Twice Tempted: Between Two Alphas (Mia and Cameron) novel Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

This woman…she lights me up.

“Thank you, Jace.”

I’m not ready to tell her she’s my mate. She doesn’t press for a reason, and I’m glad I don’t have to make something up.

And unlocking her shackles…that was a direct violation of loyalty to my own people. It sits like a brick in my stomach, what I did.

My father didn’t give a flying fuck about this woman. She was an outsider. A witch. He didn’t trust her. He told me to tear out her throat and cast her into the flames the moment Mia’s sentence was delivered.

There was a time when I would’ve carried out such an order without batting an eye. But I’ve seen the Elders’ form of ‘justice’ and I know my Father would just as soon bury a problem rather than deal with it.

The fact remains though…I’ve betrayed my own people.

Yeah, it was to save Mia. And, yes, it was just to give Morgan a chance to escape because I couldn’t stand there and watch them burn her alive.

But no matter my justification, what I did was wrong.

I could be executed for my treason. At some point, I know, I’ll need to come clean about my actions, and I’ll have to deal with the inevitable fallout.

“Jace?” Morgan’s voice is soft. Her pretty eyes are questioning.

“Come on,” I say. “This way.”

I lead us along the trail. As we move further away from the pack, there’s less scattered light. I can see fine. She stumbles a bit and I automatically take her hand.

It feels right.

I live in a moderately-sized home half a mile from the main house. All my family lives close, with my dad having moved into a smaller dwelling, no longer the Alpha.

Or at least, he had been living there until Cam fell ill.

We walk slowly and when my home comes into view, I watch her reaction.

She sucks in a breath. “What is this place?”

I’ve been many things in my lifetime–soldier, brother, architect, engineer.

This house is a point of pride for me. I’ve always had a thing for practical creation, and I’ve designed more than half the new homes in our pack. Though most of us work within the pack’s corporation, some of us specialize in other things that help us as a whole.

I’ll pursue my passion for architecture someday. In the immediate future, we have a board of investors to placate and Ashley’s mess to clean up. I can play the corporate role required, I can do my part.

“This is my home,” I say, realizing Morgan is waiting for my answer. “It’s off the grid, big enough for when I finally have a family, and simple enough to suit my needs for now.”

We walk up the steps and I open the door.

She strolls inside the modern home, spinning slowly to take in the space as I switch on the lights. She nods. “I’m surprised to find it tastefully decorated.”

“You expected cardboard boxes and stumps for seats?”

She smirks. “Something like that.”

I have a highrise apartment in the city and multiple investment homes dotted along the east coast. I own a villa in Tuscany. A condo in the Cayman’s.

Someday, I’ll share those things with her.

I wish I didn’t find her so attractive, but her strawberry-blond curls frame a face I can’t stop thinking about. Her lips are so lush, I can’t look at her without staring at that mouth. She bites her lower lip when she’s uncomfortable.

Or aroused. An obvious tell.