Thorn

Mine

Leo

"Careful, if your brow goes any lower, it might get stuck like that."

Jackson's voice cut through my negative spiral as quickly as it started. My beta stepped forward, pushing the papers I'd been obsessing over aside and setting a chess board down in front of me.

"Now, really?"

He smirked.

"You owe me a game after skipping out on yesterday's. All for some boring meeting."

I rolled my eyes. That so-called "boring meeting" had been about rogue sightings around the North American packs. They seemed to be walking the same paths, converging on certain points. It was more than suspicious, especially since rogues all over seemed to be slowly moving towards the center of the continent. The Americans had finally noticed something was going on and were asking for spare reinforcements.

"Fine. But afterward, get ready for a trip. A few weeks, minimum."

Jackson's playful expression fell, and I smiled, happy to have caught him off guard. Jackson was a bit of a genius, so it felt good to have the upper hand for once. He technically wasn't born to be my beta. He had the blood type, but my father's beta had a son who was meant for the job since birth. Only, he was a sociopath, so I made the choice to switch to Jackson. It was an easy decision, honestly. The kid was smarter than the rest of the pack put together and strong enough to hold his own against me in a fight for a minute or two. But mostly, I chose him because he was good. Pure good.

"Check."

I snapped out of my thoughts and frowned at the board. I'd played Jackson daily since he was just a tiny pup, yet I could never really get a handle on his tactics. Now, he was only a few months out from his seventeenth birthday and the chance to find his mate. Jackson was the loyal type to both me and his future mate, which meant he hadn't looked at another woman since he was little. It also meant he'd lay down his life to follow my orders, which is why I wanted him with me in America. I'd practically raised the pup, and in exchange, I'd gotten his complete devotion.

"Seriously, Alpha, it's like you're not even trying. Check."

Jackson pouted at the lack of a challenge I was putting up, and I just had to laugh. Despite everything, he was still truly just a pup.

"Sorry, kiddo, my mind is on a much more pressing issue."

As I explained the situation to Jackson, his face grew more and more concerned. For a second, I wondered if this assignment might be too much for him.

"This is more pressing to you than losing to me at chess?"

Or not. I sighed and made my move, relishing in the look on his face as I did.

"Checkmate."

Jackson fake fainted, but I caught his red eyes going black for a moment and laughed. He was a good sport when he lost, but his wolf hated it.

"Jay thinks you cheated."

"I didn't know Jay was capable of thinking."

Jackson laughed and snarled at the same time. His wolf was his polar opposite, dumb and aggressive. Jay was still good, but when Jackson would cower, Jay would go for the throat.

"Go get ready. The flight is at 11AM, so we'll leave for the airport tomorrow at 9, and you'll need to be up by 7."

Jackson grumbled about the early wake-up but didn't bother to argue. He left, allowing me to finally go back into my negative spiral. Orion was pacing in my mind, feeding my thoughts.