Page 7 of Griffen's Mate

Ava raised her brow. “Now that we all know you’re an alien, a lot of strange things about you make more sense. Your survival so long with demons for instance.” She shook her head like she was trying to shake something out of it. “I was going to say something about you being young, but crap, you’re not. Faith said you’re like a century or so old.”

Nodding, Pet debated what she should tell her. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, realizing that it was time to only tell truths. No more lies. No more hiding.

“I’m almost two—well, two human centuries. Time, for me, has passed differently, or at least it has felt like that. Truthfully, since being with your family I have lived more in these months then I have in many, many years. The time has flown by. I think that was why I held off so long from giving Faith what she needed. I could have done it the first night or the next after being set free, but I grabbed hold of my time being human.” Pet used some of her slowly returning strength to point out the window toward the houses where the humans lived. The shifters weren’t human, but were close, or they were in their human skin. “I wanted some peace, even if it was just for a couple of weeks or a month. When I realized I was free, I wanted to be human, just for a while.”

The more she talked, the huskier her voice got. Pet wasn’t used to talking so much. She’d learned to stay quiet as much as possible. The demons thought it was fun to torture her, with liquids that burned as they forced it down her throat, or they’d choke her until she’d passed out. They weren’t allowed to kill her, the demon king had decreed it, but they found all sorts of creative ways to punish her.

“I say now that you’re awake give Griffen a couple of extra days to cool down and he’ll be in a more forgiving mood.” Ava touched her shoulder, leaned down, and surprised her when she kissed her cheek. “Thanks for bringing Faith back. I don’t really know what you did, but she’s sane, or at least as sane as Faith gets. Faith tried to explain what you’ve given her, but truthfully, I didn’t really understand. I just know you helped her. Thank you.” She kissed Pet’s other cheek. “My brother may be an arsehole for a while, but he’s hurt, and men have pride, and when that gets hurt it takes a while for them to get over things. So, just be patient. I know you’ve had it rough all your life and you don’t deserve any more shit thrown your way but…be patient. I’ll come check on you again in a day or so. Remy, Faith, and the others will come too. Rest. Regain your strength.”

Pet watched her walk out of the room. She shut the door halfway as she left, and Pet closed her eyes and hoped her skin had stayed at least a human color. She wanted to fit in, and looking human was the way to do it. Maybe now that she’d given her premonition power to Faith—well, Pet could still feel a little power flowing through her, but not even an iota of what she’d had—she could live a normal life, or what would be normal for her.

Opening her eyes, she raised her hand and sighed as she saw her changing skin. She was still drained and couldn’t hold a form. Closing her eyes again, she honed her hearing to search for Griffen. He was in the loungeroom, and his breathing was slow and not the usual steady beat.

Pet took a deep breath and sorted all the scents that assaulted her—antiseptic, bleach, alcohol, and the strongest odor of all was wolfsbane. Her eyes immediately popped open. Oh no, what had she done? Griffen was an omega. Other than the alpha, he was the most important person in the pack. His was the heart. He shouldn’t ever take wolfsbane.

Easing out of bed, she was so weak she had to crawl to the loungeroom. The sight that greeted her had her heart sinking, and sorrow like nothing she’d ever felt washed over her. Her body shook, and tears rolled down her cheeks as her stomach rolled at the sight of Griffen. He was covered in a scruffy beard, looking gaunt and sickly, his skin an off-white, but it was his gaze that scared her—it held nothing, his eyes looked dead. No warmth. No strength. The alpha may be the leader of the pack, but the omega was the strength, warmth, heart, and everything a pack needed to hold it together.

This was her fault. She should have given everything to Faith and let herself go, passing on to the afterlife to see her mother and her people again. Crawling back to the room, she climbed up onto her bed and let go. She cried for her mother, her people, the life she never had, the lives she’d destroyed, she cried for every last person on every world she’d helped destroy.

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