Page 60 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“Is there going to be a problem?” I asked the guards again, my aura cascading over them.

“No, man. Go on, then. Go,” the guard said, waving at the driveway, unable to meet my eyes.

“We’re good,” I called back to Waylan, then got back into my truck.

Pathetic. It showed what type of alpha Eren was that his own men could so easily be cowed by another alpha. My own people would have died to protect me, and I for them. I had no doubt that if Eren tried the same thing on Waylan, my friend would feel the desire to be subservient, but his loyalty to me would outweigh any power another alpha might have over him. He’d kick Eren’s ass.

I ruled my pack with a soft but firm hand, letting justice, law, and order reign. Eren, on the other hand, chose to run his pack lands with an iron-fisted dictatorship. His pack’s allegiance was forced rather than earned, and the reactions of his guards were telling.

Eren was already outside with three more of his betas as we stopped in the gravel driveway. Waylan was out of his car and shifted into his wolf in seconds, growling menacingly at the other four men.

“Well, Jace, to what do I owe this visit?” Eren called.

I yanked the box off my passenger seat, stepped out, and tossed it like a frisbee toward him. The top of the box fluttered off and the dress fell at Eren’s feet.

“Seems a little small for me, Jace,” Eren said with a grin, but I could see the fury in his eyes.

“You know why I’m here,” I spat, jabbing my finger in his direction and taking a few steps closer, a growling Waylan at my heels. “There won’t be another warning. This is it. Stay the fuck away from Kirsten. She may not be on my lands, but she is under my official protection. You doing this breaks all the shifter hierarchy laws. You keep trying me, and you’ll see exactly what the repercussions will be.”

“Really?” Eren asked. “And what exactly will those be? Knowing you, you’ll just grab your ankles and ask me to kiss your ass.”

“You so much as look at her again, I’ll consider that a direct challenge. You and I both know how that will turn out. You aren’t close to being able to take me on.”

Eren’s face blazed, and he stomped forward, pushing his men aside. “I don’t need some piece of shit like you coming onto my pack lands and calling me weak in front of my people.”

I walked backward toward my truck. “If you don’t like being called weak, then don’t be weak.”

Waylan waited until I was in my truck with the door closed before retreating to his own car and shifting back.

After slamming my truck into reverse, I pointed out the window at Eren. “Like I said, last fucking warning. You stay the hell away from my mate.”

As I drove away, I glanced in the rearview and saw Eren flipping me off as I roared back down his driveway. As pissed as I was, I had to smile. That felt really fucking good. Hopefully, he got the message.

Chapter 17

Kirsten

After Jace had left, I’d busied myself with the dishes, doing my best to calm the raging sexual desire. When I got in bed, I couldn’t settle, tossing and turning for an hour before finally drifting off. Not that that had offered any refuge. My brain decided to feed me dream after dream of explicit scenes of me and Jace. By the time I woke up the next morning, I was freaking out. I’d never experienced anything so visceral and powerful before.

The first thing I did when I got up was call Harley. I needed to talk this out with someone. The phone rang seven times before she finally answered.

“Do you have any idea what fucking time it is?” She sounded groggy and muffled, like her face was still shoved into the pillow.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was eight o’clock. Sunday.

“It’s eight,” I said. “Were you not up yet?”

“Holy shit. No. I didn’t even get home until after three.” The bed rustled on the other end of the line, sounding like faint static. “What is so important, it couldn’t wait until a decent hour? Like, one or two o’clock or something?”

“Guy trouble,” I said.

Harley suddenly perked right up. “Oh! Well, for that, you should have just called me last night. Give me the dirt. All of it.”

For the next thirty minutes, I told her everything. The way my body was pulled toward Jace, the way I desired him, how horny my magic made me. I told her what he’d said and how our dinner had gone.

Finally, I added, “And I’m having dinner at his house tonight. Part of me doesn’t want to, but the other, more insistent part can’t wait. Harley, what should I do?”

“Easy,” Harley said. “You need to get some lingerie.”

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