The Heartwood i am not just some turnkey, miss starling

There were times when Jinx was acutely aware of the age gap between herself and her mate, like when brief flashes of his icy eyes would alert her to his chronic discomfort, but most of the time she forgot he was much older. His returned affections were no less feverish than a younger man's might have been. He was wiser, much more than Jinx could ever hope to be, and in many ways he was stronger than her.

He showed that now in explaining what had transpired with Majesty. She herself would not have admitted to threatening a pack mate's life, but Lecter must have known by now what Jinx's stance on it was. “It is your right,” crooned the Alpha with a tight-lipped smile, adding, “It is not his to threaten you. If he makes another threat toward you, make sure you send his ass down before his face... Or I'll do it myself.” When Majesty would later come to speak to Jinx about the incident, she would put it more plainly, but the simple fact was that rank aside, her mate was everyone's superior.

“I have worried about some of our number,” she admitted next with a troubled glance at her mate. “Tyrande concerns me. She does not seem to understand her own breed. Perhaps I must keep a closer eye on Majesty as well.”