Page 192 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“Yeah,” I grunted, then shot off my text.

Can we talk? Can you come home now?

Within seconds, Jace responded.

Be there in five minutes.

He was as good as his word. A few minutes later, he walked through the door.

“Where did you go this morning?” I asked.

He gestured toward the door, eyes downcast. “Decided to go on a run. Clear my head, you know? Where’s Harley going? I saw her driving away with one of the guys as I came running up the driveway.”

“She, uh, needed to get something in town. Can we sit down?”

Jace’s face tightened with worry. “Yeah. Sure.”

We settled on the couch, and I could see him bracing himself for bad news. Did he think I was going to break up with him? Chew him out? Whatever he thought, I needed to get him to relax.

I put my hand on his thigh. “Calm down, Jace. We’re okay.”

As though my words had shattered some glass wall he’d erected around himself, he let out a shuddering sigh and sank into the couch. “Sorry. I’m a little wound up.”

“I can see that.” I took a breath, then let it out slowly. “I may not understand exactly what you’re feeling, but I can empathize.”

“You can?” He looked hopeful rather than bitter.

“I’ll never understand what it’s like to be an alpha, but I do understand the pressure you’re under. Me being your mate means I’m here to help take on some of that load. I want to help you take on the responsibility. But Jace, we can’t run a pack together if we can’t even communicate.”

Jace leaned his elbows on his knees and looked at me, a chastened expression on his face. “I’m sorry. I’ve been acting like a spoiled brat. If Waylan or someone else in my pack had been doing this, I’d have chewed their ass out. You’re right, though. The pressure is getting to me. I’ve never felt anything so heavy. Even taking over the pack after my parents died was easy compared to this. As much as you don’t want to lose your parents, it’s something you know deep down will eventually happen.” He shook his head bitterly. “But having someone trying to take the woman you love every other day? There’s no way to prepare for that. I have to kill Eren. Everyone is depending on me to do that. Not just my pack, but the surrounding packs, and the innocent people of Scottsdale, too.

“I should be able to keep my mind on task, but all I can see is Eren’s head on a spike. The guy really knows how to get under my skin. It’s probably what he wants.”

“That anger is normal,” I said, cupping his cheek. “I’d be angry, too. I am angry. You just need to focus that anger on him and our plan to make him pay. Focus it on training Dustin and Ivy’s packs, helping Flynn, leading your people. We need you to have your head on straight. It’s okay to be upset and stressed, but it’s not okay to take it out on everyone. That’s a one-way street to loneliness, and I don’t want that for you or us. I’m not going anywhere, and you need to get that into your thick skull.”

Jace took my hand. “I’m so sorry, Kirsten. I’m a fucking idiot.”

“We all know that. Was there something new you wanted to tell me?”

The smile that spread over his face warmed my heart. “Very funny. Yes, I’m a dick. I know. Again, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll do better. For my pack, and most importantly, for you.”

“That’s all I want.”

“Speaking of that,” Jace said. “I’ve been too careful with you. You’re powerful in your own right. You should come to the training session today. Help us. It would be good to practice the drills using your magic, too.”

I blinked in surprise. “That sounds great, actually.”

“Let’s go,” he said, smiling and extending a hand to me.

Jace included me in the training that day and every day for the rest of the week. I used my magic to supplement the drills and training Flynn and Langston put everyone through. Instead of treating me like some porcelain doll that could shatter at any moment, Jace allowed me to really be a part of it all. By the end of the week, I felt more powerful and in control of the offensive and defensive spells. On Thursday night, I called Tinsley to tell her how I’d managed to summon wind and rain simultaneously during one drill. I was bouncing up and down, giddy at my accomplishment.

By Friday, Flynn and Langston were happy with how well the training was progressing.

Waylan slung his arm around my shoulder in a brotherly manner. “This is because of you,” he said. “This is what it was like before the schism, back when our kind worked together. The shifters brought out the best in the witches, and the witches brought out the best in us. It’s pretty crazy to watch, actually. I sort of thought that was all exaggerated, but clearly not.”

At the end of the training session on Friday, Jace climbed up onto the bed of a truck and looked out at all the gathered shifters from three different packs.

“I want to thank you all,” he said, his voice booming out across the clearing. “None of you had to do this. None of you were forced here. You came because you know that what is happening is wrong, that what Eren is doing is an abomination, and that it has to be stopped. It stops here! It ends now, and we will be the ones to do it.”

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