Chapter 8

The locking mechanism moved easily, clicking as it unlocked.

Mae slipped in cautiously, furtively looking around like she expected the worst behind the door.

“Huh?” She hummed to herself when there was nothing on the other side of the door, just Jaxon's empty apartment and not blood splattered rugs and gut strewn couches.

A short tour of the apartment didn’t provide what she was looking for, Jaxon was still nowhere to be found.

There was only one other place she hadn’t checked, his bedroom, maybe he was asleep?

Nah.

Mae shook that thought out of her head, it was easier to believe that Virgil would let Hayden leave the Pack House all by himself.

Well, unless Darian’s intel was not accurate which was highly unlikely then Jaxon was probably in his room, crying?

She needed to stop making these wild guesses and just check for herself. Lightly, she tapped on the door, loud enough to be heard but also soft enough to not be a disturbance.

No response, just like with the front door and she had had enough, she pushed open the door to the most shocking sight she had ever had the opportunity of seeing.

Jaxon, fast asleep, in broad daylight.

He was deeply asleep too, for she realized that he slept too lightly. It was why the slightest things always roused him.

Mae just stood at the door stunned stupid, well, well, none of her potions had ever worked this well, why was Darian so panicked for?

She sighed in relief, she had dropped off her tote bag in the living room so she walked forward to get a good look at him and drag the covers down, she would have to sit down and wait because the last thing she would ever do is wake up Jaxon from a much needed sleep.

She had no idea how long he would sleep for but it wasn’t like she had other things to do, Shana would be just fine with their adopted daughter, she just wished she hadn’t forgotten her phone so that she would have been able to inform her mate that she would be back home late.

Carefully she leaned over Jaxon to check up on him only to gasp and nearly topple over.

Were those… were those love bites? Well, that was new.

She brushed it out of her mind, pulling up his blankets and tucking him in.

She found it adorable that he preferred to have her deal with his health problems even though his younger sister was a really competent nurse.

Not like Mae was complaining, she made her way out in record time, closing the door gently.

She still encouraged him to go for occasional check ups as her voodoo might not be 100% accurate and if it was something she could cook up a potion for, she would, like she always did.

Sighing, she bounced on the couch and settled in to wait, putting on the TV to pass the time, hopefully, she would not have to wait too long.

She didn’t because Jaxon had set an alarm, he did not want to miss dinner, definitely not after the fainting fit he pulled earlier.

He still had no clue why he had passed out, perhaps it was a combination of his lack of eating and of course, Darian and Leon.

Usually, he woke up on the first blare of his alarm, not this time though because it went into snooze a couple times before he actually woke up and what do you know? He still felt sleepy.

Well, if today wasn’t a day of firsts.

He fought against the urge to sleep though, food was more important at the moment so he threw aside the covers and sat up.

At least there was one good part of his day, he had somehow recovered his ability to sleep better, Mae would be happy to hear this.

It probably wouldn’t last long though, by tomorrow or even later that night, his insomnia would most likely be back in full force.

Maybe he should get Leon and Darian to kiss him again…

He violently shook that thought out of his head, Darian was most likely asexual and Leon was well… Leon. Besides, the incident in his office never happened.

He stepped into the bathroom to rinse his face and the hickies on his neck stared back at him as if to mock his conviction.

He closed his eyes to them, cleaning up, they were nothing that turtlenecks couldn't fix or the occasional quirky scarf and soon they too would fade away and he would go back to his daily routine.

He stepped into the living room with purpose after dressing up properly enough to be in public, he didn’t expect anyone to be in his apartment as well.

Jaxie screamed bloody murder when he bumped into Mae in the living room, she just grinned up at him from her spot on his couch.

“I see you’re awake.” She noted, putting off the television.

“Fucking hell.” Jaxon gasped under his breath, still recovering from the scare. “What are you doing here?” He asked with a frown after getting over his initial shock.

“Darian asked me to come check up on you so here I am.” She spread out her arms jovially, getting to her feet to further inspect him. “You were asleep so I decided to wait.”

“Darian did what?”

“Here, sit down.” Mae directed him carefully, thoroughly ignoring him. “He sounded panicked and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t because of your hickies.”

“You saw those?” Jaxon demanded in horror.

“So here now, tell me, how do you feel?” Mae asked, cupping his face in both of her hands as she proceeded to look him over.

“I feel like you’re not listening to me.” Jaxon scolded lightly, pouting a bit.

Mae smiled indulgently. “Fine, what do you want to hear?”

“What did Darian say to you?”

“Hmm?” Mae hummed, going to search inside her tote bag. She was dressed in casual shorts and a halter top, all in earthy shades.

“Yeah, what did he say to you?” Jaxon repeated, impatient.

“Oh, nothing much, he just asked if I could check up on you, I was hoping to get more information from you.” She said honestly, walking back to the couch where Jaxon was seated, brandishing a beautifully carved wooden comb.

“Oh.” Jaxon muttered, deflating. “Wait, how did you know about the hickies?” He asked with widening eyes, he was wearing a turtle-necked sweater so there was no way she could have seen it.

“I checked up on you while you were sleeping, I hope you don’t mind but I had to make sure you were alright.” Mae replied, settling in to brush his hair.

It was somewhat part of their consultation session, Mae combed his hair to help him relax and also because it reminded her of her mate’s hair which Shana had unmercifully cut, their beautiful red hair always fascinated her.

“So, want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Jaxon rubbed his face wearily, still feeling sleepy, maybe Darian was right to get Mae, he couldn’t ever remember wanting to go back to bed this badly.

“Well… I… I might have passed out…”

“What?” Mae interjected sharply, stopping her motion of combing through his hair.

“Wait, wait, let me finish, I just forgot to eat… ow!” He yelled when he felt a hard smack on the upside of his head.

“How could you do that?” Mae raged, her soft brown eyes lighting up. “Do I have to sic Dream on you?”

“No! God no!” He refused violently, looking frantic. “Please don’t do that to me.”

Mae took in a deep breath, carding her hands through his thick, long curls. “Fine but if you let this happen again, there’ll be no changing my mind.”

Jaxon agreed shakily, gulping hard. Nothing was more terrifying than Dream, absolutely nothing.

Plus, he knew that both Leon and Darian wouldn’t let him live this down, adding Dream to that would be hellish.

“Well, I understand why Darian sounded panicked but we can’t decide that something is wrong.” She started to say, resuming the combing of his hair. “And I know how much you don’t like getting checked up so I guess I’ll just keep an eye on you and if anything seems funny, it’s down to the clinic for you.”

Jaxon groaned lightly, that was the worst, he couldn’t fault Darian for being worried but he only left the Pack House a few times in a month, he did not want going to the clinic being a part of that number.

“I feel just fine, I mean it, I’m just a little sleepy.”

Mae choked at this. “What? Did you hit your head when you blacked out?” She went round the couch to ask with worry.

The image of what happened moments before he passed out flashed through his mind and he instantly colored up a bright red to rival his hair. “No, not at all.”

Mae started at this reaction. Weird. But she wasn’t going to point it out.

“Well, maybe you’re just exhausted or my potions are finally working tremendously.” She decided, pleased with the idea.

Jaxon glanced to the side to hide his burning face. “Sure.”

“Well, if that’ll be all, I should get going, it’s already quite late.” She huffed out a breath, going to gather up her things.

One look at the window revealed that the sun had long gone down. “You won’t stay for dinner?” Jaxon suggested in concern.

“Nah, I’ll pass.” Mae said shortly, her mate would be up waiting for her so that they would eat dinner together, she had better hurry. “You should make sure you eat enough, okay.” She reminded him, saying her goodbyes.