Page 63 of Grim

Grim was different. I know I didn’t dream it. The tapestry had been unraveled, and I was now seeing him for the first time.

A fairytale is what I wanted as a child. I prayed to the moon I would get some sort of blessing, so I could live my life differently. And I had, and it’s led me to him. This beast that just took down one man of the many that ruined me.

“Grim,” I mouthed his name.

He stepped forward, approaching me like a wounded animal. And I was weak compared to him.

Instead of Grim picking me up off the floor, like I knew he was fighting to do. To tuck me into his side and take me away from all the prying eyes, he lowered his body, taking a knee to reach my eye level.

His body was covered in blood—his face, his hands, and even underneath his fingernails. I blinked, taking in his appearance, but it wasn’t the blood that I was afraid of, it was the beast that lurked beneath.

But should I really be scared? All this time, he contained this animal beneath him and not once had he intentionally hurt me. He kept me safe from others; he nursed me back to health.

He was far better than any human I had ever encountered.

Grim raised his hand, palm up, waiting for me to take it. A shadow rushed across his eyes until they settled on me. Rising to my knees, I set my gaze deeper. The shadow inside was indeed a wolf, and the anger he displayed earlier was not at me, but for my enemy.

He'd killed for me.

As I probed deeper inside him, the deep red wolf came into view. I could see the gorgeous wolf I’d seen in the forest just hours ago inside of Grim’s mind.

My body shivered as the adrenaline left it. Grim’s overwhelming presence no longer made me fear him. Animal, beast, or human, he was my soul.

Without a second thought, I fell into Grim’s arms. He held me close, pulling me into his embrace, purring while I gripped my arms around his neck.

“Mine,” he murmured into my hair.

Chapter Twenty Two

Grim

IturnedtogiveJourney her time with Delilah. Journey had expressed she would like to stay with me, and I knew she would have to have some female companionship. The only human I felt comfortable with was Delilah, Hawke’s woman that he wouldn’t claim.

Suspicions arose in me. She could be his mate. He had held onto her for nearly two years, not letting any male near her after helping in her rescue. Hawke had put her under his wing since that day, like I had with Journey. Yet he had not claimed her in the slightest.

As I walked away, I saw Locke in the corner at a standing table. He rested a leg on a stool, his elbow propped up, smoking the fifth cig of the night. That was never a good sign.

He loomed over the shifters sitting around, gambling, drinking, pissing in the wind, and telling sob stories of old times. He jerked his jaw, beckoning me over, and I greeted him with a shake to the forearm.

“Any progress?” His gaze moved to Journey, who was smiling at something Delilah said.

My wolf growled impatiently because he wanted that smile to himself, but Journey was human. She deserved to have companions of her own gender to help her flourish and grow.

“We are getting there,” I grumbled, taking a cig out of Locke’s pocket.

He pulled out a lighter, and I puffed a few times until I began coughing violently. He chuckled, as he sucked the fiery smoke into his body, and I threw the cig in the ashtray.

“The hell is in that?” I continued to cough, clearing my throat.

“It’s just a normal one. Maybe the problem lies in your wolf.”

I rubbed my chest, my wolf growling angrily. He snapped inside my mind, furious I would even attempt to harm my lungs.

Right, we had something to live for now.

Locke waved two of his fingers to Hawke, inviting him to join us. He put out the rest of his cig and popped a piece of nicotine gum in his mouth. His wolf had given up, like so many of us had. No wonder he kept seeking comfort from harmful human addictions.

“We’ve got some company coming in,” Locke said as Hawke approached our small table.

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