Page 82 of Captivated By Alphas 1, Fated (The Blood Moon Chronicle #4)

CARMICHAEL COUSINS

Jace demolished Paul in their third consecutive basketball simulation, but victory tasted like ash in his mouth. His panther clawed against his ribs with increasing violence, restless energy burning through his veins like acid eating through restraint.

Something’s wrong, the beast snarled, pacing beneath his skin with frantic urgency. Danger coming. Can feel it.

“That’s eight straight wins,” Paul complained, abandoning his controller with frustrated disgust. “You’re not even paying attention anymore. What’s gotten into you?”

Jace rolled his shoulders, attempting to ease tension that only seemed to coil tighter with each breath.

His panther was losing its mind beneath his skin, phantom claws scraping raw furrows along his ribs from the inside with desperate intensity.

The beast’s agitation had been building all morning, reaching fever pitch despite having no obvious source.

“Something feels wrong,” he admitted, his voice rougher than intended. “Can’t shake the feeling that we’re missing something critical.”

Paul’s expression shifted dramatically, easy humor evaporating as alpha instincts recognized genuine distress. “Dad’s been monitoring security reports every thirty minutes since dawn. Ray discovered something disturbing at the northeast boundary yesterday that has everyone on high alert.”

Ice crystallized in Jace’s veins, his panther going deadly still at the implication of territorial threats. “What kind of discovery?”

“Fresh scent markers from non-Carmichael panthers.” Paul’s voice dropped to barely above a whisper, instinctively avoiding broadcasting information that could trigger pack-wide panic.

“Territorial challenges. Multiple sets of tracks indicating coordinated surveillance. They’ve been watching our movements for days, possibly weeks. ”

His panther exploded into hyperawareness, every nerve ending firing with predatory alarm that made his vision sharpen until individual dust motes became visible in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows.

The beast’s protective instincts surged with volcanic force, demanding immediate action against unknown threats.

Danger to territory. Danger to pack. Danger to—

“Where’s Eli?”

The question erupted from his throat before conscious thought could intervene, his beast practically howling the name with desperate need that bypassed all rational control.

Every muscle in his body locked rigid at the sound, his panther clawing for complete dominance with the fury of a creature protecting its most precious possession.

Mate, it roared, fangs threatening to emerge despite the public setting. WHERE IS OUR MATE?

Paul reached for his water bottle with movements that appeared casual but carried underlying tension that set every one of Jace’s enhanced senses screaming warnings.

“Day off. Helping Thomas conduct routine boundary maintenance in the northeast sector. Sheena attempted to conscript him for emergency fashion consultation this morning, but he escaped before she could deploy the measuring tape arsenal.”

The world tilted violently off its axis, reality reshaping itself around the horrifying realization that his mate was walking directly into mortal danger.

His panther detonated inside his chest cavity with nuclear force, every instinct screaming with apocalyptic certainty that they were already too late.

Mate not safe here. Mate where threats gather. ELIMINATE ALL DANGERS NOW.

The beast’s panic slammed through their pack bond like a supernatural tsunami, raw terror broadcasting across psychic channels with enough force to shatter glass.

Adrian’s response came instantly—alarm spiking to match his own devastating realization.

Cole’s voice followed milliseconds later, cold precision cracking under the weight of shared fury.

Security sensors at northeast boundary went dark sixty-three minutes ago, Cole projected with deadly calm that barely concealed volcanic rage beneath. Deliberate sabotage. Someone wanted us operating blind.

Adrian’s snarl crackled through their connection like electricity seeking ground. My panther’s completely lost control. Can barely maintain human form.

Jace was already moving when David materialized in the doorway, his usual casual demeanor carrying an edge that made Jace’s beast bare its teeth in anticipation of violence.

“Dad wants you on the south terrace,” David announced, but his tone suggested this wasn’t a simple social obligation. “The reunion stragglers are asking why Hollywood’s golden boy hasn’t graced them with his presence, and he needs you handling family politics.”

“Where is he now?” Jace demanded, his panther lending a growl to his voice that made David’s eyes narrow in recognition of barely contained predatory fury.

