Melissa and Lola were at the Clifton's house- hiding away in Melissa's bedroom. They sat cross-legged on the bed and Melissa hugged a pillow to her chest while thinking about Ed.
"Did you see him, his eyes- I mean oh my god!" She said in glee as she squeezed the pillow tighter and screamed giddily.
They had spent the good part of two hours at the cafe with Ed before he had to go. The girls went home to Melissa and it was clear as day how smitten she was with him.
"He eyed you the entire time we were there," Lola said and smiled so big that her cheeks were starting to hurt.
She laughed at Melissa's giddy response and the way her nose wrinkled when she did a little dance.
"He did didn't he," Melissa sucked her lip between her teeth.
The pink floral covers moved in waves as she did a dance and Lola was so swept up in the contagious joy that she hadn't noticed her phone on the table.
"You got his number, text him!" Lola urged.
"No, it's too soon and besides, he has my number too, he should text me first." She said.
"Really?" Lola's brow shot up, "you're playing hard to get?" She continued.
"Well playing easy hasn't really worked out very well now has it," Melissa said snidely.
"Ed is way better than Ash I'll give you that," Lola said. Melissa raised the pillow and whipped it at Lola's shoulder. They laughed together and Melissa talked about the plans with Ed that she had made up in her mind. None of it had happened yet but her fantasies were playing out like a photo album with all the memories they would create together.
The laughter was soon drowned out by Lola's phone buzzing on the edge of the table until it fell and hit the floor. She jumped off the bed and went to grab it. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Melissa with a vein in her temple throbbing out of control.
"It's Jax," Lola gulped and looked at the multiple missed calls and texts. It's not like she had ignored him on purpose but fear was growing the more messages she read.
She turned around, the door to the bedroom burst open and Jax barged in with rigid shoulders and yellow eyes.
He looked around in anger, watching everything from the bed to the closet and the window.
He saw Lola standing with the phone in her hand. Their eyes locked but for her it was like looking at a stranger- he was lost somewhere inside of himself and whoever this person was in front of her it was not Jax.
"When I text you, you answer," he growls and steps closer, "when I call you, you pick up the fucking phone! There is a clan of the world's most dangerous vampires out to get you, working for someone who will stop at nothing to get his hands on you!" He stood in front of Lola, his voice loud with his wolf in the front making the frames shake on the walls.
"Jax," Lola said and reached out her hand. He was heaving, his chest swelled and he looked down, zeroed in on the phone, and ripped it from her hand.
"Jax!" She screeched as he threw it against the wall. The phone fell in pieces on the floor and Melissa moved back on the bed as her heart began to pound.
"Didn't do you any good anyway." He seethed.
"What is wrong with you?!" Lola walked toward him. Her nostrils flared and her jaw clenched as she stared at him in disbelief.
"You could've been dead for all I knew!" His voice rose to a high that she had never heard from him and though it shook her for a second, she quickly composed herself and allowed the fear to fuel her rage.
"I am not your pet, I am not under your control! You do not have the right to know every little move I make for god sake! I was here, with Melissa, having a good time for once,"
Two others came running in but Lola was furiously watching a man she barely recognized- the same man she also thanked for drowning her demons.
"For once, huh," he scoffed.
"Yeah, until you showed up." She seethed and saw the instant hurt in his eyes.
"Is everything alright in here?" The soft voice broke through the anger that swirled inside of Lola and she looked past Jax.
Lavina stood next to Ash, her hair fell in big curls down over one shoulder.
Lola bit down on her tongue and turned her head.
"I'm sure you've been wrapped with worry," Lola said, narrowing her eyes to slits.
Jax sighed and pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. His eyes darkened- they were almost obsidian by now and his body looked like a soldier evaluating a threat.
"Everybody out." He growled.
"Gladly." Lola spat and moved around him. Jax reached out and roughly gripped her arm- he pulled her in and steadied her as she slammed into his side.
