Chapter 214
JESSICA
“Riot? You’re dragging that up?” I lean in, my hair falling around us like a curtain, eyes burning into his. “That was years ago. We’ve cleared that up”
“I’m an alpha with no pack!”
The sudden rise of his voice almost startled me.
I freeze, heart thudding, and look up at him properly for the first time. His bloodshot eyes are wild, almost terrified.
“Being alpha, alone… having his mate taken by him by The Triad to train to be their greatest warrior. Is he for real?
“Yes,” he added. “I know it’s my fucking fault. I’ve agreed to this. I’ve always agreed to everything but fuck. Fuck me when I go berserk reading that letter.”
Disgust rolls over me as I stare at this man. I want to ask him again what happened to him and why he is acting like this.
“I’m your mate.”
“And you’re a hybrid and a triad now.”
His eyes sweep over me, slow and searching, like he’s trying to see the girl he lost somewhere under my skin.
I stiffen. “So what? You think that makes me less yours?”
“No.” His fingers curl into the sheets, knuckles white. “It makes you more dangerous. It makes you someone I don’t even know how to hold anymore.”
His hands trembled where they clutched the sheets, not from rage but something rawer, hollower.
For a heartbeat I saw the boy I met years ago, the one who used to laugh like the world couldn’t touch him.
That boy was gone.
What stared back at me now was a man unraveling.
I didn’t know this was making him insane. I didn’t know he had these thoughts on him but Grayson is a big man. He’s an alpha for fuck’s sake and I already told him I’m going to choose him in every lifetime.
So what is there to not understand? What is there to be insecure about?
Last night… it’s the first time Grayson slept off the bed. I woke up alone, the sheets still warm where he should have been, and for a moment panic surged in my chest. But the second I remembered his words, I felt a twist of guilt.
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Chapter 214
By the time I got up, he was already gone.
:
The sheets on his side were cold already, a hollow imprint where his body should’ve been.
Through the thin walls, I caught the distant thud of fists on sandbags, the low bark of orders.
My wolf shifted under my skin, restless, tail lashing at the emptiness.
This wasn’t the Grayson who used to tug me back into his arms even when we fought.
This was someone who couldn’t even look at me in the morning.
What a fucking coward.
My stomach clenched.
Stupid.
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Stupid of him to say those things, and stupid of me to let them sting, because every single day, all I wanted was a life with him.
A good life.
Not this tension, not this chaos.
By the time lunch came, I tried to push my restless thoughts aside.
I followed my usual routine, moving through the motions beside him as if nothing had happened, even as my heart ached with every glance I stole at him.
However, he’s so focused on his damn training he won’t even give me a glance.
“You fought last night?”
Cid drops below me after our rigorous training.
“It’s none of your business. Are we done? I want to go somewhere else.”
“To where?”
I look up, finding Grayson and Kirill is eavesdropping.
My lips twitch with suppressed irritation. Dumb and dumber.
“I want to visit your sister again,” I manage, finally forcing the words out
Cid leans back on his hands, smirking like he’s enjoying the show far too much. “Oh? Making plans without
me?”
“I’m just going to help her in the clinic. I want to take my mind off…things.”
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Chapter 214
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He doesn’t press for another explanation. Instead, Cid rises to his feet, long strides confident and measured. and holds out his hand to me.
“Here,” he says, voice low, teasing. “Let me help you up.”
I hesitate for a split second, smirking despite myself. My wolf purrs quietly in the back of my mind, delighting in the little spark of power and control I feel in teasing him. But I take his hand anyway.
As he pulls me to my feet, our fingers brush, just a little but enough to send Grayson growling.
“Careful,” I murmur, bratty. “I bite.”
Cid’s grin widens, dark and dangerous. “I was hoping you would.”
We’re having fun when as predicted Grayson steps in. And Kirill too. “Where are you going?”
I glance at Cid, then back at Grayson, letting a slow, teasing smirk curl on my lips. “Where do you think?” I draw the word out, playful, bratty. “Don’t tell me you’re going to try to stop me.”
Grayson’s jaw tightens. “She needs more proper training, Kirill. I don’t think you’re training her enough.”
First name basis.
“Oh? And since when are you my trainer, Grayson?” I tilt my head, letting the tease drip from my words.
Grayson’s jaw flexes. “Since always. You’re my mate, Jess. I don’t care who else is involved–you don’t get sloppy training under anyone else.”
Cid snorts softly behind me, clearly enjoying the show. “Ooooh, little wolf, someone’s possessive.”
I glance back at him, snorting. “Let’s go. Can we go, alpha?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Kirill and Grayson look at each other. I love it when two alphas think they’re running the same show.
I tilt my head at Grayson, letting my gaze linger a fraction too long. “I was actually referring to Alpha Kirill.”
Although it fucking disgusts me to call Kirill my alpha, the sight of Grayson’s jaw tightening, his eyes flashing, makes the risk worth it. My wolf purrs low in my chest, savoring the chaos I’m stirring.
Kirill’s smirk widens, leaning closer. “She’s not your prisoner, Westwood. Go on. I’ll manage him.”
That was…. unexpected. But good for me, I guess.
I step closer to Grayson then like what he did the past few days, I lean in to steal a kiss from him. It’s soft, teasing, just enough to make him freeze. My lips linger for a heartbeat, then I tap his jaw lightly, smirk teasing.
10:28 Wed, Oct 1
Chapter 214
“Behave,” I murmur, stepping back, letting Cid catch my hand.
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Grayson’s chest rises with a frustrated growl as I let myself be pulled away, Cid guiding me toward the door.
I can feel Grayson’s glare burning into my back the entire way.
My wolf hums with delight.
Mission accomplished.
