The Claiming by Cooper novel Chapter 299

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)

Chapter 26 (Jordan)

Jace is letting these bears get under his skin and they’re enjoying taunting him. They found his b*utton almost instantly and they just keep pushing it. Me.

Except, I’m not playing along. I hadn’t intended to say that I’d be sleeping with Jace, but I was hoping it would let Balor know that I wasn’t interested.

Instead, he caught me in my lie and he made sure that I knew it.

Overall, though, I like the bears. Darryl and Apollo have more restraint than Jusan, but if I’m right, they have some years on him too. I wonder if he’s a younger brother of one of them. I turn, looking at all of them and when I turn back, Balor is looking at me.

“Something on your mind, little wolf?” he asks me.

“Yes, big bear, I was wondering which one of you is Jusan’s big brother,” I say, taking a risk. But the moment I say it, I know I’m right. Balor barks another one of those belly laughs.

“Damn, little wolf. Are all Alphas as smart as you?” he asks me.

“That’s a matter of opinion, I guess,” I say.

“Whose brother do you think he is?” Darryl asks me.

I look at all of them, but now they are being careful not to show any outward signs to clue me in.

“Yours,” I say to Darryl.

“You got some fox in you, little Alpha?”

Apollo asks me, giving me a big bear smile.

“I don’t think so,” I say.

“Do you have any brothers, little wolf?” Balor asks me.

“A twin, actually,” I tell him.

“How is it that a she-wolf became Alpha over her twin brother,” Darryl asks me.

“I was born first. My parents made an agreement before we were born that the first born, regardless of gender, would be named Alpha. Of all the packs, only my parents remained firm in the belief that it doesn’t matter if an Alpha is a male or female, what matters if their heart and their ability to lead,” I tell them.

“So, your brother, he’s okay with you getting the Alpha position while every other pack gave theirs to the oldest male?” Apollo asks me.

“I think it bothered him,” I tell them honestly. “But we had several packs that were vacant, and he won one of them. It’s actually fairly close to here,” I tell them.

“Where is it?” Balor asks, looking at me intently.

“On the other side of that mountain over there,” I say pointing. “My brother and his mate got one pack and another second son and his mate got the neighboring pack,” I say.

Balor looks at Darryl and Apollo. “What?” I ask as we come up to a cliff face full of caves.

Balor holds up a finger, telling me to wait.

“Attention everyone!” Balor says as we walk into the clan of bears. “This is Alpha Jordan and her Gamma, Jace. They are my guests, and you will treat them as such. Any act of disrespect to either of them will be considered an act of disrespect towards me.”

‘Oh, so he does know my name,’ Jace says in the mind link.

‘Jace…’ I warn.

‘I’ll behave Jordan,’ he says, as we walk through the clan.

I’m used to being stared at, assessed by others, and constantly underestimated, so their stares don’t phase me. I keep my head high and I make eye contact with everyone here.

Balor takes us to the entrance of a set of caves with a large firepit outside of it. The fire is going and there is m*eat roasting on a spit.

Balor gestures for us to sit and we all sit around the fire, Balor sitting on one side and Jace on the other.

“What was that look before?” I ask, getting back to our previous conversation.

“You said your brother had moved into a pack land that’s on the other side of the mountain?” Darryl asks.