The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)

Chapter 14 Jaxon

I wasn’t sure I’d see Evangeline again until tomorrow, but I was thrilled when she decided to come wait with my family for Raelyn to cross the finish line.

I really had planned to walk around the pack lands, just to see what they are like, but now that Eve has decided to join me, I think I’ll take my time and the waterfalls sound romantic.

We begin traipsing through the forest and I realize just how overgrown it is.

“Have your parents ever told you about their time in the claiming?” She asks as we walk.

I laugh. “My mother loves to tell the story of how she was seconds away from getting out unclaimed when my father tackled her. My father likes to say that she was so distracted by the other Alphas, your father included, by the way, that she didn’t even see him coming.”

I look at her. “How about your parents?”

She nods. “Somewhere out here there is a cliff where my mother hid for nearly the entire time she was in the claiming. I guess it made the males in her claim nuts. They couldn’t smell her, couldn’t find her trail except her initial one near this lake and waterfall. After that, she stayed in the trees until my father accidentally stumbled across where she’d been hiding and waited for her. He’s very proud that she wanted him, and he loves to tell the story of how she exposed her neck for him to mark her.”

I look at her. “Sounds romantic.” I say, not sure if that’s where she’s going with the storv;

“You know, in theory, it has always sounded romantic.” She says distractedly, stopping and doing a full circle, looking around. “But now that I’m here and I can see what it must have been like for all of them, the romance of the story is lost on me.”

Her eyes go unfocused as she gets lost in her thoughts. I wait, hoping she’ll keep talking.

“I mean. I’ll be turning 18 in a few months. Conceivably, I would be coming here soon after my birthday to be captured by some man, someone I might not even know. I mean, what if I didn’t like them. What if we weren’t compatible.”

Her eyes refocus on me.

“Back then, it didn’t matter. It’s barbaric.” She says.

racing from the battles

they also went feral. Some of them even went feral during the claiming. And so many were killed. It’s crazy to think about it now. I’m 18, so I could have been in your claiming.

I look back at her, her eyes have narrowed on mine. “No chance in hell you’d have caught me, Alpha. I am my

toward her, enjoying this little tete-a-tete. “And I am my father’s son. I don’t lose, especially if I

I a prize to

But if I had to compete

She says, but I can see the slight blush of pleasure on her cheeks

less true.” I tell her. “Come on, let’s get

us quiet

perspective, it’s not bad. It has several clearings, but overall the forest is dense, a

the air and smelling the water. “How big is the lake?” She

see across it, but it’s large enough that if you were trying to get the person on the other side, they would have plenty

the tip of the lake.

the waterfall at the back and see at the top? My mom said there’s a cave up there where most of

check it out.” Eve

“Definitely.”

walk along the edge of the water. I lean down,

at Eve,

and leans down to touch it. “Oh, are you thinking what I’m

have to go for

“Oh yeah.”

or swim first?” I ask

out the

It’s loud enough that I can see how my mother was able to hide and not be heard when

of the

From up here, you can see so much of the

which cliff my father caught my mother on.” Eve says, looking at a cliff

ask her. It’s weird being here after all the years of hearing about how

the cave. “My mom said they started signing their names to the wall in here

mom said the same.” She says,