*Grayson*
I stared at the scene in front of me, different emotions churning beneath my skin. For one, I was surprised to find one of the young werewolves of the pack out here without supervision. I already knew she hadn’t come out here with Keera. Keera always visited the lake alone. If that wasn’t surprising enough, the fact that Keera had actually guided her through her first shift had left me completely stunned. Where was the woman who had harbored a fierce dislike for my species?
Who had sworn she could never be won over.
I’d seen a different side of her, watching her spend time with Ellie but that hadn’t even done justice to how compassionate and amazing she truly was. The softness in her gaze disappeared as she laid eyes on me. I could read the obvious question in her eyes. How long had I been standing there? I drifted my attention to the wolf hiding behind her legs. “We have to take her to Elena to make sure she’s completely fine.”
Keera gave her head a shake, blinking hard. “Yeah, of course.”
***
Elena and Dahlia carefully carried Halle, disappearing behind inside a room. My eyes met with Keera’s then. She was sitting across from me, her hands clasped on her lap and her eyes devoid of any emotion. At first I hadn’t wanted to interrupt Keera while she’d been trying to help Halle with her first shift. It might have frightened her even more and been a little too much to have me there while she struggled with turning.
My decision to not make my presence known for Halle’s sake had quickly turned to something I couldn’t quite name, on seeing Keera’s empathy.
I wanted to ask her how she was feeling but I knew this was neither the place nor the time. She hadn’t known I’d been there, that much was obvious. Did she think I hadn’t wanted to make my presence known out of selfishness? I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Her face was stoic and she’d drifted her gaze from mine. I decided to bring it up later. Elena’s house was just as warm as inviting as was expected of a pack healer.
She had a lot of werewolves trooping in and out almost all day, everyday. The smell of herbs and brewing potions hung in the air, several paintings decorating the wall. She had quite a number of rooms where she usually attended to werewolves when the situation required privacy. Dahlia walked out from the one they’d walked into, managing a smile at Keera and I. “Elena said to inform you that she has everything under control now and Halle is okay.”
My gaze collided with Keera’s.
Exactly the news we had hoping to hear.
Just then, Elena walked out of the room, saying the same thing Dahlia had. “I’ve contacted her parents and they’ll be here to take her home in a short while.” She signaled Dahlia to go back inside, turning to me when Dahlia had left. “I tried to get her to tell me why she strayed so far away from the pack, but she wouldn’t budge.” Her eyes bounced between Keera and I. “She seemed a bit tensed when I told her I was going to talk to her parents.”
Keera frowned. “Maybe things aren’t exactly smooth between her parents and her.” I ran a hand through my hair, mulling the whole situation over in my head. Friction between teenagers and their parents weren’t completely unheard of. It was just one of those natural clashes that was bound to happen while growing up. Keera wordlessly communicated with me, in the way she seemed to do with her eyes, and I had to agree with her.
Having Halle’s parents come pick her up without knowing what the situation at home actually was, wasn’t the best thing to do right now.
I fixed my attention on Elena.
“How bout I talk to Halle first before her parents get here?”
Elena nodded, gesturing for me to come with her. Halle was laying down on the bed when I walked in. Elena adjusted the curtains so more sunlight could brighten the room and then gave Halle a small pat on the back of her hand before excusing us. I dragged the chair resting in a corner and sat beside Halle. “How do you feel?” She stared at me and shrugged. I waited for her to elaborate but she didn’t.
I spent the next few minutes getting her to fill me in on what was going on at home. Turned out she was a late turner and her parents hadn’t exactly been helping matters. Apparently she had left the house to clear her head after an argument and she’d gotten a bit lost in the woods. Her first turn had been painful because she’d been trying to force it after seeing the signs for a week. Thankfully, Keera had been there to help.
Her parents showed up at Elena’s just as I stepped out of the room.
They apologized to her for their actions and congratulated her on her first turn. I studied Keera’s reaction as they kept going on and on about how grateful they were to her for helping Halle out. She looked so uncomfortable I might have laughed if I didn’t know it was how she truly felt. Somehow, this headstrong, smart, kind, stubborn, determined woman didn’t know what to do with compliments. I knew the exact kind of childhood trauma that caused that.
I made the mental note to compliment her more often.
“You seem angry,” I pointed out as we walked back home. She kicked at a tiny rock, folding her arms against her chest. She slanted me a flat look.
