CHAPTER 3 WHAT MORNING REVEALS #3
Jace was quiet briefly. Then his hand found Eli's, their fingers linking together. "That wasn't your fault."
"Wasn't it?" Eli's voice was bitter. "I was second. It was my job to keep the pack stable."
"You were one person," Jace said firmly. "You can't hold an entire pack together by yourself. That's not how it works."
Eli wanted to argue, but the words wouldn't come. Maybe Jace was right. Maybe he'd been carrying guilt that wasn't entirely his to bear.
"What about you?" Eli asked, deflecting. "What's it like in the pride?"
Jace's expression shifted, something complicated crossing his face. "Complicated. My mother's a good leader, but she's... traditional. The pride comes first, always. Individual wants and needs are secondary to the collective."
"And you don't agree?"
"I don't know," Jace admitted. "I understand why it has to be that way. We're smaller than wolf packs, more vulnerable. We need cohesion to survive. But sometimes..." He trailed off.
"Sometimes you want something just for yourself," Eli finished.
"Yeah." Jace lifted his head, meeting Eli's eyes. "Like this. Like you."
Something pinched beneath Eli's ribs. "Your mother won't approve."
"No," Jace agreed. "She won't. Cross-species bonds are... they're not forbidden exactly, but they're strongly discouraged. Too many complications, too much risk of territorial conflict."
"So what are we doing?" Eli asked. "What is this?"
Jace was quiet for one suspended breath. Then: "I don't know. But I know I'm not ready to walk away from it. Are you?"
Eli thought about the last three years. The isolation, the loneliness, the slow erosion of everything that made him feel alive. Then he thought about last night, about this morning, about the way Jace made him feel—wanted, needed, seen.
"No," he said finally. "I'm not ready to walk away."
Jace smiled, and it transformed his whole face. "Good. Then we'll figure it out as we go."
They spent the rest of the day at the stream, talking and touching, building something neither of them could quite name yet.
Jace told stories about the pride—his sister Kira, who was fierce and ambitious; his mother's careful political maneuvering; the younger males who jockeyed for position and favor.
Eli found himself talking more than he had in years, sharing memories of the old pack, of hunts and celebrations and the simple joy of belonging to something larger than himself.
As the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, Jace stood reluctantly. "I need to go. If I don't report back soon, my mother will send scouts."
Eli had to swallow before answering, but he nodded. "When will you come back?"
"Two days," Jace said. "Maybe three. I'll need to give her a report, let her think I'm doing my job. But then..." He smiled. "Then I'm coming back here. To you."
"You promise?"
Jace stepped close, cupping Eli's face in his hands. "I promise. You're not getting rid of me that easily."
He kissed Eli then—slow and deep and full of promise. When he pulled back, his eyes were serious. "Don't spiral while I'm gone. Don't convince yourself this was a mistake. It wasn't."
"How do you know?" Eli asked.
"Because I've never felt anything like this," Jace said simply. "And I don't think you have either."
He was right. Eli had never felt anything like this—this pull, this need, this sense of rightness that defied every logical reason why this was a terrible idea.
Jace shifted to cougar form in one fluid motion, his black fur gleaming in the fading light. He rubbed against Eli's legs once—a gesture of affection that made Eli's wolf rumble with pleasure—and then he was gone, disappearing into the forest with the easy grace of his kind.
Eli stood alone at the stream, watching the place where Jace had vanished. The scent lingered—sweet and spicy and utterly intoxicating. His territory smelled like Jace now. His body smelled like Jace. Everything was marked with their combined scent.
By sunset, Eli was convinced he'd never see Jace again. That once Jace returned to his pride, once reality set in, he'd realize this was insane and stay away.
But at midnight, Eli woke to the sound of something moving through the underbrush. He shifted to wolf form instantly, ready to defend his territory.
Then he caught the scent.
Sweet. Spicy. Utterly familiar.
Jace emerged from the tree line in cougar form, his bright eyes gleaming in the moonlight. He shifted to human as he approached, completely naked and grinning.
"Couldn't stay away," he said simply. "Gave my report, told my mother I needed more time to observe. She bought it."
Eli shifted to human, his heart hammering. "You came back."
"I told you I would." Jace closed the distance between them, his hands finding Eli's hips. "Now are you going to stand there looking shocked, or are you going to take me back to your den?"
Eli didn't answer with words. He just pulled Jace close and kissed him, pouring three years of loneliness and longing into the contact.
Jace had come back.
Against all logic, against all reason, Jace had come back.
And for the first time in three years, Eli let himself believe that maybe—just maybe—he didn't have to be alone anymore.