Page 83 of Midnight Hunt
Fresh tears coursed down her cheeks, but I didn’t wipe them away. If she wanted my comfort, then she would need toaskfor it. I was too hurt to accept anything less. Too incensed that she’d compared me with Arrow. I knew he’d wounded her deeply and had shaken her confidence when he’d so readily rejected her after discovering that Sable was a demonic spirit, but to assume thatIwould treat her the same way pierced my very soul.
Angry, Whiskey spoke in my mind.
I know, buddy. Me too.
Angry atusfor not noticing.
That gave me pause, and I was forced to admit the same. I should have seen the signs. I should have realized how deep her pain went. I was the pack healer—it was myjobto notice.
After an unbearably long moment, she finally spoke again. The words were hushed. Barely a whisper. Vulnerable in a way she’d never allowed herself to be before. And every single one of them gutted me.
“I’m poison, Griff. I destroy everything I touch. I had one job—to support and strengthen my family—and I failed miserably. Because of that failure, my dad died and my mom broke. Melanie spent her childhood without a mother. Kolton was forced to become alpha before he was ready. I destroy families. Ibreakthem. And it’s only a matter of time before I break us too. It’s why I can’t be yours. It’s why I have to deny my feelings, because if I give in to them, I’ll end up destroying the one thing I can’t live without. You.”
She might as well have shot me in the heart point blank with a silver bullet. I could barely stand under the weight of her confession, a burden that she’d forced herself to carry for way too long. I’d known she blamed herself for the fallout with Arrow, but this was so much deeper than that. She blamed herself foreverything, and I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Leave, Mason.”
My brother had been quiet during the heart-wrenching exchange, but I was all too aware of his continued presence.
“Griff, I . . .” he started.
“Leave,” I snapped, unable to focus on anything but Vi at the moment.
When I heard his car start and slowly pull away, all of my attention went back to her. Studying her distraught face, hard resolve filled me. Soft words hadn’t helped me get through to her in the past, so it was time for a new tactic, one that would either break her . . . or heal her. I was desperately hoping for the latter, but either way, I couldn’t let her continue on like this anymore, stuck in a limbo of self-flagellation.
So I did what I never did with her. I called on every ounce of my dominant nature and wielded it to put her in her place. Tochallengeher. She thought she could destroy us? Well, I was going to prove her wrong.
“Do you trust me?” I asked her, firming my grip on her neck so she couldn’t look away.
Fear flickered in her eyes, but it only hardened my resolve more.
“Vi, do youtrustme?” I demanded.Pushed. Forcing her to face her insecurities. When she finally bobbed her head, just once, I said, “Then trust in my love for you. Trust that it’s strong enough to withstand any storm. It won’t break, and you can’t destroy it.”
“Griff . . .”
“I’m not finished, Vi. If I make you feel whole, then I want you to use that. I want you to useme. Nothing would satisfy me more than seeing you restored to who you used to be, and if I’m the instrument that helps you heal and regain your confidence, then I feel honored. Taking care of you fulfills me. Your pleasure is my pleasure, your happiness my happiness. Souseme, Vi. Tell me what you need. I’m not asking—I’m demanding. I should have demanded you tell me years ago, but—”
“You.”
I blinked, certain I’d heard wrong. “What?”
“You, Griff. I needyou. All of you. I’ll never need anything more.”
I stared at her, letting the beautiful words sink in.
Then I lowered my head and crushed our mouths together.
27
VIOLET
I couldn’t believe that Griff was kissing me after everything I’d said.
I thought for sure he would see the wounded, insecure shell I’d become and want nothing to do with me. But, by some miracle, he was still here. He waskissingme like I was his last saving grace. Like I was his beginning and end. Hisworld.
“Trust me,” he breathed against my mouth, and I clung to the words for dear life, needing to believe them more than I’d needed to believe anything.
With each passing second, my heat grew more and more intense. It became hard to stand, and when I whimpered, Griff swept me off my feet and into his arms.
