Chapter 172
Chapter 172
GRAYSON
“There. You’re clean now.”
:
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She whines, soft and raw, tail curling tight around me as I drag the towel over her soaked fur. She hadn’t been able to shift and I don’t know why. Somehow I’m starting to get afraid that something is wrong with her.
I don’t want to think anything and I certainly don’t want her wolf to feel like I don’t want her but this is a first for me.
“Shift, Jessica,” I murmur, voice low, almost desperate. “Let me feel you. Let me bring you back to me.”
Still nothing.
What the fuck is wrong with her?
Her gold eyes flick to mine, wild, confused, vulnerable. “Come on, baby,” I growl, voice rough, teeth bared. “I need you. Don’t make me wait.”
She whines again, nudging my thigh, pressing close.
“Okay. I won’t force you,” I told her as I lifted her fully and carried her on our bed. I set her down gently, pressing her head against the pillow, letting her body sink into the mattress. “What’s gotten into you, anyway?”
I know she’ll never understand what I am saying. I let myself watch her for another minute before I sigh and went to the asshole outside of my house.
Jack steps inside as soon as I open the door. “So…did you find her?”
“Yeah. And she’s mine. Don’t get any ideas, asshole.”
Jack’s grin widens, but there’s a hint of caution now. “Oh? Still in wolf form, huh?”
I growl, pressing my fingers into the mattress near her, feeling her tremble under my gaze. “She’ll shift when she’s ready. And until then…hands off.”
Her ears flick at the sound of my voice, tail curling tighter, and I can feel her focus slowly, dangerously, drifting toward me again. My wolf hums, approving, hungry. I lean closer, inhaling her scent, letting the storm outside match the one raging inside me.
“What did you tell her anyway?”
Jack leans back lazily, smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, like he’s daring me to snap. “Relax, big guy. I didn’t tell her shit…not exactly.”
“Not exactly?” I growl, stepping closer, wolf instincts thrumming in my chest. “You were the last one she saw. Every word out of your mouth, she felt it. What did you do to her?”
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Chapter 172
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Jack laughs, a little nervous now. “Oh…you know. Just reminded her that sometimes it’s fun to run, to play a little. To see who’s really chasing her.”
My wolf growls low, tail bristling inside me, and my teeth grit. “She’s mine, Jack. Don’t fucking play with her.”
Jack raises his hands, smirk faltering, just a fraction. “Okay, okay…point taken. Don’t need to eat me…yet.”
“But…have you tried it? I mean…doing it in wolf form?” His tone is teasing, dangerous, and I can hear the play in his words.
I freeze, claws tightening, heat snapping through my chest. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Jack chuckles, leaning back just out of reach, clearly loving my reaction. “You know…wolf you, wolf her. The chase, the… claiming. Could be…fun.”
“Don’t you dare,” I hiss, voice low and feral. “She’s not some toy for your twisted amusement.”
Jack laughs, shaking his head, but I don’t even notice him anymore. All I can think about is her–fur slicked with rain, muscles coiled, golden eyes sharp, defiant, wild. My wolf growls in my chest, echoing the same thoughts.
Damn it.
I throw my head back, letting a guttural, feral howl tear out of me, raw and possessive. It rattles the walls, rattles my bones, and even through it all, I can hear Jack’s laugh bursting like a twisted melody behind me.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he shouts between chuckles. “It is fun.”
Before he can tell anything else, I’m already shoving him away from the bedroom door and into the kitchen.
“I think she’s damaged, Grayson.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
Jack pushed a chair before he took the one in front of me. “She told me I was just like Riot.”
Riot. That name.
Jack leans back, smirk gone, his usual amusement replaced with a touch of guilt. “She… she compared me to him. Said I reminded her of him, the way I was chasing her. Said she… I’m just using her…to leave you.”
The mention of her leaving me made my throat constrict in pain. That’ll be the day.
“Riot…hurt her and I think he got her wolf confused…and also I think she’s into him.”
Jack holds up his hands, wide–eyed, “Whoa! What?”
I don’t let him finish. I look away, jaw tight, chest hammering, heart caught between fury and fear. I can’t let him see it. That tiny, unbearable fear: that one day she’ll wake up and realize it’s always been Riot. That all this… all my chasing, all my protection… she could mistake it for someone else.
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Chapter 172
I let out a low hiss, shaking my head. “I caught them kissing..making out.”
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“Wait–what?” His voice is a mix of disbelief and a twitch of amusement, but there’s a flicker of seriousness in
his gaze now.
“I caught them,” I growl, voice low, rough, teeth clenched. “Kissing. Making out. Her wolf… it doesn’t know who to trust anymore. And I swear-” My fists clench, nails biting into my palms. “I’ll make sure she never mistakes anyone else for what’s hers.”
“Damn… I didn’t think–shit, man, she’s… wild. I get why you’re-”
“Don’t finish that sentence.”
Jack swallows, shifting uneasily, but can’t hide the hint of admiration in his eyes. “Alright, alright… I get it. Don’t snap me, okay? Have you told her?”
“About what, Jack? That her wolf might remember him? That she’s… confused? That she’s still breathing in pieces of someone else?”
Jack blinks, then smirks nervously. “Yeah…that.”
I shake my head, running a hand through my damp hair, chest heaving. “No. I don’t want her to know I’m doubting her.”
“Doubting…her?”
I look down, shoulders tightening, the rain from outside still damp on my skin, but it’s nothing compared to the storm in my chest. “Yeah…doubting her. Doubting that I can fix this. That I can keep her from breaking again. That…that I’m enough.”
Jack leans back, studying me like he’s seeing a side I rarely let anyone see. “Shit, man…you’re really in this, huh?”
I nodded. “I’ve never…felt this way before. About anyone. And now… if she slips, if she-” My voice catches. I shake my head, trying to claw back control. “I can’t lose her. Not to him. Not to anyone. Not even herself.”
Jack doesn’t say anything for a moment, just lets me sit in it, letting the vulnerability hang heavy in the air. Then he mutters, quietly, almost in awe: “Damn, Grayson…she’s lucky to have you.”
I force a bitter laugh, looking away, but I don’t argue. I don’t even try. Because the truth is…luck has nothing to do with it. I’ll fight. I’ll claw, I’ll bleed, I’ll die for her. And maybe that’s what scares me most.
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