CHAPTER 13 JACE FACES HIS FAMILY #2
The admission cost her. Jace saw it in the brief tightening around her mouth, the almost invisible shake in the fingers she pressed against the map table. Sarai was not trying to hurt him because she did not love him. She was hurting him because love had never been the only law she served.
Jace nodded slowly, feeling the full weight of what she was saying.
"And if the pride goes to war," he said carefully, "I won't fight against Eli. You need to know that going in."
Sarai's expression became unreadable. "So you're choosing him over the pride entirely."
"I'm choosing not to be in a position where I have to choose," Jace said. "If it comes to that—if there's actual conflict between Eli and the pride—then yes, I choose Eli. But I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. I'm hoping you can see that this bond doesn't have to be a threat to the pride."
Sarai returned to her table, picking up one of the maps. She studied it briefly, her fingers tracing the territorial boundaries.
"The northern wolves are becoming aggressive," she said, turning pragmatic. "Your scouts confirmed they're testing our defenses. Multiple incursions over the past week. They're organized, coordinated, and they're looking for weaknesses."
She looked up at Jace. "I need to know: is Eli a threat? Is his territory being used as a staging ground for an invasion?"
"No," Jace said immediately. "Eli knows nothing about any northern threat.
He's been dealing with his own territorial concerns—a rival pack from his old group has been encroaching on his boundaries.
If anything, the northern pack might be using the distance between our territories to exploit the gap. "
Sarai considered this, her expression thoughtful.
"Then perhaps your bond has unexpected advantages," she said slowly. "You can communicate with the wolf alpha. You might be able to establish a temporary alliance against the northern threat. Share intelligence. Coordinate defenses."
Jace understood what his mother was doing: finding a way to make the bond useful rather than simply accepting it as a mistake. It was pragmatic. It was strategic. It was very Sarai.
For a breath, though, the mask slipped. Sarai's gaze moved to an older mark on the map, a boundary scarred in faded red.
"My aunt chose a wolf, once," she said. "Before you were born.
Everyone called it romance until his pack claimed our hunting grounds as dowry.
Three cougars died proving we were not part of his inheritance.
I learned young that love can be real and still be used as a weapon. "
"I can ask Eli," Jace said carefully. "But it would have to be his choice. I won't use our bond to force him into pride conflicts. That's not what we are to each other."
"What are you to each other?" Sarai asked, and there was genuine curiosity beneath the skepticism.
Jace thought about the past few weeks: the vulnerability, the trust they'd built, the way Eli had learned to love instead of possess.
"Partners," he said simply. "Equals. We're building something that doesn't fit traditional pack or pride structures. Something new."
Sarai's expression softened slightly, though the skepticism remained.
"I hope you're right," she said. "Because if you're wrong—if this bond falls apart or turns dangerous—you'll have given up everything for nothing."
"I know the risk," Jace said. "I'm taking it anyway."
Sarai studied him for a handful of seconds, then nodded slowly.
"Go help the scouts organize the eastern defenses," she said, authority settling back over her. "Make yourself useful while you're here. And when you return to your wolf, tell him we're not enemies. Not yet. But we will defend our territory if threatened."
It was a dismissal, but also an acknowledgment. Jace took it.
"Thank you," he said.
Sarai didn't respond, already turning back to her maps.
Jace left the chamber feeling like he'd survived something, though he wasn't entirely sure what.
Kira was waiting in the common area just outside Sarai's chamber, sitting on one of the stone benches that lined the main corridor.
She stood immediately when Jace emerged, searching his face.
"How bad?" she asked.
"She's demoting me," Jace said flatly. "I'm 'other' now. Welcome to visit but not part of the pride structure anymore."
Kira made a frustrated sound and pulled him into another embrace.
"She's scared," Kira said. "She's trying to maintain control in the only way she knows how. But she loves you, Jace. Give her time."
They sat together on the bench. The common area was busy with pride members moving between chambers, but no one approached them. Word had clearly spread that Jace was back and that there had been a confrontation with the matriarch.
"I'm sorry I put you in this position," Jace said.
Kira shook her head firmly. "You didn't. You made a choice. I support it, even if Mom needs time to catch up."
