Chapter 22 - Jace
My team is investigating our new ideas about what might be going on.
But it’s something that has to be done with the utmost care and in secret.
Which isn’t easy, given that our pack has always been a united force, and it’s impossible to know who is with you and who is against you.
I have to conduct this investigation without creating further issues.
For that reason, I am not doing it myself. It’s too obvious.
Mira is home with me and still looks exhausted after days of working nonstop.
With a smile on my face, I walk into the living room, where she’s sitting on the sofa, reading a book.
“Come on, I’ve got a plan,” I grin.
She narrows her eyes and sets the book face down with the pages open. “What is this plan of yours?” she asks, taking note of the backpack slung over my shoulder.
“A picnic. Just you and me.”
“A picnic?” Her face lights up. “That sounds incredible.”
She jumps from the sofa and hurries to me. “I’m ready. We can go now,” she insists.
Laughing, I look her up and down. “You sure? You didn’t forget something?” I ask, eyeing her pajama pants, which are patterned with pink Hello Kitty faces.
She follows my gaze and packs up laughing. “Oh, maybe other pants?” she giggles.
“Maybe. It doesn’t bother me, you can wear whatever you want,” I laugh.
It takes her all of two minutes to slip into a pair of tights and her running shoes, and she’s ready.
I’ve already chosen the spot. It’s away from the compound, in the forest, past the edge of our territory, and in territory we share with the other packs around us. I don’t want to be disturbed by anyone. I want time alone with her, away from the politics and tension.
Mira is happy as we hike into the forest and along the river. I think she needed this time away from things more than she realized.
“How have you been feeling?” I ask, slipping my arm around her waist.
“Less burdened, but still stressed. I don’t like that the pack isn’t getting on like it’s supposed to,” she says, glancing at me.
“And the baby? Is our little one giving you any trouble? Morning sickness? Cravings?” I smile down at her.
“Oh my word, I can’t explain to you how hungry I’ve been. It’s absolutely absurd!” she giggles.
“He’s going to be a big boy; he’ll need all the food you can give him and more to become strong,” I tell her.
“Boy? Isn’t that presumptuous of you?” She knots her brows as we walk together over the rocky stream to the other side of the forest. Earth and pine needles scent the air around us.
Mira looks worried. “Don’t you want a girl?” She asks, strained.
She looks so stressed that I have to laugh. “Mira, of course, I want a girl. I want three boys and three girls. More maybe. But we’re not having a girl. Not this time,” I explain.
She shakes her head, amused. “There is no way you can possibly know already,” she insists. Her cheeks are rosy from the fresh air, and her lips are flushed with blood, glowing pink and beautiful.
“You’re wrong. I know,” I tell her again, my eyes on her mouth.
“How?”
“I can’t explain it. Maybe it’s a scent. Maybe it’s a thought. But I am one hundred percent confident,” I smirk, enjoying the banter.
She rolls her eyes playfully. But then her face changes, softens. “A boy…” she says, eyeing me curiously. “And what will his name be?” she asks.
My heart beats a little faster when our eyes meet. There’s something in the way she’s looking at me that makes her irresistible.
I pull her to a stop and wrap both arms around her. Unable to control myself, I press my lips against hers and kiss her.
She gasps, but then melts into me.
Her body leans toward mine as she wraps her arms around my lower waist and hugs me close. Her lips are soft and warm, and her taste is delicate and sweet.
My intoxicating little wolf.
I pull away before I get too carried away and slip my arm into hers to carry on our walk.
“A name…” I say thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s something we should choose together?”
“I thought the Alpha chose his first son’s name. It is tradition, isn’t it?” she asks.
“Do you think I would put tradition before my Luna’s desires?” I ask her.
She shakes her head, grinning.
We reach the spot I chose, and I pull the backpack off and open it up.
Spreading a blanket out, I gesture for her to sit while I lay out the containers of food and drink I brought for us.
