The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate Read Free Page B

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

    The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate
    19
    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