Luna To Alpha Ace

Chapter 7

ACE

The restless energy had been building for weeks now, clawing at Ace's insides like a caged wolf desperate for freedom. He stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse office, watching the city sprawl beneath him as dusk painted the sky in shades of amber and crimson. His reflection stared back dark hair slightly disheveled from running his hands through it, sharp jawline tight with tension, and eyes that glowed with an inner fire that had nothing to do with the setting sun.

*She's close.*

The thought had been a constant whisper in his mind for the past month, growing stronger with each passing day. His wolf paced restlessly beneath his skin, whining and pushing against the careful control Ace had spent thirty-two years perfecting. After decades of searching, of disappointment, of wondering if the Moon Goddess had forgotten to create his other half, the pull was finally here.

"Alpha?"

Marcus, his Beta, stepped into the office without knocking—a privilege earned through fifteen years of unwavering loyalty and friendship. The stocky man's usually calm demeanor carried an edge of concern.

"The downtown territory sweep is complete," Marcus continued, setting a tablet on Ace's mahogany desk. "Still nothing concrete, but..." He paused, studying his Alpha's rigid posture. "You felt it again, didn't you?"

Ace turned from the window, his movements fluid despite the tension radiating from every line of his body. "It's getting stronger. She's not just close anymore, Marcus. She's here. In the city."

"Any idea which district?"

Ace closed his eyes, reaching deep into that primal part of himself that existed beyond human understanding. The mate bond was like a compass needle, always pointing toward true north, but the signal was... clouded somehow. Muffled.

"East side," he said finally, opening eyes that now held flecks of gold. "Somewhere in the residential areas. But there's something..." He frowned, pressing a hand to his chest where the pull originated. "Something's wrong."

Marcus straightened, immediately alert. As Beta, he was hardwired to respond to any threat to his Alpha or the pack. "Wrong how?"

"The bond feels... strained. Like she's in distress." Ace began pacing, his wolf's agitation bleeding through despite his efforts to contain it. "I can feel her pain, Marcus. Not physical, but..." He struggled to find words for something that existed beyond human vocabulary. "Her soul is wounded."

The Beta's expression darkened. "You think someone's hurting her?"

A low growl rumbled from Ace's chest before he could stop it. The sound was distinctly inhuman, carrying undertones of barely restrained violence. "If someone has laid a hand on my mate..."

"We'll find her," Marcus said firmly. "I'll mobilize the pack. Full search pattern, every street, every building if necessary."

Ace shook his head. "No. Too obvious. If she's human—and the bond suggests she is—a pack of werewolves suddenly flooding her neighborhood will only complicate things." He forced himself to stop pacing, to think with his head instead of his heart. "We need to be subtle."

"Since when are you subtle about anything?" Marcus asked with the dry humor that had gotten him in trouble with every other Alpha he'd ever met. With Ace, it was simply understood.

Despite everything, Ace's lips quirked upward. "Fair point. But this is different. She's different." His expression sobered. "I won't risk scaring her away before I even get the chance to meet her."

Marcus nodded, understanding the deeper implications. Human mates required delicate handling—too much supernatural truth too quickly could shatter their minds or send them running. The few successful human-werewolf bonds in their pack's history had all required patience, careful revelation, and above all, trust.

"What do you want me to do?" Marcus asked.

"Send out teams in civilian clothes. Have them canvas the east side neighborhoods, but make it look natural. Joggers, dog walkers, delivery drivers. Anyone who can blend in while keeping their senses open." Ace moved to his desk, pulling up a digital map of the city on his computer. "Focus here." He circled several upscale residential blocks. "The pull is strongest in this area."

"What about you?"

Ace was already reaching for his jacket. "I'm going for a drive."

"Ace." Marcus's voice carried a warning. "Your wolf is barely contained as it is. If you get too close..."

"I won't shift," Ace promised, though they both knew his control was hanging by a thread. "But I need to try to pinpoint her location. The closer I get, the clearer the bond becomes."

Marcus looked like he wanted to argue but knew better than to try stopping an Alpha on the hunt for his mate. "Take your phone. And if you feel yourself losing control..."

