*Grayson*
I’d been debating having a meeting with the council members. I’d trying to come up with ways to let them know the killer was near without letting them know just how near, because the truth was they weren’t all involved with the killer. It was still my duty to keep those who weren’t safe and I couldn’t just leave them to themselves when they were completely blind to what was going on. I just needed to let them know to be on guard without getting them suspicious of each other, or worse, spooking the killer into hiding.
I stepped out of my room, intent on grabbing a drink. I began heading to the upstairs kitchen but changed my mind at the last minute and headed downstairs instead. I was avoiding Keera and I didn’t want to risk bumping into her. I was well aware I was acting like a dick but I still couldn’t help it. Seeing her with Trevor yesterday had upset me and the image of her in his arms had lingered in my mind for a long while. I might end up mating with Ria in the future but it still didn’t change the fact that Keera was still my fated mate, damn it.
I didn’t expect to find anyone in the downstairs kitchen so the scene I met had my gut twisting into knots. Trevor had his arm around Keera’s waist, his hand resting on her hip and his face inches from hers. She was laughing at something he’d said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. My vision immediately turned red and my wolf growled inside me. Get. Your. Hands. Off. My. Mate. My fists tightened beside me and I grinded my teeth, battling the urge to drive my fist into something.
Or someone.
My visceral reaction caught me off guard. I felt a surge of possessiveness, a primal urge to claim Keera as mine. I exhaled a deep breath, knowing I was seconds away from ripping Trevor’s arm from around her. Keera’s head lifted just then and her eyes met mine. She subtly tried to pull away from Trevor. He followed her line of sight and realized I was standing in the kitchen. I tried to hide the jealousy that seared through me, to mask my emotions behind a neutral expression, but it didn’t go unnoticed.
Trevor’s eyes lowered to my hands. I tried to quickly unclasp my fists but the surprise that registered on his expression let me know he’d already caught them. The room bristled with an awkward energy. Trevor seemed to be watching me closely. I willed my legs to move so I could leave the kitchen, but they remained glued to the ground. I felt like an intruder as I bounced my gaze between them. Keera sensed the tension, her smile faltering.
“I was just sharing a joke with Keera,” Trevor explained on a light laugh, his voice casual as he tried to diffuse the tension in the room. I waved my hand dismissively in the air. I tried to come up with a casual response but my throat felt stuck. Why did images of them together keep flooding my mind? I forced a smile even though it felt strained. “Were you heading to get something?” Trevor asked, arching an eyebrow.
I nodded, thankful to have finally found my voice. “Yeah, I wanted to get a drink.” I headed to the fridge and pulled the fridge door open. Shit. I nudged the door close with my shoulder, turning back to them. “There’s no one left.” I left the kitchen but rather than head back to my room, I left the house, wanting to get some air. How on earth would I be able to watch Keera end up with someone else? Just walking in on her in a compromising situation with someone made me want to rip off someone’s head.
Again, I wondered what the moon goodness had been thinking, choosing her for me as a mate.
I knew I had made a mistake choosing to perform the mating ceremony with someone other than my fated mate but now I was wondering if I would even be able to go through with my decision. I heard footsteps and slanted a look over my shoulder, only just realizing that Trevor had followed me out. He stepped beside me, putting his hands in his pockets. We walked in silence, the tension between us mounting, the only sound the crunch of gravel beneath our feet.
He followed me in silence up until I arrived at the lake. We got to the lake’s edge and he finally spoke up. “You know, Grayson, I’ve been thinking,” he said. I already dreaded the conversation. I didn’t want to have to talk to a human about his feelings for my mate. It didn’t matter if I’d known that human for years and considered him a friend. “I’ve been thinking about Keera.” He emphasized. My jaw clenched, anticipation coiling in my stomach.
“What have you been thinking?” I prompted, my voice neutral as I mirrored his posture.
“I care about her,” He confessed, his eyes locked on mine. “Really care.” My gaze didn’t waver, but inside, I was reeling. I didn’t respond. What could I say? That I felt the same way? That I’d been fighting my feelings for months? I knew Keera hadn’t told him we’d gotten intimate, else we’d be having an entirely different conversation. Did that even matter at this point? She was free to move on with her life. Our relationship has ended, or at least to her it had.
He pressed his lips together. “I know you do, too,” He said, his voice barely above a whisper. The air seemed to vibrate with unspoken words, the silence between us heavy. I couldn’t deny it; I did have feelings for Keera. But were they even important? Keera was trying to do right for the pack and me, and here I was, not considering the risks of continuing my relationship with her. I briefed a glance at Trevor, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, the genuine care he had for her. It was a quality I admired, and one I wasn’t sure I couldn’t match.
