Page 79 of Jace's Mate

“Y-Yes!”James blurted, beaming.The others nodded, swallowing hard, each trying to hide the growing emotion on their faces.

Stephan stole a glance at Ragnor—who hadn’t smiled—and immediately schooled his own expression.Jace made a mental note to talk to Ragnor later.Those boys didn’t need just discipline.They needed guidance.And belief.

“Good,” Jace said, rising.“I know you’ve eaten.Go take a long shower at the barracks.Rest.Then start talking together—try to remember everything you can about who asked you to spy.Names.Phrases.Anything.”

He offered his hand to each of them in turn.“Thank you.For your work.For your honesty.For your courage.”

James flushed as he took his Alpha’s hand, clutching it with both of his own.“We won’t let you down, Alpha.I swear it.”

“I know you won’t,” Jace replied.

The boys left, one by one, and the room fell quiet again as the door latched shut behind them.

Only Anikka and his betas remained.

Jace exhaled slowly and dropped back into his chair.“What do you think?”he asked.“Was it Gustov?”

Megin frowned.“Feels too obvious.He wouldn’t use kids.”

“Who’s Gustov?”Anikka asked, drifting closer to Jace’s side.

He noticed.So did the betas.Her unconscious movement, her nearness—it was a signal.A shift.She was starting to trust him.Starting to accept the bond.

The others relaxed, just slightly.

Jace turned to her.“Gustov’s the Alpha to the west of our territory.His pack is small.He controls about half of northern West Virginia.We control the East Coast.”

“That seems so much smaller,” Anikka said, brow furrowed.She looked curiously at Jace.“How did you grow such a large territory?”

Jace opened his mouth to answer, but Megin jumped in.

“He’s one of the strongest Alphas alive.The other packsaskedto join.Everyone wanted to be under Jace’s protection.”

“Our size is both a blessing and a curse,” Ciaran added.

Anikka blinked.“Because it’s hard to manage so much land?”

“No,” he said with a chuckle.“Because Jacecan.That kind of control—over so many shifters—makes the other Alphas nervous.We’ve had peace for a long time.No real threats.So, this attack?It caught us off guard.”

“There were no whispers,” Ragnor agreed.“No warnings.Nothing about a challenge to Jace’s rule.”

“Except someone was trying to keep me away from him,” Anikka pointed out softly.Then she tilted her head.“Or more accurately, use me to destabilize Jace’s control.”

All four men nodded.

“Yep,” Megin confirmed.“And don’t forget the attacks on our ships.Back then, we didn’t even know you existed.”

Ciaran recounted the three ship assaults from the previous week, plus a few other suspicious incidents at sea.

Anikka looked at Jace, her voice thoughtful.“Maybe the ship attacks aren’t connected to what’s happening here.Maybe they’re just a distraction… or something else entirely.”

Ragnor tilted his head.“Why do you think that?”

“Because piracy’s been on the rise.Cargo ships are easy targets out on open water.”

“Until someone boards a ship and finds a bunch of enormous wolves ready to rip their throats out,” Jace muttered.

That earned a round of chuckles, but the idea took root.