Page 51 of Grim

Chapter Eighteen

Grim

Journeyshifted,theimposingwind drawing shivers from her body. I shrugged off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. It engulfed her entire body.

I cursed myself for not packing something warmer for her.

We’d ridden for hours, and now the sun was close to setting. I’d never been around humans much, for long periods of time, anyway. Their bodies were more vulnerable to the cold, the heat, and of course, to harms of the flesh.

Humans were fragile creatures.

And now she was going to tell me just how fragile she really was.

Journey sighed, taking in a large breath to fill her lungs. My chest filled with pride watching her looking up at me, smiling. No one had ever fucking smiled at me like that.

Journey was beautiful and so strong. Stronger than any woman I had known. She’d been through shit, and she was still here, still alive. Her soul reached toward a pull she didn’t understand.

I couldn’t wait to show her the part of myself I had hidden from her, but I was also deathly afraid.

Would she be repulsed by who I was? I was not a man, but a beast, and the world that she knew was all a lie.

I held her closer, my nose grazing the side of her cheek, taking in her scent. She welcomed it, snuggling closer into my embrace.

We might have a chance.

My wolf purred. It was continuous now. He no longer felt vicious like when we first found her. He was so unsure what this human could really do to us. She could reject the bond, just like our first mate, and that might still be the case. Journey knew what it was like to be alone and vulnerable and maybe, just maybe, she would take pity on our soul.

My wolf and I had high hopes for the completion of our bond. She had laid in our arms willingly in our nest, she felt our shaft, and she was not repulsed by our advances, even with the torment of her past.

“Before you tell me your past, Journey, I want you to know something about these woods.” My gaze landed over the tall pines of the forest.

They were always green and filled with creatures great and small. The bears that roamed here were amongst the largest animals, but certainly not the most dangerous. Other creatures lived there too.

Creatures that had thoughts, desires, and a thirst for blood. And they were not afraid of the humans finding them. For if they did, their lives would be ended quickly.

They were out in the open here. It was a small piece of earth without a veil of concealment.

There was a cruelty to this forest, but Journey had my scent on her. Any and all supernaturals would yield, knowing she belonged to me.

My wolf was almost fully healed and at full strength. I could hear the rush of blood running through my mate’s veins. I could hear the small gulps of a fawn drinking from the brook. My strength had returned, and it would only grow stronger once Journey and I became one.

“While I am in this forest, no harm will come to you.” I pushed a tendril of hair from her face. “No animal, no person, or creature will come to hurt you. Do you understand?”

She bit her lip, her body no longer shaking, but nodded in agreement. Her curiosity heightened as she opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted.

“I may get angry,” I growled. “I may want to throw or hit the shit out of something, but I would never do that to you. I will set you down, and I will deal with my anger.”

Her caramel eyes twinkled. She moved her hand to cup mine and stroked it gently. “I understand,” she said softly. “You may not like me anymore once I tell you about myself, though. You’ll think I’m dirty.” Her eye twitched.

I turned her chin toward me, my wolf growled in protest at her frivolous words. “I’ll always want you. You did what you had to do to survive, Journey. To find me.”

She nodded in agreement, but she didn’t believe me. Journey was preparing herself in case I abandoned her, but I would prove to her I would always stay. To have her. My mate had a shitty life, and I was going to be sure to show her how precious she was.

First, by destroying every fucking person who had touched her.

“Okay.” She rubbed her hands together. “This is going to be hard.” She whispered to herself.

Journey’s eye twitched, and she rubbed it away roughly, heaving a frustrated breath.

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