Page 22 of Midnight Hunt
He paused to casually lean on the desk. “Of course we’re okay. Why do you ask?”
Hmm. Maybe I’d read his absence wrong.
I quickly waved his question away. “Forget it. I’m just tired.”
He studied me for a moment, then straightened and picked up the dishes. “You should get some sleep.”
“Yeah.”
There was a moment of awkward silence, both of us staring at each other but refusing to speak. Something was definitely up. What had happened while I was unconscious?
Wait. Was itDesirae?Was he dating her and just didn’t know how to tell me?
“So, Desirae seems nice,” I blurted, then immediately wanted to kick myself.
Smooth, Sable drawled.
“She is,” he replied, a line slowly bisecting his brows as if he was confused.
Swallowing a frustrated groan, I added, “She seemed sweet on you earlier.”
The line between his brows immediately vanished. “Oh, that? She was just glad I kept the other pack males from trying to pursue her. She’s not ready for that yet.”
“You sure about that? I bet she’d be open toyoupursuing her.”
He huffed a laugh that sounded a bit nervous.
He’s uncomfortable, you ninny, Sable growled.Stop trying to force something that isn’t there.
Annoyed, I said, “Sable thinks you should ask her out.”
WHAT?my wolf familiar barked at me.
Griff laughed again, the sound incredulous this time. “Sablesaid that?”
See? He’s too smart to fall for your lies, Sable sniffed.
Feeling ganged-up on, I didn’t answer, and the silence quickly became awkward again.
“You should get some sleep,” Griff repeated, clearly wanting to be anywhere but here. Not knowing what else to say, I simply nodded. He turned toward the door with my dishes and somehow managed to open it, nudging the soiled blanket out into the hallway in the process. “Night.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Without waiting for a reply, he shut the door, leaving me more confused than ever.
For the next two hours, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Every time I tried, nightmares swiftly invaded my mind, making me jerk awake. Just knowing that my would-be abductors could be plotting yet another attack was troubling me more than I cared to admit.
Being a Rivers came with many risks, and there were countless werewolves who would love to see our family fall from power. We held a covetous position in the werewolf world, one that many wanted and would kill for. We’d dealt with plenty of attacks from other werewolves over the years, but they hadn’t known we were hybrids. Now that they knew—and chose to attack anyway—was extra concerning.
Beyond frustrated when another hour passed and Istillwasn’t asleep, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and texted Reid,You up?
I waited several minutes but didn’t get a response.
Sighing, I selected the TV app on my phone and flipped on my flatscreen. I browsed for a few moments, then selected a movie and turned the volume down low so it wouldn’t wake anyone. Half an hour into the movie, a particularly funny scene made me laugh out loud.
A second later, I heard a sound outside my bedroom door. I immediately went on high alert, imagining the two male attackers bursting into my room. Sable surged to the surface, ready to help again if they tried to abduct me.
The doorknob turned, and I prepared to spring from my bed and go crazy on them. The door cracked open, and—
I flopped back against my pillows with a huff. “Griffin Hayes!” I hissed between my teeth. “You scared the crap out of me.”
