Griffon’s demeanor immediately changed.
“Do you think I’m doing this for you?” he snarled.
He grabbed my cheek with one hand and swung my head left and right. “Look at yourself. What makes you think you’re worthy of me?”
Goddess, this man was confusing and insufferable!
“Then why did you-”
“The man you’re f uc king is my future brother-in-law.”
My stomach sank and bile rose in my throat.
The realization of two things at the same time made me ill.
One, Silas-Jackson, was going to mate someone else.
Two, Griffon didn’t want to pay me to be his mistress; he wanted to pay me NOT to sleep with his sister’s promised mate.
Any thoughts I’d had regarding Griffon acting differently toward me, acting with affection were false. He’d simply been trying to steer me away from Jackson.
I should be mortified. Or enraged. Instead, I relaxed.
I’d actually been a bit afraid that Jackson had other feelings for me. I couldn’t bear it and didn’t dare to accept it. Not with my current situation.
I looked at Griffon and smiled sweetly. “Well, that takes care of that. Since Jackson is mating in your pack and will be your brother-in-law, I’ll refrain from…seducing him.”
Griffon’s knitted brows relaxed slightly, and his wolf receded from his features a bit.
After a stretch of silence, he reiterated, “Stay away from Jackson.”
I nodded obediently. Even without his reminder, I would still stay away from Jackson. I wanted to live a good life for a while.
Griffon said nothing else, and his gloomy expression gradually returned to his typical distant one.
Seeing that he had completed his warning mission, it seemed he wasn’t interested in me anymore.
“Alpha Knight, can you please take me back to my car?” I asked demurely.
Without looking at me, he started the car and dr ove at a breakneck speed back to the hotel garage.
Despite the terrifying drive back, I was grateful. “Thank you.”
Aker Chamking doim, I quickly pressed the button to get out of the car, but the door was still boked Alpha Knight, can you please open the door?” I asked quietly.
Griffon didn’t respond. Instead, he took out a flask from his pocket, unscrewed the top, and took a swig.
Well, that answered the alcohol question from earlier.
When I’d been with him in the past, he didn’t really drink. As a matter of fact, I’d seen him drink more in the past two weeks since we’d parted ways than I’d seen him drink during the five-year duration of our relationship.
Moreover, he seemed to have lost some weight, and if I looked hard enough, I could see dark hollows under his eyes. It appeared that he wasn’t sleeping well.
Did something terrible happen to him recently?
While I was secretly sizing him up, he looked over at me.
“Who is Silas?”
I was speechless. How did he know about Silas?
He answered, as if he’d heard the question I was asking in my head.
“You called this name in your sleep many times.”
He stressed the words, as if he had been holding them in and wanting to ask me this for a long time.
I wasn’t sure how to respond. I wasn’t aware that was something I’d done, and Griffon never stayed around after having se x with me. He certainly didn’t stay around long enough to hear me talking in my sleep.
Then, I remembered the night I’d signed the contract to be his mistress. Griffon had stayed that night, had slept beside me.
But that was the only time he’d done so.
I thought he disliked me. Or maybe that as a shifter, he didn’t want to sleep next to a human. Or maybe even that it could be unsafe for me if he slept there, if his wolf came out.
I knew he shifted at night, and a couple of times, he’d shifted before leaving the bedroom, when he’d thought I was asleep. So I just a*sumed it had something to do with his wolfiness.
Instead, it was that he didn’t want to sleep next to someone who called out for another man in their sleep.
I stared blankly at him, not knowing how to answer.
For years, I’d thought about why he wouldn’t ever stay the night with me, thinking there might be something wrong with me, something wrong with him..
My calling out for someone else would have meant so many things for an Alpha like him, none of them positive.
He must have hated looking at me after that…
After hesitating, I said tentatively, “Silas…is someone who once promised me that he would be with me forever.”
Griffon’s expression remained unmoved. “It seems that you love him very much.”
I collected my thoughts before answering carefully. “I used to love him very much.”
“What about now?”
“Now?”
When I saw his pursed lips and chiseled face, I wanted to reply, “I love you now.”
But I didn’t dare to say it, nor did I have the right to say it. No.
matter how much I loved Griffon, I was not worthy of him. A girl without a wolf could never be worthy of an Alpha.
I clenched my fists, pasted a smile on my face, and lied. “I don’t love anyone now.”
His hand trembled slightly as he brought the flask to hips lips. He took another swig, put the cap back on, and then shoved it back in his pocket.
He opened the car door and said flatly, “Get out.”
I suddenly wanted to tell him I loved him very much, regardless of if I was worthy of him or not. Regardless of if I could ever be with him.
But I never would. There might have been moments where I thought he might have feelings for me, but he’d never spoken any words of endearment or love. I would not profess my love for someone who did not feel the same.
I would never again place myself in that position. Words of love were for people who loved me back, not for people to laugh at the st upid human girl who thought they could be with a mighty wolf.
I used to love Silas so much and thought he would treat me well for the rest of my life, but what did I get in return?
In addition to being hurt, I almost lost my life.
Griffon was a man who was even more untouchable than Silas. I couldn’t even think about touching such an untouchable person.
I knew who I was, and I was self-aware. I would never make such a st upid mistake