By Moon or By Blood 1: Imprint

Kipper

"You look like a wet dog. What happened?"

Jace stepped into the kitchen of the condominium he shared with Kipper. His friend's concerned gaze scanned him. "I had a surveillance and it was wet."

"Oh, yeah? How did that go? Wait a minute..."

Jace avoided Kipper's gaze. The last person he wanted to know about his imprinting was his best friend. Well, maybe not last. His uncle would be the absolute last person on his list. The man would have all the more reason to ask for Jace's return to the clan.

Jace fished around in the pantry for snacks. The pantry closet was full of them thanks to Kipper's insatiable appetite for junk food. They weren't high on Jace's list of delicacies, but he needed a distraction until Kipper's curiosity faded.

Kipper rounded the counter from where he was sitting at the island and stood too close for Jace's comfort. He's smelling me. He'll smell her on me. He froze.

"What is that lovely scent? It can't be the cheating husband, can it?" Kipper chuckled. He inhaled loudly. "Wow. It's incredible."

Jace remained mute. Incredible wasn't exactly the word he'd use to describe what was wholly indescribable. It was a fragrance he couldn't get out of his nose. Now that he had imprinted on her, he would smell her for the rest of his life. He could track her scent easily above all others. Even her heartbeat was recognizable from across town.

Jace leaned against the counter and covered his eyes with his hands. For the rest of his life. That scenario was daunting. Yet, he wouldn't want to live in a world where he couldn't smell Kira.

The images of the three stalking lycans came to mind. His blood ran hot all over again, this time out of anger. They'd come very close to doing whatever it was they were tasked to do and all before he had imprinted. What if they had succeeded? What if he had lost her tonight and never had the opportunity to stare into her eyes and learn his fate?

I didn't fail. I saved her. And now she was his.

"There's something off about you," Kipper said curiously, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Jace slowly raised his head and their eyes met. The whites of Kipper's eyes grew large around his ice-blue pupils. Jace knew it was over. Hiding this big of a development from Kipper was a fool's dream. His friend was ever observant, which made him incredibly good at what he did for a living.

"I don't believe it. You've imprinted!" Kipper cried out in astonishment. He laughed nervously. "Good lord, Jace." Kipper took a deep breath. "I can still smell her on you." Kipper's brown eyes sparkled in amusement. "She smells good. Real good. Like no woman I've ever smelled. What does she look like? Is she beautiful? Do you know her?"

"No." Jace grabbed a box of oatmeal crème pies and took a seat at the island. He tore the plastic wrapper off one of the pies and forced the whole thing into his mouth. They weren't good for him, but he needed something to occupy his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk.

"No?" Kipper sat on a stool. "Then how did it happen? Tell me everything!"

Jace shot him an annoyed glance. "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled around the pie.

"Oh, come on! This is like hitting puberty for teenagers. You're a grown man now." He slapped him on the back and laughed. "Well, a lycan. And that's ironic considering how much you hate being one."

"I don't hate it," Jace protested. "It's just not something I have a fondness for, considering..."

He went quiet. Kipper had heard the story of his birth after his mother's assault by the former leader of the city's ruling clan of lycans: his father. Her death in childbirth was something he had never forgiven his now deceased father. Genes were strong in lycans. His father's had passed to him. He wanted to honor his mother's memory and not become the murdering rapist his father was. That meant not living the life of a lycan.