CHAPTER 8 A CLAIM FREELY GIVEN
Night had fallen by the time they reached Eli's cave, the forest around them settling into its nocturnal rhythms. The walk back had been quiet—not uncomfortable, but weighted with awareness.
They'd crossed a threshold at the waterfall, made declarations that couldn't be taken back.
Now they were returning to Eli's territory not as secret lovers stealing moments, but as something more permanent.
Something that would have consequences.
Eli could smell himself all over Jace—his scent had sunk deep into Jace's skin, marking him as thoroughly as any territorial claim. And Jace's scent clung to Eli just as strongly, that warm spice and sunlight that made his wolf sit up and pay attention every single time.
Anyone who came near either of them would know immediately what they were to each other.
The cave entrance loomed ahead, firelight already flickering inside from the banked coals Eli had left that morning. He'd built this place to be a fortress, a sanctuary from the world. Now he was inviting Jace into it—not as a guest, but as someone who belonged here.
The thought should have terrified him. Instead, it felt right.
Jace paused at the entrance, looking up at Eli. In the dim light, his eyes were luminous, searching. "This is different," he said. "Coming here. To your home."
"Yeah," Eli agreed. He understood what Jace wasn't saying—that this wasn't neutral territory anymore. This was Eli's den, his most private space. And Jace was choosing to enter it, to be marked with Eli's scent in the place where it would be strongest and most undeniable.
"Are you sure?" Eli asked, even though the question felt inadequate for the magnitude of what they were doing.
Jace smiled, reaching up to touch Eli's face. "I've never been more sure of anything."
They entered together.
Eli moved to the fire pit, adding wood to the banked coals until flames began to lick upward, casting dancing shadows across the cave walls.
The space was sparse—furs piled in one corner for sleeping, a few shelves carved into the rock holding preserved food and supplies, his weapons leaning against the far wall. It was functional, nothing more.
But with Jace settling into the furs, the cave suddenly felt less like a fortress and more like a home.
Jace watched him work, patient and quiet. When Eli finally sat down across from him, Jace spoke.
"I want to talk about something," he said.
Eli tensed slightly, old instincts flaring. Conversations that started like that rarely went well. "Okay."
Jace leaned forward, his expression serious but not unkind.
"This thing between us... the bond. I know your instinct is to claim me.
To mark me as yours. And part of me wants that.
" He paused, choosing his words carefully.
"But I need to know that when we do this—when we make this bond permanent—it's because we both choose it.
Not because of wolf law or territorial instinct. Because we actually want to be bonded."
Eli had to look away before the feeling showed too clearly. This was the conversation he'd been avoiding, the one that forced him to articulate the difference between what his wolf wanted and what he, as a man, needed.
"I want to be bonded to you," he said carefully, meeting Jace's eyes.
"But you're right. My instinct is ownership.
My wolf wants to claim you so thoroughly that no one would ever question who you belong to.
" He swallowed hard. "It wants to mark you, scent you, make you mine in every way that mattered. "
"And what does Eli want?" Jace asked. "Not the wolf. You."
Eli took a breath, forcing himself to be honest. "Eli wants the same thing, but for different reasons.
I want to be bonded to you because I love you.
Because I trust you. Because the idea of a future without you makes me want to break things.
" He held Jace's gaze. "But I'm terrified of hurting you.
Of using my instincts as an excuse to control you.
Of becoming the kind of alpha who takes instead of asks. "
Jace moved closer, closing the distance between them until they were sitting knee to knee.
"So here's what I'm thinking," he said. "I want to do this deliberately.
In human form, fully present. I want us to talk about what we want, what we need, what boundaries matter.
And I want us to make this choice together, over and over again, not just once. "
Eli nodded slowly, understanding flooding through him. "You want to be seduced, not claimed."
"I want to be desired," Jace corrected gently. "I want to be chosen, repeatedly, by someone who sees me as an equal. Not as territory or prize or ownership. As a partner."
The word settled between them—partner. Not mate in the traditional wolf sense, not pride member in the cougar way. Something entirely new.
Eli stood and moved toward Jace, offering his hand. "Then that's what I'll give you. Every time. I choose you. I choose this. I choose us."
