20: Jayce

"Hello?" He picked up his cell to an unknown number. Damion sat across from him at another desk

in his large office in the pack house.

"Get your Alpha looking ass at the dress store right fucking now." Erica shouted at him. He held his

phone away, his eyes looking over to Damion who recognized his Mate's temper easily.

"Can it wait?" He asked her after bringing his phone back to his ear.

"No! Jasper was just here!” She shouted again. Jayce was on his feet and out the door with Damion

following behind him.

"What dress store? I'm on my way. Monitor Lily." He ordered, hanging up before she could get

another snide remark in.

"What the Hell was that?" Damion asked as he matched his pace. Jayce was close to shifting when

they reached the main floor. The receptionist coward away at the sight of her King stalking toward

the door. His phone buzzed. He planned to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop until he answered it.

"Dammit Erica, I said I'm on my way!" He shouted. He listened to Damion snarl beside him.

"Jayce, don't come." Lily's sweet voice stopped him in tracks, his hand on the doorknob.

"Lily, I need to. I need to find him." He growled, every ounce of his body being restrained by her

simple command.

"You can't. You would play right into his hands.” She told him. His Wolf growled deeply.

Listen.

His Wolf's voice alarmed Jayce. He let go of the doorknob, seeing the confusion on Damion's face.

"How?" He asked her.

"Jasper disappeared after leaving the store. He's most likely confirming my whereabouts. He's

probably monitoring where I go from here."

"So? That means he's close.” He snarled, punching the wall. The debris fell away from the impact.

"Exactly, and if you came charging in like the hulking, sexy force that you are, he'll never approach

me again. We'll lose him." She said. His Wolf purred, and he relaxed.

"Sexy?" He repeated. She stammered on the other line before clearing her throat.

"Anyway, we continue as we planned. It could be possible that he thinks I knew it was him, and he

may be trickier to catch.”

"To kill." He said. She said nothing at first.

"Right... Let him think he's got the advantage. He'll be cocky about it. He'll try to get closer because

he believes he can." She told him. He pondered a moment on her words.

"Fine." He said through clenched teeth.

"Jayce." She spoke his name tenderly. He leaned his head against the door as she said his name.

"Everything will be okay.” She reassured him. He shut his eyes, letting her words sink into his mind.

"I know it will be. Just be careful, okay?" He told her.

"I will. I love you." She said. His heart skipped at her words, and he grasped his shirt gently.

"I love you too." He said before hanging up. He remained in that position for a moment longer

before turning and heading back toward his office.

"Whoa, hold up. What was that about? We should go after Jasper.” Damion said, stepping in front of

him to stop him.

"We can't.” Jayce said with regret in his voice. He'd love nothing more than to hunt the fucker down

while the trail was still hot.

"Why the fuck not?” Damion asked him. Jayce met his gaze. His Beta was just as riled up as he was.

"It would just make him turn and run away. We'll keep to the plan we have for tomorrow." He said

as he sidestepped him. Damion grabbed his arm.

"Jayce, this isn't like you. You are always on the case with shit. Why are you holding back now?" He

questioned him. Jayce hesitated in his next step. Damion was right. He always charged ahead when

situations arise. He never waited to be jumped first. Jayce gazed back at Damion. His Wolf tugged at

his mind, but he ignored him.

"Let's go."

Jayce rode with Damion in his pickup down to the dress shop, parking a few blocks away to stay out

of sight. A part of him wanted to turn back, to obey his Mate's wishes, but he couldn't. Just knowing

the slimy bastard was in his city made his blood boil. And he was so close to Lily! Was she terrified?

Did she cry? He didn't know; he didn't ask. Jayce just knew he needed to kill Jasper so Lily could be

free of him permanently.

"I got some info from Erica. He appeared as a brown-haired male in a butler suit that was tailing an

annoying female.” He cocked a brow at that.

"Did the female know him?" Jayce asked, his eyes on the dress store where he noticed Penelope's

car parked at the entrance.

"The woman apparently made no pass to the man she came with, and from Lily's perspective, he

wasn't with her when they left.” Damion scrolled through his phone, "A woman with brunette hair

and a self entitled attitude.” Damion and Jayce exchanged looks, knowing full well who she was

referring to.

"As much as I hate to say it." Damion said as he turned on his truck. Jayce didn't want him to finish.

He knew what needed to be done.

They drove up a small driveway to a two-story house. Its wrap-around porch accented with hanging

potted plants, as Jayce stepped up in one go. The door flew open to Chelsea in the doorway,

wearing a silk red robe and a sweet smile on her face.

"My King." She said to him, her eyes landing on Damion and her smile drops, "Damion." She

scowled at him, probably still sore after being dumped once he found his Mate.

