Page 5 of Unforgivable Fate

“I can see that much for myself.” Leo leaned his shoulder into his mate, “Maddox would have already tried to take us out instead of having a conversation.”

“He’s got a point there.” Darius smirked, his body seeming to physically soften at his mate’s touch.

“We’ve talked about it since the last time we saw you and it’s true that the resemblance might be hard to get past for some members of the pack, but you’re not your brother. I won’t hold you accountable for his sins. That’s not the kind of leader I am and my pack knows that.” Leo glanced from his mate back to Griffin. “I know you’ve traveled a great distance to get here and if you want to stay, we’ll find a place for you.”

“Really?” Griffin couldn’t keep his shock to himself and Leo’s flash of white teeth showed his amusement.

“I don’t want you to decide right now whether this is the pack for you or not. Stay with us for a bit. Get to know the pack. Get to know the people and us. If you still want to stay after some time has passed and nobody in the pack has a good reason to cast you out, then we’ll talk about you staying for good, but not until. Sound reasonable?”

Griffin felt something heavy that he’d been carrying around with him for far too long ease off his chest and he nodded quickly, “That sounds perfect.”

“Good. I hoped you’d be agreeable.” Leo offered a hand and Griffin shook it to seal their agreement. “When we invited you here today, Darius put the word out among our Enforcers not to bother you. We let them know you’re not the enemy and that you’re our guest here. You’re free to explore the territory, meet people and get to know the place.”

“I asked a friend of ours, Barrett, to give you a lift back to the motel to pick up your stuff. You’ll be bunking with him at his house since he has the extra space. I hope you don’t mind that we made that arrangement.” Darius eyed him with his intense green gaze.

Griffin smiled, knowing it was another test, but understanding why they needed it. They wanted him here, on their land, where they could keep an eye on him. He would be willing to bet that Barrett was more than just a friend. He was probably their best Enforcer too. He’d be more than just Griffin’s roommate. He’d also be acting as a spy and if need be, a guard.

“Fine by me. When do I meet this Barrett?”

“He’s actually waiting for word from us. He’s ready to give you a lift to the hotel now if that works for you.”

“You guys seem to have thought of everything.” Griffin conceded.

“We have a few…” Leo looked to Darius again and then cleared his throat, “family matters, that we need to tend to tonight but Barrett will help you get settled in and tomorrow we’ll show you the lay of the land and start introducing you to the others.”

Griffin took that as his signal and stood. The other two men followed. He shook both their hands again.

“Thank you for giving me this chance.”

“If you’ve heard of the alliance we’re building then you know that what we’re working towards is making the world safer for all the packs and that starts with communication and acceptance. Opening our packs and our families up to take in wolves that don’t have a place to call home is part of our mission. I hope you’ll find the home you’ve been looking for here but if you don’t, then we’ll part on good terms and you can move on knowing your brother didn’t destroy us.”

Griffin took a deep breath and held his ground. He wanted to hug Leo DeLuca for being such a great man but he didn’t dare. Not just because he knew they didn’t completely trust him yet but because there was no way in hell he was risking the wrath of the Pack Alpha’s mate for touching what clearly belonged to him.

“Thank you.” he said again.

“Head back up the path you used to get here and then veer left at the fork. Barrett will be waiting for you there with his truck.” Darius pointed in the direction he should go as he opened the door and escorted Griffin out of the house.

Griffin left the two men standing on their porch and waved at them over his shoulder. He felt lighter than he had when he’d first stepped foot onto Crescent land and he knew it was because Leo DeLuca had taken some of the pressure off of him. For as long as he could remember, Griffin had spent his life in the shadow of Maddox’s wrongdoings. He’d done his best to be nothing like the brother he only barely remembered. He’d worked hard to learn skills that could help others and give back to the communities he was part of but never, not once, in all of his travels had he truly felt like he’d found a place he could belong.

Until now.

He wasn’t sure why he felt so drawn to this place, to this pack. He didn’t know what fate had in store for him. But what he knew, innately, and what his wolf had recognized the moment they crossed over into Crescent territory, was that this place felt like home and that was something he had only ever thought of as a dream.

Maybe, here, in Noir, Louisiana, he could finally find the family that his brother had stolen from him all those years ago.

Maybe all he had to do was trust in fate.

CHAPTER THREE

Nova hummed along to the latest Lizzo hit as she walked. The music in her earbuds was a nice distraction from all the noise of the real world and the one from the future that sometimes slid into place over it when she least expected it. She knew her visions were a gift and she treated them as such but a girl could only go stumbling into the river because a vision had distracted her so many times before she found a way to block the noise.

Her visions might be wonky lately but they could still overtake her at any moment.

She couldn’t do anything about the big ones. The ones that stopped her in her tracks. The ones that warned of danger or an impending change that would drastically alter her life or the life of someone around her. Those came no matter where she was or what she was doing but the smaller visions, the ones that threatened to drive her mad with the constantly changing world based on every decision the people around her made, or didn’t make, could be controlled.

Since her visions only seemed to abandon her when she was with those closest to her, she hadn’t needed to worry while she was at the apartment with Maya and Zander. But walking back into Crescent territory opened her up to the entire pack. Her visions might have a blind spot and they might leave her more confused about the future than ever, but that didn’t mean they’d abandoned her completely.

Over the years, she’d learned that having something to focus on could ground her in reality. If she was with other people, she could use one of her family members or friends as a type of anchor to keep her in the present. It was more difficult when she was alone but she’d found that music worked almost as well as familiar voices. Now she always wore her earbuds on long walks and hummed or sang along to keep her mind in the present.

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