*Keera*I had to leave. Seeing him standing there completely naked with a towel in his hands had been too much and there was only so much I could take. I couldn't let him try to clean me up. It was too intimate, something people in relationships did. The problem? Grayson and I were not in a relationship. I was still a little breathless as I stepped into my room, trying not to wince with how sore I was. I secured my room door, slumping against it. My entire body relaxed. I was alone now. And I could finally gather my thoughts.I took further steps until I was face to face with the dressing mirror. The woman in the mirror looked utterly and thoroughly fucked. There was no other way to put it. My hair was a disheveled mess, the light makeup I applied before heading out had smeared and my dress was crumpled. I touched my fingers to my lips noting how swollen they were from Grayson's onslaught of kisses. He liked kissing me.A lot.A shiver swept through me as images of Grayson moving ab
*Grayson*Someone had to be fucking shitting me. Even without looking in Keera's direction I could already feel the unease rolling off her in tumultuous waves. I stared at the ferocious animal on the car's windshield, trying to swerve the car wildly to get rid of it. I caught Keera staring fixedly at the wolf. "Any idea who they might be?" Keera asked, her voice a bit shaky as another wolf began pounding its paws on her side of the car. I had an idea alright. But it wasn't something I could say out loud until I confirmed it.Even if I knew I was going to be right. "No," I managed, letting out a grunt of frustration when I realized we weren't going to lose them so easily. I parked the car, wincing as the pounding of their paws became louder. "Stay in the car," I ordered Keera, taking my seatbelt off and alighting the car. In a second all three of them were on me, their razor-sharp claws digging into my skin. I was able to shake them off for a few seconds, especially with my wolf bein
*Keera*I took in my reflection in the mirror, noting how tired I looked. It had been a long day, starting right from the minute I'd stepped out of my room and seen Ria walking out of Grayson's. Even now I wondered why she had been there. I wasn't sure I could bear her entering and exiting Grayson's bedroom whenever she wanted now that we were sleeping together. Was that even what this was? Were we now sleeping together? Telling myself it had been a one time thing was no use. Even while I was alone and freshening up, my thoughts were still of Grayson.And it had almost gotten me in trouble.Ginny had noticed how distracted I was when she had come to say hi to me. She'd been asking how I was feeling and whether or not I'd sustained any injuries but my mind had been somewhere else the entire time. I knew she'd seen Grayson walk downstairs with Ria and the little time I'd managed to get my mind off Grayson, I'd spent it debating whether or not she was going to connect the dots. If Grayso
*Grayson*Ginny was acting weird.At first I thought she'd only been popping up wherever I was because she needed to talk to me. After she'd missed the chance when I was alone, it became glaringly obvious she didn't want to talk. She just kept shooting curious glances at me when she thought I wasn't looking. I met her eyes and arched my eyebrow, silently asking what the matter was. Her only response was a pointed squint followed by a tiny scowl.What was her deal?I shot her a scowl of my own, turning my attention away from her. The meeting we had with the Nightshade wolves had gone better than expected. We'd decided it was time to start making arrangements for reinforcements before it was too late. The attack on the pack had been an eye opener to just how much shit we were in. Word had obviously gotten around that we had a serial killer on the loose.We were on our way back to the pack after a long ass day in another pack. We'd split up while we there; each of us meeting up privately
*Keera*I froze.For a second I admired Grayson's natural ability to be cool under pressure. He almost looked like he'd been half-expecting Ginny to pop out from behind him. Grayson turned to face her, blocking me from her view in the process. The last thing I needed Ginny to think was that we had something to hide. I casually stepped out from behind him, shooting her a smile I hoped looked natural."The case." I quickly interjected, meeting Grayson's eyes for a spell. Ginny narrowed her eyes into slits as she bounced her gaze between the both of us. We didn't need a soothsayer to let us know she thought something was fishy. "He wanted to let me know... the meeting with the Nightshade wolves had gone pretty well... and we'd be having reinforcements anytime soon... so we didn't need to bother as much with surveillance."Phew.Ginny bounced her gaze between the both of us again. Damn, Grayson was right. She did suspect something. How was that even possible? We'd hardly been together sin
*Grayson*I needed her like I needed air.My hands snaked upwards until I was circling Keera's wrists and holding them in place against the wall. I distractedly shut the door with one hand, deepening our kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed as our tongues dueled. Our lips intertwined, our breaths welding together until I couldn't tell if I was inhaling or exhaling. We had kissed before, but not with this desperate need and hunger.The intensity of our kiss dimmed, the air in the room becoming thick with sensual awakening. I caressed her legs through the tights she wore, moving my hands up to her waist and arms. Keera freed her arms and wrapped them around my neck, weaving her fingers wildly through my hair. Dear goddess, I loved how responsive she got. Try as she might to deny it, she was just as hot for me as I was for her."Grayson. . ." She moaned, gripping my hair more tightly. She didn't need to say more. I gently pulled away, peeling her clothes off her and leaving her in just her pa
