JACKSON

I don't even know why the hell I thought trying to calm Blake down was a good idea but it needed to be done. He needed to stop before he did some serious damage — and I'm not talking about simply throwing a sofa through the window or putting his fist into a wall.

I put my hands on his shoulders and I could feel him physically shaking as he eyed Nicole up and down. Jayson seemed to have done enough damage for now if the smell of blood was anything to go by.

"Blake," I pushed him backwards as he made another attempt at Nicole and Jayson. I may not have trusted Jayson but he was still my friend and I knew he would never let anything happen to Ellie.

He was the one who saved her and allowed me to speak with her. He was the one who lost his temper with her when she admitted that she didn't want Blake because he didn't like the idea of his best friend hurting. He was the one who came back here and asked for Ellie's help when he needed it the most.

He wouldn't be stupid enough to get involved with his mother's sick plans for revenge. I didn't have to necessarily trust him to know that he wouldn't let anything happen to Ellie.

"No. They need to pay," he growled back at me. He pushed me so that I hit the wall behind us and then he made a run for my throat but I managed to duck just in time. I couldn't shift because of my injuries, I knew that, but Blake really was a pain in the ass when he was pissed.

"Calm the fuck down," I shouted as he made for another hit for my face but he narrowly missed me. I managed to get another push to his chest which was met with a punch to the side where I had several stitches holding everything together — it stung like a bitch but I didn't let on how much it hurt as I caught hold of his hand and held him back from going for Jayson again.

"My mate, your best friend, their Alpha, could be dead and you're just going to let them get away with it?" he snapped. He grabbed hold of the lamp from behind him and smashed it over my head. I could feel the blood dripping down my face and neck from the shards which had managed to do some serious damage but I ignored the pain as I continued to fight Blake off.

"And this isn't the way to solve anything," I seethed. He was pissing me off now. I knew his mate was in danger and it was only instinct that he wanted to protect her but this was ridiculous because he obviously wasn't thinking straight otherwise he would see what an idiot he was being right now.

"Blake, you—" but I didn't get to finish what I was saying as a punch to the face sent me flying into the wall opposite. The pain surged through my entire body and I winced when I tried to move so that I could stand up again. He had really done it this time and I was going to need another visit to the pack doctor once this was done with.

"I warned you Jackson. But you didn't listen. You didn't fucking listen," Blake shouted. He stalked across the room at an impressive speed and the only thing I saw was his fist above his head.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact. Only it never came. Instead there was the chilling sound of a child's cry and I opened my eyes to see that Michael was on the floor beside me with blood pouring from his nose. I was fairly certain that Blake had broken it at the same time and that wasn't going to impress Luca — pissed off or not, Luca wasn't going to accept what Blake had done to his son.

"Michael. I am so sorry," Blake suddenly calmed down and I could see the regret in his eyes the moment he regained control from his wolf. He tried to come closer to Michael but, for each step Blake took towards him, Michael shuffled closer to me.

"I told you to calm down. Now look what you've done," I sighed. I wrapped my arm around Michael's shoulder and tipped his head backwards as I inspected the damage which had been done.

"I don't like you Uncle Blake. You're scary. Just like mum was when she was angry with dad," Michael whispered as he wiped away his tears. His eyes didn't even meet with Blake's and I could see how much that hurt. He hadn't meant to injure his nephew but it had happened and there was nothing Blake could do to change that.

"Michael. Please. I am sorry," Blake insisted helplessly.

"You made Daniel cry too. He doesn't like you either," Michael muttered. I pinched the top of his nose and pulled some tissue out of my pocket to wipe the blood which had started to dry on his face.

Elliot. I need you to take Michael to the pack doctor please. I wasn't going to leave Blake here with Jayson and his mother. I didn't know what he would do the moment I walked out of that front door with Michael.

What about the twins? And Daniel? Always worried about the pups. She was going to make an amazing mother when our child finally arrived in this world and I couldn't be happier that she was the mother of my pups. She had that natural instinct which was needed from a mother and she is a wonderful mate to me.

Take Daniel with you. I don't think Michael will want to leave him here anyway. I told her and not two seconds later I heard the sound of her walking down the stairs with an upset Daniel in her arms.

Blake had really done well this time. He had not only managed to break his nephew's nose but he had also managed to scare the living daylights out of his other nephew.

Luca really was going to kill Blake once he got his hands on him. And I don't think Luca cares that he is the mate of his best friend, he is going to want to kill the person who caused distress to both of his children because, if I was in Luca's shoes, I know that's sure as hell what I would want to do.

"What the hell happened?" Elliot shouted once she saw the state of Michael's face. She then moved her eyes over to me before she began to glare at Blake who seemed to suddenly shrink under her cold stare. "Just you wait Blake Jackson. You and I are going to be having words a little later on."

"Babe. Calm down. He was—"

"I couldn't give a shit whether he's the fucking King of all Werewolves. He doesn't have the right to break his nephew's nose and neither does he have the right to make your injuries worse before they've even had the chance to heal properly," Elliot growled protectively. I was now the one getting the cold stare from my mate and Blake was taking a moment to reflect upon the consequences of his actions.

"I'm sorry," Blake muttered.