Trevor would love her selflessly.
I didn’t know if I was capable of doing that.
“You’re right,” I finally admitted. “I do have feelings for Keera.” His expression didn’t change, but I sensed a subtle relaxation in his stance. His shoulders eased and his jaw unclenched. His reaction threw me off a little bit. Wasn’t that supposed to agitate him? Why did he seem relieved? “But,” I continued, “I think she’d be better off with you.” His eyebrows shot up, surprise etched on his face.
“I could tell from the second I arrived that something had changed about Keera.” He said quietly. “I knew she was trying to keep it from me, but I know Keera better than anyone else on the team.” He lightly scratched his chin. “My only worry had been that her feelings were one sided but I’m relieved that isn’t the case.” Trevor proved I hadn’t been wrong about him with his next words. “I want to finally see her happy, even if that means seeing her with someone else.” He met my eyes. “If you’ve both caught feelings for each other, why do you think she would be better off with me?”
“Because,” I said on an exhale, “You’re the one who can give her what she needs,” I said, realizing the truth in my words. “We would never work. I can’t abandon my pack and Keera definitely wouldn’t agree to get turned.” I didn’t let him know I wasn’t even sure she liked me enough to even consider it an option. “There’s no use hoping there could be any other way the situation would play out.” His eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing, but I shook my head. There was no need to argue about it. We both knew I was right.
He finally nodded, a sense of understanding settling between us. The tension dissipated and we fell into a comfortable silence. I couldn’t help but feel as though I was making a huge mistake. I recalled my talk with Ria the day before. She wanted us to perform the mating ceremony as soon as possible. I had a feeling the only reason she’d agreed to wait until we caught the killer was so she didn’t look selfish. I wasn’t seeing a side to her I hadn’t noticed before, and they weren’t good sides either.
“I still think you should think about what you really want,” Trevor stated out of the blue. I raised my head. “If you’re sure you can’t be with Keera, if Keera is uninvolved and willing to pursue a relationship with me by the time she returns from the case, then so be it.” He stated calmly. “But I won’t make a move until then. With that, he turned and left, leaving me to my thoughts. I walked back home hours later, taking my phone out of my pockets when it began ringing.
Ryan’s name flashed on the screen.
“Hey, man,” He greeted. “I’ve been trying to contact you. We’ve got some news on Dahlia’s boyfriend.” He said excitedly. I listened intently as he gave me feedback. Turned out the boyfriend was someone I already knew, one of Gabe’s team members. As Ryan filled me with details, I couldn’t help but wonder if Gabe had already known of their relationship. I had never imagined that either Elena or Gabe would keep something so important away from me.
I approached the house, accidentally knocking a trash can over when I tried to trim some of the bushes outside the house with my hand as Ryan and I continued talking on the phone. My eyebrow furrowed when an empty gallon of oil fell out of the trash, clattering loudly on the pavement. “What’s wrong?” Ryan asked as I picked up the stuff I’d littered and put them back in the can, my gaze still fixed on the empty gallon. How had that gotten there?
“Just kicked the trash can,” I replied vaguely. He chuckled and then continued the conversation. I stood up after placing everything back in the can and heades inside the house to my bathroom. Realization washes over as I climb the stairs. That had to be the oil that has made Keera slip in the first place. I’d been right. It hadn’t been a coincidence. Someone had deliberately poured oil on the last step so Keera would slip and then hidden the empty gallon beneath a pile of tissue and paper wraps.
My conversation with Ryan ended but I couldn’t shake off the weird feeling in my gut. I mentally ran over the people who’d been in the house that day. They were all people from Keera’s team or the werewolf council. Why had someone tried to hurt her? Did she even know it had been on purpose? I walked to her room but her room door was locked from the outside. She must have already left the house. I battled the urge to send a text to be safe. It would only spook her, or worse, she would think it had something to do with my conversation with Trevor.
I knew she’d seen him follow me out of the house.
I stepped into my room, deciding to wait for her to get back. Someone had tried to hurt. I didn’t want to go as far as saying they’d tried to have her killed, but even I knew it was damned possible for someone to lose their lives over a staircase fall. And I hadn’t told Trevor about it. I didn’t think anyone else had either. If he got wind of the incident, if he even suspected for one second that Keera was at risk, he was definitely never leaving the pack until the case had been solved. I tugged at my hair, staring at my reflection.
Whoever it was trying to harm Keera…
They had to get through me first.