"I… I… I’m already marked," Jace blurted out, his voice cracking under the weight of fear and guilt. The words just came out of his mouth, his chest heaving as if just saying them had stolen all the air from his Introduction to Lyra – Show her home life. Parents dismiss her, cousin Elara mocks her, she’s excluded from family gatherings. Establish her as the “useless omega.”Elias froze, his hands still pressed against Jace’s sides, the warmth of his grip a cage both comforting and terrifying. His blind eyes narrowed, head tilting as though the silence itself carried sound. "What? Are you being serious right now? You're doing this again?"Jace swallowed hard, throat bobbing, his eyes darting away from Elias’s face to the dirt beneath their feet. "We can't be together...I'm sorry." The confession tumbled out uneven, stumbling and fragile, like a lie trying to dress itself as truth. "I told you before...she claimed me."The words tasted like ash in his mouth, and Elias heard it
“What’s wrong?” Jace asked softly, his voice brushing close against Elias’s ear.Elias’s arms tightened suddenly around him, crushing him close. “Am I…” his voice faltered, shaking in a way Jace had never heard from him before, “am I a mistake of an Alpha because I was born blind?”Jace froze at the raw tremor in the question. Elias’s fingers dug into his shirt as though holding on to the only thing keeping him steady.“I don’t want power. I don’t care about ruling over anyone. All I want…” Elias’s breath caught and then broke against Jace’s throat, “…all I want is love. I want to be seen, Jace. I want to be accepted without someone whispering behind me that I am broken. But maybe I am... Maybe I was never meant to lead or to be wanted.”“Sir....uhm...I mean...jjElias…” Jace’s chest tightened painfully. He turned slightly, enough to see the Alpha’s face, his sightless eyes glassy, his jaw trembling with the effort of keeping his composure. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever thin
"Jace!" The butler’s loud voice cut through the air, making every head in the room turn.The heavy door swung open without a knock. The old man stepped in with quick, firm steps, his grip still tight on the spare key before slipping it into his pocket. His jaw was set, his eyes hard as they swept over the gathered women and then fixed on Jace."Enough," he said, his voice low but carrying a hint of annoyance. The women moved back slightly, their playful expressions dimming. "This is not why Madam brought you here.""Butler..." Madam began, but her smirk wavered. "How dare you barge into my tea party with the Luna candidates."He did not even glance at her. "On your feet, boy." He pulled his clothes over him. Jace quickly dressed himself behind him with tears on his face and shaky hands."Are you done?" The butler looked back to confirm. Jace nodded. "Let's go!"Jace’s legs moved before he thought. His chest felt tight, his face warm. The moment he reached the butl
Chapter 30"Close the doors, Jace," Madam’s instructed with a smirk that hinted to Jace that he was probably in a set up.Jace hesitated, his hand resting on the brass handle. "Ma'am… is Young Master Elias not...""I said, close them." Her gaze cut at Jace like a blade. "Don't make me repeat myself."The heavy oak doors swung shut with a deep thud that seemed to seal the room in a different kind of air that made Jace's heart beat faster. "Well…" the Eastern Luna candidate was the first to rise from her seat. Her gown shimmered in pale gold as she glided closer. "Up close, you’re even prettier than I expected...wearing this..." Her eyes looked like she could eat him as a snack."Prettier? No," the Northern daughter corrected, eyes roaming him from hair to boots. "He’s… alluring... Look at those grey lashes, the silky looking hair and those lips." She was the top candidate from our pack for Elias but right now, she was feasting on Jace with her eyes.Jace steppe
Chapter 29"Don’t tell me he’s in...""No, no, no, madam!" the butler yelped, throwing himself between her and the door like a very flustered, very determined wall. "You mustn’t!"She narrowed her eyes. "Mustn’t what?""Enter!""Why not? Elias is my stepson. I’ve seen him in worse situations...since he was young.""Yes, but… he’s, um… unclothed."Her brows lifted."With a fever," the butler added quickly. "And sweating and possibly contagious!""Sweating? Elias doesn’t get fevers. He’s built like a...""He’s resting," the butler said firmly, clutching the letter Elias father gave him to his chest. "And I must insist we respect his privacy."She glared at him suspiciously, but the butler just widened his eyes like an innocent forest creature."Who are you to tell me what to do?" She spoke, getting pissed. "Sorry ma, but I am in charge of our young master, his privacy is my top most responsibility before obeying you...you can report me to Alpha L
"Alpha! Your father said you should...." The butler's voice interrupted their intimacy time. Elias and Jace both turned in slow, synchronized horror. There, at the bathroom door, stood the butler with a tray in hand, and his expression was wide-eyed and frozen. His gaze landed on Elias in the bath, naked, soaked, flushed… and Jace on top of him, lip-swollen, breathless, and water clinging to his skin. Then Elias holding tight to Jace's arched back. "OH MY!" the butler gasped, his monocle nearly falling from his eye. Jace yelped and tried to leap off Elias, slipping again and nearly taking them both underwater. Elias caught him with a grunt. "Seriously? Again?" "I’m so sorry! I didn't see anything! Carry on! Carry on!" the butler sputtered, backing up so fast he nearly tripped over his own shoes. "I...I will just deliver the message later. Yes, much later." With