The Claiming by Cooper
Chapter 296

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan) Chapter 23 (Jace)

Jordan and I got up early the next morning and after grabbing something to eat and some coffee, we get our bags and head out. We packed for a week, not sure how long we'd be gone, but knowing we need to stay long enough to do damage control with the bears and try to create an alliance between us. Worst case scenario, we need to recreate peace between the packs and the bears. We do not need or want a war with the bears.

I convinced Jordan to let me drive and as we leave our pack lands, I roll down the windows, letting the early morning air blow in the car.

"Jace, what are you doing?"

"Jordan, when's the last time you rolled the windows down and sang along to the songs on the radio?" I ask her, raising my voice over the sounds of the wind.

"We need to create a gameplan on the way, not play," she says.

"We have a four-hour drive, Jordan. I'm pretty sure we have time for both. You used to love singing songs in the car when you were younger," I say to her. "How do you know?" I ask him.

He raises his eyebrow at me. "How many of the trips with your family did I NOT go on, Jordan? I have been protecting your mother for a very long time. Once I became Gamma, it became official, but since I was sixteen, your father has been bringing me on trips with your family so I could watch over your mother. You and Jaxon were only ten, and I used to love watching the two of you try to sing over top of the other one," I tell her.

I connect my phone into the Bluetooth and start the playlist that I took hours to make last night. Since it's early, I start with a song I know Alpha Mason and Luna Jara used to play and I know Jordan likes the song. It's been remade recently, so I added the Luke Combs version of Fast Car.

I was careful not to put any songs about lost love, nothing too sappy or sad, mostly just happy songs that are easy to blast in the car and sing to. So, after Fast Car, I put on I'm Good by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha. And I watch as Jordan begins to create waves in the air with her hand outside the window as her body starts to move and she begins to sing.

I know I did the right thing when she leans her head back, closes her eyes, and just sings song after song. I begin singing along, not that either of us can hear the other, the air is in our ears and the music is loud, but the road is long and mostly vacant, and we drive singing together for a few hours.

When we finally stop before getting off the main road and heading into bear country, I pull into a gas station.

Jordan turns to me in the car. "I never knew you had such a nice voice, Jace," she says to me.

I snort. "I'm pretty sure that was the air in your ears, Jordan."

I step out of the car, moving to p*ump gas while Jordan stretches.

"I have Alpha hearing," she says softly. "No chance that I didn't hear you singing. You have a lovely voice. Maybe you'll sing for me again someday," she says.

I know she's talking softly because we're in a human area, and we don't know who may be listening, but her words, the darkness of her eyes, and the low breathiness of her voice all add to the feeling that this is an intimate moment.

I pull her in front of me, pinning her to the car, and taking a chance, I begin to sing a Daughtry song that I've listened to many times since the Contest. What About Now.

She holds my gaze as I begin to sing. I hadn't planned to sing more than a couple bars of the song, or at least nothing past the first chorus, but she doesn't move, and she looks like she's really listening the words to the song, so I continue.

The gas pumps pops, letting me know the tank is full, but I keep singing.

"What about now?

What about today?

What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?

What if our love never went away?

What if it's lost behind words we could never find?

What about now?"

She continues listening to me, until I get to the end of the song. Then, she does something I never would have expected. She leans up on her toes and k*isses me. I don't hesitate, I wrap one arm around her waist, the other sliding into her hair and I k*iss her with everything in me, everything that I've been holding back.

"Ooo-eee, you young people are going to set this place on fire if you don't stop that. And with all this here gasoline, well, that ain't nothin' good. They got themselves a hotel up the street if you need that, otherwise, you two better put out those flames before you blow this place up," an older man says.

I pull back from Jordan, not taking my eyes off of her. I lift my nose into the air slightly and around the gas and oil smell, I smell the scent of human. "Sorry, sir. I got carried away," I say, stepping back. "And a polite young man too, you got yourself a good one there, girlie," he says to Jordan.

"Yes, sir," she says, looking at him and giving him her best smile. I hear him stuck in his breath. Even at his age, he isn't immune to Jordan's inner strength and beauty.

"Why don't you go to the bathroom and get us a couple of bottles of water and food, and I'll finish up here," I say to her. She nods and I pass her the credit card as she walks inside.

The old man watches her go, then turns to me. "Young man, that little girl looks to be a wee bit younger than you. I'm gonna give you some free advice. If she ain't an adult, you keep it in your p*ants." I smile at the old man. He doesn't know us at all, but he's still acting protective of Jordan.

"She's 19 sir but thank you for the advice."

"Well then, be a smart man, and keep that looker. Beautiful, classy girls like her don't come along very often," he says to me.

I watch as Jordan begins walking our way.

"That's the plan, sir."

When she walks up, she pecks my l*ips and hands me a bottle of water. "Are we ready?"

"Actually, sir, if you don't mind, we're heading to State Road 36 and I was hoping that maybe you could help me find the turn off," I say to man.

"State Road 36? That's bear country. What are you planning to do up there, if you don't mind me asking. You don't want to be camping up there, it's not safe," he says to me.

"Oh, we're just driving across the mountains. I have family on the other side. You don't need to worry about us," Jordan lies easily.

"Well, alright young lady," he says. "But be careful. Those bears are known to kill hikers and people who stop to look out over some of them scenic areas." "Thank you, sir, we'll be careful," I say.

He lets us know the turn off isn't more than five miles down the road and we get into the car and head toward our goal.

Jordan unwraps a sandwich that she got and hands it to me. "Do you think it's the shifters or the real bears that are attacking tourists?" Jordan asks.

I swallow my mouthful of food and look at her. "Maybe more importantly, do you think the people that are getting killed are human or other shifters?" I ask her.

"A good question," she says as we finish our sandwiches and turn off onto the SR 36. If the other road was vacant, this one is downright deserted. There is nothing for miles. If I wasn't a shifter, I'd probably be nervous, but this wild landscape feels a lot like home. Home to bears, apparently.

"Do you know how far we need to go?" I ask after we've been driving for about an hour. The landscape around us is only getting more wild and rustic.

"Nolan made it sound like there would be some sort of turn off, but I haven't seen anything yet," she says.

We drive a bit longer and I see something in the woods beside us. I slow down and roll down my window. "What is it?" Jordan asks.

"I swear I just saw a bear," I say, slowing down even more and looking out into the forest.

"Do you hear that, Jordan?" I ask her quietly, the hair on my body standing on end.

She rolls down her window and we both realize that the forest is too quiet. I start to accelerate slowly, realizing that we've entered bear country.

I hear Jordan scream a warning a moment before a huge bear slams into our car, sending us careening off the road.

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