She hesitated, then asked the question Jace had been waiting for.
"The wolf—Eli—is he good to you?"
Jace thought about the last few weeks: the intensity of their connection, the way Eli had struggled with his possessive instincts but ultimately chosen trust over ownership, the vulnerability they'd shared.
"He is," Jace said. "He's terrified and possessive sometimes, but he's trying. He's better than trying. He's committed. He's learning what it means to love someone without trying to control them."
Kira nodded slowly. "Then I trust you. And I'll keep supporting you, even if I have to do it quietly."
She paused, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.
"Mom wants to use your bond as a diplomatic channel," she said. "She's already planning how to leverage the connection for pride advantage. She'll frame it as intelligence gathering, but what she really wants is a way to monitor the wolf territories without committing pride resources."
Jace nodded. "I expected that. She's pragmatic above all else. But I won't betray Eli's trust."
"You won't have to," Kira said. "Just be honest with both sides.
The truth is, if Eli and the pride can coexist peacefully, it benefits everyone.
The northern threat is real, Jace. We've lost two scouts in the past week.
If there's a way to coordinate defenses without formal alliance, Mom will take it. "
She leaned against him, and for a breath they were just siblings again—not pride members navigating politics, but family.
"Go back to him," Kira said. "Don't stay here longer than necessary. The more you're away, the more it will cost you. Both with him and with the pride. Mom will see your absence as choosing him, and Eli will feel abandoned if you stay too long."
"I know," Jace said. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I just need to help with the defensive preparations first."
Kira squeezed his hand. "I'll cover for you with Mom. And Jace? I'm proud of you. For choosing what you want instead of what's expected."
Jace felt his throat tighten. "Thank you. That means more than you know."
***
Two days later, Jace stood at the eastern edge of the pride lands, preparing to return to Eli's territory.
He'd spent the time helping organize defensive positions, sharing what he knew about the northern pack's movements, and coordinating with the scouts. It had been strange—being part of the pride's activities but not part of the decision-making. Being useful but not essential.
He had also refused, twice, to give Sarai details about Eli's den, escape routes, or the hidden waterfall. The first refusal had hurt. The second had steadied him. Loving Eli did not mean betraying the pride, but belonging to the pride could no longer mean making Eli vulnerable on command.
Being "other."
Sarai appeared as he was preparing to shift to cougar form.
She didn't say anything at first, just stood beside him looking out over the rocky terrain that marked the boundary between pride lands and the neutral zone.
"The wolf," she finally said. "Tell him we're not enemies. Not yet. But we will defend our territory if threatened."
Jace nodded. "He'll respect that. It's the territorial code."
"Good," Sarai said.
Then, more softly: "I hope you know I love you. Even if I'm angry and scared and disappointed."
Jace turned to face his mother fully. She looked older than she had just two days ago, the stress of the northern threat and her son's choices weighing on her.
He embraced her, feeling her stiffen slightly before relaxing into it.
"I know," he said. "And I'm sorry I couldn't be what you wanted me to be."
"You're what you need to be," Sarai said against his shoulder. "I am proud of that. I am also angry that it takes you farther from the life I built to keep you safe. Both things are true."
She pulled back, her hands on his shoulders, studying his face like she was memorizing it.
"Be careful," she said. "The northern threat is real. If they're testing our defenses, they might be testing his too. Watch for coordinated attacks."
"I will," Jace promised.
Sarai nodded once, then turned and walked back toward the den complex without looking back.
Jace watched her go, feeling the weight of everything that had just changed.
Then he shifted to cougar form and began the journey home.
As Jace traveled back toward the territorial boundary, covering ground in long, powerful strides, he reached out through the bond:
I'm coming home. I told my mother everything. I'm officially 'other' in the pride now. But I'm coming home.
Eli's response was immediate and desperate: Are you safe? Did she hurt you?
Emotionally battered but physically fine, Jace responded, feeling the warmth of Eli's concern through their connection. She wants to use our bond as a diplomatic channel to address the northern threat. Can we talk about that?
Later, Eli said, and Jace could feel the intensity of his need through the bond. First I just need you here. I need to hold you and know you're real.
