The Moon Calls You Home

CHAPTER 2

**10 YEARS LATER**

My bedroom has changed slightly over the years, but that’s to be expected. And as I am standing in the bathroom brushing my long blonde hair, getting ready for school I hear something bumping around in the hallway outside my bedroom.

I heard a lot of yelling and commotion coming with it as well, so I walked through my bedroom and I stood at my open doorway to see Jax and Jesse getting into it once again in the hallway.

Jesse was attacking Jax and he was trying to take him down, but Jax always got the upper hand on Jesse. He managed to knock him down every chance he got.

Jesse was getting so frustrated that he was becoming more unpredictable and I was leaning against the doorframe knowing that he was going to get his ass kicked in a minute.

As soon as he got like that, he always acted before thinking. Not being able to win in any fight. That’s been proven during training on so many different occasions.

Alpha Joseph finally comes running down the hallway to separate them and he grabs Jesse by the scruff of his shirt and he drags him down the hallway past my bedroom and down the stairs.

“Are you alright?” I asked as Jax walked towards my bedroom.

“Yeah. Just Jesse being an asshole.” Jax said.

“What’s new? What was his problem this morning?” I asked.

“I don’t know. He just started in on me and I lost my temper.” He said.

“Well, he must have said something for you to lose your temper. You never feed into his bullshit for no reason.” I said.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s over.” He said.

I knew that he wasn’t telling me something. And I wasn’t actually sure if I wanted to know what it was or not. But I decided not to push the issue. It was always best just to let it be otherwise Jax starts to get really annoyed for some reason. But it’s only sometimes when he gets annoyed. I never understood that.

Sometimes, he didn’t care at all. Other times, he cared a lot. So it was obviously something that Jesse knew struck a nerve with Jax.

But that was beside the point, it wasn’t my concern. If Jax wanted me to know then he would tell me.

“Are you almost ready?” Jax asked.

“Yeah. Just finishing up.” I said.

“Alright. Grab yourself. We’ll go and have breakfast in town.” He said.

“Sure.” I said.

So I finished getting ready and I grabbed my school bag while Jax was leaning against my doorframe.

The moment I began walking toward him, he reached out his hand. I slipped mine into his, and together we glided down the hallway, our steps in quiet harmony, and then descended the stairs to the foyer, feeling the world narrow to just the two of us.

Jax let his mother know that we were going out for breakfast and she understood after seeing Jesse’s behavior and we left the packhouse.

As soon as we walked outside the house we got in Jax’s brand new top of the line Honda Civic that he chose for his 18th birthday with a sports mode, of course, and we started driving into town.

As soon as we got to the diner we walked in and sat down and the waitress came over and took our order.

Jax never let go of my hand as we sat there, his fingers intertwined with mine, while I gazed out the window, feeling the quiet warmth of his presence beside me.

“Alright. What’s going on?” He asked.

“What?” I asked, looking back at him.

“You’ve got something on your mind.” He said.

“School’s almost over for the year.” I said.

“I know. And I know that I will be graduating and you’ll still be at school.” He said.

“Maybe.” I said.

“What do you mean? You’re not quitting?” He asked.

“No. Not quitting. I have to check on my credits at school. Because, I know that I am ahead of the others that are my age.” I said.

“So, you might graduate early?” He asked.

“Hopefully next year. I think that sounds about right to me. But that’s not what’s bothering me. As soon as you graduate you’re leaving. You’re going to Alpha training and you’re going to be gone for 6 months.” I said.

“I know. But we’re allowed to have visitors on weekends, and I’ll come straight back here after those six months,” he said, his voice steady but soft.

“A lot can happen in six months, Jax. You know that,” I murmured, glancing away.

“What are you really afraid of?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.

“I’m only sixteen. You’ve already turned eighteen, and we both know we’re not fated mates… you would have felt it when you turned eighteen,” I whispered.

“I know that. But it doesn’t change a thing. Or… are you afraid I might meet my fated mate while I’m out there?” he pressed gently.

“Maybe… a little,” I admitted. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, warm and grounding.

“I honestly don’t know how I’d handle that… but I need you to know something. I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment you walked into my house. And nothing—nothing—will ever change that,” he said, his voice thick with sincerity.

“Except the matebond… it changes everything. And the way people see each other,” I whispered, a twinge of worry in my chest.

“How about we don’t worry about that now? We don’t even know it will happen. Let’s just be here—just us—and face whatever comes when the time comes,” he said, drawing me a little closer, like the world beyond us didn’t exist.

As we were sitting there talking I saw another girl from school walk out of the bathroom and I rolled my eyes instantly.

She immediately saw us and walked straight towards us.

She stopped at our table and she put her back to me so she could face Jax who was sitting on the other side of the table.

“Hey Jax. I was wondering if I was going to see you today.” Ellie said.

“What’s up?” Jax asked, getting straight to the point.

He wasn’t a fan of hers either. And he made it pretty obvious, not that she really took the hint. She was a social climber and was always interested in the packhouse occupants.

I just sat there, listening to her while still looking out the window. Not caring what she really had to say about anything.

“Well, I’m having a party at my house tonight. I would love it if you could come.” Ellie said, still ignoring me. But Jax looked straight over at me.

“I don’t know. What do you think, Sage?” Jax asked.

“A party? Sounds fun.” I said.

“It does, doesn’t it? Is there a special occasion?” Jax asked.

“No. My parents are out of town.” Ellie said.

“Well, do you want to go?” Jax asked me.

“Sure. Why not? Sounds like fun and I think that’s exactly what we need right now.” I smirked at him, only for him to smirk back.

“We’ll be there.” Jax said.

“With bells on.” I added. But Ellie just turned to glare at me before she walked off.

Jax started laughing while I started shaking my head smiling at him.

“Trust you to do that.” I said.

“She knows that we’re together. She’s not going to ignore you and invite me to a party. Everyone knows that if I get invited then so do you.” Jax said, leaning over the table to kiss me.

Another reason why I was so worried about him finding his fated mate.

He treated me better than anyone else ever had and I don’t know if I could handle losing him. Not not, not ever.