Chapter 74
JESSICA
I have no idea what to say.
Hook up to find Riot but he’s already gone. What the fuck did I do? I wanted to cry my eyes out because I just let a stranger touch me.
My body is still in fire.
I’ve held on for so long to not want Riot’s touches, but the pain is beyond me. No matter how much I try to stop him from touching me, my body still
betrays me.
Goddess… what did I just do?
I push off the bed like it’s on fire, moving before I can think too hard. Thinking is dangerous. Thinking means feeling, and I can’t afford that right now.
Clothes hit the floor. I grab the first clean leggings I see, a sports bra, my boots. My hair goes up in a knot, fast and messy, and I splash cold water on my face like it’ll snap me back to reality. I don’t look in the mirror–I already know what I’ll see.
I slam the door behind me and head straight for the field. The sun’s already high, burning the world gold. Warriors are stretching, sparring, joking like their lives aren’t all disasters.
Mine is.
“Jess!” Logan’s voice cuts through the morning haze. He jogs toward me, face flushed from training or concern–I don’t care which.
I keep walking.
“Hey!” He catches up, falling into step beside me. “You good?”
“I’m fine.”
He gives me a look like he doesn’t believe a word.
“You weren’t at breakfast. Pierce told me not to wake you up.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Are you avoiding me?”
“I had things to do.”
Logan sighs, brushing a hand through his damp hair. “Grayson’s been asking about you.”
I freeze. Just for a second. Just long enough for him to notice.
“I don’t want to talk about Grayson,” I snap, pushing forward faster, eyes locked on the man wiping sweat from his brow, oblivious to the stares that follow him.
Riot catches my gaze and pauses, halfway through pulling his shirt off.
I duck my head and plow forward, my shoulder ramming into Riot’s chest. Hard.
“Watch it,” he grunts, stumbling back.
“Sorry,” I mumble, mortified. Goddess, I’m such a disaster. “Uhm…I just want to thank…you last night.”
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Chapter 74
My words tangle in my throat as Riot yanks his shirt completely off. Holy shit. My eyes widen seeing it in broad daylight. There’s amazing talcool p looks like a wolf spans across his left pectoral, its jaws open in a silent snart.
“What about last night?” He smirks, catching me staring. “See something you like, Jess?”
My face burns. “N–no. I mean–the you know….”
“No, I don’t know.” His voice is playful but his eyes are intense. This asshole.
“For helping me with the…” I glance around, lowering my voice, “…the heat situation,”
He tosses his shirt aside, completely unbothered by his half–naked state or the hungry stares from others in the training area.
“Oh, that?” He cocks his head, dark hair falling across one eye. “I’ve been told I’m good with my hands in… situations.”
My mouth goes dry. The memory of those hands on my skin, cool against my fever, flashes hot through my mind.
“You’re impossible,” I mutter.
He reaches out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “You weren’t complaining last night. In fact-” he leans in, lips brushing my ear“-you were making very different sounds.
I jerk back, smacking his hand away, “It was just biology. Any wolf would have-”
“Any wolf?” His eyebrow arches, amusement dancing in those dangerous eyes. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“Huh?” I quickly follow his gaze and found a blonde girl standing at the entrance of the training grounds.
Riot’s entire demeanor shifts in an instant. He’s moving before I can even process what’s happening. He quickly grab the girl’s wrist and yanking her toward him. Even from here, I can see the fury etched into every line of his body.
Logan appears at my side. “That’s Theo’s cousin.”
“Huh?”
“No one told you?” Logan’s eyes narrow. “Theo was exiled three days ago.”
My jaw drops. “Exiled? Why?”
Shit. Shit. Of course, I fucking knew why.
“Jess?” Logan’s hand on my shoulder startles me. “You’re shaking.”
“I–I need to go,” I choke out, backing away. If Theo was exiled, that means someone knows about his plan and I have to get to that phone before anyone else does.
I turn and run, praying no one can smell the fear pouring off me in waves.
Back in my room, I pace frantically, biting my nails down to the quick.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter, grabbing my phone. I dial Grayson’s number for the fifth time, but it just rings endlessly.
“Pick up, damn it!” I throw the phone on my bed and run my hands through my hair.
I need to see him. Now. If Theo was exiled, Grayson must know something. He has to.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I’m rushing across the compound toward his office. The corridors are eerily quiet–everyone’s probably still gossiping about the training ground incident.
Chapter 74
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I’m breathless by the time I reach his building. The light’s on in his office. Thank goddess.
I round the comer, about to knock when I freeze.
Through the half–open blinds, I can see them. Grayson and Aria. They’re standing close–too close. His hand is on her arm, his face inches from her. They look… intense. Serious. Intimate.
My stomach drops to my feet as I watch Aria reach up and touch his face. I step back, a small gasp escaping my lips.
All this time. All this fucking time.
I back away slowly, then turn and run, only to freeze when I saw the alpha walking towards my direction.
“Alpha,” I whisper, my body freezing in place. The world seems to tilt sideways as my mind struggles between the shock of seeing Grayson with Aria and the terror of facing the alpha right now.
“Well, if it isn’t our little troublemaker,” he says, his voice dripping with disdain. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Riot, dear?”
“Sir, I was just-”
“Just what? Skulking around where you don’t belong? Again?” He steps closer, and I instinctively back up until my spine hits the wall. “Why is it so hard to get rid of you, Wilkinson?”
“Grayson and I were—”
“Grayson this, Grayson that,” he mocks, his face twisting into something ugly. “You think I don’t see you trailing after him like a lovesick puppy? It’s pathetic.”
My cheeks burn with humiliation and anger. “That’s not-”
“Shut up.” He slams his palm against the wall beside my head, making me jump. “You’re nothing but a distraction. A liability. Do you know what we do with liabilities in this pack?”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, hating how weak I sound.
He laughs, a cruel sound that echoes in the empty hallway. “You’re always sorry, aren’t you? Yet nothing changes.”
“Let me make this crystal clear,” he hisses, his breath hot against my face. “One more incident like today, and you’ll wish exile was your punishment. I don’t care what Grayson thinks–you’re poison to this pack.”
I try to pull away, but his grip tightens. My vision blurs with unshed tears.
“The only reason you’re still here is because you got my son wrap around your fingers,” he continues, each word a knife twisting in my gut. “But I don’t mind killing you if that will make him reach his prime.”
He finally releases me with a shove that sends me stumbling sideways. I catch myself against the wall, my legs trembling so badly I nearly collapse.
“Stay away from Grayson,” he warns, already turning to leave. “He has real responsibilities—a future that doesn’t include dragging around dead weight like you.”
As his footsteps fade down the corridor, I slide to the floor, hugging my knees to my chest. The walls feel like they’re closing in. Between Grayson’s betrayal with Aria and the Alpha’s threats, I can barely breathe.
What the hell am I going to do now?
