Page 116 of Grim

Everyone in the bar paused, except for the bartender on duty. He was cleaning the bar with a rag and went on with his business.

Hawke stomped straight toward Grim and I, and I backed up in my seat, my back bumping against Grim’s body. He wrapped his arm around me, and he growled warningly.

“You were the last to talk to her,” he grumbled to me. Hawke’s eyes were dark.

He was no longer there, but an animal beneath him stirred.

I squinted, checking if I could see any movement of an animal, and there it was. It was prowling deep inside him. The wolf glared back at me, and I wanted to say I heard him whimper, but I couldn’t be sure.

Grim stood up from his stool and moved in front of me. I gripped the back of his cut and put my forehead on his back.

“You do not speak to my mate that way,” Grim snarled. “You treat her with respect, or I’ll kick your ass out of this bar.”

Hawke huffed in annoyance and backed away. “Where is she? Where is Delilah?” Hawke spoke not just to us but to the entire bar.

Everyone shrugged their shoulders. Even the bartender who was in charge of making the schedules didn’t know.

“She hasn’t been in, man,” he said. “She’s always here, and I didn’t get a two-week notice or nothing. Her roommates say her room is empty, though.”

Hawke slammed his fists on the bar. “They wouldn’t even let me in the apartment. What else did they say?”

The bartender scoffed and put the glass on the shelf. “Well, they said she was fed up with the men around here. No one was able to commit, tired of having her heart broken. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that now, would you?”

Hawke shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t.”

Grim

Journey coughed the word “liar.” The entire bar chuckled and went about their own business. Everyone in this entire bar knew damn well Delilah was in love with Hawke, and he was too blind, too stupid, and too chicken shit to admit it.

He had feelings for her, too, no doubt about that. He held back because he couldn’t be with a human. Well, things were changing, and she could very well be his mate. Question was for how long could he have her?

Now that he saw me with my second chance, maybe he was hopeful a spark would ignite, and they would be mates. But, if what Journey said was true, at least one soul needed to open up to the goddess or neither one of them would get their chance.

“Sorry, I’m allergic to denial.” Journey waved her hand in her face.

The small half-moon that was centered on her forehead had darkened over the past few days. I asked if she would like to cover it so she would not be pointed out or made a spectacle, but she said no.

She wanted everyone to know that the goddess had visited her, that things were changing. Many didn’t see it that way. Some didn’t believe her, others were skeptical. Others thought it was a curse, and that she would die because the goddess didn’t help rogues.

Journey couldn’t understand why no one believed her, but so many of us had been through too much to accept miracles.

Hell, I was having a hard time believing what she said. The goddess had been quiet for hundreds of years. Why did she wait for Journey? My mate?

“Excuse me?” Hawke raised an eyebrow and slammed his hand on the bar.

“You heard me,” Journey said, taking a sip of her milkshake. “You love her, and she loves you. If you would open yourself up to the goddess, she would be your mate. But you as well as everyone else in this damned club,” she said it loud enough for all to hear, “are just scared.”

Hawke gritted his teeth. “Me scared? Are you serious?”

Journey nodded. “Scared of your own feelings. You may not fear death, but you are scared to open your heart again. You are scared to have it broken. Can you see Delilah rejecting you? Seriously? She’s the happiest person in this bar, and the way she looks at you...” Journey tsked.

Hawke stared into the amber colored glass the bartender set in front of him. He scratched his forehead, opening and closing his mouth to say something. Journey just sat in front of her food, nibbling on the meat.

She elbowed me and nodded her head to Hawke.

“Am I supposed to say something?”I thought.

“Duh,” Journey replied.

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