Jace ran faster, his powerful legs eating up the distance between pride lands and wolf territory. The landscape shifted gradually from rocky scrubland to denser forest, the air becoming cooler and more humid.
When he reached the boundary—the invisible line where pride lands ended and neutral territory began—Eli was waiting.
He stood in wolf form, massive and dark against the tree line, his amber eyes locked on Jace's approach.
The moment Jace crossed into neutral territory, Eli shifted to human form and closed the distance between them in three long strides.
He pulled Jace—still in cougar form—against his chest, his arms wrapping around the big cat's body.
"You came back," he said, and there was wonder in his voice like he hadn't entirely believed it would happen.
Jace shifted to human form in his arms, and Eli immediately adjusted his grip, holding him tighter.
"I promised," Jace said, breathing in Eli's scent—dark forest and home. "I promised I would come back. Here I am."
Eli's hands moved to Jace's face, tilting it up so he could search his eyes.
"Your mother—"
"Later," Jace said, echoing Eli's earlier words. "Right now I just need this. I need you."
Eli kissed him then—desperate and relieved and full of all the fear he'd been carrying for the past five days.
When they finally pulled apart, both breathing hard, Eli rested his forehead against Jace's.
"Don't leave again," he said. "Not for that long. I can't—I couldn't—"
"I know," Jace said, his hands gripping Eli's shoulders. "I felt it through the bond. Your fear. Your loneliness. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Eli said. "Just don't leave."
"I can't promise that," Jace said honestly. "My family is still my family, even if I'm 'other' now. But I can promise I'll always come back. This is home. You're home."
Eli nodded slowly, accepting that.
***
They shifted back to animal forms and traveled through the territory together—wolf and cougar moving in perfect synchronization, their bodies remembering the rhythm they'd established during their hunts together.
By the time they reached Eli's cave, dawn was breaking over the eastern ridge, painting the sky in shades of gold and pink.
They shifted back to human form at the cave entrance, and Eli immediately guided Jace inside, his hand never leaving Jace's back.
The cave felt different now—not like a fortress or a prison, but like an actual home. Eli had clearly been preparing for Jace's return: fresh furs on the sleeping area, food stored and ready, the fire pit cleaned and stocked with wood.
"Tell me everything," Eli said, pulling Jace down into the furs. "What happened with your mother? What did she say?"
So Jace did.
He told Eli about Sarai's fear and anger, her attempts to control the situation, her ultimately pragmatic acceptance. He explained his new status as "other" in the pride—welcome but not fully belonging. He shared Kira's support and the reality of what he'd sacrificed.
He also told Eli about the northern threat, about Sarai's suggestion of a temporary alliance, about the scouts who'd been lost.
Eli listened to all of it, holding Jace close, his hands moving in soothing patterns across Jace's back.
When Jace finished, Eli was quiet for several seconds.
"You gave up everything," he finally said, the words scraping out of him with emotion. "Your place in the pride, your family's full acceptance, your future there. You gave it all up for this. For us."
"I gave up what I had to," Jace said. "But I gained something more important. I gained choice. I gained you. I gained a future that's mine to build instead of one that was decided for me."
Eli kissed his forehead, his lips lingering there.
"You're here," he said. "You're safe. You chose us. That's all that matters right now."
They lay together in the furs as the morning light filtered into the cave, both exhausted but unwilling to sleep yet.
"The northern threat," Eli said after a while. "Your mother's right. If they're testing both our territories, they might be planning something coordinated. I've had my own problems with a rival pack—Kane and his group have been encroaching on my boundaries."
"Could they be connected?" Jace asked.
"Maybe," Eli said. "Or maybe we're both just vulnerable because we're isolated. Alone."
"Not alone anymore," Jace said firmly.
Eli's arms tightened around him. "No. Not alone anymore."
They fell silent, both processing everything that had changed in the past five days.
Outside, the forest was waking up—birds calling, small animals moving through the underbrush, the territory coming alive with morning sounds.
Inside the cave, two predators from different species held on and began planning how to defend what they'd built together.
The danger had only widened.
And neither of them would pretend solitude was safer.