Page 83 of Jace's Mate
He felt Anikka tense beside him.Her back stiffened, her breath hitched.He tightened his arm around her waist, his hand resting protectively over her hip.
“We’ll keep things secure here,” Ragnor assured him with a nod.
“Good.”Jace turned to Anikka and gently took her hand.“Come with me,” he murmured.
He led her through the halls, neither of them speaking until they were safely behind the closed door of his loft.The moment the door latched, he turned to her fully.
She didn’t wait.“Don’t go,” she whispered, her voice a fragile crack in the quiet room.“Please.I don’t want you to go.”
He sat on the coffee table in front of her, taking her hands and cradling them between his own.Gently, he turned them over and pressed soft kisses to each palm, as if sealing a vow into her skin.
“Anikka,” he said, voice steady and low, “this is what Alphas do.I protect my people.You are part of my pack.Mymate.And someone tried to keep us apart.That cannot go unanswered.”
A tear slid down her cheek.He brushed it away, careful and slow, then cupped her face.
“She’s dangerous,” Anikka murmured.“You don’t know what she’s capable of.”
“I don’t care what she’s capable of,” he said, and there was no bravado in his tone—just solid, bone-deep certainty.“She threatened my mate.That’s all I need to know.”
Her eyes shimmered, lips trembling.“Promise me you’ll come back,” she whispered, but he heard the ache underneath.Her whole life had been a series of broken promises.Hope wasn’t something she trusted easily.
He didn’t hesitate.“I promise.”
He kissed her palms again, slow and sure.“By late morning at the latest, I’ll be back.And when I return, we’ll talk about next steps.Together.”
She nodded, unable to speak past the knot in her throat.
“I’ll be waiting,” she whispered at last.
Jace stood and stripped off his clothes, his movements controlled, deliberate.Every instinct screamed at him to stay.To wrap himself around Anikka and shield her from the fear he could see in her eyes.But he couldn’t—not yet.His duty as Alpha came first, even though the bond between them tugged so tight it was nearly unbearable.
He felt her pain—sharp and silent—as if it were embedded beneath his own skin.Still, he forced himself to stay focused.The faster he dealt with Gustov—and Janice, if she was bold enough to show her face again—the faster he could return.The faster he couldclaimwhat was his.
“Twelve hours,” he said, his voice low and rough with promise.“And when I get back, Anikka…” His dark gaze locked with hers, burning.“I want you naked.Waiting.Mine.”
He didn’t wait for a reply.He didn’t need one.They both felt the heat pulsing between them, even through the ache of separation.
Then, with a powerful breath, he shifted.
The wolf emerged, massive and commanding, his dark fur rippling under the low light.He padded toward her, silent but sure.At her side, he pressed his powerful body against her legs, rubbing his thick fur along her skin—taking her scent, marking her in his own way, as if to say:You’re mine, and I’m coming back.
With a soft, deliberate lick to her hand, he stepped back, eyes still locked with hers.Then he turned, his movements smooth and muscular, and trotted to the elevator.
He pressed the call button with his nose, tail flicking once with silent authority.
As the doors slid open and the light spilled across the floor, he stepped inside—Alpha, warrior, mate—and vanished into the night, her scent still clinging to his fur like a vow.
Chapter 28
Anikkastoodmotionless,staringat the elevator long after the doors had closed.
He was gone.
The man she loved—truly loved—was walking into danger, and she couldn’t shake the raw terror that pressed against her ribs like a vice.Jace wasn’t just some powerful Alpha on a mission.He washers.And she was his.That bond pulsed in her chest like a second heartbeat, painful and loud.
All her life, she’d obeyed Wilton’s orders, shrinking beneath his sneering authority, thinking biology and instinct were loyalty.But it wasn’t loyalty.It had been fear—and manipulation.The truth cut like broken glass:Wilton wasn’t her uncle.He was just a power-hungry monster who had stolen her childhood and forged shackles from lies.
But not anymore.
