Page 51 of Captivated By Alphas 1, Fated (The Blood Moon Chronicle #4)

Finally, George sighed, his fingers tapping a rhythm on his desk that betrayed his discomfort. “What exactly did you see?”

“Silver light,” Cole answered, his usual precision somehow making the words more damning. “Feline ears. A tail. During a nightmare. Hard to miss, even for those of us who apparently weren’t meant to notice.”

George’s mask slipped, genuine surprise showing through. “You saw a full manifestation? Already?” His voice carried a note of alarm that made all three panthers tense further. “The seal shouldn’t be breaking this quickly.”

“Not full,” Jace corrected, leaning forward with intensity that would have sent his co-stars backing away. “Fleeting. But unmistakable. He was crying out for his parents, Dad. Talking about blood and shadows. Whatever happened to him nine years ago, it’s still fucking haunting him.”

His panther pushed forward as he spoke, infusing his words with the protective fury he felt. The beast couldn’t understand why their mate had been left to suffer through such nightmares without understanding their source, why he’d been kept in the dark about his own nature.

Wrong, it growled, nearly breaking through Jace’s control. Mate deserves truth. Deserves understanding. Deserves protection.

George’s expression softened slightly at the raw concern in his son’s voice, his own alpha instincts responding to the genuine protectiveness.

“The nightmares have been a constant, according to Thomas and Tricia. Though they’ve lessened over the years.

We hoped they might eventually fade completely. ”

“What is he?” Adrian demanded, his artistic temperament giving his words a passionate edge that made the question sound like an accusation. “We’ve never encountered anything like him. He’s like moonlight given form, and you’ve been hiding him under our noses for years.”

George studied them for a long moment, his alpha presence filling the room as he weighed how much to reveal. The three cousins didn’t back down, their own alpha energy pushing back against his in a way that would have shattered the windows if it had been physical.

“A snow leopard shifter,” he finally said, the words dropping into the silence like stones. “One of the rarest shifter lineages. Possibly the last of his kind.”

Despite having suspected it, hearing the confirmation sent a ripple of excitement through their panthers.

Jace’s beast preened with fierce pride at having recognized their mate’s true nature before being told.

The creature pushed forward eagerly, wanting to know everything about snow leopard shifters, everything about what made their mate so special.

Celestial feline, it purred, the ancient knowledge surfacing from deep in their supernatural heritage. Perfect match for apex predator. Perfect for us.

“And you’ve known all this time?” Jace asked, unable to keep a hint of accusation from his voice. His hand gripped the arm of his chair hard enough to leave indentations in the wood. “You’ve let him suffer through these nightmares without understanding what they mean? Without knowing what he is?”

His panther snarled at the thought, protective rage building at the idea of their mate being denied knowledge that could have helped him make sense of his experiences, his differences, his nightmares.

“It wasn’t my decision,” George replied, his tone sharpening to match his son’s.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as two generations of alpha panthers faced off.

“Helen Harper sealed his memories and his shifter nature when she brought him to us. It was the only way to protect him after what happened to his parents.”

“What did happen?” Cole pressed for details even as his panther clawed for answers. “We know it was during the Blood Moon Massacre, but the details—”

“Are not mine to share,” George interrupted firmly, his alpha authority filling the room. “Not without consulting Thomas and Tricia first. They deserve to be part of this conversation.”

“But why keep this from us?” Jace demanded, his protective instincts flaring. He rose from his chair, unable to contain the energy coursing through him. “Why never mention him in all these years? Why steer us away from the estate every time we planned extended visits?”

His panther pushed images through his mind—years of missed opportunities to know their mate, to protect him, to help him understand his nature. The beast was genuinely bewildered by this deliberate separation, this intentional keeping apart what should have been together.

George’s gaze softened slightly as he looked at his son, alpha to alpha. “Because I know my boys,” he said quietly, though the steel never left his voice. “Three unmated alpha panthers would have immediately recognized him as a potential mate. And Eli wasn’t ready for that. He still isn’t.”

“So you deliberately kept us away,” Adrian realized aloud, his usual playful charm nowhere in evidence.

His eyes flashed gold, betraying his panther’s agitation.

“All those suggestions to meet elsewhere for holidays, the discouragement whenever we mentioned extended visits home… it was all to keep us from finding him.”

“We were protecting him,” George said simply, rising to match Jace’s stance.

The two alphas faced each other across the desk, neither willing to back down.

“And yes, in a way, protecting you three as well. A bond with a celestial feline is no small thing. It changes you, enhances your powers in ways you might not be prepared to handle.”

Jace’s panther bristled at the implication that they were a threat to Eli. The beast rejected the very idea that they would ever harm their mate, that they couldn’t control themselves around him.

Would never hurt mate, it snarled indignantly, the growl nearly escaping Jace’s throat. Would die first. Would protect with life.

