16. Jace

The way she looked at me, the intensity of her words, the arousal I could scent… it all pushed me to be open, raw. To tell her exactly how I felt with no subtlety. Nothing that could be misunderstood.

Sliding my chair closer, I leaned my elbows on my knees and looked deep into her eyes. "Every moment I'm around you, my wolf is clawing to get out, to come forward, to push me to claim you. He wants you more than he's ever wanted anything. He wants me to cover you in my scent, bury myself deep inside you, and mark you."

To my immense relief, she didn't seem put off by my remark. In fact, the opposite proved true. Kirsten's eyes widened, and the scent of her arousal grew even stronger, causing my cock to press painfully against the zipper of my jeans.

"Are wolves always so forceful in their desires?" she asked.

"They're protective, yes, and passionate. But this carnal need and impulse to claim only come around when they find their fated mate. It's instinctive. Like marking your territory." I held up a hand to reassure her. "I want to make it clear, you are not property. You cannot be owned, but my wolf recognizes you as ours. As mine."

Kirsten looked at me, never breaking eye contact. When she spoke, her voice was barely more than a whisper. "That's how the wolf views me, but how do you view me?"

I swallowed hard and licked my lips. "You are the most captivating and beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on. It confuses me, because I've never felt this before. I don't know if I can trust the feeling. I'm afraid to trust it. This curse? It makes it hard for me to know if what I feel for you is real or just a result of magic."

Kirsten nodded, then touched my hand. A crackle of energy coursed up my arm.

"I have a theory. I think Dorothy may have foreseen this," she said, gesturing between us. "I think, maybe, she saw the future. She saw that I would be your fated mate and that you would be my tether. I don't think she cursed you to ruin your life. When you kissed her, some kind of vision showed her what was to come. She prevented you from mating or finding a partner to ensure you were free when I finally came around. Does that sound crazy?"

My heart was a jackhammer in my chest, beating widely at the implication. If she was right, if Dorothy had cursed me not to punish me, but to make sure that what she saw in her vision came true, then it would mean that Kirsten was my fated mate. That it wasn't some twist of magic, but true, unadulterated fate.

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut, and our mutual arousal pressed down on us. The food and wine were forgotten. All I could see was her, and all I could feel was what I wanted to do.

"Jace, will you kiss me?"

I didn't hesitate, pouncing on her with my next breath, pressing my mouth to hers. The feel of her on me, the taste of her lips, and the hot caress of her tongue were so intoxicating. Nothing had ever been this good, this right. Kirsten twisted her fingers in my hair, pulling me in. We were a tangle of hands, lips, gasping breath. My cock throbbed, aching to be inside her, to bring her to a screaming orgasm.

I pulled away, gasping for breath before I went too far.

"What's wrong?" Kirsten asked. "Did I do something?"

"No," I said quickly, cupping her cheek with my hand. "You didn't do anything wrong. As much as I want you, I need to stop."

The look of hurt and rejection on her face tore at me. I kissed her again, this time quick but still deep and meaningful, then looked into her eyes. "If your theory is right, then I want this to be done the way it should be. I want to court you properly. Dates, dinners, conversations. I want to earn your trust and treat you like I would any woman I was choosing for my mate. I want you to be totally sure about me before we go any further. Before you give your body to me."

The heady scent of her arousal pulsed from her, making me dizzy.

"Damn," I said with a grin. "You're a little horndog, aren't you?"

Kirsten blushed and swatted my leg. "No, I'm not. Stop."

My comment had the intended result. The intensity of the moment was broken, and the mood shifted to something calmer and lighter. We moved to the couch with our wine. I probed about her upbringing. She talked about Lola and how great of a grandmother she'd been. More like a surrogate mother than anything. While we spoke, we couldn't keep our hands off each other—fingers interlacing, then running up and down thighs, light touches, gentle caresses. Nothing overtly sexual, but much more than friendly. That could only last so long before my resolve would begin to crumble. I needed to head out before I could no longer control myself.

"I think I need to get home," I said.

"Okay," Kirsten replied, though I didn't miss the disappointment in her eyes.

"Hey, how about you come to my place for dinner tomorrow? We can have a proper first date. I'll cook dinner this time."

She smiled. "That sounds really nice."

