Page 8 of Captivated By Alphas 1, Fated (The Blood Moon Chronicle #4)

His panther slammed against his mental barriers, nearly breaking through as it recognized something Jace’s human side couldn’t yet comprehend. FIND. HUNT. CLAIM. The primal commands hammered through his consciousness, his panther more insistent than it had ever been.

Jace stripped as he walked, dropping designer clothes carelessly onto Italian marble floors.

His panther urged him forward with a primal need he’d never experienced, not in thirty years of life.

Whatever was behind that door called to something ancient within him, something beyond conscious thought or civilized restraint.

The scent clouded his mind, making his skin feel too tight, too human. His canines lengthened slightly, his fingernails threatening to shift into claws. Years of Hollywood discipline nearly shattered in an instant as his panther snarled one unmistakable command. MINE.

Control. He needed control. Years in the spotlight had taught him to master his shifting, to never reveal his true nature no matter the provocation. But this—this was beyond provocation. This was instinct in its purest form, a calling so deep it bypassed all his carefully constructed barriers.

He ran a hand through his hair, deliberately focusing on the sensation to ground himself. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he approached the bathroom door, drawn by that intoxicating scent like a predator to wounded prey.

Jace’s world imploded the moment he opened the bathroom door.

The full force of that scent slammed into him—winter personified, pristine mountain snow, crystal-clear air, and the subtle sweetness of alpine flowers blooming against all odds.

His panther roared inside his skull, clawing for dominance with such force that he tasted blood where his elongated canines had pierced his own lip.

One word obliterated all rational thought.

MATE.

There, bent over in his bathroom, was a vision that stole Jace’s breath—a slender figure with platinum-blond hair that caught the light like freshly fallen snow.

Clad in simple jeans but gloriously shirtless, revealing a lean torso with unexpectedly defined muscles rippling beneath skin so pale it seemed to glow.

Not an ounce of excess anywhere, just elegant strength wrapped in alabaster perfection.

The young man was mopping the floor, apparently oblivious to the predator watching him, earbuds firmly in place.

Jace’s panther surged against his control with such force that he had to brace himself against the doorframe.

MATE, it roared through his consciousness, a primal recognition that bypassed all rational thought.

The beast within him wanted to pounce, to pin this ethereal creature against the marble, to sink teeth into that exposed neck and mark him as theirs.

The need to claim, to possess, to mate was so overwhelming that his vision tunneled, amber bleeding into his blue irises as his shift threatened to manifest.

His claws partially extended, digging into the wood of the doorframe as he fought for control. In all his years mastering his dual nature, nothing had prepared him for this—this visceral, overwhelming call of mate recognition that threatened to shatter decades of careful restraint.

The young man straightened suddenly, his body tensing as though sensing the predator’s presence despite the music in his ears.

Through the steam-fogged mirror, their eyes met—pale blue touched with lavender, like alpine ice reflecting twilight.

Those extraordinary eyes widened in shock as he spun around, yanking out his earbuds.

Time crystallized into perfect clarity. Jace’s enhanced senses captured every minute detail—the rapid pulse visibly fluttering at the base of that elegant throat, the slight parting of full lips, the fine droplets of water clinging to platinum lashes.

His mate was beautiful in a way that transcended gender or conventional attractiveness—something rare and wild and perfect.

Something that belonged to Jace’s panther alone.

MINE. OURS. CLAIM. NOW. His panther’s demands hammered through his consciousness, primal and absolute. The beast didn’t care about social niceties or proper introductions—it recognized its other half and wanted immediate possession.

“I— You—” his mate stammered, backing up involuntarily. His foot hit a puddle, and Jace’s heightened senses registered the impending fall before it even began—the subtle shift in balance, the minuscule widening of those lavender-blue eyes, the sharp intake of breath.

PROTECT, his panther commanded, overriding all other impulses.

Jace’s body responded without conscious thought, his supernatural reflexes triggering a burst of preternatural speed.

The world slowed around him as he crossed the bathroom in less than a heartbeat, his arms encircling that slender waist and pulling his mate against him before the fall could even begin.

The contact sent molten heat racing through Jace’s veins, his panther howling in triumph at finally touching their mate.