With shaky steps, I walked across the room to the door. With each step closer, my tick subsided. I pressed my ear to the barrier that held Grim on the other side.
I was sneaky, and I shouldn’t be, but I needed to know what was going to happen to me. Was Locke going to get rid of me now? Even with Grim putting some claim on me? Would I want to leave given the opportunity?
Because I’m not sure if I would. Not when a huge biker was taking extra steps to protect the weak woman with nowhere to go.
Chapter Seven
Grim
Ishutthedoor,and the click echoed through my head as I was about to face off with the acting alpha. Not once had I ever defied Locke. Today was the first. The hint of disappointment in his eyes when I slammed Sizzle to the floor was clear enough when he didn’t dare leave his seat.
“I know you don’t like to, but you need to talk to me, Grim.” Locke flicked another half lit cig to the floor, stomping it out.
The black leather rubbed around his ankles like a second skin. He was on his second pack, and it was barely two. It was a bad sign, meaning there was another letter or trouble brewing.
“But I need to know why you scented her, a human.” His face went soft. “Is it because you’re almost gone, brother?”
The pity in his eyes only angered me. How dare he think I wouldn’t have control ofthatat least?Scenting was downright deliberate. A shifter had to open their soul and let their animal out in the most vulnerable ways. We have human sides, but we were mainly animals. It allowed my scent to seep out of my pores and intertwine with my mate’s own unique smell. My wolf had claimed her as his.
Mine.
That scent poured onto Journey.
She was mine, and there was no stopping it. Even a brisk shower wouldn’t eliminate the smell. It was powerful, only to be used on a mate. Scenting was an act I had only dreamed of, a practice I never experienced with a mate that rejected me so long ago. Instead, I gave my first scenting to Journey.
Because she wasmine.
“I did it purposefully,” I growled.
Locke’s eyes widened, his hand rubbing his forehead. Pulling out a lighter, he flipped it around in his fingers, lighting and relighting the flame. The pacing and the mumbling to himself made me anxious.
“She is mine, Locke,” I spoke to him as a friend rather than my alpha. His head whipped to me, his forearms tightening, causing the pine tree tattoos to ripple with a warning.
“You can’t, and you know why. I can’t ignore this. I know you are coming close to being rabid, but—”
I reached out, taking the lighter and chucking it down the stairwell. I pushed Locke hard enough to the wall to make him hit the back of his head. My nose flared and sweat beaded on my brow. My claws lengthened, scraping old scars around his neck.
Just under an hour ago, my wolf had spoken for the first time in a long time. His consciousness was building back inside my mind. No longer did I feel the ocean of emptiness in my head. My wolf had come home from years at sea, and he brought Journey with him.
Journey, my wolf, and I were all I needed now, and I wouldn’t give either of them up.
“My wolf says it must be so,” I huffed, letting go of his cut. The badges displayed on his cut unfolded gently from my harsh fingers.
Locke was right. This shouldn’t happen. To have a human living with you every hour of the day, they were going to see things. They would slowly figure out who we were, that we weren’t normal. The growling, purring, rutting, nesting, the things that make a shifter, would make a human afraid.
Humans didn’t know who we are. At least they weren’t supposed to. If they knew, a potent memory spell was cast on them. It was so powerful they could forget who they were as a person. Which was better? A spell to have them forget not only us but who they were? Or death? Most of the time, death was chosen.
Humans were skittish. They couldn’t handle or fathom the idea that they weren’t the only sentient beings on this Earth. If only they knew how big this world really was… If they knew about us, they would either try to experiment on us or kill what they didn’t understand.
Most supernaturals wanted peace, and when the Royal Council convened, they created a treaty to prevent other humans from learning about us. Showing who you were to a human meant death for you and the human as well.
Humans had become obsessed over the recent years, watching and imagining what it would be like to see a supernatural. Talk of letting the supernatural world become known by the humans was discussed. Many wanted to come out of hiding, since now humans were becoming more welcoming of the idea.
What will happen now that a wolf was mated to a human?
“Grim, I’m speaking to you as my brother,” he sighed, pulling down his cut to straighten the wrinkles. “Iftheyfound out, it would be over for her and you. If someone saw you two together, likethat.And what is this, anyway? You just like her?” He raised his eyebrow “I dare not say what Sizzle said, but is it something to do with your rut coming in?”
I snarled, my wolf flashing his black eyes then back to my own. “Never. She is more than just rutting company.” My heart thumped in my chest.