Jace took his hand, letting Eli pull him to his feet. They stood close, the firelight warm on their skin, their combined scent filling the cave.
"So what do you want right now?" Eli asked, his voice low with emotion and desire.
Jace's smile was slow and devastating. "I want to feel you. All of you. Not the alpha. The man."
They undressed each other slowly, deliberately. This wasn't the frantic urgency of their first encounter or the mystical intensity of the waterfall. This was something more intentional—a choice they were making with full awareness of what it meant.
Eli pulled Jace's shirt over his head, then paused to look at him. The firelight painted Jace's skin in shades of gold and amber, highlighting the lean muscle of his torso, the elegant lines of his collarbones.
"You're beautiful," Eli said simply. "I'm terrified every time I see you because you're so beautiful and I'm afraid I'll somehow fuck this up and lose you."
Jace ran his hands over Eli's shoulders, tracing the heavy muscle there. "You won't lose me. I'm choosing you, remember? That's not something that disappears just because things get hard."
He traced the scars on Eli's chest—the ones from the pack collapse, from fights and challenges and three years of solitary survival. "These mark you as a survivor. A fighter. Someone who's been through hell and came out the other side."
Eli caught Jace's hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing his palm. "And you mark me as someone worthy of a second chance. Of healing."
They continued undressing until they were both naked by the firelight. The vulnerability was stark and beautiful—two predators stripped of everything except their humanity, choosing to be gentle with each other.
Jace sat back on the furs and pulled Eli down beside him. "I want to touch you," he said. "I want to learn your body. Not in a claiming way. In a loving way."
Eli nodded and settled back, giving Jace control. It went against every instinct—alphas didn't surrender, didn't lie back and let someone else take the lead. But this wasn't about alpha dynamics. This was about trust.
Jace traced every scar, every muscle, every line of Eli's body. He was mapping him with his hands and mouth, learning what made him breathe harder, what made his muscles tense with pleasure.
He found Eli's collarbones and kissed along them, his tongue tracing the hollow of Eli's throat. He traced his ribs, counting them with gentle fingers. He found the place on Eli's hip where a scar still ran white against his skin—a reminder of Marcus's challenge—and pressed a gentle kiss there.
"This doesn't define you," Jace murmured against the scar. "You're more than your trauma."
Eli forgot to breathe. No one had ever touched him like this—with reverence instead of hunger, with care instead of need.
By the time Jace reached his cock—already hard and ready, leaking against his stomach—Eli was trembling.
"Tell me what you want," Jace said, his mouth hovering over Eli's length, his breath warm against sensitive skin.
"I want—" Eli stopped, struggling with the vulnerability of admitting his needs out loud.
"Tell me," Jace encouraged gently, his hand wrapping loosely around Eli's cock, not stroking, just holding.
"I want your mouth on me," Eli admitted, his voice hoarse. "I want to feel you. I want to come for you."
Jace smiled, something warm and pleased in his expression. "Then that's what you get."
He took Eli slowly, deliberately, letting him feel every inch of his mouth. The wet heat was overwhelming, and Eli's hands immediately went to Jace's hair, his hips starting to thrust upward, falling back into dominant patterns without thinking.
Jace pulled back immediately.
"No," he said firmly but gently. "This is my moment. You just feel. You let me do this."
Eli nodded, forcing his hands to drop to the furs on either side of him. "Okay."
"And if you want something specific, you ask," Jace continued, his eyes holding Eli's. "You don't just take. You ask. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Eli said, and he meant it. This was what trust looked like—not one person controlling, but both people communicating.
Jace took him again, moving at his own pace. His mouth was hot and perfect, his tongue doing things that made Eli's vision blur. He worked Eli slowly, building pleasure in waves, never quite letting him get close enough to come.
After several minutes, Jace pulled back, his lips swollen and wet. "I want to try something different," he said. "I want to open you up. I'm going to use my fingers first, okay? Tell me if you want me to stop."
Eli's eyes widened slightly. He'd never done this with a partner—in wolf culture, alphas topped. Always. Receiving was seen as submission, as weakness.
But this wasn't about wolf culture. This was about trust. About trust.
"Yeah," he whispered. "Okay."