Chapter 29
Chapter 29
GRAYSON
“This one?” Aria twirls in front of me and I sigh, annoyed because why the hell is Jessica not answering her damn phone? I shifted on the couch and try to test her again. I told her I’ll wait for her after drills, but I got sabotaged, “Grayson?” she asks, voice sweet enough to rot my
teeth.
I blink once, slow. If she wasn’t the daughter of one of my father’s oldest allies, I would’ve already thrown her out. Or worse. Probably worse.
“Aria,” I mutter, not even bothering to hide the venom this time. “If you ask me one more time, I’m going to lose my fucking mind”
She flinches, lips parting, and I know I should care. But I don’L “Aria, I’m not in the mood, I mutter, hall detracted as I keep my eyes on the screen of my phone. Still no response,
Aria pauses, her eyes narrowing “What’s wrong with you?” She pouts, hands resting on her hips. “You’ve agreed to accompany me today.” She really doesn’t get it. She steps closer, that perfume choking the air. “You’re father will not be happy with you if I tell him you’re this grumpy with me baby,” she says, making me more furious
The heck is her problem?
“Don’t touch me,” I snap, low and lethal, like a warning growl. She freezes, hand hovering near my shoulder before pulling back. Smart girl.
But she still tries to play coy. “You’re so tense,” she says with a pout. “Let me help-”
I stand up.
She shuts the hell up real quick when I do. I tower over her. And I know exactly what she sees in my eyes. She is so fucking disgusting. “I don’t want you,” I say, flat, brutal.” So stop whatever shit you are planning,”
She stares, wounded. Like I give a fuck.
I should be with Jess right now. Should have her pinned under me again, hand around her throat, watching that smart mouth go quiet when she can’t breathe without me
Instead, I’ve got this…girl fluttering around me like she’s earned a piece. Like she deserves anything from me.
God, if she wasn’t my father’s precious little political guest I’d have broken her already. I’d have sent her crawling out of here on her hands and knees, sobbing, stripped of that smug entitlement she wears like perfume.
“Leave, Aria. Now.”
She hesitates, like she’s about to cry.
“Don’t make me say it again.”
She bolts–heels clicking, pride shattered—and good. One less problem in my fucking face.
I drop back onto the couch, elbows on my knees, phone clutched tight. That girl–my girl–Jess, better have a goddamn reason for this Because she’s driving me fucking insane. And I swear, the more she pulls away, the more I want to bear the world apart just to get to her.
I sit there another thirty seconds–long enough for the silence to piss me off even more. Then I’m up, phone in hand, heading for the place she told me we’d meet.
She’s not there.
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Chapter 29
No scent trail. No jacket she left on purpose just to see me carry it. Not even a footprint.
The sun’s bleeding out across the trees now, bruising the sky. She said she’d come.
She promised.
I pace once, twice, my jaw aching from how tight I’m grinding it. I don’t do this. I don’t wait. I don’t chase. And I sure as hell don’t get stood up
like some whipped omega in heat.
Fuck.
I pull out my phone again, fingers already dialing before my temper talks me down.
“Pierce,” I growl when he picks up, no
Apause. Then, “Grayson?”
“No shit”
,no time for hellos. “Is Jessica there?”
Another pause, longer this time. I can hear him shit his stance, like he knows exactly what I’m about to do if I don’t like his answer. “She’s not here, man. Why? Something wrong? I think she’s with Logan earlier-”
I quickly drop the call and dialed Logan’s number. He answers it in one ring. “Hello?”
“Where’s Jess?”
He sounded wasted. “Uh…Jess, wait, she’s not at home?”
My jaw ticks.
No, she’s not fucking home. And the fact that his voice is all slurred and lary makes my blood go cold.
“She’s not with me either,” I snap. “So you better start thinking real hard, Logan, about where the hell you left her.”
“-uh–I don’t know, man. We were just hanging out. She left like an hour ago, said she was gonna meet someone or something
y hand tightens around the phone. She was supposed to meet me.
My
“And you let her leave alone?” My voice drops, slow and dangerous, the kind of tone that makes most wolves drop their eyes and back away.
“She said she was fine!” Logan says, suddenly more awake. “Swore she was okay, Grayson. I wouldn’t’ve
Thang up. I don’t need his excuses.