*Keera*"I'm glad I'm not the only one," Lexi said, settling back into her seat. We were in the conference room having a meeting and wondering what the killer was up to. It had been a while since they had last struck, and I was beginning to fear that they had something up their sleeve. Serial killers didn't normally drift away from their Target. They loved the high they got from a careful and successful killing routine way too much. I tapped my pen on the desk, moving my eyes around the surveillance monitor.Grayson's council members were absent, so the discussion was a lot freer than it would have been. "They have to be up to no good." Kathleen chipped in with a shake of her head, raising the plastic cup in front of her to her lips. I caught Josie's eyes then. She was the only one who hadn't spoke throughout the meeting. I could tell she knew I had something important to say. I just wasn't sure how to bring it up or how they would take it.But I couldn't keep it with me any longer.I
*Grayson*I stared at the scene in front of me, different emotions churning beneath my skin. For one, I was surprised to find one of the young werewolves of the pack out here without supervision. I already knew she hadn't come out here with Keera. Keera always visited the lake alone. If that wasn't surprising enough, the fact that Keera had actually guided her through her first shift had left me completely stunned. Where was the woman who had harbored a fierce dislike for my species?Who had sworn she could never be won over.I'd seen a different side of her, watching her spend time with Ellie but that hadn't even done justice to how compassionate and amazing she truly was. The softness in her gaze disappeared as she laid eyes on me. I could read the obvious question in her eyes. How long had I been standing there? I drifted my attention to the wolf hiding behind her legs. "We have to take her to Elena to make sure she's completely fine."Keera gave her head a shake, blinking hard. "Y
*Keera*Our symbol was beautiful; an image of the moon goddess's face, with complex and finely detailed patterns and vines growing out of her hair. I knew enough about werewolves to know it was a sign of the goddess's approval. We stepped out of the glass house, my body still humming from our passionate union. I felt deliciously spent, my knees threatening to give out beneath me. Grayson took my hand in his, his fingers intertwining with mine as we walked up to Ryan and then faced the pack. The symbol on our skin, a dark pigmentation resembling a tattoo, seemed to glow in the moonlight. I felt my face heat up as I met the pack member’s gazes, realizing they had heard my screams of pleasure. Their eyes sparkled with amusement, and I drifted my attention elsewhere, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. We stepped a bit forward and presented ourselves firstly to the council before the pack members gathered around, eager to see the symbol for themselves. Ryan was in control of the crowd
*Grayson *Ginny placed a gentle hand on my arm, her voice soft. "Grayson, she'll be okay. Dahlia knows what she's doing." I continued pacing outside Keera's bedroom door, anxiety threatening to unalive me. Dahlia had been attending to Keera for what felt like an eternity. The turning process was always unpredictable, what if I'd made a terrible mistake? Nyx handed me a bottle of water but I rejected it, not feeling the least bit thirty. Different thoughts warred in my mind. I should have been watching her more closely, but instead I'd been carried away by the pleasure that came with activating the mate bond. Thankfully, Dahlia stepped out of the room then, a warm smile on her face. "She's okay." She announced, talking about Keera. "The turning was successful. I've tested her blood, and the werewolf gene has taken hold." My heart sank with relief, and my entire body instantly relaxed. Nyx released a relieved sigh, holding on to Ginny. Dahlia's eyes lifted to mine. "We'll leave you a
*Keera*His eyes were twin blazes of fury.He angrily shoved my hands away. "What makes you think you can just walk back in here and expect everything to be okay?" His voice was laced with venom, each word dripping with hurt and betrayal. The gaping hole in my head chest turned into a whirlwind that threatened to drown my whole. He'd never been this mad at me. Not even when he'd lashed out and humiliated me at my graduation party. I wiped my face with the back of my palm but the tears wouldn't stop coming.Fear threatened to cripple me.Fear that he was completely and truly done with me. He wanted to know why I came back? "I realized I love you," I confessed, my voice trembling. "I love you more than anything, and I was wrong to leave. I was wrong to give up on us." I held his unyielding gaze, praying to whatever power above for him to take me back. He ran his hand through his hair, taking a step back like my words had hit him like a ton of bricks. His expression softened ever so slig
