Chapter 168: Redemption

Jace’s POV

The courtyard was still buzzing with the aftershock of graduation—Caps lay abandoned on the grass.

But all I could see was her.

“Zara.” My voice came rougher than I wanted.

She turned, her smile softening when she looked at me, then flicking into suspicion like it always did when it was me. “What? Did you forget to throw your cap?”

I huffed a laugh. “Come with me.”

Her brows lifted. “That sounds like kidnapping, Jace.”

“Please.” Just one word, and it cracked something in me.

For once, she didn’t argue. She let me take her hand, and I led her past the chatter, around the side of the building where the noise dulled and only the faint smell of fresh-cut grass lingered. Here, it was quiet enough that my pulse sounded like a drumbeat in my ears.

I stopped beneath an old oak, the shadow stretching over us. She tilted her head, waiting. “So?”

The words I rehearsed all morning—the smooth, perfect confession I thought I’d give her—vanished. Instead, silence strangled me. I looked at her, at those eyes that could burn and soothe at the same time, and all I could manage was, “I cut him off.”

Her brows pinched. “Who?”

“My father.” The name lodged in my throat. “I told him I’m done. No more strings. No more controlling my future, no more choosing who I’m supposed to be. It’s over.”

Zara blinked at me like she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or slap me. “You—what? Just like that?”

I raked a hand through my hair, pacing a step away. “Not just like that. It wasn’t easy. He hates me for it. He told me I’ll regret it, that I’ll come crawling back. But I don’t care. I’m tired of living his version of my life. I want mine.”

“And what is yours?” she asked carefully, like she already knew but wanted to hear me say it.

I swallowed hard. My throat burned. “You.”

The air went still. She didn’t flinch, didn’t move—just stared at me with those stormy eyes. “Don’t say that if you don’t mean it, Jace.”

“I’ve never meant anything more,” I said. My voice cracked, and damn it, I let it. “I’ve failed you more times than I can count. I let you believe you were alone when all I wanted was to be the one standing beside you. And maybe I don’t deserve another chance, but I swear—”

She cut me off, arms crossed now, that sharp edge flashing. “Swear what? That this time will be different? That you won’t run when it gets hard? Because I’ve heard it all before.”

“I know.” The words clawed out of me. “And I don’t blame you for not trusting me. But I’ll prove it, Zara. Every damn day if I have to. I’ll never let you carry this weight alone again. Not your wolf, not your fire, not the world that keeps trying to crush you. None of it.”

Her lips parted, but she said nothing.

So I whispered the truth I’d been choking on. “I want to be better. Not just for me—for you. For… the future.”

“The future,” she echoed, suspicious.

“Yeah.” My chest squeezed. “Maybe even being a father one day.”

Her head snapped up, eyes wide. “A father? To whose child exactly?”

The words slipped before I could stop them. “Yours. Who else?”

The silence that followed was brutal. I swore I’d ruined it.

Then she laughed. Low and disbelieving, the sound of it wrapped around me. “You’re insane.”

“Probably,” I admitted, taking a step closer. “But I’m your insane. If you’ll let me be.”

Her laughter faded, and the space between us got tighter. I could see her walls crumbling, brick by stubborn brick, until only raw truth remained.

And then she whispered, almost daring me, “Show me, then.”

I didn’t think—I moved. One second I was staring into those eyes, and the next my mouth was on hers.

It wasn’t perfect. It was messy, clashing teeth and breathless gasps, like we’d both been starved and suddenly found water. She grabbed my collar, yanking me closer, while my hands found her waist, her back, desperate to anchor her to me.

The mate bond didn’t just pulse this time. It roared. Heat seared through my veins, her fire brushing against my wolf until sparks danced across our skin. Her scent—wild and sweet—invaded my senses, branding me.

She pulled back just enough to breathe, her forehead pressed against mine. “Jace…”

I hushed her with another kiss, slower this time, deeper. My thumb brushed her jaw, her cheek, memorizing the softness. She melted, and gods, I thought my heart would split.

When I finally pulled back, my voice was raw. “I’ll never fail you again. That’s my vow.”

She searched my face, her eyes softening. And instead of answering, she kissed me again, fiercer, as if to say she was ready to believe me—at least for today.

The bond tightened, not like chains, but like roots finally finding soil.