It’s our own private little feast. Including a lot of the delicious things Mira has been baking over the past few days.
Strawberry cups, ginger cookies, bacon, and pastry rolls.
“I got pretty lucky, don’t you think?” I tease her.
“With that?” she asks curiously.
“A beautiful wife, much smarter than me, who also happens to be the best cook in the pack,” I smirk.
Laughter spills from her lips, and my heart warms.
Sitting next to her, I move closer until our bodies are pressing against each other. I kiss her again, wanting to taste her sweetness and have her in my arms.
We talk and snack on all the different flavors and treats. We laugh and lie on our backs looking up at the dappled light spilling through the trees above us. It’s the perfect day, and I couldn’t imagine a single person I’d rather be with.
Slipping my arm around her back, I pull her closer, so her head rests on my chest.
“You know I’ve got your back, right? Always. I would do anything for you,” I tell her, my voice has a quiet seriousness to it. I honestly mean every word of it. I can feel it in my heart.
“I do,” she whispers.
The way her eyes glimmer when she hears me say these things floods me with need. A need to protect her. To make her always feel as safe as she feels in this exact moment.
I can read it across her face. The soft smile, the tenderness in her eyes. Somehow, even though I’ve never experienced it before, I know she trusts me with her life and her heart. She trusts me as her mate.
The realization slaps into me.
She trusts me with her heart because she feels it, too. The connection. The deepening of whatever is happening between us.
Mira isn’t just my duty as my Luna anymore. That might be how it started, but she is so much more than that.
My heart beats a little faster. Fear.
I’m afraid of accepting this. The intensity of what I feel toward her is already overwhelming. What would it do to me as the Alpha if I allowed myself to love her fully? Would I be able to serve my pack in the way that is expected of me?
I have been singularly focused on being an Alpha for my entire life. It was all I ever thought I’d be. The idea of being a husband, a mate, a lover, a father… these things never featured in my plans. Yet here I am, confronted with them.
Wanting them.
Mira snuggles up to me, and my resistance breaks away.
I can be both. I can be anything I want to be with her at my side.
We lie in the forest in peace until the sun begins to sink toward the horizon, then she helps me pack our things, and we start the hike back to our cottage.
On the way home, we’re laughing again and debating our favorite movies, and I’m discovering how much I missed out on while I was in Black Ops training.
“We’ll have to rewatch all the series together,” she insists, as we arrive at the edge of the forest near our meadow.
“Since when do we have enough time to relax and watch series,” I laugh.
“We have all the time in the world,” she says, smiling at me with confidence.
My heart flips, and I realize that we do. We have our whole lives together.
I see him too late.
Mira squeals in fright and points at the guy halfway up the tree right next to her, messing with one of our security sensors. “Jace!” She shouts my name, backing away.
The guy leaps from the tree, landing right in front of her. He grabs her and picks her up, throwing her backward. She stumbles, almost crashing into another tree, but luckily lands on soft grass.
As she falls, every cell in my body cries out in agony at the idea of something happening to her. At the idea of losing her. It almost breaks me, it’s so painful.
Because I love her. Because she is everything to me. More than anything. She is the force of breath that gives me a reason to live.
I spin towards the intruder, the man who tried to hurt her.
My blood is boiling hot lava.
My heart beat drums like thunder in my chest. I can barely think or see straight, I’m so angry.
My wolf goes blind with rage. Someone tried to hurt our mate! Jux screams at me, hackles raised, fangs showing. I glance at Mira, growling, furious, out of control.
Her eyes shoot wide, and I don’t even realize I’ve shifted. When the guy starts running, I’m right behind him.
He’s in wolf form too, and I leap over rocks and fallen trees after him.
Somewhere in the distance, I hear Mira shout my name, desperation in her voice, but I can’t stop. Jux is going to catch this man and rip him to pieces for touching her.
We will never let anyone hurt her. Ever.