CHAPTER 5

When Jaxon and Ivy returned from the hall, Ivy seemed happier than when she left. It made Jaxon happy that Ivy and Max had seemed to get on throughout the day. He hadn't left Ivy's side all day, Ivy sat between him and Max during lessons and at lunch.

Although he almost punched Matthew when he told Ivy she was pretty. The thought made Jaxon angry, Ivy was pretty, but Jaxon didn't want anyone else getting to close to her.

'Mum we're home!' Jaxon yelled as he and Ivy entered the house. They went straight to the kitchen and Jaxon pulled a load of snacks from his secret stash in the pantry. They headed for the living room and Jaxon dumped all the snacks on the floor before taking a seat beside the pile.

'Hey, Jax how was school?' His dad asked as he entered the kitchen. Ivy didn't flinch like yesterday, although she did look up wearily from her place on the floor.

'It was good, Ivy had fun,' Jax mumbled through a mouth full of crisps.

'That's good, that's good,' Robert said, sitting down on the floor opposite the two young ones. 'Your mum and I would like to have a talk with you both if that's okay?'

Robert didn't miss the way Jaxon glanced at Ivy, to make sure that it was, in fact, okay. Elle chose that moment to join them in the living room, she also sat down across from Jax and Ivy.

After talking for a while about how their days were, Ivy relaxed more although she still sat quietly beside Jaxon and ate the jaffa cakes she had taken from the snack pile.

'So we wanted to talk to you guys about a couple of things,' Elle began, looking at Robert because she really had no idea how to approach this, so Rob took the lead.

'I guess we should start with the important part first. Jaxon, you know all about the pack and how you'll get your wolf,' Robert looked at his son, who nodded in response. 'But Ivy is human, so she doesn't have a wolf.'

Ivy who had stopped eating the jaffa cakes now sat looking between everyone with a crease in her brows.

'No wolf?' Jax asked his dad, looking between Rob and Ivy. Robert shook his head in response and waited, knowing that Jaxon would do the next part for them.

'Oh,' Jaxon nodded to himself, before turning his body to face Ivy. 'You don't have a wolf, that's okay. I get a wolf when I turn sixteen, so I can turn into a wolf. Everyone here can, except you, you don't have a wolf.'

Ivy watched Jaxon as he spoke, listening to everything he was saying. 'You'll be a wolf? Will you be back?' She asked in nothing more than a whisper.

'I won't stay a wolf, I can just turn into one if I wanted too.' Jax said, patting the hand that was resting on her knee. Ivy nodded, holding onto the hand that had been patting her own.

'Okay, and the other thing we needed to talk to you guys about is Mates,' Robert continued once Ivy and Jaxon had finished talking about wolves.

'Every wolf has a mate, like what your mum is to me, Jax' Robert began, once again unsure of how to talk about this in a way both of them would understand.

'It's like your best friend, you look after each other and support each other. You protect each other and love each other,' Elle assisted her own mate in the explanation. 'Your mate is special as you only get one and they'll make you feel happy and loved, protected and safe.'

'You'll find yourself mate when you get your wolf, your wolf will tell you who your mate is,' Robert picked up where Elle had left off.

'But Ivy doesn't have a wolf,' Jaxon reminded his parents.

'No, she doesn't have a wolf.' Elle nodded, Robert and herself had talked about this all day. They hadn't known if it were best to let Ivy and Jaxon find out themselves but these were unusual circumstances. For mates to come together and for the bond to be strong without their wolves being present, certainly unusual circumstances.

'Do you feel any of those things we just talked about?' Rob asked his son, who's gaze had shifted to Ivy as she sat beside him.

'I got angry earlier,' Jax began quietly. 'When Matt said that Ivy was pretty. I didn't want Ivy to like him more than me.'

Elle laughed quietly, Robert just shook his head, smiling.

'I don't like Matt more than you,' Ivy whispered softly, giving Jaxon a small smile. Jaxon couldn't help but grin back.

'Now that's cleared up,' Elle smiled, laughing lightly. 'You felt like that because Ivy is your mate.'

'Ivy's my mate?' Jaxon repeated.

'Yes, Ivy is your mate.' Robert nodded, 'that's why you got angry about Matt saying she was pretty. Although you shouldn't get angry about that, he's your friend and he only meant it as a compliment.'

'So I get to protect Ivy? I get to make sure she's happy and safe?' Jaxon asked, looking between his parents as a wide smile slowly crept over his features.

His parents just nodded at their son, smiling themselves at the expression on his face, before looking at Ivy.

'Do you understand all of that, Ivy?' Elle asked the young girl gently.

'Jack will look after me.' Ivy repeated, nodding her head as she spoke.

'I'll make sure you're happy and safe,' Jaxon agreed, tugging on Ivy's hand until she was sat right beside him on the floor. Hugging her to his body tightly, he held her as close as he could. 'Safe and happy,' he mumbled with his face pressed into her small shoulder.

-

Later that night as the four of them sat around the table, they explained to Ivy more about the pack. They told her about the ranks and how Jaxon, herself and Max would take over the running of the pack once they turned 21.

They talked about school, how Ivy's records had been pulled up from her previous school and that because she was doing so well in her schooling they would try to get her enrolled into Jaxon's year. They offered to get her a tutor if she needed the extra support but Jaxon was quick to offer his help.

'I can help her!' He had insisted, 'I'll make sure she knows what's going on, it's my job, as a mate.'

Elle and Robert had just laughed, saying 'it's fine Jax, you can help her then'. They both knew this was going to be something Jaxon said quite often.

They discussed what was going to happy next as Ivy was technically an orphan.

Andy and Mel, Max's parents, had offered to legally adopt Ivy. That was she could stay with the pack and not have missing person report floating around in the human town. This, however, didn't go down well with Jaxon.

'Ivy can't go stay with them, she has to stay here!' He rushed out, his words spoken so fast they began to meld together. 'She has to stay here!'

Jaxon's panic had obviously spread to Ivy, who watched him insist that she needed to stay before she also began to panic.

'Have to stay with Jack, have to stay with Jack,' Ivy mumbled repeatedly, holding onto the back of Jaxon's shirt.

'Okay, everyone just calm down. Ivy isn't going anywhere, it's only legal. She will still stay here and you can still look after her,' Robert assured his son, before turning to reassure Ivy. 'Ivy, you will stay with Jax, you'll still be with Jax.'

After an eventful evening, both Ivy and Jaxon were ushered upstairs to bed. Jaxon took Ivy to her room, before leaving for his own. Robert and Elle waited at the top of the stairs and watched as their son emerged from his own room, clad in his superhero pyjamas and padded across the hall straight into Ivy's room.

They shared a look before heading back downstairs to watch television and when they made their way to the stairs to go to bed themselves, they stopped by the room their son had entered.

Poking their heads through the door they could make out two figures on the bed. Both Ivy and Jaxon lay on their sides, facing each other, Ivy against the wall and Jaxon nearest the window. They were so close together, their noses almost touched and their legs were entangled with Ivy's small legs in between Jaxon's.

Elle and Robert closed the door and made their way down the hall towards their own room. Even at their age, Robert knew his son would never sleep alone again, not if Ivy was just across the hall.

They needed to rethink this bedroom situation.