I winced. I did not need to be compared to a filthy dog.
Locke laughed, throwing his head back. His mood shifted, and it was because the club had sided with him. No one would pray to the goddess. We would remain a goddess-hating group.
“Journey, Journey, never compare a wolf to a dog. It’s demeaning,” he said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
Locke shook his head. “No worries, little human. We didn’t take offense. Now, why don’t you head back home and have Grim take care of you?”
She nodded bashfully and stood with me on the stage.
Sizzle groaned. “You broke my nose again!” Sizzle grabbed it with both hands and popped it back into place.
Blood coated his mouth and ran down his cut. He swore under his breath and took it off.
“I hate getting blood out of denim. It takes for-fucking-ever,” he moaned.
“Then don’t talk shit,” I growled. “Especially in front of my mate, or next time you will eat your own dick.”
“Since when do you talk so much?” Sizzle laughed. “I never knew you could have such colorful language.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know.” I pulled Journey into my arms. “Now that I’ve got my mate, I can do anything now. If only you stubborn pieces of shit would ask for help, maybe you could get your own mate, too.”
Locke and Sizzle rolled their eyes. “Too many unanswered questions, too many what ifs,” Locke said. “For all we know, the council could be sending those letters and using us as free labor.”
“I don’t think that’s true.” Hawke strode into the room. He had his hand on his sidearm and a cup of coffee in the other. “Those fuckers in the basement are ready to sing. They wanna die from the sound of it. Grim, you up for a good torture?”
Journey gripped my arm, and I looked down at her. I waited for her to tell me not to go, not to kill the fuckers that had hurt her. But there wasn’t any mercy in her eyes. They were filled with fire.
“Go kick their ass, Grim,” she said firmly. “I may not remember them, but they hurt so many.”
I didn’t want to leave her after she fell ill, but if they were ready to talk, then it was time to go to work.
“I can walk her home,” Hawke offered. “I’ll stand by the door.”
Journey nodded, pulling on my arm for a kiss. Her face was no longer pale, and the blood was nearly dried on her skin. When our lips met, fire rose in my belly, and my wolf sighed with contentment.
Her arousal filled the air, and I groaned, exercising my restraint.
“I’ll be waiting.” She winked and hopped down off the stage.
Her shoulders were held back, and her back was straight. She sashayed away from me, and I gripped my cock with my hand. The other men in the room knew not to look at her fleeting form. My wolf growled persistently, warning them not to look.
Damn, my cock was going to burst through my jeans. She was fucking amazing.
Locke chuckled, pulling Sizzle up by his hand to stand. “Never a dull moment. Let’s get shit done then.”
Chapter Twenty Nine
Grim
Thebarwasclosedby the time we arrived. The human employees had been escorted out earlier to keep them from questioning what went on in the basement. It was best they knew as little as possible.
Delilah didn’t look at me as she passed. Her face was shrouded in a large, hooded sweatshirt, but I could smell the salty tears running down her face.
Even though they were hers, I could only imagine the spilled tears of countless other souls caused by the mayor.
The darkness of the basement was lightened by a flick of a switch. The clomping of leather boots was loud enough to stir the prisoners.
