Brother Wolf

Ch 12 Planning

I held out an arm, stopping Michael from following Jax into the farmhouse. I had been texting back and forth with Mac. It was hard to agree with what the big man had planned, but I couldn't argue with his logic. The only example I had of dealing with troubled kids was my dad handling the students who earned detention.

"Remember, I promised no harm would come to him. It's okay," I said as we all heard a thump and Jax's startled cry. "Just stand back," I advised,  "and wait. It won't take long, and..."

"Brother!" Jax called out. "Let go of me!"

I led the way in, guiding Michael off to the side. The others followed us in, glancing at the couples who had been held captive here. Cherokee and his brother stayed close to Michael. Cherokee motioned Josh toward the kitchen. I couldn't blame him for wanting to keep his son away from the action. Daniel's group moved that way as well, keeping the woman furthest away.

Mac's bulk towered over Jax, pinning him against the wall by the door, with one beefy arm across the teen's chest. The furniture in the room had been shoved out of the way in anticipation of our arrival.

After everyone was in, I stood back in front of the door so Jax could see me, ready to play my part. Crossing my arms against my chest, looking stern, I ignored the disquiet from the others. It was one of the harder things I'd ever done. I focused on keeping my breathing steady as I kept my eyes on Jax's face.

Jax had a snout starting to form, kicking uselessly and snarling at Mac. Mac brought his free hand up and pinged the kid on his nose.

"No wolfing it up," Mac said calmly. "You're going to listen."

Jax kept struggling until his eyes landed on me. He went still suddenly, giving me such a wounded look, it broke my heart.

"Ow!"

Mac had pinged Jax's nose again.

"Pay attention. Now, I'm in charge of security. I say stay put, and you stay put. I say go, you go. You don't argue. You don't hesitate. You understand?"

"Let go of me," Jax ground out, glaring fiercely at Mac.

"Not until we come to an understanding. See, right there," Mac said as he pinged Jax's forming snout once more, "that's your problem. You're a smart-ass who can't control himself. You get mad too easily and lose it. It's gonna make you do something stupid, and somebody might get hurt, killed even."

"You don't know shit. I got plenty of control. I survived the chains! Ask Brother. I can control myself just fine," Jax spat, glancing at me again.

Mac pinged Jax's nose again, bringing Jax's attention back to him. A few people in the room began murmuring. I spread out my arms for quiet, trusting Mac. Silence fell even as tension built. Jax started struggling again, with more controlled kicks, trying to aim higher and more center on Mac.

"I asked if you understood," Mac said seriously, ignoring the blows against his thighs. "You obviously don't. You gonna obey me when I tell you what to do?"

"You aren't my alpha... oww!"

Jax was going to end up with a swollen nose at this rate, but I had promised Mac I wouldn't interfere. Mac was basing his assessment of Jax from what Lone Wolf told him. I had to agree that we couldn't afford to have Jax lose it at the sight of his old alpha.

Mac's methods, however, even if he wasn't seriously hurting the kid... tough love, Mac called it, or conditioning against unwanted behavior, whichever I preferred.

"You can't even listen," Mac scoffed, "and you expect me to believe you're gonna behave yourself?"

Jax glared at Mac, suddenly holding himself still again, that unnatural stillness I'd seen before.