Page 108 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

Before I could argue further, Waylan came running from the house. He’d arrived before us due to our little talk at the side of the road on the way back. He had a phone to his ear and looked utterly terrified.

He spoke into the phone as he hurried toward us. “Yes, ma’am. I understand… yes ma’am… I’m sorry, I won’t call you ma’am anymore.”

He held the phone out to me as he approached. Confused, I took it from him. It took me a moment to realize it was my phone. Jace’s men must have found it in the car after the wreck.

“It’s your friend. She called your phone a few minutes ago. I, uh, gave her a rundown on what happened,” Waylan said sheepishly, then hurried away.

“Oh, shit,” I muttered and put the phone to my ear. “Harley?”

“Holy fucking shit, Kirsten. What the hell is happening? I call to check on you, and some dude answers, tells me you were kidnapped? Please tell me this is a joke. Please.”

A weary sigh escaped my chest. “I wish it was. Some assholes ran me off the road and took me—”

“Who are they?” Harley hissed, cutting me off. “I’ll castrate every one of the pieces of shit. Have you called the cops?”

That was an interesting question. We hadn’t. From what little I knew about shifters, most of the packs handled law enforcement on their own. Local districts did almost nothing in the way of investigation, leaving that to the alpha of the pack. But I was a human—er, well, a witch now—but still. Did that mean the cops needed to be informed? Would they arrest Eren, or would they say it was a pack matter since I was Jace’s mate? That was something I’d need to ask Jace.

“No, I’m fine,” I said to Harley. “I got away. I’m with Jace now. I’m safe.”

Harley grumbled. “I’m booking a flight as soon as I’m off the phone with you. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

I blinked in surprise. “Harley, you don’t need to do that. I’m serious.”

“Nope. Not listening. My best friend was attacked and abducted. If you think for a single moment that I’m not about to come down there and raise almighty hell, you’ve got another think coming.”

It would be pointless to argue. I’d known Harley for the better part of my entire life. Once she had her mind set on something, it was a done deal.

I looked at Jace. “Looks like I might be having company tomorrow. Do you have room for one more?”

The surprise on his face was only there for an instant before he nodded. “Uh, yeah. I have a few guest rooms.”

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said to Harley.

“Whew.” She sighed, and when she spoke again, some of the tension had left her voice. “I’m still pissed, but I’m happy you’re safe now.”

“Me too. Listen, I need to get going. I’m trying to get settled. As you can imagine, it’s been a rough day.”

“No shit,” Harley snapped, then she softened her voice, going quiet the way she used to do when we were teenagers and she wanted to tell me a secret. “Also, who was the guy who answered the phone? He sounds hot.”

“Oh my god. Harley, I’m hanging up. Love you.”

“Ugh, fine. Love you, bye.”

“What was that all about?” Jace asked when I got off the phone.

“Overprotective best friend,” I said. “And I couldn’t ask for a better person to have on my side. Present company excluded, of course.”

Jace shrugged. “Second place is better than last place, I guess. Come on, let me show you where you’ll be staying.”

He grabbed my suitcase and led me inside. So far, I’d only seen the lower level—the living room, den, and kitchen area. Following him upstairs, I realized it was a very big house. We passed a room that looked well lived in. I peeked inside and had no doubt it was Jace’s bedroom. There was a masculine quality to the décor, and it just smelled like him. But to my surprise, he continued past that room to the next bedroom down the hall.

“Here we go,” he said, setting the suitcase down. “Queen bed. Small closet, but it has an en suite bathroom. It was Shayna’s room when she lived here. Before she found a mate.” He looked at me quizzically. “Is everything okay?”

The confusion on my face must have been evident. I gestured to the hallway, pointing back toward his room. “I just sort of figured you’d have me bunk with you.”

His smile slid away, replaced with an intense and dark stare. “Honestly? There’s nothing I want to do more than to take you to my room, lock the door, and spend the next three or four hours showing you how sorry I am. Showing you in the best way possible.”

The words, coupled with his hungry stare, sent a pulse of heat between my legs, and butterflies swirled in my stomach.

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