Page 10 of Captivated By Alphas 1, Fated (The Blood Moon Chronicle #4)

“Less naked,” his mate agreed, then winced adorably. “I mean—yes. Better. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome…” Jace paused, suddenly realizing he had no idea who this beautiful creature was—this person his panther had instantly recognized as theirs.

“Eli,” his mate supplied. “Eli Harper. Tricia and Thomas’ son.”

Jace’s brow furrowed slightly. The groundskeeper and housekeeper had a son? He’d been away for years, but surely he would remember something that significant. Then again, he’d been so focused on his career, so rarely home… “The groundskeeper and housekeeper’s son? I didn’t know they had a son.”

“Adopted,” Eli clarified, a flicker of something—insecurity?—crossing his features. “About nine years ago, when I was twelve.”

Twenty-one. Young, but not inappropriately so.

Jace’s panther didn’t care about human age conventions anyway—it recognized a mate fully grown and capable of accepting their claim.

“Well, Eli Harper,” he said, keeping his expression neutral despite the storm raging inside him, “this is certainly an unexpected welcome home.”

“Not exactly how I planned our first meeting,” Eli admitted, then immediately looked mortified.

Interest piqued through Jace’s haze of desire. “You planned our meeting?” he asked, his panther suddenly alert to this new information. His mate had thought about him before. Had wanted to meet him. The knowledge was intoxicating.

“No! I mean—not planned, exactly. Just… imagined. Generally. With more clothes and less water and definitely not in your bathroom.” The words tumbled out in an adorable rush. “I should really stop talking now.”

Jace laughed—a genuine sound that surprised even him.

Hollywood had trained him to laugh on cue, to display precisely calibrated amusement, but this was real.

His panther momentarily settled, content to watch their mate’s endearing fluster.

“Please don’t,” he said, stepping slightly closer.

“This is the most entertaining homecoming I’ve had in years.

Usually, I just get fruit baskets and awkward small talk from people who’ve rehearsed their lines more carefully than I do for Oscar bait. ”

Eli smiled back, some of his tension visibly easing. “Glad I could provide the entertainment. Though I usually charge for my comedy routines.”

“Put it on my tab,” Jace suggested, making absolutely no move to cover himself.

His stance widened slightly, a subtle but unmistakable display.

“Though I should warn you, I’m very thorough about paying my debts.

” The double entendre hung in the air between them, thick as the steam.

“Now, as much as I’m enjoying this unexpected meet-cute, I should probably shower and get dressed before someone comes looking for either of us.

Unless…” He let the invitation linger, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

His panther practically purred at the flirtation, reveling in the way their mate’s scent spiked with interest despite his obvious embarrassment. He wants us, it growled with satisfaction. Even if he doesn’t understand why yet.

“Right. Yes. Clothes. Good idea.” Eli backed toward the door, nearly tripping over the forgotten mop. “I’ll just… go. And let you… not be naked. I mean, get dressed. In private. Which is what normal people do.”

“Normal people are overrated,” Jace countered, his voice a silky caress that had talked directors into rewriting scenes and producers into doubling budgets. “And they rarely have stories worth telling.”

“As opposed to me, who apparently gives impromptu shower performances for Hollywood stars,” Eli clarified, edging toward the door. “I’m really sorry about the mess. I’ll come back later to clean up.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jace said, waving a dismissive hand while his panther calculated how to ensure Eli would indeed return. “I think you’ve done enough cleaning for one day.”

Eli nodded, clearly desperate to escape the intensity of the moment. “Right. Well. Welcome home. To your home. Not my home. I mean, I live here, but not here-here. In the cottage. Which is technically your property. Or your family’s. I’m going to stop talking now.”

Jace’s laugh followed Eli as he turned and fled. The sound of rapid footsteps retreated down the hallway, but Jace’s enhanced hearing tracked them easily—counting steps, memorizing the particular rhythm of his mate’s movements.

Alone now, Jace inhaled deeply, drawing in the lingering scent of his mate. His control shattered—eyes blazing gold, canines fully extending, claws digging into the marble vanity with enough force to crack the stone. A feral growl erupted from his chest, echoing off the bathroom walls.