*Grayson*My room was the messiest it had ever been in years, my bed strewn with travel brochures and maps. After spending hours surfing the internet and jumping from one website to the other, I'd finally picked a new destination for myself. The thought of starting a new life away from all the troubles that came with ruling the pack had seemed like the best decision to take. My brows furrowed when my phone began buzzing on the nightstand.I picked it up to see a text from Ryan, requesting to meet with me in my study. I pushed away from the bed, already knowing what he wanted to talk about. I silently hoped he had finally seen reason with me. I left the map open on my bed, marking the page with a bookmark, and made my way downstairs to the study. Ryan was standing by the window when I got in, his back to me. He turned to face me when he heard the creak of the door."Hey," He greeted lightly. I closed the door and stepped further inside the room. He pinched the bridge of his nose, stari
*Keera*"Grayson, I-I'm. . .""Just say the words for goodness's sake Keera!"I jerked awake, my hand immediately flying to my chest. I'd had the weirdest dream ever. Grayson had been angrily chasing me around the woods and when he'd finally caught up with me, he'd threatened to stake me if I didn't confess the truth about my feelings. My alarm went off just then and I pushed the covers off my body, getting to my feet.I wore my flipflops, walking into the bathroom to prepare for another long day. I could barely explain how I'd been managing to get by these passed few days. I'd lost the enthusiasm to do anything, including prepare my own food. It's been a week since I'd left the pack and I was yet to receive a text from Grayson. Everyday I found more reasons why he should have already reached out.He'd said he was in love with me, hadn't he? I was out of the bathroom in a few minutes and out of the house half an hour later, my bag resting on my shoulder. I walked by the sidewalk, not
*Grayson*A soft breeze danced around the woods, the sound of rustling leaves the only noise I could make out. It had been six days since Keera had left the pack with her team. Six days since I'd forced myself to accept the harsh truth; that she wasn't coming back. Not for me to end our mate bond, and certainly not for me to turn her. I'd spent the first two days of her absence, hanging on to the hope that my phone would ring from a call from her, or beep from a text that she'd sent. I'd wished for the goddess to make her realize the depth of her feelings for me.I'd done everything but accept that this was the end for us.But then two days had turned into four and four had turned into six and I'd had to come to terms with the fact that we were truly and completely over. If she wanted to, she would have been back to the pack by now. The fact that she hadn't returned and she hadn't bothered reaching out spoke volumes. I could only imagine the peace and clarity she'd gotten from spendin
*Keera*I spent the first two days after I arrived back home unpacking my stuff and trying to shake off the feeling of nostalgia and emptiness that lingered inside me. I'd thought I would be more excited to be back home, surrounded by familiar faces and familiar places, but instead, the city felt hollow, and my apartment felt like a stranger's. The silence was almost depressing and I couldn't help but think of Grayson, of the pack, and of the life I'd been getting used to, which I'd left behind.It had been two days but the usually simple task of unpacking had felt so Herculean that I wasn't done with it yet. As I put away the last of my belongings, my mind began to wander. I couldn't help but feel a familiar sense of regret settle deep in my stomach. I should have let Grayson know how I really felt about him when I got the chance. He'd told me he loved me for the second time, and looking back now, I knew I should have said something.The kiss we'd shared before I left still lingered
*Grayson*I leaned against my bed stand, Ryan and Ginny standing only a few meters away from me. Keera and the rest of the team were preparing to leave, and I knew what Ryan and Ginny had come to talk to me about even though they both hadn't said anything yet. My conversation with Keera yesterday had been living rent free in my head for the past eighteen hours. Ryan, ever the voice of reason, spoke up first. "Grayson, you know what needs to be done." He said softly, sharing a worried look with his mate. "You can't mate with someone else if Keera's still considered your mate."I nodded, completely understanding the pack's laws. Ginny's voice was even softer when she spoke. "You have to reject Keera publicly." Major events like banishment, inauguration and rejection were, as a law, to be done publicly with the pack members as witnesses for them to have any effect. I rubbed my temples, feeling the tension build. I hadn't been joking when I'd let Keera know I had to reject her before she
*Keera*I'm madly in love with you.I'm madly in love with you.I'm madly in love with you.I couldn't get the words out of my head no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't help the feeling of self loathe that coursed through me. I was the most heartless person ever. He'd confessed his love for me and I'd asked him to leave my room. I slammed my hands on the dressing table, regret eating away at me. Why hadn't I let him know I was madly in love with him too? Maybe even more than he was with me. I ran my hands through my hair, sighing dejectedly.Was I even doing the right thing anymore?It seemed like the lines between right and wrong had suddenly blurred. My mind had been made up in the beginning; finish up with the case and go home. I didn't belong here, no matter what my feelings for Grayson were. We were species apart, our lives were different. I didn't want him to leave his pack because of me. He was born to be a leader and taking him away from his purpose would only make him resen