At the door, we shared one final kiss. God, I really hoped her theory proved to be right. I desperately wanted her to be my true fated mate, not a pairing that resulted from that goddamned curse.

At the end of her driveway, I almost turned left to head back toward Crestwood. But the box on my passenger seat caught my eye. The warm, happy glow from being with Kirsten morphed into rage. Eren needed a really good lesson in what you should and shouldn't do. In respect. Decorum.

I pulled out my phone and called Waylan.

"Hey, bro," he answered a moment later. "How was that chicken parm?"

"It was great," I said tersely. "But something's come up."

"Oh, shit, what's the matter?"

"Eren decided to send a little gift to Kirsten. I'm on my way to shove it up his ass. Meet me at his house?"

"Now?" he barked. "Are you fucking serious?"

"I am. How soon can you be there?" I could already hear him rushing outside through the phone.

"I'll haul ass. Twenty minutes?"

"Drive faster," I snapped and hung up.

Turning right, I headed for Scottsdale, pressing the gas pedal down, causing the engine to scream as I rocketed down the road. I had to have been doing nearly eighty the entire way because I pulled off at the town entrance in less than fifteen minutes, tires squealing as I turned onto the main road that led to Eren's home.

The guards at his gate waved me down as I pulled up. In the rearview mirror, twin lights illuminated my rear. Waylan. Good.

"What's the meaning of this?" one of the guys asked as he walked up to my window.

Leaping from the car before he got to the door, I pointed up the road toward the house. "I'm here to give your piece-of-shit alpha a piece of my mind. That's the meaning of this," I growled.

He and the other man scowled. One of them shoved me back. "You think so, motherfucker? Try it."

My rage was a tornado inside me, and without even trying, my alpha aura pulsed out in waves, descending on the two betas. Both flinched, instinctually lowering their heads in deference to my power.

"That's more fucking like it," I growled.

"Hey, Jace? We good?" Waylan called from his own truck.

"Is there going to be a problem?" I asked the guards again, my aura cascading over them.

"No, man. Go on, then. Go," the guard said, waving at the driveway, unable to meet my eyes.

"We're good," I called back to Waylan, then got back into my truck.

Pathetic. It showed what type of alpha Eren was that his own men could so easily be cowed by another alpha. My own people would have died to protect me, and I for them. I had no doubt that if Eren tried the same thing on Waylan, my friend would feel the desire to be subservient, but his loyalty to me would outweigh any power another alpha might have over him. He'd kick Eren's ass.

I ruled my pack with a soft but firm hand, letting justice, law, and order reign. Eren, on the other hand, chose to run his pack lands with an iron-fisted dictatorship. His pack's allegiance was forced rather than earned, and the reactions of his guards were telling.

Eren was already outside with three more of his betas as we stopped in the gravel driveway. Waylan was out of his car and shifted into his wolf in seconds, growling menacingly at the other four men.

"Well, Jace, to what do I owe this visit?" Eren called.

I yanked the box off my passenger seat, stepped out, and tossed it like a frisbee toward him. The top of the box fluttered off and the dress fell at Eren's feet.

"Seems a little small for me, Jace," Eren said with a grin, but I could see the fury in his eyes.

"You know why I'm here," I spat, jabbing my finger in his direction and taking a few steps closer, a growling Waylan at my heels. "There won't be another warning. This is it. Stay the fuck away from Kirsten. She may not be on my lands, but she is under my official protection. You doing this breaks all the shifter hierarchy laws. You keep trying me, and you'll see exactly what the repercussions will be."

"Really?" Eren asked. "And what exactly will those be? Knowing you, you'll just grab your ankles and ask me to kiss your ass."

"You so much as look at her again, I'll consider that a direct challenge. You and I both know how that will turn out. You aren't close to being able to take me on."

Eren's face blazed, and he stomped forward, pushing his men aside. "I don't need some piece of shit like you coming onto my pack lands and calling me weak in front of my people."

I walked backward toward my truck. "If you don't like being called weak, then don't be weak."

Waylan waited until I was in my truck with the door closed before retreating to his own car and shifting back.

After slamming my truck into reverse, I pointed out the window at Eren. "Like I said, last fucking warning. You stay the hell away from my mate."

As I drove away, I glanced in the rearview and saw Eren flipping me off as I roared back down his driveway. As pissed as I was, I had to smile. That felt really fucking good. Hopefully, he got the message.