Page 123 of Stream Heat
"I needed space." I gestured vaguely at my head. "To process."
He nodded, maintaining a careful distance. "The others wanted to follow you. I suggested they wait."
"Thank you." I meant it sincerely. Jace always seemed to know when I needed space, when the sensory input became too much. "It was... intense. All of them at once. And then Ash…"
"All of us," he corrected gently. “And Ash is just… particular about how he does things.”
I took a few breaths, trying to internalize his words. Ash hadn’t rejected me, just the situation. I looked up, meeting his eyes directly. "You were the calmest."
"Externally, perhaps." His scent shifted slightly, revealing the control beneath his quiet exterior. "We all respond differently to threats against what's ours."
The simple claim, what's ours, sent a shiver through me that had nothing to do with fear. Jace had always been the most restrained of the Alphas, his quiet nature often overshadowed by Reid's command or Theo's chaos. But in this moment, the intensity in his eyes matched anything I'd seen from the others.
"I'm sorry if Reid's public claiming made things... complicated," I said, unsure how to navigate these new waters.
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "You're wearing mine and Theo's marks as well. I'd say things were already complicated. Plus, you and Theo… connected.”
Heat rose to my face. "You know about that?"
"We all do." His voice held no judgment, just simple acknowledgment. "Pack bonds work both ways, Kara. We feel what happens between members, especially strong emotional or physical connections."
The implication that they'd all sensed my encounter with Theo made me flush deeper. "So you know that I… that we…"
"That you're creating balance," he finished for me. "Equalizing the pack bonds rather than allowing hierarchy to form around Reid's initial claim."
Put that way, it sounded strategic rather than impulsive. Leave it to Jace to frame emotional chaos in logical terms.
"Is that how you see it?" I asked, curious about his perspective.
He shifted closer, his movements deliberate, giving me time to object if his proximity became too much. "I see someone who spent years denying her designation finally accepting not just what she needs, but what she wants."
The distinction, needs versus wants, echoed Reid's words from that morning. "And what do you think I want, Jace?"
"All of us," he said simply. "Different aspects of each of us. Reid's protection. Theo's energy. Ash's practicality. Malik's wisdom." He paused, his eyes holding mine. "And perhaps my understanding."
"Your understanding of what?"
"Of silence. Of spaces between words. Of needing connection without constant stimulation." His voice remained soft, but something in his scent intensified. "You and I are similar that way. We observe before we act."
He was right, I realized. Of all the Alphas, Jace was the one who most resembled my internal thought processes, watching, analyzing, speaking only when necessary. While Reid commanded and Theo entertained, Jace simply... understood.
"The others are loud," I admitted. "Sometimes overwhelming. Even when they're trying not to be."
He nodded, no offense taken on their behalf. "Different energies serve different purposes. Their protection during the stream was necessary. But now..."
"Now I need quiet," I finished, the truth of it settling in my chest. "Calm. Space to process without more sensory input."
"Yes." The simple acknowledgment of my needs without judgment or hurt feelings made something ease inside me.
I shifted on the nest, making space beside me, an invitation I wouldn't have extended to the others in this moment, but felt right with Jace. He accepted without comment, settling beside me with enough distance to respect my boundaries while close enough that his scent enveloped me in gentle comfort.
We sat in companionable silence, neither feeling the need to fill it with words. The quiet between us felt like its own form of communication, a shared understanding that some emotions didn't require vocalization to be valid.
After several minutes, I found myself leaning slightly toward him, drawn to his steady presence. "The stream was a disaster."
"It served its purpose," he countered quietly.
"Which was what? Publicly exposing our pack dynamics? Creating content gold for designation fetishists?"
