Alpha's Faire

XX

The next two days were as busy as they were troublesome. Jexanna and Shou managed the preparations for the compound including quarantine zones, apartments, and supply lines. This would have been fine alone. But it wasn't. Thanks to Shou's little show, the rumors regarding their relationship skyrocketed. Suddenly, she was simultaneously the luckiest woman in the world and the scheming bitch who was intent on using the poor Captain. Both were insulting to Jexanna. Well, more the latter than the former. When she asked if he was alright with the rumors, Shou replied, "Since when do I give a shit about appearance?"

It was easy for him not to give a shit. He didn't have to deal with groupies following him up and down the halls. It made Jexanna avoid the FLA as much as possible, which wasn't possible. There were logistics to get everything set up before she and Shou could even go to the compound.

They also had to wait for a portal mage to become available on their list to transport them, which was finally there. That drove Jexanna the craziest, to be frank. Jexanna hated having to wait for a damn portal mage. The only thing that kept her from losing her sanity was late training sessions with Shou.

"So who is the mage assisting us in transporting today?" She asked as she tried not to poke her eye out with liner. When she was younger, Jexanna had favored using a lot more makeup, so she had to keep it up minimally for her alias. But today, thankfully, she didn't need a lot, just the bare minimum of simple black eyeliner and mascara.

"You won't like it," Shou replied from the bedroom, watching her from the bed. He lounged across her bed while waiting for her to finish her routine. "It's your one-night stand."

Her hand twitched as she nearly ended up with a black streak across the side of her face.

Fuck.

With a quick scan of her face, she found the liner sufficient before turning to Shou.

"Garine?" She popped her head out of the bathroom. "Are you shitting me?" Jexanna wanted to pop someone in the face, preferably Garine. He was barely a mid-level portal mage. He wasn't able to maintain his portals for longer than two hours at most. It was going to cause a substantial delay in moving the supplies where needed. Who the hell assigned him to this detail? He wasn't even on the damn list earlier this week.

"It seems that Garine needs to have more experience with his magic, and the higher-ups thought that this was the perfect opportunity for him to practice." Shou sighed. "Now, don't worry about him. You're my mate, after all. He won't dare to pull any of his usual shit." Jexanna rolled her eyes. No one dared to cross her right now. No one wanted to risk pissing Captain Shou. But that wasn't what she was worried about.

"He's seen me, up close."

"Jex. If he does make a connection, I'll screw his damn mouth shut before he even makes a peep." Shou smirked, highly confident in that talent of his. Jexanna did not doubt that Garine would piss his pants in a single second if Shou came at him. "Now, are you going to get dressed?" His eyes trailed down her body, and Jexanna's face flushed slightly. She was still in her robe.

Releasing a huff, she snatched the neatly folded stack of clothes off her bed and slammed the bathroom door shut to finish getting ready. Jexanna pulled on a pair of dark blue high-waisted skinny jeans and a red long-sleeved crop top. The look was completed with a pair of black combat boots. It wasn't the most scandalous look she had ever crafted, but it was comfortable to move in. Her long blonde locks were pulled back into a messy bun. She adorned a pair of silver hoops to keep the look light with a glimmer of Dr. Jess Lewis. Jexanna finished her make-up and came out of the bathroom to find Shou frozen in place, staring at her. He rose a brow at her.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, pointing to her shirt. Well, he was pointing out the fact that it did display her assets.

"The lab coat will help." She replied as she placed it on, running a hand through the sleeve.

"I don't think it will." Shou sighed. Jexanna ignored him, choosing to leave the room with the last of her packed belongings. She had spent the early morning insuring that everything was packed and ready to go. This was essentially a moving day for her. She was chosen as the Rhodes Foundation's taskforce representative since no other board member could risk staying on campus. Ironically, she was the missing board member that the task force couldn't reach. But Shou persuaded the force that Dr. Jess Lewis was more than sufficient in managing the transition and staying in the compound with his assistance.

"It's not like what I look matters, Shou." She emphasized while pulling out a mug to make her morning coffee. Shou followed her inside the kitchen where a small stack of luggage stood by the door.

"True, but I have to pretend to be concerned about people gawking at my potential mate," Shou grumbled as he leaned against the wall, watching her take a cup of coffee and pour sugar into it. Jexanna's eyes rolled as she continued to pour sugar into her cup. She liked her coffee sweet. Some would say almost too sweet, but she didn't care. It tasted divine.

"You know you could easily fix that by declaring you don't want to be my mate." She replied as she pulled out a spoon and mixed it inside the cup. The sweet scent of coffee and chocolate touched her nose. Jexanna slowly hugged the cup in her hands, savoring the warmth it offered. This was good, a moment to herself.

"Or you could fix it by declaring that you have chosen to accept me as your mate," Shou's voice came into her ear just as she started to take a sip.

Jexanna choked on her coffee. Suddenly, she was spurting and coughing hysterically as the hot liquid burned her windpipe. She turned in place.

"Stop joking Shou." She barely managed to get out the words in between coughs and gasps. Shou carefully took the mug out of her grasp so that it wouldn't spill. Tears came to her eyes at the pain. "That isn't funny."

"Pretty funny to me," Shou replied as he guided her to a kitchen chair. The large dhampir pulled out the chair and gently sat her down. Jexanna's throat burned. Shou frantically fished through her cabinets for another glass.

"Damn it, Jex." He growled, annoyed to find another cabinet empty. "Where the hell do you eat and drink?"

"Back of the fridge." She rasped out. Shou swung open her fridge door with a force so strong that it nearly fell off its hinges. It was mostly empty, except for a few leftovers and various juice bottles. She needed to go to the store before this whole mission anyway. But that was moot now. He found her stash of water bottles in the back and pulled one out for her.

"Here." He opened it carefully and handed it over. Jexanna graciously took the bottle and began to chug. The cool liquid soothed her throat. "Shit, Jex. Is being my mate such a bad idea?"

Her eyes popped open.

"Excuse me?" She asked, looking over at him. His eyes narrowed, lips flat. Was he serious right now? No. He couldn't be. She tried to shrug it off. "Please, you and me? Yeah, right." She scoffed at the idea.

Jexanna watched Shou's reaction carefully, trying to make sure he wasn't serious. He shrugged and smirked at her response. A small glimmer came to his eyes as he gestured down his body.

"Please, you know you want this." He grinned at her.

"Ew." Jexanna rolled her eyes at his response. But her body relaxed into the chair. "But seriously, stop joking around like that. You pull that shit around Aerin and I think he'd actually faint."

"All the more reason to do it, my dear," Shou smirked at her with a wink. Jexanna's skin grew cold. He was a frightening man, twisted and ready to punish and torment Aerin. "Now, let's start getting your shit into the car, so I can get started on punishing men for ogling at you."

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint." She laughed it off as the two went over to the small stack of black luggage.

"Besides, it just gives me an excuse to butt heads with Alpha Stone," Shou remarked as he threw her largest suitcase over his shoulder. Jexanna froze as she picked up a bag. She forgot that he was coming today to help set up. They hadn't even crossed paths these past few days. The last time she actually saw him was actually after Shou's public declaration to be her mate. And he was less than pleased to say the least with their behavior.

Her heart thumped as she thought of his narrowed gray eyes.

Well, one thing was for sure, between Shou having fun embracing his role as a lovestruck warrior, the appearance of the problematic Lieutenant Garine, and the delicate and troublesome Alpha Stone, this was going to be fun.

Not.