Jace pov
I sat in my office long after Grace and my mother had left, the half-eaten soup growing cold on my desk. My mind kept replaying Grace's words: *I should go back to Colorado.* The thought of her leaving made something in my chest seize with panic that had nothing to do with pack business and everything to do with the mate bond I had tried so hard to deny.
She'd been here for over a week now, and I had become pathetically dependent on her presence. Grace was the one who made sure I ate, who pulled me out of flashbacks, who kept the pack running when my brain couldn't focus long enough to make simple decisions. Without her, I would have completely fallen apart by now.
But I had no right to ask her to stay. No right to expect anything from her after what I had done.
Storm whined i
