Page 46 of Jace's Mate
They ate.They drank more wine.They told stories—fragments of lives lived too fast, too cautiously.For a while, it felt… almost normal.
Then Jace leaned back into the cushions, stretching out.“I’ve taken all the pillows,” he said.He gestured lazily with one finger, curling it in the air.“Turn around and use me instead.”
She choked on a laugh.“I couldn’t.”
“You can.”His tone dropped.“I won’t touch you beyond this.Your innocence is safe tonight.”
Tonight.That word echoed.Something about the way he said it made her want to stand up just to prove she wasn’t so innocent.
He filled her glass again, the soft clink of the bottle brushing her thoughts aside.
“Turn around,” he said again, his voice calm, assured.“You’ll ask tougher questions if you’re not looking at me.”
Maybe he had a point.And what harm could it do?Slowly, carefully, she turned, and then felt his hand at her back, guiding her.She stiffened at first, her muscles locked.
“Tell me about your education,” he said casually.
She relaxed.They talked.Questions were asked and answered, wine poured and sipped.Her limbs grew heavy, her eyelids drooping.
Anikka blamed the wine as she relaxed and smiled, laughed at his stories or sighed with understanding.But deep down, she knew it wasn’t the wine making her sleepy.
It was the safety.
The kind of safety that only comes from being close to someone who could destroy everything—but chooses not to.
Chapter 12
Jaceknewtheexactmoment Anikka slipped into a deep, restful sleep.
Over the past hour, her answers had slowed, her words drifting into a soft murmur as she carefully, reluctantly, snuggled deeper against his chest.She’d stopped second-guessing her instincts somewhere between the second glass of wine and her third story about her strange, lonely childhood.When she’d finally relaxed enough to accept him as a pillow, her voice had lost its careful edge.It was vulnerable.Unfiltered.Real.
Carefully, Jace removed the nearly empty wineglass from her fingers and placed it on the coffee table without a sound.Then, with the ease of a man used to maneuvering people twice her size in battle, he shifted her slightly so her body fit more comfortably against his.One of her curls tickled his chin.He didn’t brush it away.
He stayed awake for a while, reviewing what she’d told him.Anikka had revealed small, interesting facts, nothing extraordinary—but when he put them all together, they formed a picture.She didn’t think she was strong, but she was.She didn’t realize how much she paid attention to people, or how quickly she could read others’ emotions.That was a gift.She didn’t trust easily, but tonight, she’d trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms.
Jace didn’t take that gift lightly.
He also thought through what the teens had said.All three of them had been kicked out of the Gufta Pack—for a silly prank against a bully.That just didn’t make any sense.No Alpha worth his title exiled teenage boys for hiding alarm clocks.Especially not when it was the Alpha’s own son doing the bullying.That wasn’t discipline.That was cowardice pretending to be order.
And Jace didn’t tolerate cowards in power.
Or maybe it was something more.Something deeper and more corrosive?
His mind was already moving.If Gustov was kicking out pups for minor infractions, what else was he doing?Who else was he abusing his authority over?Jace made a mental note to send scouts out to gather more information.Quiet ones.He’d dig until he uncovered what was really going on in that territory.
At some point, exhaustion must have overtaken him—because the next thing he registered was the soft chime of the elevator.
He came awake in an instant.
Every muscle in his body tensed as his eyes snapped open.The lights were still dim, and Anikka’s breath was warm against his chest.But something had changed.Something moved.He heard it—bare pads tapping on the tile.Not shoes.Not boots.
Claws.
Wolves.
Multiple.
He didn’t move yet.Not until he knew if they were enemies.His arms tightened fractionally around Anikka, ready to push her behind him if necessary, his body already shifting toward a defensive crouch.