“We would never harm him,” Jace said, his voice low with intensity, the same tone that had made directors back down from unsafe stunt suggestions.

“Not intentionally,” George agreed, his expression softening at the fierce protectiveness in his son’s voice.

“But claiming a shifter who doesn’t even know what he is?

Who has no control over his abilities? That could be disastrous for all involved.

Snow leopards aren’t just rare, they’re powerful in ways even they don’t understand. ”

The three cousins absorbed this in silence, their panthers reluctantly acknowledging the wisdom in George’s caution. Jace’s beast didn’t like it, but even the primal creature could understand the danger of overwhelming their mate with too much, too soon.

Careful with mate, it conceded grudgingly. Fragile now. Need gentle handling. But still OURS.

“He’s suffering, Dad,” Jace said quietly, the image of Eli’s tear-streaked face still vivid in his mind. “Those nightmares… they’re memories trying to surface, aren’t they? Fragments of what happened to his parents.”

George nodded slowly, settling back into his chair.

“Helen believed the seal would weaken gradually as he matured. That he would begin to remember in fragments, in ways his mind could process safely. She was protecting him from trauma that would have broken most adults, let alone a twelve-year-old child.”

“But our presence is accelerating the process,” Cole concluded, connecting the variables. “Three compatible alphas in close proximity, each triggering his dormant nature.”

“Precisely,” George confirmed, a hint of pride showing through his concern. “Compatible mates tend to trigger latent shifter genes. Three compatible alphas? That would certainly speed things up.”

“What happens now?” Adrian asked.

George’s expression turned thoughtful, the calculating businessman replacing the concerned father. “We need to speak with Thomas and Tricia. They know him best—his triggers, his coping mechanisms, how much he might be ready to handle.”

“And what about Eli himself?” Jace questioned, his panther pushing protective instincts to the forefront. “When were you planning to tell him the truth? Or were you going to let him keep thinking he was just human while he suffered through nightmares he couldn’t understand?”

The beast couldn’t understand keeping their mate in the dark about his own nature, his own heritage. It seemed cruel to let him suffer through nightmares and confusion when the truth might bring understanding and healing.

Deserves truth, it insisted, pacing restlessly beneath Jace’s skin. Deserves to know self. Deserves choice.

“When he was ready,” George replied simply. “The trauma of losing his parents was severe, Jace. Helen sealed not just his shifter nature but also the worst of those memories to allow him to heal. Rushing this could do more harm than good.”

“But he deserves to know,” Jace insisted, remembering how vulnerable Eli had looked during his nightmare, how lost and afraid. “He deserves to understand why he feels the way he does, why he has these dreams. Why his body reacts to us the way it does.”

“I agree,” George said, surprising them. “But it must be handled carefully. We need a plan, not three alpha panthers charging in with revelations that could shatter his world. The seal is breaking—that much is clear—but a controlled revelation is safer than a traumatic one.”

“And protection,” Adrian added, the artistic temperament that made him a brilliant filmmaker now focused on potential threats to their mate.

“If his powers are emerging, others might sense it. The same forces that targeted his parents could come looking for him. The storm last night wasn’t natural—we all felt it. ”

George nodded grimly, his own protective instincts clearly engaged.

“I’ve already increased security around the estate.

The storm gave me the perfect excuse to upgrade our systems. But you’re right—we need a comprehensive approach.

” He looked at each of the younger men in turn, alpha to alpha.

“Can I trust you three to control your panthers around him? To give him the time and space he needs to understand what he is before you pursue any… claims?”

The question stung their pride, but Jace understood the necessity of it. His panther snarled at the implication that they couldn’t control themselves, that they would put their own desires above their mate’s well-being.

Would never harm mate, it insisted fiercely, bristling beneath his skin. Would die first.

“We’ll control ourselves,” Jace promised, though his panther rumbled with frustration at the thought of delay. “Eli’s well-being comes first.”

“Good.” George seemed satisfied, though his eyes still assessed them with alpha wariness. “This afternoon, we’ll speak with Thomas and Tricia.”

As they rose to leave, George added one final warning. “Remember, Eli has no idea what he is, what you are to each other, or what you could be together. Tread carefully. The last thing we need is to frighten him away when he’s finally starting to come into his power.”

The three cousins nodded their understanding, their panthers reluctantly accepting the necessity of patience.

As they left the study, Jace couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions—excitement at finding their potential mate, frustration at the need for restraint, and above all, a fierce determination to protect Eli from whatever shadows still haunted his dreams.

Will protect mate, his panther vowed with absolute certainty, claws scraping against his insides. Will help him heal. Will stand guard against all threats. Will wait as long as needed. But mate is OURS. Forever.

Whatever came next, one thing was certain: their lives had changed irrevocably the moment they set eyes on Eliot Harper. And Carmichael panthers never surrendered what was theirs.