cCV
Jace
Clarke was his mate. He had a mate. A sense of peace and rightness washed over him, unlike anything he’d felt before.
Jace had always wanted the kind of love and connection his parents had. He’d touched the fingers of every female he came across, trusting that his mate was out there. And here she was. All this time, it had been Clarke that he’d been waiting and hoping for.
As a child, Jace had adored her, but never guessed that he was meant to be hers when they grew up. Clarke featured in some of his best childhood memories.
Jace recalled her carefree laugh, and blonde hair flying as they chased each other in backyards and around parks. Only two years apart in age, with Clarke being the younger, they’d spent every summer together until his parents moved.
At the forefront of his emotions was a fierce protectiveness. The people who had taken Charlie could be dangerous. Jace was also incredibly proud.
Clarke wasn’t just putting her life on hold and risking her career to find her dad. She had come up with an intricate plan to search for Charlie, possibly placing a target on her own back, thinking she would be alone. That took resolve, and immense courage.
The last few days had been full of doubts, questions, and frustration from the moment Jace had read that email from the dean. He had feared that Clarke would reject his help. Knowing that she hadn’t made the connection between him and Mars College, and hearing about her vision, it all made sense.
Had the fates engineered this so that he and Clarke would find each other again, and save Charlie together?
Thinking of everything that had to have occurred to bring the two of them, as well as the person or people responsible for Charlie’s disappearance, here at the same time, Jace couldn’t come up with another explanation.
But, he had never been one to question cosmic intervention.
Reluctantly, Jace stepped back, putting a little bit of space between them. His wolverine wanted nothing more than to cuddle for hours, and mark her with his scent. But that wouldn’t be wise at the moment.
“There’s a skeleton staff of security right now before students and all the faculty arrive,” Jace said. “They probably won’t enter the buildings on patrol, but I wouldn’t want one of them to stumble on us. We have no idea who is involved.”
Clarke nodded. “Right. You’re supposed to be giving me a tour, and explaining the duties of a dorm monitor, not snuggling with a new coworker,” she said. “That would definitely make people wonder. We can talk in private later, after searching the offices.”
“I’m going to change shirts,” he said. “Do you want to come with me, and check the shifter dorm while I do that, or meet back here in a few minutes?”
What Jace wanted to do was run around shirtless, proudly displaying that he was a taken man. If any of his coworkers or friends saw the mate mark, however, they would ask questions he couldn’t currently answer. He wouldn’t do anything that could jeopardize Clarke’s disguise.
“I’ll go with you,” Clarke said.
Jace gestured toward the rear entrance of the training center. He automatically strode forward and held the door open for her, then realized he would need to curtail that impulse when other people were around. Jace didn’t typically do that for his coworkers unless their hands were full.
He would have to watch his own behavior as closely as Clarke watched hers. They were supposed to be strangers who had just met in a professional capacity.
Jace was positive that the clue was a person rather than an inanimate object.
It made the most sense for several reasons.
If that was the case, the culprit might recognize Clarke’s last name like he had, and scrutinize her every move to determine if she was a threat.
Anyone she spent time with would also be closely observed.
“It’s probably weird for me to focus on this, but will you tell me how you pulled off this disguise?” Jace asked. “One of my biggest worries was that everyone here would instantly know that you’re a female.”
Clarke had always been feminine. Not that she wore yards of lace and ruffles. However, she liked what were considered to be girly colors, and having her nails done. She also had a very pretty face with full lips, high cheekbones, and big green eyes.
Somehow, her face didn’t give the impression of being feminine, now. That couldn’t be just due to the haircut, lack of makeup, and clothes. Many women who weren’t half as pretty as Clarke in Jace’s opinion, still looked female with very short hair, whether they wore makeup or not.
She even smelled and sounded manly in spite of him knowing that she wasn’t. It was very weird, causing a bit of a mental disconnect. No one else on campus, however, should suspect a thing if they were affected the same way.
Clarke told him about the masculinity charm, DSV potion, and everything else that had gone into creating this persona as they walked to the shifter dormitory.
