Queen Takes King, Checkmate.

Chapter Seventeen.

Jamesons POV.

A quiet cough from beside me startled me awake as I hadn't even heard anyone open the doors to the infirmary or even walk right up to me.

I went to rub my eyes, realising that I was laying down beside Charlie on the bed, the only contact between us being our hands that had strangely been intertwined again as we must've passed out at the same time.

I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, sitting up carefully and seeing Jackson standing at the foot of the bed awkwardly with a familiar manilla folder tucked underneath his elbow.

"What time is it?"I whispered, my voice thick with sleep as I looked towards the nearest window to see that it was already dark outside.

"It's three-thirty in the morning Jameson but I know its a ridiculous hour to wake you and bother you but... the team we sent to watch over the Tigerlilly Pack has returned..." Jackson whispered as he was being careful not to wake Charlie who was fast asleep and peaceful beside me, holding my hand to her chest tightly.

"Already? They're three days early..." I thought aloud, running my hand over my face to wake me up a little more as I still felt sleepy.

"I know, but unfortunately, it was in their best interest that you hear what they've discovered and I think it'd be best if you look over their report away from Charlotte... If you dont mind" Jackson said with the utmost sincerity and respect, trying not to offend me.

I could see it in his eyes that the news they had brought back wasn't good, infact the bags under his eyes made that statement very obvious and the fact that he and the others thought Charlie shouldn't hear this? It must be pretty bad then.

I was hesitant to leave my mates side, especially when she was voluntarily so emotionally open with me and wanting to have me so close...

She's definately changed but I was worried that this good mood of hers would be short lived.

"Okay, I'll meet you in the conference room alone in ten minutes" I whispered as I looked back up to Jackson.

He nodded and left the infirmary in a hurry as if it was awkward for him to be so close to Charlie and I when we were together like this.

I sighed, not wanting to wake her but I needed to.

"Charlie... come on babe, wake up" I whispered, bringing her hand up to place a sift kiss on the tops of her scarred knuckles... probably from all the fights she's been in...

I almost laughed when her eyes snapped open and she snatched her hand back, "Dont call me babe" she tried to sound threatening but after I had seen her so desperate for my company, I didn't take it seriously from her.

"Jackson needs me urgently and I need to go meet with him. If your up for the move, I can help you into my bed where you'll be more comfortable or I can leave you here and have Dr Namara come and check on you every ten minutes or so" I offered, smiling as she glared at me in her half asleep state.

She shook her head slightly, flinching a little when the movement tugged at a muscle in her side.

"I dont want to be woken up every ten minutes because of your OCD to know I'm still alive" she grumbled, grabbing hold of my shoulder to carefully pull herself up into a seated position before she swung her legs out and her feet were on the floor.

"Are you sure you're okay to walk? I can carry you if you need me to" I offered, standing and stepping around the bed towards her in case she fell.

She wobbled a little, her arm warpped around her to hold her ribs while the other held onto the end of the bed.

I really didn't want Charlie to be straining herself especially after her emergency bone resetting, wether it was uncomfortable or painful for her right now I couldn't tell but I knew that she hated to be seen as weak or in need of help.

"I'm fine, I know where your room is and I dont need you to hold my hand this time. I'm capable of walking through this on my own" she hissed, already walking away on unstable legs as I was left standing there with a smile on my face.

She knew that she enjoyed holding my hand, having me near and falling asleep beside me and because I had forced her to live with me, she didn't want to admit to herself that she had feelings for me and that I was right.

I walked after her and followed her down the hall, always on edge as I walked behind her because I was well aware of how she limped a little while cluthing her ribs still.

The pain was still there and the freshly healed bones still raw.

Neither of us said anything as we walked down the hallway of the packhouse, it was comforting and not filled with the usual hostility that Charlie always seemed to hold against me.

So when she stepped inside my bedroom, I wasn't surprised when she suddenly turned back and shut the doors in my face.

Her intention to silently tell me that she didn't want me near her was loud and clear, her walls were back up and she had let go of the very... memorable moments from earlier.

"I was just making sure you made it to the room okay, I didn't want you getting lost or straining yourself" I said casually through the door, looking at it's finely carved surface.

There was a long silence that seemed tense as I stood there, debating wether or not I should wait for her onslaught of curse words telling me to leave.

Instead, I was welcomed by something miraculous and it made me smile.

"I know..." was all she said in return, loud enough for me to hear her through the doors before I turned and left.

I knew she didn't want me to hang around, I respected her boundaries so long as they didn't compromise the fact that she was never leaving my territory let alone my side. Apart from that, if she followed my rules, she could have as much space as she needed, eventhough it was still only a matter of days before she would go into heat...

I was walking down the staircase to the lobby and about to turn down the hall that ran underneath the stairs when I heard a few familiar voices coming from the living room.

It was so early for anyone of the pack to be lingering around here apart from Jackson and his mate, I was curious because this was my packhouse after all.

"They were everywhere..." a guy whispered as I came to stand in the doorway.

In the living room, seated on the L shaped couch by the fireplace were four men, their backs towards me as they all seemed to gaze into the roaring fire that was keeping away the snowy weather outside.

"I know, I've never seen so many wolves in one place" another said, this one was barely a man, his voice sounded so young still and his shoulders were slim as he too sat there hunched over.

"They can't all be from one pack right? There was no way that Tigerlilly has gotten its pack numbers up so high within a matter of weeks" the guy from earlier whispered, nervously running his palms down his thighs.

I noticed how all four of the men were wearing only a pair of long pants each, they must've recently shifted into their human forms to come inside.

But when the first one mentioned the Tigerlilly Pack, I was reminded that I needed to speak with Jackson.

"Luna Charlotte won't be happy about this..." a third guy piped up which made me stop in my tracks to listen as to why they were talking about my mate.

"Yeah... still hard to beleive she and Alpha Markus had a thing. No wonder the guys gone mad and done this" The boy added, and I was surprised because how did everyone know of Charlie and that Pups history?

"You wait until Alpha Laurence finds out what Alpha Markus has planned... He won't hesitate to kill him for real this time because of this..." the first man said more to himself I think...

"Poor Charlotte" the fourth man had said, being the first thing I had heard him say throughout this whole eavesdropped conversation.

Poor Charlotte? What the hell did that fucker Markus have planned? What has he done that could hurt Charlie?!