CHAPTER 13

A broken promise.

A shattered hope.

The weight of his actions lay heavily on him, but what happened?

There had been no emergency call, no injury, no crisis, at least none that he could remember. But still, for some reason, he hadn’t gone to meet her. He couldn’t even remember sending a message.

The last thing he remembered was being in front of his mirror, waiting with the flowers.

No sight of the flowers either. Like everything from last night had been wiped out, save the suit.

He reached for the jacket, hoping to find his phone in there. The little shift exposed his torso as the covering moved slightly. He looked down and only then realized that he was naked. Startled as to how he was lying in bed, naked, he sat up straight, pulling the cover over him.

"Urghh," a soft moan came from behind him. That's when he realized that he wasn't alone.

What could that be?

He jumped to his feet, the cold hitting his naked frame, before he reached for his boxers, which were at the corner of the bed. He pulled them on quickly, before focusing his attention on the figure in his bed.

The figure lay face down and towards the opposite direction. The coverings laid over its body, all that could be seen were its shoulders and head. Jace blinked hard, feeling a strange sense of dread building in his chest as he took a closer look.

The figure was certainly a female.

Her curly auburn hair gave her out, scattered and tangled in different spots. Her shoulders rose and fell gently as she slept. Jace began to pray that, in some form, in whatever way, the person lying under the duvet should be Clara. He began to bombard his mind with different possibilities.

"Maybe I did go pick her up and have our dinner. I can't remember cause we drank too much wine at the restaurant and found ourselves on my bed," he thought.

"But if so, then the last thing I should remember is the dinner or at least, picking her up," he countered immediately.

He ran a hand through his hair as he paced back and forth in the corner of his room. He wanted to know who she was, but he was also afraid of what he would find out.

"Maybe, after I went to pick her up, we decided to cancel the dinner and come home instead. One thing led to another, and we drank and—"

He paused, knowing fully well that this possibility fails the same test as the first.

"Maybe it's a maiden, or some random girl," he began to hope, already fearing the worst.

The worry grew in him as the body increasingly became familiar to him and it wasn't Clara. To make it worse, the more he stared at her shoulders, her auburn hair, her shape behind the duvet, he got the same answer, one he didn't want to imagine.

He took a step towards the bed, gently leaning over to get a better look at her. His hands and knees pressed into the bed, causing her to stir again. This time, she stirred till she turned on her back, her face becoming clear now.

Jace's breath caught in his chest.

The slender shape, the soft groan, the feminine sound.

They all belonged to her. Luci.

Jace’s blood turned cold, and his expression darkened immediately. How did he find himself in bed, naked, with Luci?

Then a thought struck his mind. A wild but very feasible thought. One that can only be proven by seeing what lies under the duvet.

He leaned closer, gently lifting the duvet off her body, bringing her body to view. His eyes widened. His heart pounded heavily as he took in the sight before him.

He dropped the duvet, pushing himself to his feet quickly as his throat tightened from the situation he had found himself in.

From a possible redemption dinner date with Clara to a tormented morning, waking to find himself naked and in bed with Luci, who was lying naked, sleeping.

What could have happened? How did this start? What have I done?

So many questions but none to answer.

Jace ran a hand through his hair as he stared at the blank wall just in front of him. He had done it again. He had broken Clara's trust for the second time, and one thing was frequent in all these: Luci. She has been behind all of Jace's frustration with Clara up to this point.

He was still contemplating when a soft sound came from Luci.

"Arghh, please turn off the lights?" She muttered, turning over and throwing the duvet over her head.

"Luci!" Jace thundered, his anger getting the better of him.

"Yes?" She slurred as her muffled voice came from between the mattress.

"Luci! Get up!" He ordered, this time, with more force.

She remained still for some seconds, then flipped on her back. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the ceiling, like she was getting her sight back.

Shortly, she turned to face him, and when their eyes met, she smiled lazily.

“Morning, Alpha,” she whispered, turning to face him, and she lay on her side. She pulled the duvet over her body. "Hope you enjoyed last night?" She smirked.

Jace glared at her, sending daggers to her head. His mind raced with words, questions. Everything he needed to know about last night.

"Are you alright?" She asked, sitting up and holding the cover over her body.

Jace tightened his jaw as he snarled through gritted teeth.

“What the hell did you do?!”