Chasing His Scentless Mate (Caroline) novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Chapter 82 Drama Alert

Caroline’s POV

We walked into Bella Vita, Ruby’s pick for Italian, and damn if Jax and his crew didn’t steal the show. Five guys who looked like they belonged on magazine covers, Jax with leather jacket, two guys in fitted t-shirts that showed off their gym time, and the other two giving off that dangerous but clean-cut vibe. Every woman in the place was pretending not to stare, and failing badly.

The guys broke into huge grins when they saw us, all standing to greet us. There was Jax with his usual crew, Dominic, Wesley, Theo, and Paul.

"Ladies, you’re absolutely breathtaking! And that includes you too, Ruby," Dominic said, greeting each of us with light kisses on our cheeks.

We settled in at their table, and after placing our orders, I found myself relaxing for the first time all day. These guys were genuinely fun company. We were all laughing at Theo’s ridiculous jokes when I felt Jax’s warm hand touch mine. He leaned in close to my ear, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper.

"Don’t look now, beautiful, but those idiots who’ve been hassling you just walked in," he murmured.

Dominic had also noticed Draven, Ryan, and Joseph’s arrival. He casually moved closer to Eleanor, just as Wesley did with Ruby.

Then Jax spoke loud enough for our approaching "visitors" to hear,"Ladies, when are you going to do us the honor of accepting one of our proper invitations? This lunch doesn’t really count since you all have to rush back to work soon."

"Never! And you should stop asking." Draven’s deep voice growled out, the Alpha tone making every wolf in the room tense up..

"And who exactly do you think you are to answer for us?" Eleanor snapped back, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"I’m Caroline’s mate and your Alpha’s business partner, Eleanor. By the way, do Alpha Gerald and your mate Nate know you’re here?" Draven snapped, clearly annoyed.

Eleanor rolled her eyes with a scowl.

I felt Rory bristle inside me at his claim. How dare he call me his mate after what he’d done?

"Gentlemen, why all the hostility?" Dominic attempted to diffuse the tension. "Join us for lunch. Let’s enjoy some pleasant conversation among friends. Waiter, please..."

The waiter quickly added more places at the table, and everyone sat down. But despite their outwardly friendly demeanor, Jax and his friends expertly prevented Draven, Ryan, and Joseph from getting any direct conversation with us. Theo and Paul immediately engaged them in business talk about the local pack territories, while the others continued showering Eleanor, Ruby, and me with attention.

"Carrie, Ruby mentioned you have a son. I’d absolutely love to meet him sometime," Jax said, steering our conversation to something personal that made Draven’s head snap in our direction.

"What’s your angle here, Jax?" Draven abandoned his conversation with Joseph and turned to Jax with a dangerous gleam in his violet eyes. "You’re not going anywhere near Liam. He’s just a cub, and you won’t use him to try to get to Caroline. Don’t even think about approaching my boy!"

Draven’s possessive tone made both me and Rory bristle with anger.

"What gives you the right?" I snapped, my anger boiling over. "He’s my son. I decide who he spends time with!"

"I’m confused here," Jax said, looking between us with a puzzled expression. "Are you the father, Draven?"

"Yes." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"No."

We blurted out at the same time, leaving an uncomfortable silence around the table.

"No, Jax, he is not my son’s father," I clarified, shooting Draven a warning glare. Who does he think he is, trying to make decisions about my child?

"I may not be his biological father," Draven’s Alpha voice sent chills down my spine, "but I will be his legal father soon enough. As soon as Caroline agrees to be my mate officially, I’ll claim Liam as my son. So back off, Jax." His wolf eyes burned through as he spoke.

Everyone at the table fell silent, staring at us with wide eyes. I was speechless. Marriage? Claim Liam? Was he out of his mind?

"That’s if Carrie agrees to marry you," Jax shot back, keeping his cool even as tension crackled between them.

"Oh, she will," Draven’s voice held such arrogance I wanted to drench him with my water.

"From what I hear, you two aren’t even together anymore,"Jax continued provoking him. "Don’t know why, but she seems pretty pissed at you."

"We’ll work things out. Don’t concern yourself," Draven’s smile was all teeth and threat.

"Both of you, knock it off. Leave my son out of this. You’d better stop right now," I said, shutting down their argument.

"I apologize, Carrie. Didn’t mean to upset you," Jax’s tone softened genuinely. "I just really like kids."

"How about we calm down and enjoy some dessert?" Wesley jumped in, cutting through the tension. "Tell me, Firecracker, what dessert would you like? Tiramisu with hot sauce?" he winked at Ruby.

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