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~Spring's POV~

The closer we drew, the more familiar the air felt—like the forest itself was holding its breath.

The cave was dark at its mouth, and subconsciously, my steps slowed. A shiver rippled through me even though the afternoon sun hadn't faded yet.

Why do I know this place?

"Jace…" My voice came out thinner than I intended. "We're not supposed to—"

"No one followed us," he said firmly, tugging my hand just enough that I moved forward again. "And trust me, Sunshine. You'll want to see this."

The nickname made my chest squeeze, but I still frowned. "If we get caught—"

"Then I'll take the blame." His grin softened into something truer. "I told you before. You don't always have to carry the weight alone."

The words echoed the earlier moment on the trail, but this time they sank deeper.

Inside, the air grew cooler, damp with the scent of stone and moss. My eyes adjusted, picking out faint carvings on the walls—scratches, initials, and faint symbols.

My heartbeat stumbled when my eyes finally adjusted to the lighting in the cave.

And just like that, I recognized those markings.

I moved closer, ignoring Jace's feasting eyes on me.

My fingers trembled as I reached for a rock half-buried near the entrance. The surface bore shallow etches, worn with time but still readable.

Solstice Winter.

The breath left my lungs. That was my carving, my name exactly as I'd written it once before.

Deja vu slammed into me, sharper than before—my body remembering even if my mind couldn't piece it all together.

Images flickered in the edges of my memory: laughter, shadows, a candle flame burning inside this cave—a younger version of myself running her hand over this very rock.

"How…?" My voice cracked as I muttered the words.

Jace leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching me with eyes that seemed older than his face should allow. "You recognize something, Spring?"

The moment he mentioned my name, I turned to him sharply and blinked, managing a smile. "How do you know this place?"

He shrugged, but it wasn't careless. "I've never been here before. But somehow, my wolf felt drawn here. And when I checked it out, all I could think of was you."

My pulse was triggered. "You can't just say that like it's nothing—"

"Because it isn't nothing." He pushed off the wall, closing the space between us until the edges of his presence pressed against mine. "This place probably feels connected to you, or you connected to it. Maybe you visited here in the past with your family?"

"I can't recall."

"Oh… I also feel something here."

Jade purred in my head, her voice a velvet thread. "He's not lying. The bond's waking pieces of you that even you've forgotten."

"You do?" I asked, ignoring Jade's comment.

"Yeah, all I feel is you and your mouth on me or better still, all of you on me." Jace winked, partly ruining the moment but reminding me I was no longer in the past.

Heat flushed my skin at his closeness, at the weight of his words. "You're impossible," I breathed.

"And you're irresistible," he countered softly, his amber eyes burning with an intensity that made my knees weak.

For a long moment, the cave held nothing but the sound of our breathing.

I should've stepped back. I should've reminded him we weren't supposed to be here. I should've done a thousand things to keep control.

Instead, I found myself whispering, "I have always wanted to write my name in a cave."

Jace smiled. "Then maybe you'll write mine beside it."

The words made my heart stutter at the thought.

Jade nearly purred. "Don't you know Cave + mate = steamy possibilities."

"Shut up," I scolded her, but the next moment, Jace's hand brushed mine lightly.

"Don't," I whispered.

"Don't what?" His grin curved slowly and dangerously. "Don't tempt you? Or don't stop?"

Jade fanned herself dramatically in my mind. "For the love of the moon, pick option two."

And damn it, my body betrayed me. I felt heat pool in my lower stomach as my breathing became laboured.

"Jace…"

"Shhh." He pressed a finger to my lips, eyes sparkling with good mischief "Field trip just got interesting."

"How so?"

Rather than answering my question, Jace closed the gap between us, pressing his forehead to mine as he muttered, "Like this."

That was all the warning I got before he crashed his lips against mine.

My breathing stopped, Jade squealed, but all my brain could think about was him and this kiss.

It wasn't soft; it wasn't careful. It was fire and hunger and chaos, everything he embodied poured into the press of his mouth against mine.

I gasped, and he seized the opening, deepening it, tongue brushing mine in a way that made my knees buckle. His hand slid to my waist, pulling me flush against him.