“You were there the whole time,” She accused. “You watched her struggle. I don’t understand why you didn’t say a word.” She was truly confused. She sounded like I’d acted out of character and she was having a hard time figuring why. Had I acted out of character? I frowned, not sure why it mattered so much to her. So I hadn’t made my presence known, so what? Did she think it was because I hadn’t cared that Halle was in pain?
I stopped just as we got to the house, instinctively holding her shoulders and turning her to face me. She didn’t even notice. Her lips were pursed and she was staring at me expectantly. “You were already doing fine, Keera. More importantly, I didn’t want to spook Halle.” My decisions were always in the best interest of the pack and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. “There was nothing much I could have done.”
Her response died when someone pushed the door open. Keera immediately moved away from me, only just realizing where my hands were. We both turned to stare at Ginny as she walked out the house. I heard Keera mutter a curse word beneath her breath and I could agree more. Ginny was definitely going to hound us about it. “Hey,” I greeted casually, watching Keera as she managed a small wave and headed up to her room.
Ginny’s eyes followed her, ever turning her neck like she really wanted to watch Keera’s body movements. Her eyes snapped back to mine when Keera was out of sight. “What on earth is going on, Grayson?” She shot at me. I internally rolled my eyes, stepping to the side and pushing the front door open so I could walk in. She followed me back into the house. She was relentless, this one. I walked into the kitchen upstairs and poured myself a cup of water.
I leaned against the counter, raising my gaze to meet hers. “If you have something to say, then say it.” I said flatly. She released a disbelieving scoff, walking further into the kitchen. I mind linked Ryan and jokingly asked him to come get his mate out of my house. He knew when I mind linked him with messages like that it was because I didn’t want to deal with Ginny. Ginny must have caught on, cuz she was suddenly snapping her fingers in my face and letting me know my plan wouldn’t work this time.
She folded her arm across her chest, pinning me with her death stare. “I know there’s something going on between Keera and you.” She announced. I paused with my cup halfway to my mouth, arching my eyebrows at her. Well, then. She wasn’t in the mood to beat around the bush. Did I usually make a habit of keeping things away from Ginny? No. But was I hesitant to let her know I was involved with her former best friend who was also human? Yes.
Yes, I very much was.
“Yeah?” I lazily replied. I was sure Keera hadn’t said a word to her. Some part of me knew she wouldn’t do that without informing me first. Not when she knew what was at stake. It could only mean Ginny was trying to get the truth out of me, but in reality she wasn’t completely sure she was right. I downed the entire cup of water. And sadly, I wasn’t going to put her out of her misery anytime soon.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that I didn’t trust my twin sister. She was the one person I trusted more than anyone else in the pack, including Ryan. I could tell her Keera and I had something going on between us and she would carry the information until meet the moon goddess . So, no. I wasn’t keeping it away from her because I didn’t trust her. It was because I didn’t want to complicate things further between them.
Because deep down I knew I’d played a major role in breaking up their friendship. And even though they both seemed to be over the past, they weren’t half as close as they had been. Ginny might still have her human best friend if it hadn’t been for my meddling and my arrogance. I didn’t think it was fair to flat out inform her I now had a thing going on with her ex best friend, who mind you didn’t have conversations with her anymore unless they were very necessary.
The whole thing already rubbed me off the wrong way.
Ginny moved closer to me, reducing her voice to a whisper. “Grayson, you have to be careful,” She said when she realized I wasn’t going to budge. Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find words. I raised my other eyebrow and waited patiently to hear what she had to say. “I admit that I don’t know what the hell is going on between the both of you but Grayson, you have to be careful.” I instantly became irritated. “Keera is human-”
“You don’t think I know that?” I interrupted, putting the water bottle back in the fridge and side stepping her to reach for an apple. I tried to keep my anger at bay, reminding myself it wasn’t her fault. No, I was just so unfortunate like I’d always been. Because I still couldn’t think up a good reason why the goddess had given me a human mate. I kissed the side of Ginny’s head, squeezing her hands lightly. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Ryan walked into the kitchen just then and I sighed in relief, halfheartedly pushing her into his arms. He laughed as he gave her a hug, arching an eyebrow at me over her shoulder. I mind linked him about my conversation with Ginny and he immediately understood. “Let’s leave the Alpha to his Alpha duties, babe.” He said, dropping a quick kiss on her lips when she began pouting. “He’s a big guy, he can mind his own business.”
I silently thanked Ryan as he steered her away from the kitchen, even though I didn’t agree with him.
I no longer knew what the fuck I was doing.