Chapter 31

DOE

Grayson reached into his pocket and took out his phone. “I’m calling Ace. He needs you. And you need him. It’s time for you to go home.”

Belle grabbed Grayson’s wrist. “You’re not calling Ace.”

Grayson met her gaze with a fixed expression. “Yes, I am.”

“~No~, you’re not. Not unless you want to find somewhere else to sleep tonight.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “That isn’t by my side.”

“Ooh, she’s bringing out the big guns,” Kyle said, grinning as he watched them. His potato salad might as well have been popcorn at this point.

Grayson growled, low and threatening.

Just like before, I had a physical reaction to the sound—my stomach flipping with nerves. Several drops of sweat dripped down the back of my neck and along my spine.

“Try sleeping somewhere else and see what happens,” Grayson said.

Despite my cowering omega side, I stepped forward and met Grayson’s gaze head-on. I wasn’t about to let any man walk all over me just because he was an alpha.

I wasn’t a weak, cowering little girl. I was the mate of an alpha myself, and once Ace and I completed our bond, I would be the luna of one of the most powerful packs in America.

“Don’t call Ace. This isn’t how I want him to find out that I’m here. It’ll only freak him out.”

If Ace had to be alerted of my location, I would much rather be back at my cabin in Colorado or home in Embermoon—anywhere that wasn’t the supernatural kingdom.

“He would be sent into a frenzy if he knew I was surrounded by so many threatening creatures.”

“And for good reason,” Grayson said, pinning his eyes on me. “Do you know how dangerous it is for an unmated omega to be in Zaweth?”

He peered at Belle. “The kingdom full of goddamn werewolves, for fuck’s sake! Not to mention the vampires. Omega blood is like fucking candy to them.”

I ignored the ice filling my veins and raised my chin, not backing down. “I’ll tell Ace myself. If he hears it from me, he’ll be less likely to lose his mind and kill everyone around him.”

I looked at Belle. “I think it might be time for me to return to the cabin. Can you take me there?”

Belle started to nod, but then Grayson interjected.

“Oh, no. Absolutely not. It’s not safe for you to be by yourself. You’re staying here, where I can keep an eye on you until your mate arrives. I’ll protect you myself.”

Belle shoved his shoulder. “You’re being an asshole. Ace is not coming here. There’s a reason Dorothy ran away from him—”

“Just like there was a reason you ran from me?” Grayson asked. “And aren’t you glad I tracked you down and forced you to listen to what I had to say?”

Belle gave him a blank look, unimpressed with his argument. “How about we all sit down and chat? You can listen to her story, and if you still want to call Ace afterward, we can talk about it. Okay?”

Grayson’s jaw ticked. His gaze jumped from his mate to me and then back to his mate. “Fine,” he relented.

My shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit.

“But we’re not doing this here.” He grabbed Belle and threw her over his shoulder.

“Grayson!” Belle gasped. “Put me down!”

Grayson glanced back at me, completely ignoring his struggling mate. “We’ll talk in my office, where not just anyone can walk in to find a damn omega.” He nodded at Kyle. “Make sure Dorothy follows.”

With that, Grayson marched out of the room, Belle complaining and thrashing the entire time.

Kyle begrudgingly put his plate down. “Come on, tiny omega. You heard the boss-man.”

He started to approach me, but I stumbled back before he could grab me to throw me over his shoulder as well.

“I can walk,” I hissed.

Kyle’s face softened. “I didn’t intend to carry you.

“Look, I know omegas are wary of wolves that are more dominant than them, but I promise, you have nothing to fear from me. Or from the alpha. He’s just a grump.

“And when it comes down to it, our instinct tells us to protect you. Okay?”

I shuffled. Unsure of how to respond, I went with a simple, “Okay.”

“Okay.” Kyle smiled. He gestured toward the door. “After you then.”

***

Grayson’s office was nestled in the heart of the palace, a floor beneath the dining room Belle and I were eating in.

