Page 6 of Griffen's Mate

Griffen’s gaze darted from his mate to his sister-in-law. She looked different, but the same. She looked replenished and more with the here and now than she had in almost a year. She looked good.

Kane held Faith to him and rained kisses over her.

“She’s not from this world,” Faith mumbled. “We know the demons come from another world through the portals. There are hundreds, if not thousands of worlds. I only got a glimpse at some.” She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them. “She is from a world the demons conquered and destroyed.” Faith sighed and leaned back against Kane and patted him to stop him from smothering her with kisses. “She is innocent, or as innocent as someone can be when you’ve been tortured for almost a century. The things she endured, no one...” Faith shook her head. “Her people wanted her killed. She was a prophecy that they didn’t want to come true. Her mother hid, but the demons found her. She is the destroyer of worlds.” Faith grunted and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to call her that terrible name they gave her. After seeing what she’s been through, I never will.”

Griffen stared at Faith, shocked at what she’d just revealed. His mate was a century old, she’d been tortured, and she was an alien from another world, a prophecy like Faith’s, but not with the happiness. Did he care that she wasn’t human? Was she really his mate or had she used some alien mumbo jumbo on him? He’d always thought shapeshifters were immune to any type of magic or paranormal influence.

Faith punched his arm. “Stop. I can see the wheels in your brain turning. Don’t condemn her. She is your mate.” She raised her brow. “In case that was one of the things you’re questioning. Yes, she’s your mate, but…” She nibbled on her lip and looked down at Pet in his embrace. “You have a human one too. I think. Well, I think from what I got. I could probably focus and find out more. She has given me a huge boost. I can feel power flowing through my veins, and I know she just gave me a gift. I can focus now. I can choose what I see. I will see only one future now, not a bunch of different visions that could come true. It’s like she gave me a machine inside that will control my power.”

“What do you mean by you will only see one future now?” Kane asked.

Faith turned so her back was to Griffen, but she faced Kane. “Fate can change, so I can see a bunch of different outcomes, but there is always one or two of those that are the most probable, like one is ninety-five percent, but the other is ninety-nine point nine. That’s the one I want to see every time, and if fate changes, I want to see the outcome to the change asap. It has never worked like that for me. I see what the fates allow me to see, but what she...” Faith jerked her head at Pet. “...gave me, is like I am fate, or more like, I am there watching the fates weave their threads.” She sighed loudly. “Does that make sense?”

It sounded complicated, and Griffen thought he got it, but his head felt like it was on overload from everything he’d learned. He nodded and answered for Kane. “Yep.”

Looking at his brother and then Faith, he brought his mate against his chest and snuggled her. She didn’t make a sound, but her body instinctively curled against him. As much as he wanted answers to some much needed questions, Griffen knew now wasn’t the time he was going to get them.

He looked down at his mate and then back up at Kane and Faith. “Do I take her back to my...er, our house, or do you want her here?”

Faith placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. She seemed to be back to her old self. “If you’re going to be a douche to her, she can stay here.”

He wasn’t being a douche. He was frustrated and angry that his mate had kept so much from him. He’d had a stranger living with him for weeks. He’d stuck up for, and threatened friends, for someone he knew nothing about. He was the omega and knew most things about everyone in the pack, and yet he knew nothing about his own mate.

Staring at her, everything sank in, and he suddenly felt the need for air, the need to think. He darted his gaze around the room and spotted the bed and went to it and gently placed his mate down. He turned to Faith and Kane. “I need a moment. I’ll be back.”

He didn’t wait for a response. Griffen would be back, he just didn’t know when, and his ‘moment’ might last a while.

* * * *

Griffen was furious with Pet for keeping so much from him. She’d slept for a week, and he couldn’t even bring himself to stay and watch over her. He couldn’t even look at her. He felt so alone and betrayed. They already slept in different bedrooms before he’d found out and seen what she really was, but now she that was awake he didn’t even go into her room. He heard her crying, but couldn’t bring himself to go to her.

Guilt overwhelmed him, and he felt sick to his bones for the way he was treating her, but he was just so angry. It wasn’t that she was another species altogether, it was that she didn’t tell him. She didn’t tell him what she could do. She didn’t tell him all that she knew. He had to find out what she was in front of his sister-in-law—who found out before him—and brother. She’d had chances to tell him. For fuck’s sake, he’d stuck up for her, thinking that she couldn’t handle herself.

He wallowed in self-pity and blocked the pack as best he could using wolfsbane, which he knew wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but it was the only thing that worked to dull all the emotions and feelings he was being sent from the pack. He knew he had a responsibility to the pack as an omega, but right now he couldn’t find the energy to care. He tried not to get as bad as his brother Arden had been, but Griffen now understood better what Arden had gone through and why he drank to drown his feelings.

Pet had awoken from her healing sleep, and he went by her room often, he even stuck his head in to make sure someone was with her, but he couldn’t bring himself to face her. He still hurt and felt angry at himself for hiding away in the house from her.

* * * *

Pet

Griffen wasn’t there when Pet woke up. She wasn’t sure if she expected him to be after him finding out what she was and the lies she’d told. She was surprised to find Ava there when she woke. Pet couldn’t talk yet. Her energy wasn’t up for that at the moment. But Ava was talking to her, although she wasn’t facing her; she was gazing out the window.

“Faith is pissed with him too. Griffen’s sulked the whole week you’ve been out. Now, I’m not saying he doesn’t have a reason to be mad. I mean, you kept something mega from your mate, but he...we all thought he would have calmed down by now and at least come and sat with you.” She sighed loudly. “He’s popped his head in once or twice when I’ve been here, and Faith, Remy, Sara, and Sandra said he’s done it with them too, but he hasn’t sat with you like we have. You know, I’ve never said this before, but I’m getting sick of the sound of my voice. Kane has been monitoring you. Well, he’s done his best to as Kane’s not sure if your anatomy is different from humans. We couldn’t take you to the hospital and risk them finding out you’re different. We had a meeting, and one thing everyone agrees on is that what you are will stay between us and the human military, and anyone we don’t trust won’t know.”

Pet listened to what she said and wondered for a moment if she was talking about this stuff now, what had she been talking about while she’d been out for the week. Curious, she cleared her dry throat and mumbled, “You’ve been with me while I was out?”

“Pet!” She jumped up as best she could with her huge belly. “You’re awake?”

Pet nodded, unsure if Ava really wanted her to answer that. “Water please,” she croaked.

“Oh, of course.”

Ava waddled over to a table, and Pet watched as she poured water into a glass with a straw and made her way back. She held it up to Pet’s lips so she could sip.

“I’m glad you’re up. We’ve been worried. Kane is so grateful for what you’ve given Faith and how happy she is now that she has power she can control, that he’s been checking on you too and has no issues with Faith coming here and watching over you for an hour or two. Faith says she’s been using the time while she watches you to learn the level of power you’ve given her and test its boundaries.”

“The prophecy needed help to come to fruition,” she rasped out.

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