Jax Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  EPILOGUE

  Table of Contents

  JAX

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Thank you!

  Mated to the Dragon

  Freed by the Dragon

  Seduced by the Dragon

  Adored by the Alpha Bear

  Saved by the Alpha Bear

  Loved by the Alpha Bear

  Protected by the Mountain Wolf

  Adored by the Mountain Wolf

  Mated to the Mountain Wolf

  Alpha Wolf Protector

  Alpha Wolf Guardian

  Alpha Wolf Champion

  The Timeless Curse of Lord Dabney

  AUTHORS NOTES

  JAX

  Emilia Hartley

  © Copyright 2018 by 9591451 CANADA INC. - All rights reserved.

  The contents of this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Legal Notice:

  This book is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author
does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  Chapter One

  Clutching her paper coffee cup in one hand as she shoved the swinging door open, a guilty feeling churned in Sydney’s stomach. She glanced around the police department, eyes bouncing off dispatchers and beat cops before she saw the Chief’s office. If she was totally honest with herself, stopping for coffee had been her attempt at delaying the inevitable.

  As if summoned by her thoughts, the door flew open, and the Chief appeared, eyes blazing. He gripped the doorway with white knuckles and used the other hand to summon Sydney forward. She let out a long sigh and ran a hand over her hair.

  Trevor met her gaze, offering a sympathetic smile before ducking his head.

  Inside the office, the Chief commanded her to close the door and pointed to a seat across from his desk. She sat on the edge of the chair, holding the coffee as if it might explode in her hands at any moment.

  The Chief sank into his chair, the hot air leaving him deflated and tired. She could see the dark circles dragging his eyes down and the sprinkling of gray forming at his neatly cut temples. He was young for the job, but the pressure of it was quickly aging him.

  “Why don’t you have any progress on the missing person's case I handed you?”

  Because they all disappeared into thin air. Because none of them had anything in common. The thoughts rose to the front of Sydney’s mind, but she didn’t say them. That kind of sass could cost her rank, and she’d worked too hard to get above the toxic masculinity that presided over the department.

  Instead, she sucked in a long breath through her nose, holding and exhaling before she spoke. “It’s not that I have no progress, but that progress is slow. I’ve spoken to all the families and cross-referenced their histories to see if any of them might have crossed the same paths.”

  “And?” The Chief pressured her with expectant eyes.

  Her jaw clenched. “And nothing. As far as I can tell these people didn’t know one another. They didn’t even shop at the same grocery store.”

  He shook his head. “That isn’t what I wanted to hear. I have scared family members breathing down my neck. They want answers yesterday. Promise me you’ll have something to tell me by the end of the day.”

  Sydney opened her mouth to argue and immediately snapped it shut again. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t talk back to the Chief. Her shoulders slumped. What could she give him? What leads had she not looked at yet?

  Sensing her hesitation, the Chief let out a dramatic sigh, one that turned into a groan of frustration. “You’re dismissed. Don’t come back to the station until you have something to tell me.”

  Her heart flipped. She shot up from her seat, hot coffee sloshing out the hole in the lid. It burned her hand, but she did her best to ignore it. Nodding to her boss, she ducked out of the room.

  Sydney lurched for her desk, feeling the ground waver beneath her feet. She had to close this case. If she didn’t, it might cost her job. If anything, they would demote her, and she’d worked too hard to get to where she was. She was a detective in a small town where there weren’t many. Working as hard as possible, harder than her male co-workers, she’d waited patiently for a position to open up. Her eyes were set on Lead Detective, and if this case didn’t go well, she might never get the position.

  “They handed you this case because it’s impossible,” Trevor intoned.

  Her head snapped up. “What did you say?”

  He looked between her and the Chief’s closed door before speaking in a hushed tone. “I overheard one of the other detectives complaining about this case. He asked the Chief to hand it off to you because it was going to go nowhere.”

  She slammed her coffee down onto her desk. Sydney was furious. From behind her golden bangs, she glared at the detectives across the room. Two men stood over their desks, coffee mugs in hand as they gossiped about women in town. They were doing nothing while she was floundering in this missing person’s case.

  Her groan turned into a feral kind of growl. She had to get control of herself. Her job was at stake. If she wanted to be a lead detective someday, she needed to show them she was capable of anything.