The first thing that struck me was the sheer scale of the room, its high arched ceilings stretched high above our heads.

Tall windows, framed with heavy velvet drapes, allowed streams of natural light to cascade over the polished marble floors.

There were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves behind the massive wooden desk and a seating section equipped with a couch and two leather armchairs.

“Everyone, take a seat,” Grayson ordered.

Grayson dropped Belle on the couch. She glared up at him and opened her mouth to complain, but before she could get a word out, Grayson gently grabbed her by the chin and slammed his lips onto hers.

Belle liquefied instantly.

After having successfully placated his mate, Grayson pulled back a second later and nuzzled his nose against hers. “I love you.”

Belle blinked up at him, looking slightly dazed. Then her expression hardened, and she shoved him away. “You drive me crazy.”

Grayson smirked and plopped down next to her. He dragged her body closer until she was basically on top of him.

Yeah, I was really starting to pick up on the family resemblance between Ace and Grayson.

“You can sit there, Dorothy,” Kyle told me, pointing at one of the armchairs. He took a seat in the one next to it.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

Grayson watched me settle into my chair with narrowed eyes. Nerves flared inside my chest. Why did I feel like I had just walked into an interrogation?

“Grayson,” Belle admonished in a whisper, elbowing her mate sharply in the ribs. She used his slackened hold to scoot away from him. “You’re freaking her out. Could you be a little less intense?”

Grayson looked down at the new space between him and Belle and snarled, grabbed her by the hips, and plopped her sideways on his lap.

When she continued to struggle, Grayson growled and shoved his nose into Belle’s hair, taking in her scent.

Belle huffed in exasperation. She gave me a tight, slightly embarrassed smile. “Sorry. He’s not usually like this.”

Kyle scoffed.

“Okay, maybe he is,” Belle admitted. “But he’s purposefully being a jerk right now. I think this whole situation is bringing back bad memories of when I ran away from him.”

Grayson grunted and tightened his arms around her.

“I—it’s okay,” I said. “Really. I get this.” I gestured between them. “Ace acts the same way with me. Worse even.

“It’s kind of comforting to know that we’re not the only couple who acts this way. That there’s a reason for it all.”

“Alphas and more powerful wolves are naturally a little bit more overbearing toward their mates,” Kyle said. “Especially when their mates are humans.”

“And an omega,” Grayson added. “I’ll bet Ace is even more controlling of you. He’s very serious about your safety.”

He didn’t have to tell me that. I looked down at my lap. That was part of the reason I had to leave him.

“So, you know Ace well?” I asked Grayson. My broken heart fluttered at the opportunity to talk about my mate. God, I missed him.

“Not as well as you,” Grayson replied. “But, yes, my cousin and I used to spend quite a bit of time together when we were younger. We trained our wolves together.

“We’re not as close anymore, but I used to spend a few weeks every summer training with Ace. And your stepfather, Joe, actually. It helped Ace’s wolf to have another alpha nearby.”

“So, we’ve met?” I thought I recognized Grayson from the histories of werewolves, but it was possible I knew him from my past. The lock would have surely blocked a memory of the big alpha male.

Grayson shook his head. “No. I was never allowed to meet you.

“Not only was Ace far too protective and unwilling to risk scaring your omega with my alpha presence, but everyone was very careful not to expose you to anything the lock would erase.

“Your parents were especially adamant about not wanting to confuse you, even if you would forget everything with time. Thus, I stayed away from you when I was visiting. This is our first interaction.”

“Oh,” I said.

It was nice to know my family tried to protect me even with the lock on my mind. They could have not hidden their wolves and let the lock wipe my memories.

But it would have hurt.

So instead, they were careful, considerate.

“Wait. You knew?” Belle asked Grayson. “About the lock? About Dorothy’s blocked memories?”

Grayson drew his eyebrows together. “Of course I knew. I’m the one who helped get Ace in touch with the warlock who did it.”