"Not you." He growled.
"Melissa," Ash said and reached out his hand. She was sitting stale on the bed, frozen in shock.
Melissa turned her head and watched Ash, she pulled herself off the bed and scurried out- no one had to ask her twice, she was glad to leave the war zone that had entered her bedroom.
"Jax," Lavina said and her fingers slowly wrapped on his shoulder.
"Be nice to her," she said softly. Lola's eyes burned into where Lavina's hand was touching. Ash watched, following Lola's eyes and he groaned, gently tugging Lavina behind him.
"Let's go," Ash said.
Jax's eyes were boring into Lola and he saw nothing else- though it wasn't out of love or affection he had tunnel vision, he was fuming when the door closed.
"Let go of my hand," Lola said and tugged her hand but Jax's grip tightened, "you're hurting me," she hissed and writhed under his grip.
"You haven't felt hurt yet. Do you have any idea how scared I've been?" He pulled her closer, shifting his spot so she slammed into his front.
"I'm sure the company's been great though," Lola said, her voice hitched in pain and she pressed her hand against his chest.
"Is that what this is about? You're jealous?" He asked as a spark glinted in his eyes.
"What do I have to be jealous of, I'm just your wife, remember?" Her teeth were pressed together and Jax slowly loosened the grip.
He spun her around and pressed her back against him.
His lips were by her ear, his hot breath fanning her neck and she felt his heart beating uncontrollably against her.
"Lavina means nothing to me. It's your ignoring ass I want to be with but I can't do that if you're kidnapped or dead."
That didn't excuse his behavior and the iron hand he wanted to wrap around her- it couldn't excuse that.
"I'm right here, Jax. I can't stop living just because you're worried," she said, their voices lowered but both held an edge they rarely used towards one another.
"Except that you will, at least until this is all sorted out and you no longer have a price on your head."
Lola's eyes narrowed on the wall and her back stiffened against him.
"That's insane, we have no idea when that will be!" She exclaimed in frustration and tried to move.
He stayed silent for a beat and gathered himself.
"We will fix this, we have a plan but I need you safe in the meantime. You shouldn't leave the house without me until this is all done." Lola scoffed upon hearing his request.
"I refuse to be a prisoner in your or anybody else's home."
"It's your home too," Jax said, his voice growing darker with a seed of desperation being planted.
"Right, a house full of people who don't even want me there. Out of everyone it's you, you want me there and I'm sorry but that's not enough when I have to walk on eggshells every damn day!"
Jax spun her around and shoved her back against the wall. He walked over slowly, she saw the un-recognisable darkness in his eyes and wondered when this distance was created- was it when he heard about Lucien? Or was it maybe before that only she hadn't noticed?
"Let me rephrase my earlier statement- you will not, under any circumstances, leave the house without my company." He ordered.
the darkness swirled in his eyes like it was familiar to him and the dead expression on his face- it looked like a mask he had pulled down from the wall and dusted off before putting it on. None of this seemed foreign to Jax but it was the first Lola had seen it.
"What happened to you?" She said under her breath.
She tried to see him but he wasn't there, nowhere in his eyes did she a resemblance between the man she'd shared a bed with with and the one standing in front of her right now.
"You lied to me, Lola," he said coldly.
"About Lucien?" She asked. No answer was all the answer she needed and her arms flung at her sides. "You're insane! I didn't lie to you, I withheld a small portion of the truth because I thought it was irrelevant. It's you that's blowing this whole thing way out of proportion." She scanned his eyes.
Please, let me see you.
"But it's not just that, is it? There's something more that you're not telling me." He touched her waist and leaned in before she had a chance to answer, "I need you safe," he said.
She looked at the scar above his right brow, it was small and barely noticeable unless you stood really close but she had noticed it the first time they had sex. It was the same scar- yes- but it wasn't the same man.
Lola shook her head and gently placed her hands over his. "No," she said, "you need me controlled."