The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate (3 page)

size useful when he needed to sneak in somewhere or get out of sticky

situations.

18

Scarlet Hyacinth

Paris looked at the time and mentally assessed his situation. He

hid behind the curtains as a group of guards walked past the house,

directly below him. When they were gone, Paris knew he had to take

his chance. Without allowing himself to linger any further, he opened

the window and jumped outside, easily landing on his feet even if his

room was at the second level. He had maybe one minute before the

guards would be making rounds in this area of the compound again.

By that time, he needed to be out of their field of vision.

Thankfully, Paris could remember where exactly the sensors were

and managed to avoid them. He moved as quickly as possible in the

circumstances, half expecting that any moment now, he would be

caught. He wasn’t. Surprisingly, he managed to get over the fence and

reach the edge of the forest just before the guards came around once

again. He caught sight of one of the men sniffing the air and dropped

to the ground, hoping the man would not pursue his suspicion. The

guard looked up at the still-open window, and just like that, Paris

knew he was busted. Crawling against the ground, he hastened into

the forest, hoping they might lose his tracks. It was too late to back

down anyway. His attempt to flee would make him lose what little

trust he’d earned in the eyes of the Alpha. Jace would probably be

disappointed and hurt as well. As his mate’s image flashed through

his mind, Paris experienced a pang of regret. Maybe he shouldn’t

have left like that. In the end, Jace probably meant well, and Paris was

acting just like the kid they thought him to be by running away and

doing whatever the hell he wanted to, regardless of the rationale

behind their advice.

He was seriously considering going back when all of a sudden, he

sensed a presence approaching behind him. A wolf emerged from the

bushes, and Paris stopped, frozen in his tracks. He couldn’t have

moved to save his life.

As the majestic beast turned into Jace, Paris nearly swallowed his

tongue. Jace had shifted for him before, so Paris was not a stranger to

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Jace’s naked body. It didn’t change the fact that the sight made Paris’s

knees turn to jelly and his cock throb with arousal and need.

And then, Jace spoke at last. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Paris lost it. He collapsed to the ground and buried his face in his

hands. God, he was such a mess. How would he ever get his life

sorted out when he couldn’t even understand his own emotions?

* * * *

Jace watched Paris come undone in front of him with a sense of

helplessness and fear. When the guards had told him it was likely that

Paris had run away, Jace’s heart had nearly stopped. He couldn’t even

fathom losing Paris, and the horrifying panic he’d experienced upon

being faced with the realization that he might have urged Paris to take

such extreme measures smothered him.

He’d known Paris was fragile ever since the young werewolf had

first come to the Wade pack. From the very beginning, Jace’s wolf

had recognized Paris as his mate, but he’d also seen the sadness

hiding behind those beautiful eyes and had known that he needed to

take it slow.

But the situation had only worsened since Paris’s mother had

nearly killed Reed. Now, Jace had no idea how to reach out to his

mate, how to convince Paris to stop blaming himself for someone

else’s actions. And in his zeal to protect his sweet mate, he’d

accidentally pushed Paris into something worse.

Seeing Paris barely managing to contain his tears, Jace knelt next

to the other werewolf and hugged him. “It’s all right,” he murmured

in Paris’s ear. “I understand. I want to go hunting for Tyrell, too. You

just mean more to me, that’s all.”

It was true. Jace had been quite put out when his father had taken

Derek along on the expedition, but left Jace behind. He’d obeyed

Soren, of course, but as things were now, he was stuck here while his

brother was out there fighting the threat against their nation. At the

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Scarlet Hyacinth

same time, while Jace would have liked to help Derek, he had his

priorities straight. The most important thing for him was and would

always be Paris.

“Do I?” Paris asked him, lifting his eyes to meet Jace’s. “I…I’ve

been very selfish. I just…I look in the mirror and I don’t like the

person I see there.”

Confusion, fear, and helpless anger irradiated from Paris. Jace’s

wolf whined and paced restlessly at the knowledge of his mate’s pain.

Paris’s family had done quite a number on him, and current

circumstances weren’t helping.

Even if Paris tried to hide what was happening in the pack, Jace

had seen the signs. He’d often gotten in the way of other wolves who

thought they knew better. But he obviously could not hide Paris in the

Alpha mansion forever. Paris was right about one thing. They needed

to get out of here.

“You’re not selfish,” he replied in a decisive tone. “You’re hurt,

and our pack isn’t helping you any.” His mind was in turmoil as he

tried to figure out a plan. When Paris looked at him with tearful eyes,

Jace made a decision. “All right, sweetheart. You and I are going to

Japan. Just promise you’ll never run away from me again.”

Paris threw his arms around Jace and buried his face in Jace’s

shoulder. “You don’t have to do that,” he replied. “It’s stupid. I won’t

ever be able to make up for what she did. For what I did.”

Jace just held the smaller werewolf, caressing his hair, wishing

that the increasing affection he felt for Paris would be enough to

mend his mate’s heart. In spite of himself, having Paris close had a

very specific effect on his body, something that, when he was naked,

he couldn’t really hide.

It was not the first time this had happened, and Paris couldn’t be

oblivious to it. Similarly, it was impossible for Jace to miss that Paris

felt the same. It was only normal, since they were mates, and being

werewolves, they felt the natural pull toward each other. But as much

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21

as Jace would have liked to claim Paris, he feared that the inevitable

change in perspective would just hurt Paris even more.

