Page 9 of Unforgivable Fate

He hadn’t realized who she was immediately. Sure he’d felt the flare of heat and the instant connection as his wolf scrambled to identify their mate. But he hadn’t known who the beautiful woman was that had fallen into his arms, not until after she fainted and he’d been forced to face Leo DeLuca’s horrified face.

He wasn’t sure that he would ever be able to wipe that look out of his memory. No matter what came next, no matter if he was welcomed into the Crescent Pack or not, he would always remember the way the Pack Alpha had looked at him when he realized a mate bond had sparked. Leo DeLuca had been utterly dismayed and it had stung what little amount of pride Griffin had left.

Not that he blamed the guy. He couldn’t. Not when the next words out of the Pack Alpha’s mouth had been, “That’s my little sister.”

Fate had not only tied Griffin to the Crescent Pack but to the DeLuca family. To the pack and more specifically to the family that his own older brother had tried to destroy. Maddox had murdered the Pack Alphas, robbing the DeLuca children of a lifetime with their parents. Then Griffin had walked into town and sparked a bond with the youngest of the DeLuca kids, stealing her for himself when taking more from this family was the last thing he had wanted to do.

Nova DeLuca. They’d told him her name after he helped carry her to the house. His mate was Nova DeLuca, not just a powerful Alpha wolf descended from one of the oldest bloodlines in shifter lore but also, apparently, a Seer.

Griffin had never met a Seer. Not in any of the packs he had come across. He’d grown up thinking they were a myth. They were part of pack legends but since nobody he’d known had ever met one he hadn’t thought they were real. After all, the kind of power a Seer possessed could only be bestowed by fate herself and the stories said she no longer trusted them not to abuse the gift.

But fate had trusted Nova DeLuca and that made her the most powerful shifter on the planet as far as he knew.

And she was his.

He wasn’t sure how that was going to work. Leo DeLuca had insisted that he continue with his original plan to meet Barrett, get his stuff brought over and officially move into Crescent territory. Darius Moreno had all but escorted him out of the house even as Griffin shot backwards glances towards the couch where he had laid his unconscious mate. They’d told him they would talk with Nova and figure everything out but based on the way she’d reacted to the sight of him, he wasn’t so sure anything could be worked out.

The sight of him alone had terrified her. The idea of being mated to him scared the hell out of her. She had fainted to avoid dealing with him and though he knew, logically, that had been out of her control, he couldn’t help but think it said a lot about the possibilities for their future together.

Slim to say the least.

A knock sounded behind him and Griffin spun around to find Barrett standing in the open doorway. It took every ounce of strength he had not to wince at the sight of the big man. It wasn’t just that he was missing one of his eyes, the skin pulled tight where his shifter genes had tried to heal over the damage. He was scarred, physically and likely emotionally as well, but Griffin had a hard time looking at him only because he knew without a doubt that his brother had been the one to do that damage. Still, he didn’t dare look away because it was clear Barrett was a proud man and wouldn’t take kindly to Griffin’s pity.

“What’re you doin’ in here?” The big man’s Cajun drawl was thick as molasses.

“Nothing.” Griffin regretted the word as soon as it escaped his mouth, making him sound defensive, or like he was hiding something.

“I may only have one eye but I can see that.” Barrett snorted, “You ain’t gettin’ away with hidin’ in here if that’s what ya were thinking.”

“I…” Griffin started and then shrugged, knowing instinctively that Barrett wasn’t the kind of man that would let him lie to his face, “Yeah. Okay, I was hiding out. Trying to figure out what to do next.”

“Well, I can help with that. Come on.” Barrett motioned for Griffin to follow him as he turned and headed up the hallway, “What we’re goin’ to do next is have a beer.”

Griffin followed him because really, what else was he going to do? The least he could do was share a beer with him on his first night invading the man’s house and no doubt dredging up memories he’d rather avoid if Nova’s reaction to Griffin’s face said anything about the resemblance he must share with the brother who had forever altered this man’s life.

“You always look so serious?” Barrett narrowed his eye at Griffin as he opened the fridge.

“Probably.” He admitted with a shrug.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about that’s put that look on your face?” Barrett pulled two bottles of beer from the fridge and slid one towards Griffin who caught it before it left the counter and went flying.

“I just…” He stared at his beer bottle for a moment before deciding that being straightforward was the only way to handle this situation. “Are you sure you’re okay with me being here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I got the space and Leo asked. We go way back. If he asked it’s cuz he wanted you here and that’s fine by me.”

“But are you really? Or did you just agree because the Pack Alpha asked?”

Barrett studied him with his one good eye for so long that Griffin wished a hole would open up in the earth and swallow him. The big man sighed and took a long drink of his beer. When he was done he wiped his mouth with the back of a hand that was missing several fingers and then pointed one of the remaining digits at Griffin.

“You mean because of Maddox, right?”

“And who he was to me.” Griffin swallowed hard. “I’m fairly certain you got those scars from a knife my brother wielded but here you are, welcoming me into your home and offering me a beer. How are you okay with that?”

Barrett looked thoughtful, “Well, for starters, I know you ain’t your brother. He’s dead and buried. Has been for a long time now.”

“Apparently I look like him though. I didn’t know that. Not until I came here. But doesn’t that bother you?”

“Not gonna lie, kid. First time I saw you, it sent me reelin. It’s crazy how much you resemble him. But you ain’t like him, and that helps.”

---