Inged her.
I need her now.
Every step I take back toward the village feels like fire in my bones. I check every side path, every shortcut, eyes sharp, senses flaring. Her scent’s faint–too faint, which means either she got smart and masked it…
Or someone else did.
My mind’s already spinning with the worst. Rogue hands on her. A collar. Chains, Blood
No.
Chapter 29
No fucking way.
I reach the edge of the forest, chest heaving. My fingers curl around my phone again–but this time, I don’t dial. Instead, I drop it, letting it fail into the dirt as I feel that primal need surging inside me,
Ishift
Right there in the shadows, bones cracking, muscles stretching, fur rippling over my skin as I drop to all fours. The world sharpens, every scent, every sound heightened as my wolf takes over.
I’m running now, faster than I ever thought possible, my claws digging into the earth, propelling me forward with spend that feels like fire under my paws.
And then, I smell it.
Her scent. It’s faint at first, buried beneath the leaves and earth, but I know it. My mind doesn’t need any more confirmation.
Jessica
My chest Lightens, my pulse racing as I follow the trail, not even thinking about the danger, not about the rogue scent i’d picked up earser. not about the tension in the air. All I care about is her.
But then, as I push deeper into the trees, I catch something that stops me dead in my tracks.
Her scent. Stronger now. But mixed with something else.
Something wrong
I grow! low in my throat, the sound vibrating through the trees. My hackles raise, but my feet stay frozen, nose working overtime to find her push forward cautiously, ears pinned back, every instinct screaming that I’m on the edge of something bad.
And there she is.
Under a tree.
She’s curled up in the dirt, her body completely still Her hair is a mess, there’s a blood stains on the sleeve of her shirt, dark and stark against her pale skin
No. Fucking. Way.
My heart pounds, and I want to run to her, to wake her up, to demand what the hell she’s doing out here alone, but stay put. My senses go into overdrive, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of danger.
There’s no one else here. No one but me.
I move slowly, carefully, closing the distance between us. Her chest rises and falls in a soft rhythm, but it’s shallow, weak, She’s sleeping–or
unconscious, I can’t tell.
I crouch low, just a few feet away, the weight of the world pressing against me. Every part of me wants to shift back, to run to her and make sure she’s okay, but I wait. I need to be sure.
Her
er lips part slightly, but she doesn’t stir
Treach out with my senses, checking for any signs of immediate danger. No more threats. But the blood fuck. I can’t just leave her like this.
Carefully, carefully, I nudge her with my nose, pushing the hair from her face, my breath hot against her skin.
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Chapter 29
Thank goddess! She looks okay.
I was just about to carry her when I noticed something tucked by her side, half–hidden in the grass. I pluck it up, already bracing for whatever bullshit it holds.
Sloppy, bold handwriting
“Do you wanna share?”
-R.
My blood ices.
R
What the fuck?
Who thinks they can share what’s already mine?
My jaw clenches. I look back at Jess–still sleeping, lips parted, oblivious. I scan the area, heart hammering like I’m back in combat and that’s when it hits me. This is near where she was attacked last time. That clearing. That fucking scar in the trees where I found her blood before. Where I almost lost my goddamn mind thinking I’d lost her for good
And now she’s back here. Alone. Again. With this?
I feel the shift rising under my skin again–hot, feral, dangerous. My wolf’s right there, clawing just beneath the surface, begging to tear through whoever left this message. Begging to hunt. To punish.
I crouch beside her, hands shaking as I brush a leaf from her shoulder. “Jess,” I whisper, my voice rough, desperate. “Wake up, baby, please.”
Ishake her gently, trying to rouse her, but she doesn’t stir. Not even a twitch.
Damn it. I need to get her out of here.
With a low curse, I scoop her up in my arms, her body heavy against me. It’s a struggle, but I keep my grip firm. I don’t care what happens to me, but I’ll be goddamned if I’m going to let anyone get away with touching her.
I don’t know what the note means–who R. is, or what the fuck is going on. But I know one thing for sure.
Whoever is behind this is going to wish they never touched her.
I start heading back toward the pack house, every step more urgent than the last I need to get her somewhere safe, somewhere where I can make sure she wakes up. And when she does… we’re going to have a very serious conversation about how far people are willing to go before they fuck with the wrong person.
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