The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Contest by Cooper (Jaxon & Evangeline)

Chapter 40 (Jaxon)

It took me a couple of hours to recover from the morning training session, but by lunch time, I was mostly back to normal.

“Are you gonna make it, Super Hotty?” Eve teases me over lunch.

“If you had asked me a couple of hours ago, I’d have said no, but at least now I feel like I can walk.”

“That was brutal,” Alejandro says, having come to sit with us.

“If you think that was brutal, just wait. If he is anything like Ezekiel, we’ll all be barely standing by the end of the week,” Eve says.

“Yeah, it was about two days before we were all struggling to get through both classes each day and by the end of the week, none of us were able to hold our heads up to eat dinner.” I tell him, enjoying my lunch while my body still can.

“Was it really that brutal?” Magdalena asks.

“Yes,” both Eve and I say together.

After lunch, Eve looks at me. “I was going to spend some time with Maggie this afternoon.”

“Perfect, I wanted to speak to Rowen. She mentioned wanting to talk to me while I’ m here.”

Eve comes over, wrapping her arms around my neck and looking up at me. “See you for afternoon training?”

My arms rest perfectly around her waist, pulling her against my body. “I’ll see you there.”

Her lips start twitching and I raise my eyebrow.

“I’m sure it will get easier for you,” she says, a full-on smile spreading across her face.

“You,” I say, pecking her lips, “are lucky I love you.”

“Every minute of every day,” she says, before leaning in for a d*eeper k*iss. This one lingers until someone, presumably her father, loudly clears their throat. I pull away. No since kicking over the beehive.

Eve shoots a glare at her father before heading out with Maggie. I turn and go in search of Rowen. I follow her scent to her room, where I knock.

“Come in,” she says from inside her room. I open the door to see her sitting on her bed looking out the window.

“Oh, hey Jax.”

say, closing her

chair, I mean bean bag blob on the floor. I hate the things. Once I’m in, it feels practically impossible to

“What’s up, Rowe?”

outside, then at the quilt on her bed that she’s sitting on before taking a d*eep breath and looking up at me. “How

at my sister. “Did

so, but I’m not sure. He’s younger than I am, almost a whole year. But he’s in the competition.” She says, looking down before

her scent. I picked her scent out of every other one that first day of the contest. She was like nothing I’ve ever smelled before,” I say, smiling as I remember honing in on my mate. “And then

moment on, I knew she was mine. I knew I had to have her and that being away from her was going to be impossible.” She nods, looking down

too young to feel it,” she

you talk

frowns, looking up at me.

and Eve’s brother Alejandro are pretty sure that

wide at that. “Teagan is going

guess so. But while Teagan is about to turn 18, Alejandro is still

can sense the mate bond, then why didn’t he approach me?”

they are mates, because he thinks she deserves someone stronger. Although, it hasn’t escaped

know, Rowe. Maybe your

that’s the case, then I deserve better. And I doubt it anyway, he’s an

I

looks at me, debating if she

won’t tell anyone. You know I can keep a

me another moment. “It’s Alpha Enzo. Alpha Antonio and Luna Annabel’s

a minute. “You beat him

that could be

to stand beside my sister. “If that’s the reason, you’re right, he doesn’t deserve you. He’s an Alpha

says she only finished the race

of an Alpha, because she’s strong and because she dug d*eep inside herself, just like you and everyone else

If you want, I’ll give you my impressions. Plus,

neck and laying her head on my

a moment before

any part of this competition because of him. You fight for

“Yes, big

what you want, I’ll see you at practice this

make it?” she asks me, like the bratty

Alpha, little sis, nothing is getting in the way

Jordan POV

than the morning and nearly as h*ard as my

good. I’m already feeling stronger,

at my door. I look up