Jade practically screamed again. "Finally! I was dying in celibacy over here!"

I clutched Jace's shirt, torn between shoving him off and melting completely. The cave seemed to shrink, all sound swallowed by the rush of blood in my ears.

When he finally pulled back, his grin was wicked. "Told you."

I was breathless. "That… doesn't prove anything."

"Oh, it proves plenty." He kissed the corner of my mouth, slowly, taunting me. "That you want me."

"I… I don't."

"Liar." His lips brushed my jaw, trailing toward my ear. "Your wolf's practically begging me to keep going."

Jade betrayed me instantly. "He's not wrong. More, please."

I shoved at his chest weakly. "We have to go back before someone notices."

"We've got time," he said between kisses he showered around my jaw, face and ear.

"We don't," I quickly blurted out, suppressing the moan threatening to escape my lips. "What if someone noticed our absence?"

Jace scoffed softly as his lips trailed down my neck to my nape and sucked there. I forgot myself and let the moan finally slip out.

He smirked against my skin.

"That bunch would be too busy with themselves to notice anything."

Then he went back to teasing me.

"I… aaah… Jace. It's risky."

"If you say so." Still, Jace did not stop, nor was he planning on doing so.

"Jace…" my complaint soon started sounding like a plea, a blissful plea that was urging him to go on.

"Five more minutes," he murmured, stealing another kiss.

"Jace…"

"Say my name like that again." His amber eyes burned into me. "Beg me to stop, and I will. Tempt me to stay, and you'll never forget today."

My pulse stuttered. The air between us was molten, my wolf clawing for more even as my head screamed danger.

"I hate you," I whispered.

His grin widened against my mouth. "Good. Hate me harder, but I'm not leaving you when your body craves me."

And he kissed me again, this time, his hands exploring my body

Jace's mouth moved against mine with reckless hunger, like he'd been holding back for months and decided today was the day to burn it all down, finally.

My fingers tangled in his tousled auburn hair, pulling when his teeth grazed my lower lip.

"Mm," he hummed against me, amused by my reaction. "There she is."

His words tangled with my thoughts, drowning out reason until all I could hear was his breathing and my own, uneven and shaky.

"Jace…" I tried again, but it came out as a whisper, softer than I intended, almost like an invitation.

His lips curved into that dangerous grin, the one that always meant trouble. "Keep saying my name like that, Sunshine. Makes it hard to be a gentleman."

"You were never a gentleman," I shot back, though it lacked bite with my already unsteady voice.

He chuckled lowly, the sound vibrating against my chest as he pressed closer, his heat seeping into me. "True. And yet, you're still here with a non-gentleman"

I wanted to argue, to tell him this was a bad idea, that someone could find us, but when his thumb brushed along my jaw, tilting my head slightly so he could look at me fully, the words dissolved on my tongue.

"Look at you," he murmured in a soft, almost reverent tone. "Trying so hard to fight me, when every part of you wants me closer."

My breath caught. "That's not—"

He silenced me with a featherlight kiss, just a ghost of contact, leaving me aching when he pulled back. "Not what? Tell me you don't want this."

I hesitated. The protest burned on the tip of my tongue, but refused to come out.

Jade was no help either; she purred lazily in my head, shamelessly whispering, "Don't fight him. Just this once."

"Jade," I hissed inwardly, trying to hold on to something solid, but then Jace kissed the corner of my mouth, and all the fight started to drain out of me.

"You're trembling," he whispered against my skin.

"I'm not," I lied, but hell, my body was.

He smiled, that infuriatingly knowing smile, and trailed his lips along my jaw until they brushed the sensitive curve beneath my ear. "Liar," he breathed, his voice rougher now, threaded with heat.

My knees nearly buckled, and he felt it—his arm slid around my waist, steadying me, pulling me against him until there wasn't an inch of space left between us.

"Jace… we can't…"

"Then tell me to stop," he said softly, his forehead resting against mine, his amber eyes burning through every flimsy defense I had left.

And Jace smiled before capturing my lips again, this time deeper, hungrier, pulling me under like a tide I couldn't fight.