Chapter 245
245
245
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Jace Hale’s mind instantly conjured up Carmen’s striking face-beautiful, yes, but with a sharpness in her eyes that promised she could gut a man without breaking a sweat.
He swallowed hard. Winning over a she-wolf like her would not be a short hunt; it would be a long, dangerous chase, the kind that left teeth marks on your soul.
So, with that thought, he spoke. “Why go through all that trouble, Dad? You’re only fifty. Why don’t you and Mom just have another pup for us? Give me and Theo a little brother. Right, Theo?”
Theo Hale nodded without hesitation. “Jace is right. Dad, instead of waiting for us to settle down, you should get to work on expanding the pack yourself.”
The words hit Alpha Hale like a double blow to the ribs.
“You two little bastards,” he snarled, his Alpha authority crackling in his voice, “all day long you avoid real responsibilities-no running the company, no mates, no pups-what the hell do you plan to do with your
lives?”
Then his sharp amber gaze locked on Theo. “Especially you, Theo. Your brother’s still young and stupid, but you’re pushing thirty. You’ve never even had a mate. Tell me the truth-do you even like females?”
Theo’s jaw tightened. “…Dad, what are you talking about? I don’t have a mate because I’m busy working. How does that make me into someone who prefers males?”
Theo scoffed. “Jace doesn’t have a mate, and you’re not accusing him of anything.”
“I do have mates,” Jace fired back instantly. “Well… I had one. Just broke up. If I wanted another, I could have one in minutes.”
Theo’s smirk was pure provocation. “Sure you could.”
“I’m not bluffing. This wolf’s charm is lethal when I want it to be.”
Alpha Hale’s eyes gleamed. “Is that so?”
“Obviously,” Jace replied, lifting his chin with pride.
Theo cut in with a wolfish grin. “Why don’t you prove it? Call her. Let us hear.”
“Fine. Watch and learn,” Jace said, pulling out his phone-only to have it snatched away by Theo in one swift, predatory move.
The top of his contacts list revealed a pinned name: My Goddess Carmen.
Well, well.
If a she-wolf had earned the title of “Goddess” from the cocky Jace Hale, she must have sunk her claws deep into him.
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8:15 pm
245
Theo, without an ounce of mercy, tapped the call button and flicked it to speaker.
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Jace’s pulse spiked. His wolf wanted to bolt. He moved to end the call, but before he could, Carmen’s voice came through-cool and unamused.
“Yeah? What do you want?”
Jace forced his voice into something casual. “Carmen, miss me?”
Surely, she’d soften at his tone. Surely-
“Cut the crap.”
The words hit harder than claws to the throat.
Jace’s face flushed crimson while Alpha Hale and Theo nearly doubled over laughing.
When the laughter finally died down, the Alpha’s look said it all: This is your idea of a strong pull with females?
Jace wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. Still, he forced a tight smile. “That’s just… playful banter between mates. You old wolves don’t understand young romance.”
Neither Alpha Hale nor Theo bought it. The irritation in Carmen’s voice had been sharp as fangs.
“What? You don’t believe me?” Jace challenged, puffing up.
Theo’s grin widened into something predatory. “If you can get her to come here, we’ll believe you. Right, Dad?”
Alpha Hale nodded. “Your brother’s right.”
The Alpha’s priorities had narrowed to two things: securing the family’s legacy and seeing his sons mated.
Years ago, he hadn’t worried. His sons had the looks, the status, the bloodline-females should have been lining up to be marked. But now? Theo was nearing thirty without even a shadow of a mate bond, and Jace… well, Jace cycled through she-wolves like a restless predator that never claimed territory.
Worse, the younger one ran with dangerous company. Only weeks ago, he’d come home bloodied, his head split open after a fight. The Alpha had no illusions-one day, that recklessness could get him killed.
If a steady she-wolf like Carmen could anchor him, the Alpha would welcome it.
“What’s this girl’s background?” Alpha Hale asked.
Jace hesitated, then said, “Student at Ashmoor Academy.”
The Alpha’s brows rose. That alone elevated Carmen in his eyes. Only the most disciplined and intelligent wolves-or humans-earned a place there. If his son could bond with such a female, the Alpha would throw the full weight of the Hale family’s approval behind her.
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