"Where is he?" Jayce demanded, pushing past her. He lifted his nose into the air, but the only scent

he could gather was hers.

"My father is at the pack house.” Chelsea said dismissively, walking back to the living room to pick

up her glass of wine. Damion dashed through to the kitchen.

"Not him, fool. The butler you had at the dress store.” Jayce snarled down at her. She swallowed, but

stood her ground.

"Butler? He's out on an errand for me." She sipped her wine. Jayce's growl bounced off the walls of

her living room, a crack forming in her wineglass

"What errand?" He towered over her. Her eyes evaded his, her body shivering. Damion came

running back into the living room.

"He's not here, Jayce." He said to him. Jayce didn't bother addressing him. He continued to stare

down at Chelsea, his gaze boring down on her.

"Tell me, Chelsea.” His patience wore thin. Her eyes flitted up to his for a moment, and he thought

he noticed a glimmer of remorse in her eyes.

"He's following that bitch of yours.” She said with disdain. His hand lashed out, grabbing the front

of her robe and tugged her close, spilling her wine.

"Why?" He shouted in her face, her feet just barely touching the ground. Her eyes widened up at

him, fear clear in her eyes now.

"He... He offered... He said he had an interest in her... Wanted to take her back home..." her voice

trembled. He let her go, watching her crumple to the ground. Jayce headed for the door with

Damion when she grabbed his wrist. "My King, wait!"

"Don't you dare call me your King when you sent a fucking lunatic after your Luna.” He snapped

back at her. Her eyes widened at his words, letting him go as he stormed out with Damion.

"I can't believe Chelsea would do that." Damion said as they drove off again. Jayce checked his

phone. No messages or calls from Lily. Was he too late? Should he have waited at the dress store

instead? Should he contact Lily?

His Wolf growled, echoing off the walls in his head. Jayce grabbed hold of his armrest at the force of

the growl.

Don't anger our Mate.

It's for her own damn good.

The Wolf quieted after that as the truck drove down the street. His eyes scanned the shops, the

restaurants, and the streets, hoping to find Penelope's car when it came up again in front of the

bookstore. Damion parked a few blocks down again.

"What's the course of action?” Damion asked as Jayce kept his eyes strictly on the shop. From their

angle, he couldn't see too far inside.

"We wait. He has to slip up, eventually.” Jayce said to him. But even with camping out and honing in

on their Wolf's sight and hearing, they couldn't match closely to the description Erica gave them.

Penelope left solo shortly after they arrived there.

"Jayce, I don't want to burst your bubble, but he could have changed appearances by now." Damion

told him. Of course, he knew the probability. He just hoped the Vampire didn't think that far ahead.

Jayce ran a hand through his hair when he spotted Erica and Lily leaving the shop together. Lily had

a large bag draped over her arm, presumably an outfit she had picked out at the dress store earlier.

"Do you want to get out and follow?" Damion asked, his door already open. Jayce went to get out

when his Wolf snarled again

Heel boy.

Stop this.

Jayce pushed past the threat and got out of the truck. Civilians waved, inclining their necks to him

as they walked on by. The sky was painted with yellow, orange and purple as it was getting ready to

set.

"It looks like they're heading to a fast-food joint.” Damion mentioned as they started walking. Jayce

felt uncomfortable suddenly. He felt like the stalker he was supposed to be taking down, but he

became one. He watched Lily from a distance, watching her smile at Erica like nothing was

happening around her. His chest tightened at the sight of her. Jayce removed his eyes from her,

looking around. Jasper would stare too. He wouldn't remove his eyes from the prize. His eyes drifted

through the busy street until they focused in on an alleyway across the street from the restaurant.

He thought he recognized a butler's uniform mingling in the crowd.

Jayce moved swiftly through the crowd, being careful of the traffic. Once he was across, he closed in

on the alley. It was empty as he walked down it. A few dumpsters lined up the left side beside a

restaurant. As the noise behind him faded away a bit, a man stepped out at the other end of the

alley. His butler's outfit was in pristine condition, but his appearance changed again. His brown hair

was replaced with the blonde that he recognized from his picture. The freckles speckled his cheeks

and nose. Jayce growled, his hands turning into claws as the man smiled at him.

"I have to admit, you're good. Better than I expected.” His voice was like sandpaper. Jayce heard

another set of footsteps behind him as he sensed Damion approach.

"You have the fucking nerve to be here.” Jayce snarled, his fangs already surpassed his bottom lip.

All it took was the last fiber of his humanity to not shift completely.

