Page 72 of Jace's Mate
Anikka straightened instinctively, heart ticking faster under their scrutiny.For most of her life, she’d been invisible.Her uncle and his ever-rotating crew had barely acknowledged her unless they needed something.
They started to turn back to the map, and a flutter of panic rose in her chest.No.She wouldn’t be overlooked again.
“I can help,” she said, stepping closer before she could second-guess the words.
The betas turned toward her.All three assessed her in silence, and suddenly she felt like she’d spoken out of turn.Like she’d broken some rule she didn’t understand.
“Thanks,” one said, polite but firm.“We’ll figure it out.”
Then they turned away, dismissing her with that same infuriating, inflexible confidence she was quickly learning to hate.
“Can’t trust her yet.”
“Too bad.She might know something.”
Anikka froze.
Their mouths hadn’t moved.The thoughts weren’t hers.And yet—there they were, echoing clearly in her mind.
Jace had said their connection was rare.That they were different.But these men were clearly communicating silently.And judging by the way they didn’t even glance at her, they hadno ideashe could hear them too.
Her lips parted.She stayed quiet.
Instead of reacting, she moved closer, pretending to be interested only in the map.She tilted her head, tuning out the background noise and focusing on what they were actually saying out loud.
“We picked up his scent here,” one said, pointing to a pin near a familiar street.
“Yeah, but this spot would give better cover.Easier to disappear if you had to bolt.”
Another pointed farther west.“But that doesn’t line up with what Viktor reported.Why are we getting activity here if the scent trail ends over there?”
Anikka studied the map with them now, heart speeding up.She recognized several of the landmarks.She’d passed them a few days ago.Actually… no, she’drunpast them.Full sprint.She hadn’t known it then, but it was the morning she’d started to change, to smell Jace and to realize something was different.
And now, they were focused on the wrong side of the city.
She hesitated for only a second before stepping forward again.“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, more confident now.“But are you looking for my uncle?”
“Yes,” came the immediate response.
“But… didn’t you already send someone to talk to him?”
The men exchanged glances, then the one she thought was named Ciaran nodded.“I was sent.I got close, but I lost your scent at this intersection,” he said, gesturing to a point about a mile from their current building.Then he looked at her directly.“Can you tell me where you were staying?”
Jace stepped up beside her, silent and close, but not touching.His nearness made her pulse skip, but she didn’t dare look at him.Across the table, the three betas had gone still.Their attention had shifted completely—to her.Waiting.
Anikka tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned over the map.“I’m not exactly sure,” she admitted, voice soft but steady.“My uncle didn’t share much with me about anything, let alone where we were living.”She bit her lip, trailing her finger across the map’s glass surface.“But the day I ran… I think I started here.”She pointed to a block of rundown housing near the edge of the map.“We were staying in a rented townhouse—seven of us.Ithinkit was around this area.”She circled a zone with her fingertip, ignoring the chipped nail.
She glanced up at Jace.“My uncle wasn’t the ambitious type.If he was planning mischief—or plotting to challenge your authority—he wouldn’t have gone far.He’s too lazy to play the long game.”
“You don’t remember the exact address?”Ragnor asked, not unkindly.
She shook her head.“Street names never really registered in my mind.But I remember a grocery store nearby.”She named it, scanning the map.“And… I first scented Jace near that store.I was walking home.”She turned to Jace, eyes searching.“Is there anything else?A landmark?Maybe we can triangulate his location.”
He leaned over the map, his arm brushing hers briefly.“There’s a grocery here,” he said, tapping an intersection on the map.“And we own all the warehouses down this street.”
Her gaze followed his finger.“What’s this neighborhood called?”
“Henson Park,” Ciaran supplied.“There’s an elementary school here, and the high school is…” He twisted to orient himself.“Here.Do you remember a lot of teenagers?Or smaller kids?”
