Page 109 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“But,” he said, snapping out of whatever thoughts had been running through his head, “I think it might be better if you have your own space for a while. After how things went,” he added. “The fight? I guess it would be good if we continued getting to know each other. I don’t want to rush things. That’s… well, that’s what I did before. The last thing I want is to push too far, too fast again and have this fall apart for good. I do not want that to happen.”

“I don’t want to have that happen, either.”

He smiled faintly. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

Harley’s question sprang to my mind. “Are you gonna call the police?”

He gave me a weird look. “Doubtful.”

“Won’t they want to know about this?”

Grimacing, he sat on the bed. “It’s hard to explain if you haven’t lived in the shifter world your whole life. Laws for humans and shifters are pretty different.”

“So kidnapping isn’t a crime? What about murder?” I asked, incredulous.

“It’s not that it isn’t a crime. It’s just that a couple hundred years ago, some laws were put into place that sort of gave us free rein to govern ourselves with little oversight. Alpha challenges, pack warfare, and skirmishes were far more common back then and part of our society. The government didn’t think they could legislate that out of our nature, so they basically washed their hands of us. The only time they would interfere is if we harmed or put a human or a human’s property at risk.”

“I’m basically a human, though,” I countered.

He bobbed his head. “True, but you’re my mate. It’s binding, especially since I publicly proclaimed it to the pack. In the eyes of the law, you’re a shifter now, even though physically you aren’t. We could call the cops, but they would tell us to handle it internally.”

“Holy shit,” I muttered.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know. I’d hoped to give you a rundown on stuff like this slowly, but here we are.” Jace put a hand to his head. “Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask. Are you hungry? Did that asshole feed you anything? Some water or something else to drink?”

Drink? That reminded me of something else. Something even more important. The second vial of potion I’d given to Shayna. The one she was supposed to give to Jace.

“Hang on,” I said and sat beside him. “Question. Did Shayna give you the–”

“The potion?” He nodded. “Yeah, she did.”

“Did you take it?” At that moment, nothing else seemed to matter but his response.

“I did.”

“And?”

“It definitely worked. I thought my pull toward you was strong before, but after taking the potion, the need to be near you grew even stronger. Like there was nothing more in the world I wanted than to have you in my arms. The curse is gone, and I can’t tell you how free that makes me feel, but it also showed me that my desire to have you wasn’t tied to the curse. You truly are my fated mate.”

Hearing that had a strange effect on me. Relief was at the forefront, yes, but also a weird sense of pride. The potion had been successful. A potion I’d helped make. It was exciting.

On top of those feelings, another kind of excitement bubbled up within me. A happiness that I couldn’t even describe. I’d hoped for this. Deep down, I’d wished that Jace and I really had been meant for each other.

The moment he told me he still wanted me after the curse had broken, I was surprised by how much I wanted him. Any doubts I might have had fled from my mind. Now that I was truly meant to be his changed things. It was somehow more real. Still, we would have to fix what had been broken. The fight that had sent me fleeing from Crestwood still lingered in the back of my mind. It clearly also lingered in Jace’s.

“I need to shower,” I said.

The expression on his face told me he didn’t want to let me out of his sight, but he nodded. “I’ll give you some time to get settled and freshen up while I make us something for dinner.”

He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. A gentle yet touching gesture that, had I been standing, would have made my knees weak. Without another word, he stood, stepped out, and closed the door behind him.

It was the first time I’d been alone and safe since before Eren and his men appeared as wolves on the road. Had that really only been this morning? If I hadn’t known better, I’d have assumed it had been at least three or four days. For a few minutes, I simply sat there, letting it all sink in. Was this my life now? Seriously? It was like I’d fallen into someone else’s world. Traded places with some woman in an action movie.

I showered for far longer than was necessary, but the hot water streaming over me was calming. Relaxing. I stayed under the spray, letting the heat turn my skin pink, until the water started to cool. After dressing, I went downstairs and found Jace at the stove. Waylan stood at the counter, chopping lettuce.

Seeing me, Jace gestured to the steaming pot on the stove. “I hope you like spaghetti. I didn’t have much to work with. It’s been a few days since I went to the store.”

My stomach clenched and growled so loudly I was afraid Jace’s shifter hearing would pick it up. “You could give me a bowl of cooked worms and I’d probably eat it,” I said. “I’m starving.”

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