Jace shook his head. “I knew a lot of planning had to have gone into this, but hadn’t guessed the half of it. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks,” Clarke said. “The guards didn’t bat an eyelash at the gatehouse, so I thought I was good, even in a polo shirt with bare legs. I about had a heart attack when you figured it out instantly.”
Jace chuckled at that. “Only because I recognized your name as well as your degrees and job experience. I knew it had to be you. Otherwise, I would be as clueless as everyone else.” It did ease his mind that, unless they knew the truth ahead of time, everyone should perceive her as being male.
“The panic was real there for a minute, but it was worth it. I’m so glad you’re here, and that I don’t have to do this alone,” Clarke said. “Having someone I trust on campus is a priceless gift. Hannah and Harry will be relieved, too.”
“Same,” Jace said simply.
He and his parents would have been extremely worried about Clarke if they had known the plan. Jace would have tried to help, even from a distance. They would have checked on her constantly, and tried to find an alternative to Clarke going off on her own.
She hadn’t said so outright, but that was probably the main reason Clarke hadn’t confided in them. Jace didn’t like it, but in her shoes, he would have done the same. He was immensely relieved that the clue was here at Mars, where he could support and protect her.
“It looks exactly like the powered dorm,” Clarke said when they entered the shifter dormitory.
“They all have the same layout and amenities,” Jace said.
“The only difference is that shifters are housed by their animal species, with some space between predatory and nonpredatory creatures. In the powered, caster, and elemental dorms, the youngest are housed on the lowest floor, with the oldest on the fifth floor.”
“That makes sense,” Clarke said. “I’m just glad that the apartment is nice, and to have a private washer and dryer. That will make my life much easier.”
Jace chuckled before speaking, “You can thank the students for the latter. Up until two years ago, we had to use the student laundry in the dorms. But the pranks on monitors were getting ridiculous.
“My boxers were run up flagpoles three times just in the first term after I got this job. The little shits started taking my underwear out of the dryer early when I made a point to be in the laundry room when the cycle finished.
“Casters were the most inventive, though, spelling clothes to disintegrate, change color, or other crazy stuff. It was funny and aggravating at the same time. Dean Stanhope must have reached the end of his tolerance. He renovated the units, and had all new appliances installed.”
Clarke laughed. “Well, that worked to my benefit.”
“The students still pull pranks on us, as well as each other. So, be prepared for that,” he said. “But they can’t mess with our laundry anymore.”
“Got it,” she replied. “I’ll be alert to potential hijinks.”
He left Clarke in the common area when he went to change. Jace’s mom had given him a package of sleeveless muscle shirts on his last birthday. Preferring tank tops, he hadn’t worn them yet. They should cover the mate mark without being too warm in extreme heat.
Seeing it in the mirror made this more real to him. He was now a mated male, no longer alone and searching for love. Jace would treasure her, and this gift.
Clarke was checking the storage closets when Jace stepped out of his apartment. They searched the rest of the dorm together, finding nothing.
“The other monitors should be on campus, getting settled in,” Jace said. “It won’t be easy to search those dorms without raising eyebrows, but I’ll leave it up to you. I can make some kind of excuse to look through their dorms, or cause a distraction so you can do it.”
Clarke thought for a moment before responding, “I doubt we would find anything. If one of the students is involved, or somehow has the clue, they will bring it with them when they move in.”
“That’s logical,” he agreed. “If a person here knows something about what happened to Charlie, it’s most likely to be a staff member, or possibly an older student.
“Let’s start this tour, and save the admin building for last. You can meet Mitch and Ray, the monitors for the casters and elementals, at the faculty meeting on Tuesday.”
Clarke stared at him for a moment before heading toward the front doors of the dorm. “You don’t respect the other monitors,” she said perceptively.
“They strike me as lazy, and not invested in the job,” he said. “The students deserve better than that.”
“True,” Clarke said. “I may have an agenda separate from this job, but I still intend to be dedicated to the students, and perform my duties to the best of my ability. And not just to keep my cover. Anything less, and I wouldn’t be able to respect myself.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you will be a wonderful dorm monitor,” he said, and meant it.