"I'll call." Ace was already heading for the door, every instinct screaming at him to run, to hunt, to find the other half of his soul that had been missing for so long.

The elevator ride to the parking garage felt eternal. His wolf clawed at his consciousness, flooding his senses with phantom scents and half-formed images. Honey and vanilla. Fear is masked by determination. The sound of a heartbeat—two heartbeats, he realized with a start. His mate was pregnant.

The revelation hit him like a physical blow. She was carrying another man's child. The thought should have bothered him—his wolf should have been snarling with jealousy and territorial rage. Instead, all he felt was fierce protectiveness extending to both lives she carried.

*Doesn't matter,* his wolf rumbled with surprising gentleness. *Ours. Both of them. We protect.*

Ace slid behind the wheel of his black BMW, the leather seats barely registering as he started the engine. The mate bond tugged him east, through downtown traffic that moved too slowly for his supernatural patience. Every red light felt like torture, every blocked intersection another barrier keeping him from her.

As he drove deeper into the residential district, the pull intensified. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that the leather creaked. The scent trail grew stronger—not an actual scent, but something deeper, written into his very DNA.

Then he saw her.

A woman walking alone on the sidewalk, one hand pressed protectively to her stomach, dark hair catching the streetlight. Even from a distance, even through the windshield and urban noise, Ace's wolf went completely still. The restless energy that had plagued him for weeks vanished, replaced by absolute certainty.

*Mate.*

She was beautiful in a way that had nothing to do with conventional standards—it was the beauty of recognition, of completion, of finding the missing piece of himself he'd never known he'd lost. But even as his heart hammered with joy, his enhanced senses picked up details that made his blood run cold.

The careful way she moved, as if expecting an attack. The frequent glances over her shoulder. The tension in her shoulders spoke of chronic stress. And beneath it all, the scent of fear—not the sharp panic of immediate danger, but the deep, soul-weary fear of someone who had been living in a state of constant vigilance.

Someone was hurting his mate.

The growl that escaped him rattled the car windows. His vision tinged red around the edges as his wolf demanded immediate action. Find the threat. Eliminate it. Protect mate and pup.

But she was human, fragile, and already afraid. Charging in like an avenging monster would only make things worse. So instead, Ace forced himself to drive slowly past her, memorizing every detail—the apartment complex she entered, the unit number she approached, the way she paused to check the locks twice after closing the door behind her.

He parked three blocks away and sat in the darkness, hands shaking with the effort of restraint. She was safe for now, behind walls and locks. But someone had put that fear in her eyes, had made her move like prey even in her neighborhood.

Ace pulled out his phone and dialed Marcus.

"I found her," he said without preamble.

"Thank the Moon Goddess. Where—"

"Someone's hurting her, Marcus." The words came out as a half-growl. "My pregnant mate is afraid of someone, and when I find out who..."

"Ace, you need to calm down. Think clearly."

"I am thinking clearly." Ace's voice was deadly quiet. "I'm thinking about how I'm going to make whoever hurt her pay for every moment of fear they've caused."

"And then what? You'll be a murderer, she'll be traumatized, and you'll lose any chance of a real relationship with her." Marcus's practical tone cut through the rage fog in Ace's brain. "We do this smart, or we don't do it at all."

Ace closed his eyes, reaching for the iron control that had made him one of the youngest Alphas in pack history. "You're right. But Marcus?"

"Yeah?"

"Start digging. I want to know everything about her—her name, her situation, who might be threatening her. And I want it by tomorrow."

"Consider it done."

After hanging up, Ace sat in his car for another hour, just breathing in the faint trace of her presence that clung to the air. His mate was close enough to touch but separated from him by circumstances he didn't yet understand.

Tomorrow, he would begin the careful process of entering her life. Tonight, he would content himself with keeping watch, a silent guardian she didn't even know she had.

But whoever was making her afraid, whoever had put that hunted look in her eyes—they had just made an enemy of the most powerful Alpha in the city. And Ace Steele always protected what was his.

Even if she didn't know she belonged to him yet.