Page 5 of Forsaken Fate

“What?” He looked around. “No, I’m good. Let’s just get this over with.”

Grayson tapped the seat back and made a circular motion with his index finger to the driver. The driver slid out of his seat and came around to open the curb side door. Grayson slid out. I waited a second, thinking he’d offer me a hand to help me out, but he was already distracted by something or someone at the funeral parlor entrance.

The driver, a heavyset man named Larry, who I liked very much, gave me a shrug and a half smile as he reached in to help me out. It was a good thing; the dress stretched so tight around my thighs I wasn’t sure I could have managed without crawling.

“Good luck in there, Miss,” Larry said, shooting me a wink. I pulled my trench coat closed and quickened my step to catch up to Grayson.

His back was to me. He had stopped, drawn into a quick embrace by the man standing closest to the door. The two of them started walking away together and I cleared my throat and called out after Grayson.

They turned together and I got my first look at the man Grayson had nearly left me alone for. I already knew who he was.

Theo Dorran.

He turned to face me. Grayson called him his brother, but it was obvious to anyone with working eyesight they shared no DNA. Theo was taller, broad shouldered with dark wavy hair that curled at the ends just where it brushed his collar, the slightest touch of gray at the temples. He had an anvil sharp jaw with a deep cleft in his chin. His face split into a devilish smirk as he looked me over with piercing brown eyes like he could already see what was under my coat.

And then his eyes changed. A shiver went through me as I saw his wolf. Just a flash of silver in his pupils. I sensed his strength. His power. My blood quickened as I stepped forward and took his hand. So much heat. It was as if my skin sizzled under his touch. It took my breath from me. Just one word reverberated through me. Alpha.

I said my name, I think. I heard Grayson make sounds but had no idea what he said. Whatever it was, Theo’s eyes narrowed, his smile froze before he gave me a quick nod and said it was nice to meet me.

Then Grayson was at my side again. Larry came up behind me as well and gestured for me to let him take my coat. Traitor. He was kind to me, but he worked for Grayson. He’d heard the conversation in the car and knew Grayson wanted everyone here to see me in this dress.

I peeled off my coat and handed it to Larry. Grayson’s hand was at my back, pushing me forward as the line of mourners closed in. They said things to Grayson, but they all looked at me. Most of them at least tried to conceal their reactions. The women gave me condescending smiles. Most of the men never made it that far, their eyes plastered at the center of my chest.

Somehow, we made it to the front of the room where Diana lay. We knelt together. Grayson’s hand felt hot against my back, and I felt his fingers curl. His claws came out and he dug them into me to keep me there. Even in death, Diana’s face seemed disapproving. I couldn’t help but smile a little at that.

It doesn’t matter Diana. Your opinion was never the point.

* * *

I don’t know how I got through the next half hour. Grayson introduced me to other members of the Governor’s staff. Diana’s people. I wasn’t interested in them. I found myself searching the room, looking for Theo. He was nowhere. This surprised me. In the six months since I met Grayson, he brought Theo up a lot. He measured himself against him and I knew he didn’t even realize it. But even without Grayson’s comments, I knew as much about Theo as he did ... had memorized the details of the whole Dorran family.

Theodore Edward Dorran, Jr. Thirty-seven years old. Only son of Theodore Sr. and his first wife, Emily Baker Dorran. Aged sixteen when his mother and fourteen-year-old sister were assassinated by a tiger clan during the start of the shifter wars. Immediately afterward, his father had arranged safe passage for Theo into northern Michigan. He stayed in hiding with the Wild Lake Wolves for five years, then joined the resistance. He would have been imprisoned or executed if he’d ever been caught. Theo Sr. had somehow brokered a pardon for him. Somehow…

It was Diana. As Governor of New York, she held the power. What had Theo Sr. offered in exchange for the bounty on his son’s head being lifted?

“Brynna.” I jumped when Grayson nudged me with his elbow. “Say hello to Lieutenant Governor Jeffries, and his wife.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, extending my hand. Jeffries looked to be about a hundred and eight years old. His wife, even older. He kissed my hand with dry lips and his eyes never moved up from my chest. Mrs. Jeffries did; she openly scowled at me. The Jeffries were old money. Old power. A fire mage with a rumored alliance to dragons. The Jeffries had donated millions during the war to help persecuted shifters and mages.

“Lovely to meet you, dear,” Mrs. Jeffries said, her tone crackling with sarcasm. “I’m sure Diana found you delightful.”

“Thank you,” I said.

The rest of the hour was much the same. They offered Grayson condolences, and I got thinly veiled sneers. I could endure it. Let them all look. Let them all judge me. What was Diana Dorran’s heir apparent doing with a mere human girl with no connections? No money. It only mattered that I made Grayson happy. I thought he was, at least with me. But it was obvious that he was growing more agitated at having to stand in a room with his dead mother just a few feet away. He finally said as much.

“I just need a break,” he whispered, nipping my ear lobe with his teeth. “Follow me. I know where we can hang out for a few minutes.”

He took my hand and led me down a darkened hallway. One of the doors had a crack of light underneath and Grayson opened that one, ushering me in before him. It was a cozy office with furniture surrounding an unlit fireplace; books lined the wall from floor to ceiling. Before I could get my bearings, Grayson had his hands around my waist and pushed me backward until I sat down hard on the top of a wide mahogany desk.

“Grayson!” I whisper-shouted.

He wedged his knee between my thighs, parting them.

“I can’t take it, baby,” he said. He had one hand at the small of my back, pulling me toward him, his other hand roamed up my front. He hooked a thumb under the bodice of my dress and set about freeing one of my already straining breasts. “I just need a distraction. I’m going out of my mind in there. I’m going to shift. I can feel it.”

He ran his tongue across the column of my throat, and I put my hands around his shoulders as he spread my legs even farther apart. I put a hand down to steady myself and knocked over a small tin holding pens and pencils. They made a loud crash as they rolled over the desk and onto the floor.

“Grayson,” I said. No. No. No. Not here. Not now. I hadn’t had a chance to drink from the tiny vial of amber liquid I hid from Grayson. I didn’t think I would need it. Not here of all places.

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