  Pulling her shoulders back, she turned a bright smile on Trevor. His eyes widened, and he leaned away from her. She knew the toothy grin was predatorial and loaded with vicious potential. Someday, there would be a time she wouldn’t have to prove herself. Until then, she would fight tooth and nail.

  Sydney chugged her coffee and threw the paper cup into the trashcan. It rang like a gong, echoing through the room. The other detectives looked up, surprise on their faces. She offered them a smile, the same as she’d given Trevor. Their brows furrowed before they turned back to their gossiping conversation.

  She gathered her files and notes. Chief had been clear; she wasn’t welcome at the station until she had an update. On her way out the door, she spun around and saluted the room. The dispatcher, a woman with dark auburn hair and laugh lines, narrowed her eyes at Sydney.

  Outside, she climbed into her unmarked SUV and threw the files onto the ever-empty passenger seat. Flipping through one of the files, she wondered where to start. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t already exhausted her leads. Her eyes lighted on one of the missing person’s place of work.

  Sunrise Peak Lodge

  She’d talked to the employees once already, but it couldn’t hurt to try again. She could flash her badge and try to get access to the recent guest list. If that didn’t work, she could try to steal a glance at the guestbook near the parlor.

  It was a start, she decided.

  ***

  The wind whistled past Jax’s ears. He squeezed the throttle and let his head fall back. There was freedom ahead of him, the past unwinding behind him like the string of a sweater. If he didn’t look back, it wasn’t there.

  After the Packs coalesced into one large pack under Cohen Vancourt, Jax couldn’t take it. There were too many people. Shadowed eyes looked at him from every angle, accusing him of the past few years. He tried to tell himself he’d done everything possible, he’d done what he could to ensure his Pack’s safety, but he was only lying to himself.

  Jax knew the things he told himself were lies. He hadn’t done whatever he could. The fact that he was still alive was proof enough. He should have died protecting his Alpha. He should have done more. Been more.

  He twisted the handlebars and directed his motorcycle up a mountain path. Joanna had worn a grimace when he told her of his plans, but she’d nodded. She knew he had his demons to work through, even if he planned on running from them for a while. They both knew that’s what he was doing, though neither of them mentioned it.

  Instead, she’d hugged him, her growing belly and all. Cohen had simply nodded. The man was still a towering beast, and he would do the new Vancourt Pack good. No one would dare tread on Cohen’s territory. Jax knew he was leaving the Pack in good hands.

  The bike wound up the churning path. He avoided treacherous potholes and slowed to take in the scenery around him. Thick pines and firs stood proudly along the road while elms and oaks budded with new life. The further south he’d driven, the warmer the air had gotten.

  He welcomed it. Jax left behind the damp spring of New York for the warmer air of Virginia. Something about the Blue Ridge mountains called to him. He couldn’t deny the serenity the road had offered for the hours he’d ridden there. Jax wanted to keep going. He wanted to ride across the world as if he might be able to outrun the ghosts haunting him.

  But, he couldn’t run forever. As desperately as he wanted to, he wouldn’t. Instead, a hotel sized cabin appeared over the tops of the trees. He turned toward it, coasting down into a parking lot, past a sign that read:

  Sunrise Peak Lodge

  He would get a room, maybe have a drink at the bar, and hit the road in the morning. That was the plan. Jax kicked the stand and turned off the engine. The air smelled of exhaust and pine, but there was more lingering in the air. The scent of shifter was faint but present.

  He glanced around, hoping he hadn’t stopped on another pack’s territory. As far as he knew, there were no packs in this region. He didn’t know why, but there hadn’t been one for as long as he could remember.

  No, this scent was too faint. It wasn’t a pack. Maybe it was a single shifter, someone passing through, much like he was. He glanced around, searching for the source of the scent as if someone might suddenly appear, but there was no one around.

  If he had walked into another pack’s territory, he would offer an apology and head out once more. For now, he grabbed his bag off the back of the bike and turned toward the door. Inside, a lean and neatly dressed man stood behind the counter. His brows were furrowed as he spoke with a blond woman leaning against the check-in counter.

  Jax couldn’t help but check out the back of the woman. She stood on one foot; the other hooked around her ankle so that her toe ground into the expensive carpet beneath her. Her dark jeans wrapped around her high and tight rear, making Jax pause for a moment. His mind blanked, and his mouth went dry.