Jax knew he had made an awful mistake by saying those words and not being straightforward. The beta felt like a wreck the moment he saw how Lorraine’s face had crumbled. He had misspoken, and now she must have thought he only saw her as nothing more than a fling.
He tried to explain himself, but the damage had been done. He quickly obeyed her wish to be left alone. There would be enough time to talk to her, and he would make sure to tell her his true feelings. Right now, she needed space, which gave him enough time to think too.
The beta rushed outside to clear his head and get them breakfast since there wasn’t anything left in his kitchen. He dropped by the baker's shop for a fresh set of their renowned pie, with the pack members greeting him good morning.
Jax halted in his steps when his eyes caught a beautiful pastel blue sundress in a shop, and a certain blonde immediately filled his mind. He headed in, even though he had no idea what he was doing, and bought many dresses for her with the shop madam's help.
He had so much money and little to do with it anyway, and he couldn’t have her leaving his house with large pants that could fall at any moment from her skinny frame.
The moment he was done, he headed back home, dropping everything he had gotten on the kitchen island before he heard fast paddles of feet hurrying down the steps. It was Lorraine.
In her hurry to reach down the steps, Lorraine had quickly missed a step and fell, but a quick pair of arms caught and cushioned her fall, leaving the beta more than surprised when she didn’t let go. Instead, she hugged him.
”Hey—”
“Where were you?” She called with her voice muffled on his chest, squeezing tighter to his side. “I didn’t ask you to leave the house. I just needed to think, so why did you leave?”
”Shh.. Lorraine,” Jax immediately called to the omega, who still hadn’t looked up at him. He reached forward, tipping her head till their gazes met.
”I did not leave you, and I never will,” he muttered, and at that moment, Lorraine's stomach grumbled, causing the omega to blush. Jax let out a smile.
”That's exactly why I went out, to get us some breakfast,” he muttered before he pulled them both up from the floor. From her damp hair, he could see she was freshly showered, but her pink cheeks and ears gave away that she was embarrassed from acting out.
Yet Jax found that so endearing. The beta then reached forward, kissing her soft cheek, his gesture causing a surprised gasp to leave her lips. She stared at the beta, confused as to why he did that.
”Sit,” he ordered, one she quickly nodded to as they headed to the island, taking the pie and a plate of bacon, ham, and eggs. He could see the pout on her cheeks, but she ate every last bite, though she never looked up from her plate the entire time, too afraid to face him.
“Listen, about today, you misunderstood me. I never said that. I enjoyed it. Fuck, I more than enjoyed myself, Lorraine.”
“But you…”
“You misread me, love. I loved it so much, Lorraine the sex was everything better thanI could imagine,” he muttered, coming close to her till they were inches apart. “Do you know how much you drive me crazy? You have no—”
But he could hardly finish his words after a loud knock on the door, one he immediately answered. His stern gaze melted and now formed in relief. He turned to look at Lorraine, who still sat by the island table trying to calm her pounding heart.
“What is it?”
”Abby sent word. Nora is awake, and she is looking for you,” he muttered with relief. Lorraine could barely contain her happiness. She jumped forward and right into Jax’s arm, with the beta's hand wrapped tightly around her, while her leg straddled his waist.
The hug was so intimate and warm, setting both their wolves heated. Their gaze locked, and Jax cleared his throat, with Lorraine jumping back down with a distance while her cheek flamed.
”S-sorry..I got a bit carried away again, didn't I?” She muttered. But Jax shook his head at her response. He then headed behind the island table, bringing out the bags of clothes. Lorraine’s face widened in awe.
”You have every right to be happy about your sister's condition. She must be waiting,” he called, handing her a bag.
”Jax, you didn’t need to…”
”I wanted to, so please wear them. I’ll bring the rest upstairs. Come on, darling, let us not keep your sister waiting,” he muttered with a wink that made her heart skip a beat.
Lorraine was dressed in record time. She wore the beautiful dress that fit her curves, its frilly long-sleeve heads the perfect cut that fit seamlessly to her body. The moment she came down the steps, Jax was in awe. He barely scolded his wolf to back down, but could he stop the temptation? Especially when his omega looked like a walking gem. His omega.
They quickly headed to the clinic. Abby was waiting for them at the room's door. Lorraine had quickly moved forward and held the Elder's hand, thanking her profusely.
”She is eager to see you,” the Elder muttered, moving out of the way. Lorraine stood in front of the white door, her nerves getting the best of her. She looked back to Jax, stretching out a hand which the Beta quickly took.
The scene surprised Abby, who watched their hands entwined as they both headed into the room. Nora faced the window, gazing outside, a way to busy herself in the meantime. But the moment she felt someone else in the room, she stiffened and then turned, her once bleak eyes immediately filled with light when she saw the familiar face of her sister.
Jax could feel how much Lorraine was shaking, with a squeeze of assurance to her hand before she ran off to her sister. “Nora!” She cried out, slamming into her sister.
Both hugged and wailed bitterly from their separation, knowing what they both went through because of Kyren. “You’re alive, Lorraine!”
”And you're too! I thought they killed you. I'm so glad.”
”How are you here? Did Elise—”
”Yes, Nora, Elise came for all of us. She saved us, and her betas did too. This is Jax,” she called with a soft smile towards Jax, who watched in awe of his omega, how strong she was even as she had been through so much. His heart panged, knowing what she had been through.
”Thank you so much, Beta Jax.”
”I'm glad you have fully healed, Nora. The Luna will be glad to know you’ve woken up, so I will leave you both to it,” he uttered with a bow and one last look to Lorraine before he left.
The sisters hugged once more while Lorraine filled her in with what happened with the rest of the pack, and Elise helped them. They were overcome with relief and gratitude that some of their pack members could be saved.
Soon enough, Lorraine had begun to cut apples and feed her sister, Nora, who watched Lorraine cutting apples with a blush on her cheeks as she talked about Jax. Her sister couldn’t help but notice how mushy Lorraine looked when she spoke about the beta.
”Something is going on with you and that beta, isn’t there?” She asked, causing the knife to clatter to the ground, and her sister spun to her so fast she almost had whiplash.
“What? I d-don't know what you mean..”
”Lorri..”
”W-was it obvious that I like him?”
”Your eyes are shining with hearts anytime you utter his name, Lorraine,” she called with another munch, watching how shy her sister had become from just the utterance of Jax's name. “And I can see he feels the same.”
”He doesn't,” she argued with a bitter bite to her lips.
”From the way he looks at you, sis, that man has feelings for you, and I am so happy you found someone like this.”
”Oh, what do I do, Nora? I’ve never felt like this for anyone before. I really want him, moons.”
”It’s very normal. It's normal to feel things, and you do…you know what? I'll be fine here, but you need to be honest about how you feel and go talk to him,” she tells her sister, who leaps up and hugs Nora, who hugs her back with so much love for her sister. “What are you waiting for, sis?” She called as she cleaned the tears on Lorraine's face.
”Go and get your man.”