“Mine,” he snarled, the word barely human.

His panther was no longer content to be restrained, demanding action, demanding pursuit.

The primal need to chase his mate down the hallway, to drag him back to his territory, to throw him onto the massive bed and claim him completely nearly overwhelmed Jace’s rational mind.

He could do it. He could catch Eli before he reached the stairs. Could lock the suite doors, could keep him here, surrounded by his scent, until the mating bond took hold. His muscles tensed, ready to spring into action, his body already turning toward the door.

Take him now, his panther demanded. Claim what’s ours. He won’t fight—he wants us. Can smell it on him.

With monumental effort, Jace forced himself to grip the edge of the vanity harder, anchoring himself in place as he fought for control. The marble crumbled beneath his fingers, fine dust sifting to the floor as he took deep, steadying breaths.

“Not like this,” he growled to his panther. “He doesn’t understand. Doesn’t know what we are to each other.” The beast within him snarled in protest, but Jace held firm. “We’ll claim him properly. Make him want us. Make him beg for it.”

This required finesse, not force. Eli might know about their shifter nature as part of the household, but he clearly had no idea about mates or the intensity of Jace’s reaction to him.

Forcing a claim would terrify him, might even make him flee.

No, this required careful navigation. Patience. Strategy. Seduction.

He’s OURS, his panther insisted. Others will try to take him if we wait.

“And we’ll fucking destroy anyone who tries,” Jace promised his beast. “But we want him to come to us willingly. Want him to choose us.”

The cold shower he desperately needed would have to wait.

He turned the tap to scalding instead, hoping the heat would calm his panther’s restlessness.

As steam filled the bathroom, mingling with Eli’s lingering scent, Jace began planning his pursuit.

He would court his mate properly, would make him understand the gift they’d been given.

Would make claiming seem like Eli’s idea.

He had just stepped under the spray when his enhanced hearing picked up footsteps approaching again, lighter and more hesitant than before. His panther surged forward in anticipation, nearly purring with satisfaction. His mate was returning already.

He can’t stay away, his panther preened. Already drawn to us. Meant to be OURS.

There was a soft knock at the outer door, then Eli hesitantly said, “Jace? It’s Eli again. Sorry to bother you, but I left my cleaning supplies in the shower.”

Perfect. His panther had been granted another opportunity, and it wouldn’t waste it.

Jace smiled to himself—a predator’s smile, nothing like the carefully calibrated expression he showed the cameras—and adjusted the water temperature.

He deliberately left the bathroom door partially open, steam billowing out invitingly.

His panther had a plan—show their mate exactly what he could have.

A little harmless display to plant seeds of desire that would blossom into inevitability.

“Jace?” Eli called, his voice closer now, inside the suite. “I’m just going to grab my cleaning stuff real quick. Sorry to interrupt.”

Jace positioned himself perfectly, making sure the glass enclosure would provide just enough visibility without being completely transparent. He heard Eli approach the bathroom, heard the acceleration of his heartbeat, smelled the sweet-sharp spike of arousal that cut through the winter-pure scent.

He’s already responding to us, his panther rumbled with satisfaction. Show him what he could have. What we offer.

“I’ll just grab my things and go,” Eli announced, voice pitched slightly higher than normal. “Not looking, just grabbing.”

Jace smiled as the bathroom door opened wider. He’d already moved the cleaning supplies under the sink, ensuring Eli would have to search for them. He watched through the steamy glass as Eli’s eyes darted around, clearly looking for his supplies while trying desperately not to look at the shower.

It was time to up the ante. With deliberate intent, Jace positioned himself under the cascade of water, adjusting the temperature to create the perfect amount of steam—enough to tantalize but not obscure.

His Hollywood career had taught him every angle that best displayed his physique, but this wasn’t about vanity or marketability.

This was primal, instinctual—a mating display as old as time itself.

He pushed open the shower door with calculated slowness, water streaming down the sculpted planes of his body in rivulets that drew the eye downward.

One hand braced against the doorframe in a pose that tensed every muscle to perfection—shoulders broadening, chest expanding, abdomen tightening into defined ridges.

His stance widened slightly, a subtle but unmistakable display of dominance and sexual readiness.