The command hits me like a punch to the chest.
Every nerve in my body lights up. My muscles seize. My feet twitch forward before I can stop them.
But Pace stops me.
He pulls me behind him in one smooth motion, his body blocking mine completely. One arm comes back, pressing me firmly against his spine like he’s bracing me there.
“Don’t,” Pace says to my father, his voice dropping to a low warning. “Don’t you fucking dare command my omega.”
My father’s jaw tightens. “You don’t get to tell me what to do with my own fucking son!”
“Your son?” Pace shoots back. “He’s not your fucking property.”
“Oh, yes, he is,” Father snarls, taking a step forward. “It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve stuck your cock in my son. He’s leaving with me.”
“He’s my mate,” Pace says firmly. “He has my bite on his neck. He’s been bound and bred.”
Father flashes his teeth as his dark eyes look Pace up and down slowly, his upper lip curling with disgust. "You think a little teeth and a hard fuck means shit?” he says crudely. “You’re nothing but hired muscle who got lucky in an alley. You don’t have the money, the influence, or the backbone to keep him.”
My stomach drops, but Pace stays steady by my side, his hand still steady on my back.
“You can still fix this, Jude.” Father shifts his glare back to me. “While I’m disappointed that you spread your legs for the first alpha who looked at you, it’s not too late. Thismating,” he says the word like it’s poison, “can be scrubbed.
Rage twists with the fear in my belly, and I shake my head. “No,” I whisper.
“You’re done talking to him,” Pace says firmly.
Marcus scoffs. “‘You think you can just claim him and disappear? You think I wouldn’t come for my property?"
That’s when Pace’s body tenses, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. “How the fuck did you even know where to find us?”
My father smiles, thin and humorless. “I have had the entire fucking city looking for my son. Every security guard, policeman, and private investigator in a hundred-mile radius has been looking for Jude.” He puffs out his chest like he’s proud of how smart he is. “And I’ve included a handsome reward for anyone who found him.”
“The guard at the agency,” Pace says, and my father’s smile grows.
My stomach drops.
Pace nods once, like he expected that. “You need to get the fuck out of my house.”
But Father doesn’t move. Instead, he shifts his full attention to me again.
“You’re a bad omega, Jude,” he says evenly. “Running away. Trying to hide from your obligations. Bruce was a good match, and you embarrassed me.”
Hearing that man’s name makes bile rise in my throat.
“It’s not too late,” my father continues. “You can still make this right. End this farce and come home. I can still find you a respectable mate. Someone worthy of our name.”
My heart pounds so hard it hurts. “I’m not going anywhere,” I manage. My voice shakes, but it’s there.
Father’s eyes flash. “Come. Here. Now!”
The command slams into me like a physical force.
My knees buckle. My head swims. My body tries to obey.It is instinct carved deep from years of conditioning. But this time there’s something else.
The bond.
I grab onto it like a lifeline. I pour everything into it. My fear. My defiance. My need to stay. The warmth of Pace’s presence floods back through me, steady and strong. It wraps around my spine, anchors my feet to the floor.