"Sorry simply doesn't cut it. You should have thought before you acted," Elliot shouted. I pushed myself up from the floor and walked over to her.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. She didn't waste any time before she hugged me back and took a calming breath in as I kissed her on the top of her head. I didn't want to see her lose her temper because of a lame mistake on the part of Blake.

"Remember it's not just you now. You have to protect two of you," I spoke quietly to her with a smile on my face. The idea of actually becoming a father never failed to make me smile — especially after I saw the way Ellie was with the twins and the boys. The way Blake's eyes lit up whenever he held his son and whispered words of love to calm his daughter down.

I wouldn't mind having a family like that. Because, for all of Blake's faults, there was no denying that he was one hell of a father to those twins and he was also one hell of a mate to Ellie — he was the one who successfully put her back together again and showed her that there were ways to deal with your anger and pain besides murdering everyone who brought about that pain and anger.

He was one hell of a friend to those who needed him. He was always there when one of us had needed him and he would put his plans on hold to help those out who needed help. In fact, the only time I had really seen him lose his temper was whenever a male got a little too close to Ellie for his liking and he felt the need to put the guy in his place.

"He's an absolute twat," Elliot muttered into my chest and I am sure even Blake managed to chuckle at the comment.

"I know it's not an excuse but he isn't exactly having the best day. You know how males get whenever something happens to their mate," I sighed.

"I can't believe your defending him. He broke Michael's nose and nearly put you back in the hospital," Elliot growled as she pushed my away from her slightly. I could understand that she was pissed but at the same time I could understand Blake's reasons for losing his temper in the way that he did.

"Look, if you willingly went with the guy who had been trying to kill you and then I found out that my best friend's mother was the reason for everything which was happening, I would be just the same as Blake is right now," I explained to her. I looked down at Blake to see that he had his head in his hands and he was crying. Blake was actually crying and I suddenly felt sorry for him — he just wanted to be happy but the Moon Goddess seemed to be doing everything in her power to prevent that from happening at the moment.

"I am taking Michael to the pack doctor. You had better have dealt with him by the time I get back," Elliot snapped. She walked away from me and pulled Michael from the floor by his hand. He was still holding the tissue beneath his nose which was still flowing with blood and she held on tightly to Daniel with her other hand as she pulled them both from the house.

I was going to have to do something to make this up to her later but Blake needed me right now. I had never seen him as lost as he is right now and I imagine this is how Elliot must have felt after she found out that there was a chance I could die because of some stupid wolf who thought betrayal was the answer.

"Blake," I spoke his name softly as I knelt down beside him.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just, it's just, I don't know what I would do if I lost Ellie, I don't think I would be able to cope if she wasn't here because I love her so much. I love her so much Jackson that it drives me insane and then I end up doing something like breaking my nephew's nose," Blake sobbed into his hands without even looking up from the ground.

I wanted nothing more than for Ellie to walk through the front door right now and tell us all that she had been joking. That, for the last nine days, she had been hiding in the forest because she wanted to see how we would cope without her and that she was almost impressed with how well we had done without our Alpha in the picture telling us all what to do.

"Michael will come round. I'll talk to him and explain things to him," I told him. I didn't want Michael and Daniel to hate Blake after the small amount of progress they had made — with the boys both caring deeply about Blake and Ellie and not wanting anything to happen to either of them.

"El is going to hate me. She is going to be so angry and, as sad as it sounds, I will welcome her anger because at least I'll know that she's back and then I will spend a week begging for her forgiveness. It will be just like every single time we argue and I will welcome it because of how much I love her," Blake muttered quietly.

"I don't think she's going to hate you. She might be a little pissed but I don't think she'll hate you," I reassured Blake. I hated seeing my friend like this and knowing there is nothing I can to make him feel any better about himself.

"As heart-warming as your little moment is right now, my son is dying and neither of you seem to be too bothered about that. Always going to be Ellie above everyone else with you lot," Nicole suddenly spoke up but, for some strange reason, she almost sounded amused that her son was dying and neither of us had noticed what was happening because I had been too busy trying to calm Blake down.

I pushed myself from the floor and ran over to where Jayson was lying at his mother's feet. He was still breathing but he was just about hanging on to life because of the injuries he had suffered during his spate with Blake and his mother was doing nothing to help other than dealing with the wound on the back of her head.

I could feel that the stitches on my side had torn slightly and my top was sticking to the opened wound. It was painful but Jayson needed to be dealt with first and he needed to be helped before it was too late.

Lira. I need you to come now. Jayson Stone needs help. I forced the urgency into my tone. I didn't care that she was with Michael right now. Jayson needed help and she needed to come before the last of his life slipped away from him. I may not have trusted the guy but that didn't mean I wanted him to die.

I would never forgive myself if Jayson died. He was my friend and he gave me a chance when no one else believed in me. He had to survive and I would make sure that he did. I would do anything and everything to make sure Jayson made it through this and got another chance in life. I would make sure my friend was happy and I wouldn't let anyone stand on my way.

Sorry that this part isn't all that. I had ideas but they didn't all fit into this chapter so this is just something to show you how Jackson sees Blake and you also get a little bit of Jackson and Elliot too since I am aware that there hasn't been an awful lot of those two in this book.

Anyway, sorry that this part is a bit crap, but my mind is all over the place at the moment with everything — both University related and non-University related. So, yeah, I hope you enjoyed this part and I promise that the next part will be a whole lot better than this part.