(Cole's POV)
"You said you came here to talk… so talk. What are you doing here?" I asked again, my voice steady, but there was an edge beneath it—sharp enough to cut.
Jace didn't answer immediately. He took his time, as though he owned not just the room, but the silence itself. His gaze drifted briefly around the Den, taking in every face, every shift of movement, every breath held too tightly. Then his attention returned to me, and when it did, it felt like a weight pressing down on my chest and I didn't like that one but.
"I heard a rumor," he said at last, his tone calm, measured. "An important one. Important enough that I thought it best to confirm it myself rather than rely on whispers."
I let out a quiet breath through my nose, unimpressed. "And what rumor would drag you all the way into my territory uninvited? Snooping around like dogs, must be something serious… or you're just getting reckless." I said knowing that he wouldn't take the insult lightly.
And true to my words, his beta, Miles, shifted beside him, a low growl rumbling in his chest at my words. Alex didn't hesitate—his own growl answered immediately, sharper, louder, claws already threatening to slip free. The tension snapped tight between them like a drawn wire.
Jace didn't raise his voice, didn't need to. "Stand down, Miles."
It wasn't loud, but it carried. Authority rolled off him in waves. Miles stiffened, jaw tightening before he forced himself still, though the hostility in his eyes didn't fade.
Jace turned back to me like nothing had happened.
"Cole," he said, slower this time, deliberate. "I heard a rumor that you've imprinted." His gaze sharpened, piercing straight through me. "Is it true?"
The room seemed to still completely. Even the air felt like it had stopped moving.
I tilted my head slightly, meeting his stare head-on. "And if it is?"
That was all I gave him. No confirmation. No denial. But it was enough.
A flicker of something passed through his expression—interest, calculation…something darker.
"Then who is she?" he asked, more direct this time.
A humorless smile touched my lips. "Whoever she is," I said slowly, my voice dropping, "is none of your fucking business."
Jace chuckled. It was low, quiet… but there was no warmth in it.
"Oh, but it is," he said, taking a step forward. Not enough to provoke a fight outright—but enough to challenge. "Tell me something, Cole… did you wake up one morning and decide to rewrite the rules of our kind?"
I set my glass down on the table beside me, the soft clink louder than it should have been. "Didn't realize I needed your approval to live my life, Jace."
His smirk deepened slightly, like he'd expected nothing less.
"You don't," he admitted easily. "But let's not pretend this is just about you." His voice shifted then, losing that casual edge, turning colder. "You know it isn't. This involves all of us."
His eyes locked onto mine with renewed intensity.
"That little decision of yours—to keep her hidden…" he continued, his voice lowering, each word deliberate, "it affects more than just your pack."
Ryan shifted beside me, stepping forward just slightly. "Pierce, you're pushing—"
Jace didn't even glance at him. Not a flicker of acknowledgment. It was as if Ryan hadn't spoken at all. That alone made something dark stir in my chest.
"You imprinted before me," Jace said, his voice quieter now—but heavier. More dangerous. "Not just before me…" His gaze hardened. "Before every Alpha heir in this generation."
A subtle shift rippled through the room. No one spoke, but everyone felt it.
I held his gaze, unblinking. Unmoved.
"And?" I said.
"And," Jace repeated softly, "after that, the only thing you can think of, is to hide her."
A scoff slipped from Alex under his breath. "Yeah… this is definitely going to end well."
I ignored him. "How exactly is that your concern?" I asked, my tone flattening. "If I chose not to parade her around, then I have my reasons. Reasons that don't involve you—or any of the other heirs."
Jace let out another quiet chuckle, though this time it sounded thinner. Tighter.
"You always did have a talent for arrogance, Cole," he said, shaking his head slightly. "But this?" He gestured faintly between us, as though referencing something larger than the moment. "This isn't arrogance." He took another step closer. "It's recklessness and brutality."
My wolf surged forward at that—restless, agitated, pressing hard against the surface. The space between us shrank, charged with something primal.
"And what exactly do you think you're going to do about it?" I asked, my voice colder now, quieter… but far more dangerous.
For a split second, something flickered in his eyes. Then it was gone, replaced with that same controlled confidence.
"I was hoping you'd ask." He said.
The room seemed to drop in temperature. Even the guys behind me shifted uneasily.
Jace clasped his hands behind his back, his posture deceptively relaxed.
"You're forgetting something, Cole," he said, his voice smooth, almost conversational. "Something important." His gaze darkened slightly. "The curse."
The word didn't need to be loud to carry weight.
I saw it immediately—Nathan stiffening, Ryan's jaw tightening, Alex going unnaturally still.
Jace tilted his head, watching me like he was studying a reaction he fully expected.
"The burden every Alpha heir carries," he continued. "The thing that tears through us every full moon… that pain you know all too well." His voice softened slightly—but that only made it more unsettling. "And the role our fated mates are meant to play in ending it."
Silence followed. Heavy. Suffocating.
"And you…" Jace went on, his eyes narrowing, "have found yours."
There it was. The real reason.
"You now have the chance to break your curse first," he said quietly. "To free yourself while the rest of us are still bound to it."
His gaze hardened. "Do you really think we wouldn't care about that?"
I frowned slightly, not breaking eye contact. "Each of our mates is different. You know that. What does mine have to do with yours?"
Jace let out a slow breath, like he'd been waiting for that question.
"Doesn't it?" he asked softly. "We've searched everywhere, Cole. Every territory. Every pack. We've done things no Alpha heirs before us have ever done—crossed into each other's lands, risked our pride, our authority… all for a chance to find them. To check if maybe our mates were in each other's packs."
His voice tightened just slightly, just enough to betray something real beneath the control.
"And we found nothing."
The room seemed to lean in around us.
"Then suddenly," he continued, his gaze sharpening again, "you find yours. Who knows....maybe it was by chance. By luck. By fate—whatever you want to call it."
He took another step closer, until there was barely any space left between us.
"And instead of telling us… instead of letting us see if there's something we missed…something we could find out through her," His voice dropped, quieter now, edged with something far more dangerous. "You hide her."
I stepped forward too, closing whatever distance remained.
"And if I had the chance," I said, my voice low and unwavering, "I'd do it again."
No hesitation in my voice. No regret at what I said. But something in his expression snapped. And for the first time since he walked in, the mask slipped.
Anger flared in his eyes. Real, unfiltered anger. And just like that, the air between us shifted again—and it was no longer just tense…but it was on the verge of breaking.