Page 28 of Jace's Mate
A second ago, they’d been standing behind her uncle.Now?Wilton had shoved them in front of him like shields.The two men—she still didn’t know their names—stood silent and still, but their expressions weren’t angry or hostile.They were...confused.Their eyes flicked back toward Wilton, almost like they expectedhimto do something.
The shift in dynamic grounded her.
But she didn’t wait around for those two guards to figure out that they no longer followed Wilton.He’d hit her, so Anikka turned and ran.
She didn’t think, didn’t pause—just fled the kitchen, her breathing ragged as she pounded up the stairs.But her bedroom offered no relief.The moment she stepped inside the tiny space, the walls closed in.The air felt sharp in her lungs, like she was inhaling through a straw.
She needed air.Sunlight.She needed to get away from her uncle before she did something… unthinkable.
Attack him?
The thought stopped her cold.
AttackWilton?Was that even possible?Was she really strong enough to—
Anikka sucked in a breath and forced herself to push the question away.Bit by bit, she reined in the burning sensation twisting through her chest and limbs.Her emotions still roared under the surface, but she had themcontained.
For now.
Even so, she couldn’t stay trapped in that house.She needed out.Carefully, she cracked her door and slipped into the hall, avoiding the boards that creaked.At the top of the stairs, she paused and listened.Silence.
Wherewaseveryone?
She stood perfectly still, trying to sense Wilton’s location.Was he upstairs?In his room, stewing in his own anger?He spent hours up there, doing God knew what.At least he wasn’t here to stop her.
Quiet as a whisper, she opened the kitchen door and stepped outside.She eased it shut behind her and then—
Ran.
Anikka sprinted down the street, her too-tight, thrift store shoes slapping the pavement.Familiar roads gave way to strange ones.Her lungs burned, her legs ached—but she kept going.The wind kissed her sweat-damp skin.The smells of the city—hot dogs, car exhaust, the faint whisper of rain on brick—flooded her senses, but none of it mattered.She wasfree.
After nearly an hour, her legs gave out.She slowed to a walk, then stopped altogether.
She stood on a busy sidewalk, heart thudding, chest rising and falling.People passed her on both sides, casting sideways glances at the flushed, panting woman in the wilting floral dress.But Anikka didn’t notice.Her focus was inward—on the joy of freedom, the breathless rush of finally beingoutfrom under Wilton’s thumb.
She tilted her head back and inhaled deeply.
And that’s when it hit her.
Thescent.
She froze, eyes going wide.Stronger than it had been two days ago.Potent.Impossible to ignore.Her whole body responded in a sudden rush—heat, awareness,need.
What was this scent?
Why did it make her want to weep and shiver at the same time?
Drawn like a magnet, she took a step forward.Then another.She sniffed the air, following the trail, unaware of the people she brushed past.
Then she turned a corner—and stopped dead.
In front of her stood a gleaming steel-and-glass building, towering over the street.But she barely noticed the architecture.Her gaze was riveted on the man walking toward the entrance.
Him.
Tall.Broad shoulders.That uncompromising jawline and the dangerous edge in his eyes.Power clung to him like a second skin.
And he was lookingright at her.
