Page 12 of Facade

“Your vision showed the entrance of the college. As you said, the clue could be anything or anyone on campus. But I do want to check it out so you can cross that off the list,” Jace said. “I trained most of the security personnel here, and know them well.”

“If I wander around, chatting up the guards, they might think it odd,” Clarke said. “But you can talk to them without generating curiosity. Yes, I trust you to do that.”

It was a good idea that made sense. Her vision might have shown the guardhouse rather than just the placard for a reason.

Jace looked relieved. “You’ve been so strong through all of this, and now you’re pretending to be someone you’re not. I can’t imagine how stressful this has been. Can I hug you?”

Clarke felt like she was barely hanging on most days, but was moved that Jace thought she was strong. Having that emotional support here, where she thought she’d be alone, surrounded by strangers and possibly enemies, was priceless.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said, and met him halfway when Jace stepped toward her.

Clarke had never felt so safe as she did with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Damn, did he give good hugs. She could live here.

They stood like that for a couple of minutes, just holding each other. Then, Jace pulled back a little, to rest his forehead against hers. It was sweet, affectionate, and unassuming.

Clarke felt a zing, then warmth bloomed from the point of contact down her body. She’d heard it described dozens of times, but experiencing it was different. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

Her breath stalled in her throat as Jace froze. Jason Smith was her mate. Of all the people on the planet, the boy who had bandaged her scrapes, cheered all her endeavors, and played tag with her, was her forever.

Something about that was fitting. Clarke was thrilled to have found him. Here and now, under the current circumstances, though, it really complicated things.

Clarke leaned back without stepping out of his embrace, to gauge his reaction to this new development. Jace’s expression was one of awe, and undiluted joy, easing her worries. He wasn’t horrified, the opposite, in fact.

Before her eyes, a black line appeared on his left pectoral, peeking past the edge of his tank top. Mate marks could appear anywhere on the body, which had been one of her concerns. They would need to hide this from the staff to prevent intrusive questions.

Clarke felt hers forming on the outside of her upper right thigh. Jace could wear more concealing shirts. An acute sense of relief swept through her that neither of their marks had manifested in places that would be impossible to hide. This was manageable.

Unable to help herself, Clarke reached out to trace Jace’s mark with her index finger. It was intricate, looking like a Celtic knot pattern. The mark was an outline that would fill in when they accepted the bond.

Jace placed a hand over hers, and moved the fabric of his shirt to the side, so she could see all of it. The mark reminded her somewhat of a flower petal, wider in the center and coming to a point at both ends, with flowing, interwoven lines on the inside. It was about three inches long from end to end.

Having Jace here had already changed everything. Now, there was the mate bond to factor in. They would have to figure out how to spend time alone together, both to plot, and keep his wolverine from getting fractious.

But they would have to be careful. Clarke pushed that out of her mind for the moment. She had a mate, and trusted help to find her dad. Both were a blessing.

Jace

Clarke was his mate. He had a mate. A sense of peace and rightness washed over him, unlike anything he’d felt before.

Jace had always wanted the kind of love and connection his parents had. He’d touched the fingers of every female he came across, trusting that his mate was out there. And here she was. All this time, it had been Clarke that he’d been waiting and hoping for.

As a child, Jace had adored her, but never guessed that he was meant to be hers when they grew up. Clarke featured in some of his best childhood memories.

Jace recalled her carefree laugh, and blonde hair flying as they chased each other in backyards and around parks. Only two years apart in age, with Clarke being the younger, they’d spent every summer together until his parents moved.

At the forefront of his emotions was a fierce protectiveness. The people who had taken Charlie could be dangerous. Jace was also incredibly proud.

Clarke wasn’t just putting her life on hold and risking her career to find her dad. She had come up with an intricate plan to search for Charlie, possibly placing a target on her own back, thinking she would be alone. That took resolve, and immense courage.

The last few days had been full of doubts, questions, and frustration from the moment Jace had read that email from the dean. He had feared that Clarke would reject his help. Knowing that she hadn’t made the connection between him and Mars College, and hearing about her vision, it all made sense.

Had the fates engineered this so that he and Clarke would find each other again, and save Charlie together? Thinking of everything that had to have occurred to bring the two of them, as well as the person or people responsible for Charlie’s disappearance, here at the same time, Jace couldn’t come up with another explanation. But, he had never been one to question cosmic intervention.

Reluctantly, Jace stepped back, putting a little bit of space between them. His wolverine wanted nothing more than to cuddle for hours, and mark her with his scent. But that wouldn’t be wise at the moment.

“There’s a skeleton staff of security right now before students and all the faculty arrive,” Jace said. “They probably won’t enter the buildings on patrol, but I wouldn’t want one of them to stumble on us. We have no idea who is involved.”

Clarke nodded. “Right. You’re supposed to be giving me a tour, and explaining the duties of a dorm monitor, not snuggling with a new coworker,” she said. “That would definitely make people wonder. We can talk in private later, after searching the offices.”