The Claiming by Cooper novel Chapter 276

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)

Chapter 03 (Nolan)

Fitness Fun in the Park

“She’s not here, Nolan. I have no idea when she’ll return. I’ll leave her a message letting her know you stopped by,” Jace says, moving papers around on his desk.

When I don’t leave, he looks up. “Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

“Where is she?” I ask ignoring him. “I need to speak with her.”

“She’s visiting family, Nolan. If she wanted to talk with you, I’m sure she would have picked up the phone.”

I shouldn’t let his snarkiness bother me, but his comment hits home. I’ve been calling Jordan for the last couple of days, and she hasn’t answered. But this isn’t about my pride, this is about her safety.

“What about Alpha Mason, is he around?” I ask.

Jace’s eyes narrow on me. “What is this about?”

I ignore him. “Do you know which pack she’s at?”

“No. I’m her Gamma, Nolan, she’s the Alpha. I tell her where I’m going, not the other way around. If this is something that impacts the pack, you need to tell me,” he says.

“Is she answering your calls?” I ask him.

“Yes,” he says, in a much less snarky tone. He reaches for the phone, putting it on speaker and dialing Jordan. I close the door behind me.

“I’m nearly home, Jace, can it wait?” Jordan answers. I’m glad to hear she doesn’t want to talk to him either. “Nolan’s here,” he says, and I hear her sigh.

“Just have him wait in my office. Don’t get into it again with him, Jace, please,” she says, and I raise my eyebrow at him. Obviously, our animosity toward each other is affecting her. Maybe that’ s why she left.

“How far out are you, Jordan? What I need to discuss is important,” I say. “Oh, Nolan. I didn’t realize I was on speakerphone.”

Of course, she didn’t. She would never have said that to her Gamma if she had. Gamma AND potential mate since he still hasn’t accepted her rejection. “I’m less than an hour away, Nolan. Why don’t you get something to eat and by the time you’re done, I’ll be there,” she says.

“Have you eaten, Jordan?” I ask her. I know Jace thinks that all I do is take Jordan on dates, but he obviously hasn’t noticed that unless she’s made to eat, she skips meals all the time.

I hear her snort. “No.”

“Then I’ll wait for you. See you soon.”

“Okay, see you soon,” she says before disconnecting.

“I’ll go wait in her office,” I tell Jace who is watching me intently now.

Forty-five minutes later, Jordan comes blowing into her office, her hair is all over the place as if she was driving with the windows down.

“Hey beautiful,” I say, standing to greet her.

“Hey, Nolan. I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” she says, coming over to hug me.

“You didn’t know I was coming Jordan, why would you apologize?”

“Habit?” she says, dropping her bag and coming to sit beside me. She’s got the smell of the wilderness on her.

“I thought we agreed that you were going to stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault.” I say.

She gives me a look. “I’m working on it.”

“Did you see all of your siblings?” I ask her, changing the subject.

She smiles. “I did, it was great to see them. They are all so excited and in various stages of cleaning up their packs. Evangeline looks like she’s about ready to pop. They’ll be coming back here in another week or so for her to have her baby. I’m excited since I’ll get to meet my nephew right away.”

“That’s great. I know you miss your brother,” I say, since it’s something we’ ve talked about.