What they needed was to start anew, to run far away to a place

where only the two of them existed. But that could never be, not until

their families and friends were safe from the threat Tyrell represented.

“We can do it together, sweetheart,” he told Paris. “Now come on.

Don’t cry. Run with me. You’ll feel better.”

Paris broke away from the Jace and offered him a wide smile. “I’d

like that. It seems like I haven’t gone on a run for so long.”

The excitement Paris felt over something so simple just about

broke Jace’s heart. Unwilling to allow more sadness to encroach on

their time together, Jace changed back into his wolf form. Blushing

wildly, Paris began to take his clothes off. Jace hastily looked away,

knowing all too well that there was only so much he could take before

he fully lost control.

Thankfully, Paris didn’t take long in divesting himself of his

clothes. With the corner of his eye, Jace caught sight of his mate’s

slender body shifting into that of his beast. The process was very

quick, so before Jace knew it, a small but gorgeous wolf appeared in

front of him.

The fact that they were both in their animal shapes did nothing to

dim the instinctual need Jace had for his mate. Paris released a playful

yip and took off running. Excited, Jace began the hunt, following after

the smaller wolf.

They ran together through the undergrowth, and Jace’s fears

melted in the adrenaline of the chase, in the wildness and natural

rightness of the moment. Paris was very fast, but Jace managed to

keep up without a problem. In all truthfulness, it seemed to Jace that

his mate was teasing him, sometimes slowing down until Jace had

almost caught him. Finally, Jace’s excitement was such that he could

no longer contain his impulses. He pounced on his mate, stopping

Paris midleap.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

They fell on the ground together in a tangle of furry limbs, with

Jace on top of Paris, and shifted into their human forms. The result

was the two of them lying naked on the grass, panting, their instincts

fully roused.

Their gazes locked and held. The warmth and silkiness of Paris’s

body under him was so intoxicating Jace couldn’t have moved to save

his life. Why had he thought this was a good idea in the first place?

Fuck, how could he not want to be inside his mate?

“Jace.” Paris’s voice was a breathless whisper. “I want…”

Jace’s mouth went so dry he could barely speak. “I know. I know,

sweetheart.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Paris wanted. With their

bodies flush against each other, Jace could feel Paris’s hard cock

against his own. Even the knowledge that he should not take

advantage of Paris’s fragility couldn’t stop Jace from reaching

between them and gripping his mate’s shaft in his fist. He swept his

thumb over the already leaking tip, never once looking away from

Paris’s beautiful face. Paris’s expression was the very image of pure

ecstasy. Jace had never thought Paris could get more gorgeous, but

apparently, he’d been very wrong. And Paris’s pretty pink lips looked

so very enticing that Jace couldn’t hold back.

He crushed his mouth against Paris’s, at the same time bringing

their cocks together. Paris moaned, parting his lips for Jace and

allowing the other wolf invasion. Jace thrust his tongue in his mate’s

mouth, discovering the dark recesses of the wet cavern, exploring and

taking no prisoners. As he did so, he moved his hand up and down

their cocks, possessiveness rising through him when Paris wantonly

rubbed against him.

Desire sparked brightly within him, Jace’s wolf demanding that he

claim Paris. Jace delved deeper into the kiss, seeking Paris’s very

essence, aching to brand Paris as his own. He didn’t stop moving his

hand up and down their joined shafts, using their own pre-cum to

The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate

23

improve the glide. Paris already seemed close to orgasm, his motions

growing more erratic with every pull of Jace’s palm.

Jace would have loved to bring Paris to climax, to have his mate

come undone in his arms. Alas, the need to breathe forced him to

break the kiss. As he looked into his mate’s dazed eyes, though, he

realized that he’d allowed his instincts to take over and push him into

the thing he’d tried to avoid. He released his mate from his arms and

got up. It was cruel to stop just moments before both of them had

reached orgasm, but Jace had no other choice.

At first, Paris didn’t do anything, obviously having trouble in

mustering coherent thought. But as a few seconds passed, Paris finally

snapped back to reality. He blinked at Jace in confusion. “What’s

wrong, Jace?”

“We can’t do this,” Jace replied, shaking his head to cast out the

lust.

Paris gaped at him. “You can’t be serious. Don’t you want me?”

“There’s nothing I want more right now than to make you mine

forever,” Jace said, frustrated with himself and with the situation.

“But I can’t.”

“Why not?” Paris cried, his gaze pleading for an explanation.

“Because I can’t take advantage of you that way,” Jace replied. “A

mating is serious business, and you’ve been through so much lately. I

just don’t want you to make any decisions you’ll regret later.”

“So what you’re saying is that I don’t know my mate when I see

him?” Paris shot to his feet and narrowed his eyes at Jace. “What kind

of person do you think I am?”

Uh-oh
. Jace had a feeling he’d walked straight into a minefield.

He simply couldn’t bear the thought of having Paris angry with him,

but he didn’t know how to explain his misgivings without fucking this

up more.

“You’re the most beautiful person in existence,” he answered,

“and I’m not just saying that. I’m just not sure you’re ready.”

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Scarlet Hyacinth