Chapter 49
Jessica
I’ve never felt so much pain in my entire life. It’s like everything inside me is being torn apart. I didn’t know where I was, but I knew something had gone horribly wrong.
“She shouldn’t have been out there,” Pierce’s voice snapped. It was so sharp, full of fury. I could hear his teeth grinding through the words. “You knew what would happen. You should’ve stopped her.”
I flinched at the sound of his voice. He’s always so damn protective of me.
“I couldn’t save her.”
Was that….Grayson? What is he talking about? Save me from what? The last thing I remembered–the rain. The downpour. The way it slammed against me, against the earth, as I faced Kael.
Had I… won?
Did I beat him?
I remember throwing him out of the circle when my vision starts to blur.
“Damn it, Grayson!” Pierce shouted. I heard some sound of chairs rattling. “You told me that there’s no fucking way she will make it as a
warrior!”
I flinched, though I wasn’t sure if I moved at all. I couldn’t even feel my fingers. But his words… they hurt like hell. I remember his exact words
when we were younger. He always excluded me from his training. Always. He never let me in. For what? Why?
“She’s stronger than you think.”
“No, she’s not!”
“Then what do you want me to do, huh? Tell her that no, Jess, don’t fucking try because Aria made sure you will never make it even if you fucking won the trial? Do you think how she will feel-”
Aria?
My mind was foggy, my body broken. But the mention of Aria…snap me back to reality.
“You think she’s ready?”
I wanted to answer, wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t form. And then Grayson growl. I know that’s a sign Pierce is pushing his damn limits. “I didn’t have a choice,” he muttered, his voice low but raw. “She needed to do this. She needed to prove it.”
“Prove what?” Pierce spat. “That she’s strong enough to survive your fucking games? To survive Aria? To be your fucking Luna?”
Ready? Was I? Was I ever ready for what?
Was that what Grayson had been doing all this time?
Pushing me. Training me. Conditioning me because he had a damn plan. My mind flashed back to all those sessions, the endless hours I spent pushing myself past limits.
I had been working so damn hard, grinding myself into the dirt to prove something.
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I closed my eyes, trying to gather whatever strength I had left. Grayson’s words, Pierce’s anger, the pain in my chest, everything felt like it was crashing into me all at once. My head spun ! thought I have no fight until I found myself reaching for Grayson’s shirt.
It’s disgusting.
When both of them saw that I’m conscious, they quickly went to my side as if they hadn’t been at each other’s throats seconds ago, Grayson hovered closer, his breath tickling my cheek.
“Hey, take it easy,” Grayson said, holding my hand but I pushed him away. I saw how his lips parted but I cannot be weak when I just heard what they are talking about.” You’ve been awake.”
“What did you do?” I pushed between them, my voice rising with each word. “What the actual fuck did you two think you were doing?”
J
Grayson’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t expected this–hadn’t expected me to come at him like this.
“Jessica-” He reached for my arm.
I slapped his hand away. “Don’t you fucking touch me right now.”
The sting of my palm hitting his skin echoed in the suddenly silent room. Aria took a step back, her shoulder bumping against the doorframe.
“You think I’m some weak omega?” I spat, jabbing my finger into Grayson’s chest. “Some broken little doll you need to fix?”
My voice cracked, betraying me. Goddamn it. I swallowed hard, my throat burning.
“We were just trying to-” Pierce started.
I whirled on him. “To what? Protect me? Save me?” My laugh came out ugly, twisted. “That’s rich coming from you two. Real fucking rich.”
Grayson’s nostrils flared. “You’re not being fair.”
“Fair?” I was practically screaming now, my hands shaking so hard I had to clench them into fists. “Was it fair when you went behind my back? When you talked about me like I’m not even a person with my own fucking choices?”
I paced in a tight circle, running my fingers through my tangled hair, yanking at the roots until it hurt.
“I trusted you,” I whispered, then louder: “I TRUSTED YOU!”
The words exploded out of me, bouncing off the walls. Something hot and wet rolled down my cheek. Fuck. I swiped at it angrily.
“Baby, please,” Grayson’s voice softened, but his eyes–Goddess, his eyes looked like he was the one being hurt. The audacity.
“Don’t you dare look at me like that,” I hissed. “Like I’m breaking your heart when you’re the ones who…”
My breath hitched, words failing me. I grabbed the nearest thing–a book–and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a satisfying thud, pages fluttering.
I shook my head and stared right into Grayson’s eyes. “I fucking won. You saw it. I pushed Kael out of the circle. That’s the rule, right?”
I knew I fucking won and I’m going to fight for that. There’s no way I am letting them bully me into thinking that I am weak.
Jessica Wilkinson is not weak.
Tears burned behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. “Grayson…baby..please? Tell me, I’ve won.”
He looks at me but I see the reflection of my pain. It’s like he’s hurting too because I’m damn hurting. “I am on your side,” he growled,
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running his hands through his hair. “But Jess, you’ve passed out after the first round baby….”
“No…no…no..that’s not true.”
Grayson tried to reach me for a hug but I can’t. This is not real. He’s lying. There’s no way I’ve passed out during that time.
“Then I’m okay now, I can go back and finish the next pool.” I straightened my shoulders, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. “I feel fine. Totally fine.”
1 heard Pierce cursed beside me but all my attention is on Grayson. I watch how his face crumpled in pain. Not all at once, but in pieces–first his brow, then his eyes, finally his mouth. He reached for me again, slower this time.
“Jess, it’s been a week, baby.”
I staggered back, my legs suddenly weak. “What?” The word came out as barely a whisper.
My eyes darted around, switching between his eyes and my brothers start. A week? That’s impossible.
“You’re kidding.”
They are not.
I couldn’t stop the tears that spilled over, hot trails down my cheeks. “I remember pushing Kael. I remember winning.”
Grayson took a careful step toward me, his hands successfully holding mine. “You did push him, Jess. Right before you collapsed. Your body just… shut down.”
“No. No way.”
“This is a fucking joke.”
Grayson finally looked at me, his eyes pained. “Baby, please. You need to rest.”
“Don’t ‘baby‘ me,” I spat. “I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me this is a joke.” My voice broke. “Grayson.”
His eyes weren’t pained anymore. They were cold, distant. Like looking at a stranger wearing Grayson’s face.
When he opened his mouth, my jaw dropped. “I, Grayson Westwood, inform you, Jessica Wilkinson, that you’ve failed your trial on becoming
a warrior.”
My stomach hollowed out. The room spun slightly.
“What?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
His shoulders straightened, chin lifting in that way he did when he was pulling rank. The stance I’d seen him use with others but never–never
-with me.
“You heard me.” His voice was flat. “You’re not cut out for this. Your performance was inadequate.”
I flinched at each word, feeling them slice into me. My face burned hot while my hands went ice cold.
“Look at me,” I demanded, stepping closer. “After everything we’ve-” My voice cracked. I swallowed hard. “This isn’t about my performance
at all, is it?”
Something flickered in his eyes–guilt, regret, I couldn’t tell–before his jaw clenched tight again.
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“The decision is final.” He turned away, like he couldn’t bear to look at me. “You’re hereby rank as caretaker.”
