Page 77 of Into the Night

“I know you’d do the same for me.”

Evan’s mood shifts as he nods. “I would, I’d protect you with my last breath, for what you’ve done for me.” With those words hanging in the air, he turns to face Griffin, who cleverly sets his steaming mug down on the sideboard and waits to see what will happen next.

“You marked my cousin while she was at death’s door.” He spits the words out like an accusation.

“Evan! Stop.” I wasn’t exactly at death’s door, and I was a more than willing participant, but I’m not going into details with my cousin.

“She was vulnerable. She needed to be taken care of, not forced into a lifelong commitment.” His voice is growing deeper and rougher with each word. Turning back to me, he growls. “You don’t have to keep him. Jack told me he’s practically feral. Nobody would blame you if you wanted stability, not a beast that plays Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Griffin doesn’t rise to the bait, but his own growl starts low and steady, letting Evan know he’s no pushover.

“He is my mate.”

Seething, I glare at my cousin, who’s lucky I’m not at my best. With a grunt, I climb to my feet, ready to put my overbearing cousin back in his box, when the feisty brunette at his side jabs him hard in the ribs for me.

“Evan King, how dare you.” Whirling around to face him, she gets into his personal space and glares up at him. It would be hilarious, with the top of her head only coming to his shoulder, if he didn’t look genuinely afraid. “Pot, kettle, black. Because you were so restrained when you found me in the woods and killed Scott. Your beast was horny as hell.”

Evan says nothing, but his silence says it all. He clearly doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

“And you didn’t mark me immediately either, even after you knew I was yours. You just freaked out and ran away.”

“Okay less chitty chat out of you. OUT.” Evan steers Holly toward the door. “I’m glad you’re doing better, Kali. If you still want your job, it’s there for you whenever you’re ready.” They’re on their way out the door quickly, Evan keen to get Holly out before she can spill more of his secrets.

Holly blows me a kiss and a wink before letting Evan take her hand and drag her outside.

I sag, relieved to be on our own again, when the door opens wide, and Evan sticks his head back through, one muscular arm poking in to point at Griffin. “You take care of her, or I’ll kill you.”

And with that, he’s gone. And we’re all alone once more.

44

GRIFFIN

“Griffin?” Kali follows me as I bustle around the house, tidying and picking things up. “Griffin, stop.”

I don’t stop. In fact, I make a beeline for the kitchen and start pulling food out of the fridge, ready to go all out and prepare one of my specialties from the groceries Elle, Kali’s neighbour, has been home delivering for us. My blood feels like it’s on fire, and I can’t stop moving, or I’ll explode.

“You’re doing it again,” she says quietly, approaching me like I’m a nervous animal.

In a way, I suppose I am.

“You’ve locked him up. I’ve barely seen him since we got back, and you’re keeping yourself distracted instead of dealing with what happened.”

“Nothing happened to me, only you.” I growl. “I have nothing to deal with except for the fact that I screwed up.” Every muscle in my body is taut, and I feel like a coiled spring.

Kali rests her fingertips gently on my arm, and I flinch away from her touch.

“Yes, you do. You shifted for the first time under traumatic circumstances, you found your mate, torn to pieces, and then watched her almost die, and you killed someone.”

The beast has slowly been giving up small flashes of what happened that evening, like that’s all he thinks I can process at a time. Except all it’s done is give me a confusing jumble of images that make me feel dizzy as I try to slot them together to see the full story. It’s like the world's worst hangover.

“So did you.” I counter, like the asshole that I am. “And they deserved it. Nothing to feel bad about there.”

Kali nods. “You’re right. I can sleep much better knowing that Serena is dead, and I feel no remorse for Martin.” She sighs. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have nightmares about it.”

“It’s not the same.” The beast is up against my insides, unhappy with the fact that I haven’t claimed my mate again since we returned. I resume my attempt to cook.

Kali yanks the pan out of my hand and sets it on the countertop. “It is.”

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