Page 33 of Spike

“It wasn't an interrogation. In fact, I think he isn't as bad as you made him sound,” I said.

But Spike didn't seem to be listening.

"Sorry, Gray. I need to go," he said all of a sudden, getting up and putting on his leather jacket.

"Wait, Spike," I called out, scrambling to my feet as he headed for the door. "What's wrong?"

He paused for a moment, his hand resting on the doorknob, but he didn't turn to face me.

Instead, his shoulders seemed to sag with an unseen weight, and a heavy silence settled between us.

"I can't stay," Spike said finally, his voice strained. "Not now."

Confusion and hurt warred within me as I struggled to make sense of his words.

What had happened to prompt such a sudden departure? Was it something I had said, something I had done?

"Spike, please," I pleaded, taking a step toward him. "Talk to me."

But he shook his head, his expression unreadable as he finally met my gaze.

"I'll call you later," Spike promised, his voice thick with emotion.

And with that, he was gone, leaving me standing alone in the doorway, stunned.

My fingers trembled slightly as I punched in Nitro's number. The memory of Spike's stories about challenging Venom flashed vividly in my thoughts.

Spike had lost both times…and he lost badly. He said fighting Venom was a way of punishing himself for his failure to save Austin years ago.

Since he met me, he said those urges had died down, but now I wasn’t too certain.

Concern and apprehension swirled within me.With each ring of the phone, my heart pounded louder in my chest.

I couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling that Spike's sudden departure would lead to him doing something incredibly reckless.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Nitro picked up the call.

"Gray? Everything alright?" he asked.

We weren’t particularly close but Spike asked me if I was interested in having dinner at Nitro and Tommy’s place.

I told him I wasn’t ready for that yet, and Spike respected my decision.

"Nitro, it's Spike," I blurted out, the words tumbling from my lips in a rush. "He just left, saying he needed to go. But something's not right. I told him I met Venom earlier, and now I'm worried..."

“You met Venom?” Nitro asked, sounding surprised.

Well, I did wonder if Nitro had told Venom where I was working. Nice to know Nitro was loyal.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Nitro…”

"Stay calm, Gray. I'll find him and sort him out. Just sit tight, okay? I'll contact you as soon as I can,” Nitro said.

I had hoped that sharing my encounter with Venom would bring Spike and me closer together, maybe even spark some ideas for a plan.

But as I stood there, alone with my thoughts, I realized that might’ve been wishful thinking. Spike clearly had some unresolved issues with his lead alpha.

And the idea of leaving Moon Burrow, which had briefly crossed my mind before, now seemed like a tempting escape.

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