Untamed

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Jace's POV

I came down the stairs after, hearing the most breathtaking voice echoing throughout the house. I stepped down into the living room and froze. My eyes were focused wholeheartedly on the girl in front of me. The rest of the room and the people in the room vanished. I couldn't see her face because she had her back to me, but I knew that without a doubt, she was my mate. A golden glow surrounded her; just her presence completed me and made me whole.

I felt everything else around the room vanish, leaving me with the dark haired girl in a blue dress before me. I still couldn't see her face, but I knew she was going to be beautiful when she turned around. I couldn't help the gasp that slipped between my lips, and suddenly the enchanting girl turned to look at me. I met a pair of deep blue eyes-- as deep as the currents in the clear Pacific. Her face was cold with anger, but as soon as her darkened eyes met mine her arched eyebrows and glare was replaced by a look of peace as her jaw unclenched, and the wrinkles on her forehead smoothed out, her eyes filled with light. As she blinked her dark lashes seemed to stroke her porcelain skin. I wanted to reach out and caress it, that smooth skin the color of cream and roses. She was perfect and all that I could ever ask for.

Ellie. Her name appeared in my mind as suddenly as I had known that she was destined to be my mate, ever since the first moment I saw her in my car. It had been an early and rainy morning, and the image of her sitting there came back to memory. I had known that she was the one in that first glimpse, but I just couldn't prove it to myself until she turned 16 and shifted into her wolf form. Every minute I had with her I enjoyed, even if it was her just simply sleeping in my car, or accusing me of being a stalker.

Ther memory of her sitting on the swings in the park with the sun casting a shadow across her face making her accusation of me being a stalker seem like she truly meant it, until her contagious giggle erupted up around us.

Suddenly she lurched over and her hands flew to her ribs, her now-watery eyes darting around. Her teeth clenched together tightly as she took a sharp intake of breath followed by a small gasp. Everything in the room came back to me, and I remembered where I was after being lost in her beauty. I heard a slapping, followed by a rough voice telling her to "turn around." I growled at the intruder and raced from my position at the bottom of the steps towards the voice, preparing to defend my mate against any who dare attempt to hurt her in any way. She was mine and mine alone.

I heard my father's voice boom throughout the room as he ordered us to stop. I halted as soon as I heard the command, as did the rest of the room. I took this time to assess what was going on. My father stood by the old cracked brick fireplace with his beta by his side, who stood in his place, awaiting instructions. Directly in front of me were two people and my mate. My best friend and future beta of the pack, and my father's third in command were the two people I had been about to charge. My mate was on her knees gasping for breath with her arms tied behind her back. She was still hunched over, with her long hair covering most of her face. Ellie's scent filled my nose. That was when I realized her scent was off. It wasn't of a wolf like it should be if she were one of us, but of a human.

Inside my head, something shifted, and suddenly it all clicked. I looked back and forth from my father and my mate kneeling before me, then over at the two people standing guard around her. Ellie was a prisoner. She was the same girl who my pack had been after. She was the daughter of Jenner pack's alpha. She was the one I personally had sent out people to kill. The attack on her tonight had all been my idea, but my father had convinced me that she should live. I knew she was human, but if she insisted on living with the alpha then she got what she deserved. Until now. She was no longer just a human on the wrong side of the war between our two packs, she was my mate.