"Oh, it's not my nerves. It's her's." He reached into his pocket, making him tense up when he saw a

rolled up paper come back out of it. Jasper unfurled the paper, turning it so Jayce and Damion

could see. Jayce's eyes widened as the picture he revealed was of Lily sleeping in her old room in his

home. Jayce charged at him without thinking, his primal instincts taking over as he swiped at the

man. His body faded into a mist, his face swaying in and out of existence, a devilish smirk on his lips.

"You'll never kill me. I'll come for her. I'll remind her of her place beneath me." He flashed his fangs

at the Alpha and cackled. Jayce's chest heaved quickly as he swiped the face again, the mist

disappearing and Jasper gone. His muscles bulged against his shirt, tearing it in a few places. He

howled out in frustration, punching the wall nearest him.

"Jayce." Damion rushed over to him and he spun his head around to see his people staring at him in

confusion and fear. He nearly shifted out in the open for no reason. "You need to reel it back in,

man.” Damion told him. He was trying to, but he was so angry that the bastard had gotten so close

to Lily, he couldn't phase back.

"Jayce?" Her sweet voice came from the crowd as she and Erica wiggled their way into the front. She

was clutching her bag to her chest as she looked him over slowly, taking in the meaning of his

partial shift.

"Sorry for the trouble, everyone.” Damion ushered to the crowd that had formed, finally getting

them to head off. Questions rose in the air, though, as he knew they would. Why would their King

be partially shifted in the city? Was he angry? Why did he look so frightening? All questions he knew

he had to answer later, but he had one particular issue to handle first.

His eyes rested on Lily's as she stood there. Erica spoke to Damion about what the Hell just

happened. He settled his Wolf, his hands and teeth returning to normal. He took a step toward Lily,

but she took a step back.

"He was here, wasn't he?" she asked him. Jayce froze up, meeting her gaze. He nodded. Her eyes

glistened with moisture as she lowered her gaze from his. He sensed the pain, the betrayal, all of

which he wanted to avoid from the beginning, but his ego got the best of him.

"You said you would wait." She said to him as he stepped closer.

"I know, but I couldn't knowing he was still in the city.” He said to her. Erica wrapped an arm around

Lily's shoulders.

"Let's get out of plain sight first." Erica said, her eyes staring daggers at Damion. He looked away

from her as he lead them all back to his truck. Jayce tried to reach for Lily, but Erica kept shaking her

head at him. As they climbed into the truck, Erica sat with Lily and Jayce took the passenger seat.

She refused to even look at him.

I told you.

His Wolf growled at him, and he couldn't deny that he was right. Damion pulled into his long

driveway and Lily was the first one out the truck and inside.

"Lily wait." He hopped out of the truck and rushed after her. She stopped on the first step up the

stairs, but she didn't look back at him. "I had to do it. He was right there.” He tried to justify his

actions.

"Did you get him?" She asked, turning to face him. He stopped, staring up at her.

"No... But I will." He said to her. Fear clouded her eyes.

"You won't... We had a plan, and now he probably won't show himself." Her body trembled. He

reached out to her, wanting to comfort her, but she moved away.

"Lily, please.” He never thought he'd ever beg to her.

"No. We had our one chance to be rid of him, and you blew it." She snapped. He snarled in

response. He stepped closer until she couldn't get away again, cornering her against the wall.

"I don't need to wait around for him to come after you.” He growled down at her.

"Now you gave him more chances to do it!" She raised her voice. He punched the wall beside her

head, her eyes going wide as she stared up at him.

"Don't talk to your King that way.” He growled down at her. He watched the tears overflow and spill

over instantly.

Shit.

She lowered her gaze, her hands balling into fists.

"You're not my King." She said to him before moving off of the wall and headed upstairs. He

watched her turn down the opposite corridor to her old room and slammed the door shut.

"That could've gone better.” Erica spoke up from the doorway. Damion looked away awkwardly as

she spoke up. "Now, I'm not gonna lie. I was glad you two dealt with Jasper right away, but you

could've handled it better.” She told Jayce. He stepped down the stairs, ignoring the rubble he

created, and went into the living room.

"Let's leave them be for now.” Damion told her, lifting her off of her feet.

"Dammit, put me down!" She shouted as he shut the door behind himself. She continued to rant

until the truck was gone from his driveway. Jayce took a seat on one of the couches, rubbing his

temples. He wanted to go to Lily. He wanted to drop to his knees and beg for her to forgive him. A

part of him knew he shouldn't have gone ahead, but he couldn't stop himself. He pulled out his

phone and called Joel.

"I need you and Nigel to keep an eye on Chelsea's place. I want a complete rotation of her property.

Jasper has been noted inside the home, he won't be returning to it." He spit out his command

before hanging up the phone.

You're not my King.

Her voice rang in his head, constantly repeating. She was right. He didn't want to be her King. He

wanted to be her Mate. Her man. Her lover. But not her King.