Page 194 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

The question hung over us like a cloud as Dick coughed, splattering the blood now pouring from his mouth. Hisheartbeat was slowing, and he wouldn’t be alive too much longer.

I urged Griffin to find out what he knew before it was too late. I growled, wishing I were still in human form now that his mother was here.

“Dick, please.” Griffin sounded almost broken. “What do you mean? At least tell me that.”

“I want you to know that I loved your father,” Dick whispered as his black eyes lightened. The hate that was always present began to disappear. “When he died, I lost a part of myself, too.”

Sincerity dripped from his words, and some of the darkness that swirled inside him began to dissipate, which didn’t make sense to me.

“Okay, but what did you mean?” Griffin asked desperately. “Do you want to leave Luna and Saga behind with secrets hanging over their heads?”

Dick flinched and took a shallow breath as death settled over him. “You will never win.” Then his heart stopped beating.

“Damn it!” Griffin yelled as he pounded his hand against Dick’s chest. “Tell me what I need to know.”

But there was no point. Dick couldn’t answer him any longer.

I nuzzled Griffin’s side, trying to comfort him, but my mate wasn’t here with me. He continued beating on the dead man’s chest, screaming for an answer.

Ulva gasped, and I turned to find her in the hallway in a pale blue nightgown. Her mouth dropped in horror as she watched her son in his frenzied state.

This whole situation was a clusterfuck, and I couldn’t do a damn thing in wolf form. I hated leaving Griffin like this, but the thought of shifting back into human form in front of his mother didn’t sit well with me. I could shift and return within a minute.

I rushed back to Griffin’s room, passing his mother. She stood there, frozen, her hand on her throat, watching her sonlose control. Her being unable to feel his devastation was a good thing. That was all on me, and it broke my heart. His feelings of hatred, love, and betrayal mixed together as he came to grips with the knowledge that even in death, Dick hadn’t tried to help him.

When I entered the bedroom, I shifted back into human form, then quickly grabbed one of Griffin’s long shirts and some boxers and threw them on.

Within seconds, I was back in the living room.

As I passed Ulva, she grabbed my arm and begged, “Please help him. You’re the only one who can get through to him right now.”

I nodded and patted her arm as I reassured her, “That’s the plan.”

“Of course it is.” She waved a hand in front of her face like she was trying to dry tears before they fell. “You already knew that.”

Giving her a sad smile, I walked past her and hurried to my mate. His face was the color of a tomato as his fingers, coated with Dick’s blood, tugged at the edges of his hair. “No.” Tears dripped down his face, causing sections of his gray shirt to darken. “He was supposed to leave in the morning. Not die.”

My heart broke for him, and I took some of his pain into myself. “Hey.” I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping my touch and voice would at least pull him out of his current state. I continued, wanting him to know that I was here. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Griffin repeated as he shook his head. He looked at me and inhaled sharply. “You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. He forced our hand.”

“He did.” I wanted him to know that I agreed with that. Sometimes it was easy to doubt our decisions. “I just wished I had killed him, not you.”

“I won’t lie.” He reached out to cup my face but stopped when he saw his fingers coated with blood. He blew out a breath anddropped his hand back to his side. “He was determined to kill you. I would do it all over again because keeping you safe is my top priority.” His love bled through our bond, so much stronger than the pain of losing Dick. “Your life will always come before anyone else’s.”

My life wasn’t worth more than any other person’s, but I knew that he’d disagree. So I said the only thing that made sense: “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed my lips. “And at least this is over.”

“But is it?” Dick’s last words haunted me. “He made it sound like he wasn’t working alone.”

“We know Azbogah is involved.” He frowned. “So that’s not shocking information. Dick was just trying to unnerve us.”

That could be it, but I wasn’t sure. Either way, we still had to deal with Dick’s death.

“You two go get cleaned up,” Ulva said as she appeared beside us. “I’ll call some guards to take care of the body. Maybe we can get some decent rest now that this asshole is gone.”

I wanted to argue, but my mate needed to get clean. The sooner he washed off the blood and got into fresh clothes, the better his mental state would become. For now, fortunately, the battle was over.

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