Page 31 of Spike

"I know you didn't," he said, surprisingly calm. "But your presence here has implications, ones that need to be addressed."

I nodded, feeling a knot of apprehension tightening in my stomach. This encounter was far from what I had expected when I left the kitchen.

"Should I get Spike?" I asked, a little desperate for some backup.

To be fair, Venom had been nothing but polite to me, but I was well aware that he was Spike's boss.

Venom had the power to boot me out of Moon Burrow if he chose, or even to punish Spike as well.

Then I recalled Spike telling me that Venom might be a bastard sometimes, but he was fair and looked after his own.

"No, I want to talk to you without Spike hovering in the background," Venom said.

9

GRAY

I hesitated, torn between wanting Spike's support and not wanting to escalate the situation unnecessarily.

After a moment of deliberation, I decided to trust Venom's intentions for the time being.

"Alright," I said, my voice steady despite the nerves churning inside me. "What did you want to talk about?"

Venom motioned for me to take a seat opposite him, and I complied, settling into the booth with caution.

As I sat down, I couldn't shake the feeling of being under scrutiny, as if Venom was assessing me for something beyond our current conversation.

"I'm a good judge of character, Gray. You seemed like someone who just ran into bad luck, but I've known Olaf for more than a decade. Until Spike's altercation with Jack Roth last year, the MC has been on cordial terms with their pack," Venom said.

"I didn't do anything wrong," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Are you going to... ask me to leave Moon Burrow?"

The old Gray, who hadn't met Spike, would have complied with that request automatically. During my travels, I learned it was easier to avoid trouble than to get deeper into it.

However, the new Gray, the one who had Spike by his side, would fight Venom on that decision, I realized.

I had only been in Moon Burrow for a week, but I had come to embrace the quiet little town.

More importantly, Spike was here—Spike, who had fought for me in that dingy roadhouse without hesitation; Spike, who had, in a short amount of time, become the most important person in my life.

"Calm down, your heart's racing too fast," Venom remarked. "Breathe in, then out. Slowly."

Surprisingly, his advice worked. "So... I take it you're not asking me to leave?" I asked.

"Olaf claims Spike stole Jack's mate. Is that true?" Venom's question caught me off guard.

"I'm not anyone's mate but—" I stopped myself, realizing I was about to mention Spike's name. Venom nodded.

"I suspected some miscommunication's involved. Nitro told me his version of the events at the Dirty Stallion,” Venom said.

"And Spike?" I asked.

"No, when it comes to you, he'll be biased," Venom calmly said.

"Fine, I'll repeat the story I've already told Spike," I said, once again explaining myself.

The effort exhausted me, and Venom must've sensed it, because he didn't press me further.

"I see, I appreciate you talking to me, Gray," Venom said, his tone surprisingly courteous.

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