Page 38 of Teeth To Rip & Tear

I knew the story already.

My mother had died when I was still wet from the womb. Poisoned by the iron in the human blood transfusion.

My grandmother, Eva, founded Locket. Her home was built from blood, bone, and magic. She’d hidden her child and swaddled her in clothing woven with magic.

The child she had conceived with the Beast-King.

My mother.

I hadn’t lied when I told Kaleb I didn’t know who the Huntsman was. I just hadn’t known his name.

I’d once asked my grandmother why we lived in a town with wolves.

She said that wolves lived in every corner of the world, but the Gate helped hide her magic.

All she could do was hide.

Hide her daughter.

And then me.

My mother would not have passed if she had been in the Aos Sí.

All roads led back to the Huntsman.

I was so tired of it all.

I reached into my pocket, feeling the sudden weight of the wooden coin. My assurance that everything was all part of her plan.

Grandmother had passed on, but her magic remained.

“The Wild Hunt begins at sunset tomorrow.” Dean cleared his throat. “If you do not wish to see the Huntsman, you should find somewhere safe to stay.”

“Kicking me out?” I joked.

“Never.” He shook his head vehemently. “But, if you have no wish to court the Huntsman, he should not see you.”

“If I go home, Joel will kill me,” I argued, but my heart wasn’t in it. I pulled the coin free from my pocket, brushing my thumb over the worn carving on the front.

“How did you get that coin?” Dean pushed away from the bed and sauntered toward me. “It's on my desk.”

I stumbled, rocking on the heel of my foot. “My grandmother.”

“Ah, yes.” He scoffed. “The grandmother. A Fae that no one in town can remember. No one knows her face. The mysterious Weaver, who just happens to live in the shadow of the Gate made by the Huntsman’s wife as she escaped to the Human Realities.”

I licked my bottom lip.

“Kaleb would not know your grandmother’s face unless she spent time with the Beast-King and his court.” Dean stalked closer.

He almost had it. He was so close to all my secrets.

Dean stepped into my space, his pupils dilating as I craned my neck to keep eye contact. We stared at each other, frozen. My heartbeat fluttered, and I swore I could feel each beat in my throat.

“What is thatsmell?” Dean murmured, his brow furrowed as he stared down at me.

Melly and her fucking herbs.

Dean loosened a growl, and the sharp point of his canine teeth flashed as his lips parted. My knees buckled at the sound before Dean caught me. His fingers tangled in my hair, and he pressed his lips to mine, holding me against his body. I felt like a life raft in a tumultuous sea.

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