Chapter 20
JACE
Another day, another crisis. Just once I’d like to finish the damn paperwork before some new emergency lands on my desk. Being Alpha isn’t all raw power and respect–it’s endless territorial disputes and trying to keep werewolves from killing each other.
My mind tingled with the familiar sensation of an incoming connection. Daniel, Alpha of Shadow Creek Pack, reaching out through the Alpha mindlink.
Jace, we’ve got trouble. Three smaller packs near Black Forey territory but in the past week.
I straightened, feeling Phantom alert within me. Rogues?
Too coordinated for random attacks. They’re picking off the weakest packs first.
Casualties?
Two dead. Several wounded, Pattern shows they’re moving north. Meaning our way.
I’ll strengthen our borders. If this is organized, we need to find who’s behind it.
After exchanging details, I reached for Hunter through our pack mind link.
Hunter, strengthen the southern borders. Three packs hit by rogues.
On it. Night patrol’s already assembled.
1 rubbed my temples. Phantom paced restlessly inside me, always more sensitive to threats against our territory.
Weak packs fall. We are strong. We protect what is OURS, he growled in my mind.
My phone buzzed with a text message from Eliana: “Emergency at the village clinic. Need to head back. Aria said she’ll stay with Aurora until you return.”
Aria. The human girl who’d arrived with Gabriel’s family three weeks ago. The girl who, from the moment I’d caught her scent, had turned my world upside down.
My true mate.
Phantom immediately perked up at the thought of her. Our mate with our pup. As it should be.
I pushed back against his eagerness. She didn’t know yet. As a human she wouldn’t feel the immediate bond that werewolves experience. And I couldn’t simply announce it–the poor girl had just escaped one Alpha trying to force her into being his mate.
By the time I made it back to the pack house, dinner hour had long passed. In the kitchen, I found a covered plate with my name on it. Betty never let me miss a meal.
As I ate, my thoughts drifted to the rogue attacks. If they were organized, who was leading them? Either way, Moon Shadow needed to be prepared.
She is upstairs with our pup, Phantom reminded me. Our mate. Go to her.
I made my way upstairs, following her scent. It hit me stronger as I approached Aurora’s door.
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Chapter 20
The sight inside stole my breath.
Aria was leaning against the headboard, sound asleep. Aurora was curled against her chest, small fingers clutching Aria’s shirt even in sleep. A storybook lay fallen eside them.
Something powerful surged through me. Phantom howled inside, a sound of pure satisfaction.
For the first time since Vanessa walked away, leaving me alone with our infant daughter, I felt the hollow space in my chest begin to fill. This human girl looked so right holding my child.
I moved silently into the room. Aurora’s stuffed wolves surrounded them like guardians. The night light cast gentle shadows across their peaceful faces. Aria’s golden–red hair created a striking contrast against Aurora’s light brown curls.
With careful movements, I approached the bed and lifted, Aurora from Aria’s arms.
“Shhh, princess. Daddy’s here,” I whispered when she stirred.
I tucked Aurora under her covers with her favorite wolf plush. She snuggled into it with a small smile. I kissed her forehead before turning back to Aria.
She looked exhausted, dark circles visible beneath her eyes. She’d been training hard, determined to prove herself valuable despite being human.
I couldn’t leave her sleeping in that uncomfortable position.
I slid one arm beneath her knees and the other around her shoulders, lifting her against my chest. She was lighter than expected, her body fitting perfectly against mine. Her scent intensified, wrapping around me like an intoxicating fog.
OURS, Phantom growled. Mark her. Now.
I gritted my teeth against my wolf’s demands, carrying her to the guest room adjacent to Aurora’s.
Aría mumbled something as I laid her on the bed, her hand briefly clutching my shirt before falling away. I removed her shoes and pulled a blanket over her, allowing myself one moment to brush a strand of hair from her face.
“Sleep well, little one,” I whispered.
Before Phantom could convince me to stay, I forced myself to leave, quietly closing the door.
In the hallway, I reached through the mind link to contact Gabriel.
Gabriel, Aria fell asleep watching Aurora. I’ve moved her to the guest room on my floor.
Thank you for letting me know, Alpha. Do you want me to come get her
No need to disturb her rest. She’s safe here.
I appreciate your consideration. There was a knowing tone to his mental voice that made me wonder how much the older warrior had figured out.
Later, after a shower that did little to calm my thoughts, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Sleep eluded me.
She was just down the hall. My true mate. So close I could trace her scent, yet still beyond my reach.
Phantom paced restlessly. She belongs with us. The pup accepts her. Why wait?
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“She needs time to understand what being a true mate means.” I whispered into the darkness.
The memory of her cradling Aurora replayed in my mind. The instant rightness of that image. The way something broken inside me
had begun to heal.
I rolled onto my side in frustration. How long could I maintain this distance? Every instinct demanded I claim her, protect her, keep her by my side forever.
But I had to be patient. For her sake. For Aurora’s.
The blood moon would arrive in less than two weeks. Perhaps then, when pack bonds were strongest, I could explain everything to Aria. Show her that she belonged here–not as a refugee, but as my equal. My true mate.
ARIA
Sunlight hit my face, waking me instantly. I blinked at an unfamiliar ceiling with wooden beams carved into moon phases and wolf silhouettes. This wasn’t my bed or my room.
Aurora lay beside me, her light brown curls spread across the pillow one tiny hand clutching my shirt.
I struggled to remember how I’d gotten here. Last night I was reading Aurora a story in her room, with her in my lap…
“I see you’re finally awake.”
The deep voice made me jump. Alpha Jace stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin tingle.
“Alpha,” I said, sitting up carefully. “I’m sorry, I fell asleep in Aurora’s room-
“In the armchair,” he confirmed. “I found you both there. Couldn’t let you stay like that all night, so I moved you here.”
I pushed hair from my face, suddenly self–conscious. “This is your private floor. I shouldn’t-”
“I already told Gabriel through the mind link that you stayed over. He wasn’t concerned.”
Aurora stirred beside me, her eyes blinking open. When she spotted Jace, her face lit up.
“Daddy!” she squealed, scrambling from the bed. He caught her, lifting her into his arms.
“Good morning, princess,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I need to take you back to your room to get dressed.”
“Aria told me stories about brave wolves!” Aurora announced, then looked at me with those ice–blue eyes. “Can she stay with me today, Daddy?”
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He did ask that early if she was his true mate. And the alpha sad yes so her father knows
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aww
