*Grayson*I turned again, like I'd been doing for the past four hours, this time lying on my right side. It was no wonder that sleep had eluded me. Having my pack members killed off like chickens and not being able to do anything about it was beginning to mess with my head, my wolf and my sleep. And then there was the fact that I'd finally found the one person that was supposed to help me get through my rough days, and she happened to be the most insufferable human being I had ever met. Literally. Who was currently sleeping just a few feet away from me.I let out an irritated sigh and turned, facing the other side. I'd let my curiosity get the better of me today when I'd walked downstairs and into the kitchen pretending to get something to eat. There was a kitchen on this floor, smaller than the one downstairs, but a kitchen nonetheless. I hadn't let Keera know about it because I hadn't been prepared for her to invade that part of the house yet. Which I somehow knew was exactly what
*Keera*"Gotta admit," Lexi said in awe as we looked around the lab. She turned to face me, an impressed look on her face. "They did a pretty good job." I waved my hand dismissively even though I silently agreed with her. The lab was definitely more than what I'd been expecting. I took a look around as we stepped further inside. I was certain that they'd gotten almost every equipment that we'd asked for. I touched the counters with my forefinger, feeling for dust and discovering none.Okay, I was really impressed.Lexi turned on the lights, illuminating the room even more than it already had been. I walked around the room, noting that they had provided the swabs, lab coats, head rest, autopsy table and blades that we'd asked for. I walked around the counter to where Lexi stood in front of a small cupboard. We pulled out the drawers and found goggles, dissection kits, gloves, specimen and evidence jars, envelopes, packets and a bunch of other stuff. There were lab coats hanging on a me
*Grayson*"She was a complete mess when we first found her," Nyx stated as we entered the house. Ria and I had been on patrol with a few of the pack warriors when we'd gotten a call that there was some kind of situation down at Tala's house. It turned out that her mother had almost driven a wooden stake through her heart and killed herself. I frowned as Nyx closed the door behind us before coming to walk us to where the woman sat on the couch, tears streaming down her eyes.I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach as my wolf howled inside of me.It was just like I was reliving that morning all over again. We'd gone to inform her that we'd discovered her daughter in an alley and that she was no longer with us. Sarah and Will had been so distraught that morning and I could vividly remember that Sarah had been thrashing and screaming for almost the entire day. Ginny had stayed with her for a few days before she'd calmed down.I pulled a seat close and sat down directly across from S
*Keera*I should have been scared. Any human in their right senses would have been scared, especially when his eyes had outrightly flashed gold, his wolf threatening to take over. Luckily, I wasn't any human. Grayson had another thing coming if he thought he could make me bend to his every will. I was more than ready to face his wolf if I absolutely had to. He had no right dishing out orders like I was some lowly member of his pack he could command. "Why are you so bent on acting stubborn?" He asked, sounding a lot like he really wanted to know. I twisted in his grip, trying to free myself from him. Rather than let go of me, he raised my other arm above my head with his free hand and held my wrists even more firmly. "What on earth gives you that much courage?" I barely stopped myself from cursing at him.I took a calming breath for the thousandth time since I met this insufferable man. There was no use struggling and trying to get out of his grip on my own. Even I knew that I was no
*Grayson*"Where's your mother?" I asked the pup currently clutching my legs. I looked around, trying to see if anyone was coming after him. When no one appeared in sight, I furrowed my eyebrows, lifting the little boy and holding him in my arms. Keera's words from earlier about ensuring that the pack was more aware of their families echoes in my mind. I hadn't admitted then and I still wasn't ready to admit it now, but she had been right. Everyone was so used to the pack being safe that they were finding it difficult being extra cautious.Even with their pups apparently.I was about to ask Ria if she knew who the pup's mother was when a talk blonde came running towards me. She glared at the pup in my hand, and then stood with her head bowed, not meeting my eyes. I shook my head disappointedly, leaning forward so I could transfer the little boy to her arms. "You might not find him so easily next time." I said simply, moving to continue my walk with Ria. Even the goddess knew that I was
*Keera*I didn't think it was possible to be in my line of work and not develop a few people skills. Like the ability to read people for example. It was something I had really gotten good at over time. Which was why despite the fact that Grayson tried to hide it, I knew from the second he pulled open the door that he wasn't happy to see me. I just didn't know why it pissed me off so much. I bit down on my lower lip, reminding myself that I'd promised myself on my way here that we weren't going to another one of our infamous arguments. I was determined to keep that promise. He gripped the side frame of the door with one hand, the other one still holding on to the door knob. I watched as his eyes dropped to the home made food in my hands. His features displayed his surprise. I held the food tighter, studying him. It had devastated everyone when we found another body. Even more painful was the fact that it had been someone Ginny had been close to.She'd been a bit unsteady after discov
*Grayson*"I'm thinking of calling for reinforcement." I said to Ryan and Jax. We were seated in my office and my hands were folded on the desk as I tried to explain why I had come up with the idea in the first place. I'd already placed a call to the Alpha of one of the packs nearby and he'd assured me that he was going to do whatever he could to help. Ryan and Jax met each other's gaze for a spell before turning to me. "We've lost a total of fifteen people now." I reminded them, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I want the killer found and apprehended immediately." Ryan leaned forward in his seat, shooting me a concerned look. "We want the same thing," He said calmly. "Of course we do." He seemed to be contemplating his next words carefully. "But I'm not sure what you hope to achieve by calling in reinforcement from some other pack." Jax echoed that he felt the same way. I groaned, wishing that they would understand.Didn't they get it?I tapped my knuckles on the desk a little impat
*Keera*"Fuc-fudge!" I yelled as I turned, barely stopping myself from throwing the coffee in my hand away in fright. The little girl responsible for scaring me in the first place was kneeling on one of the dining chairs, her upper body bent over the table. Her blonde hair was tied in cute pigtails, a bright pink headband the same color as her shirt resting on her head. She had big dark eyes and they were no doubt focused on me.She looked a little around six years old. "You scared me." I said a little harshly.She blinked once, tilting her head.I looked around the kitchen, past the dining space and into the living room for any sign of the person she had come with. Seeing no one, I frowned slightly as I picked up some tissue and dabbed at the slosh of coffee that had splashed on my hands. I trashed the tissue and then picked my coffee back up, resting against the fridge as I turned to stare at her.She was still looking so intently at me.My frown reappeared as I brought the mug to my
*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