Page 17 of Jace's Mate

Not now.

Later.

Only when the sensations were fully under control did she begin to prepare the roast.

Chapter 3

Jacedrovethroughstreetslined with abandoned warehouses and broken glass, the SUV’s window rolled down so he could take in every scent.

The city was a living thing—loud, shifting, full of heat and movement.

But it was the scent that thrilled him most.

Urban air was dense with stories—hot tar, old oil, cheap cologne, blood and life and something wild.It was exhilarating, the chaos of it.Still, nothing compared to the pure, soul-cleansing rush of running through the woods, his paws pounding the earth, heart beating in time with the wild.

And ifhewas feeling the urge to shift and run, then the rest of his pack was probably wrestling with their instincts too.

Tonight, he thought.If nothing explodes in the next hour, I’ll take the pack into the woods.

Parking inside a crumbling factory, he slid the keys into his pocket and hit the switch to lower the garage door.

As the metal shutter groaned and began to close behind him, he breathed in deeply, cataloging the smells.

Two blocks north of this old warehouse, the world was different.There were neatly painted boutiques, busy storefronts, and a multi-story department store.A few blocks to the west was the start of the suburban sprawl.The larger houses would be further out, but within two or three miles of this place were the quaint row houses and craftsman style homes built in the fifties.

His triad allies entered the meeting space from different directions.Sorcia, High Priestess and leader of the city’s witches, usually slipped in through the front of one of the boutiques.Lord Viktor Rastan, the enigmatic vampire leader… who knew.Viktor was a shadow even among allies.

Elsewhere in the world, witches, vampires, and wolf shifters were enemies locked in blood feuds.

But here?

Here they shared territory.Uneasy, yes—but stable.And it worked.

Or it had until the scent hit him.

Jace froze.

A breeze slipped through the narrowing gap of the garage door, and with it came something unexpected—intoxicating.

He turned, chest tight, breathing in again.

There.

A second whiff—sharp and electric—hit him low in the gut.

He moved forward, just a step, instinct pulling him toward it.

She was here.

Not in this building, but close.Close enough that his body knew.

Another inhale confirmed it.

She was sweet.Spicy.Bright.There was a tang of something unfamiliar layered beneath it all—something that made every nerve ending fire to life.

His mate.

After years of waiting, of not even daring tohope—she was near.