“South terrace with the extended family contingent. But Jace, something’s—”

“Tell him five minutes.”

Can’t leave. Mate in mortal danger. Need to find mate NOW.

David studied his face with the intensity of someone reading battle plans, clearly recognizing the barely leashed violence radiating from every line of Jace’s body. “Everything under control here?”

Before Jace could formulate a response that wouldn’t trigger estate-wide panic, his phone erupted with electronic fury.

Then Adrian’s device joined the cacophony.

Then what sounded like every piece of technology in the mansion, creating an electronic symphony of doom that made his stomach plummet toward his feet.

George’s voice echoed through the halls with alpha authority that could command armies, sharp with urgency that brooked absolutely no delay. “All family members. Main hall. Immediately.”

Jace moved before the echo faded, his panther lending him inhuman speed that blurred the corridor walls into streaks of color. Paul and David flanked him as they raced through passages that suddenly felt like prison walls, too narrow to contain the beast clawing for immediate freedom.

The main hall buzzed with controlled chaos—household staff moving with military efficiency, family members converging from every direction with expressions ranging from confusion to grim determination.

George commanded the center of the maelstrom, phone pressed to his ear while his free hand gestured sharp orders to security personnel, his expression carved from granite and painted with barely contained violence.

Adrian and Cole materialized like summoned demons of destruction, their beasts visible in every predatory line of their bodies. No longer human grace wrapped in civilized clothing, but pure panther killing intent barely restrained by conscious will.

George terminated his call with decisive finality, scanning the assembled family with eyes that missed nothing. When his gaze found the three cousins, recognition flashed across his features—he knew exactly what barely leashed violence looked like.

“Our security systems are compromised,” George announced, his voice tight with controlled urgency. “Someone’s been hacking our perimeter defenses for the last hour. All communication with our patrol teams just went dark.”

Jace’s panther stirred uneasily, sensing threat but not yet understanding the scope.

“Ray reported boundary testing this morning—non-Carmichael scent markers, coordinated surveillance. I doubled patrols, but now we’re flying blind.”

“I’ll check the system,” Cole said immediately. “It’s my design—I can trace the breach and get us back online.”

“How long?” George demanded.

“Give me ten minutes to—”

Tricia Harper burst through the entrance like a hurricane of maternal terror—hair destroyed by frantic hands, phone clutched in white-knuckled fingers, raw panic rolling off her in waves.

“George!” she gasped, propriety completely shattered. “I got a call—the reception was horrible—but Eli—Thomas—they’re under attack!”

The words hit like physical blows. Jace’s vision edged with gold as his panther clawed for complete control.

“Where?” George snapped.

The words hit Jace like physical blows. His panther exploded with recognition—MATE IN DANGER—every muscle coiling as his vision edged with gold.

“Northeast boundary—” Tricia’s voice broke. “Eli called— I could barely hear—”

Jace crossed the distance faster than human perception could follow, taking the phone from her trembling hands. “Let me hear the recording.” He cranked the volume to maximum, his enhanced hearing catching every fragment of sound that human ears would miss entirely.

Static filled the air like electronic snow, broken by pieces of Eli’s voice that cut through Jace’s chest like physical blades. Breathless. Terrified. Fighting for his life.

“Mom—” The word crackled through interference with heartbreaking clarity. “—under attack—Dad’s hurt badly—”

Background noise leaked through the static—savage snarls that spoke of unnatural hunger, the wet sound of claws tearing through flesh, an engine revving with desperate urgency.

“Eli!” Tricia’s recorded voice, sharp with maternal terror that could shatter mountains. “Where are you? What’s happening?”

“—northeast clearing—” Eli’s voice fought through the electronic chaos with diminishing strength.

A crash that sounded like the world ending. Glass shattering into millions of deadly fragments. Something massive impacting metal with bone-crushing force.

A panther’s roar, close enough to distort the phone’s microphone with proximity and violence. Eli screamed with the sound of someone facing imminent death.

Then silence that stretched into eternity.

Jace’s control didn’t just break—it exploded into fragments so small they might never be reassembled.