Shattered Reality | Book Two

Chapter XIV

Grim appears in my room seconds after I find the feather. The raven that shows up is my only warning, making me shove the thing underneath my pillow and flip around. I pretend to be passed out, my head buried in the softness of my pillow. I'm not ready for any more threatening news. I just want a moment to relax and act like my life is somewhat normal.

Yet finding an angel feather in my room is completely un-normal. "Pumpkin?" Grim saunters over to my bed where he plops down next to my ankles. I don't answer, not really ready for reality about to crash back into me. Only my eyes pop open against the pillow as images of me kissing through each of Grim's abs soars through my mind.

What is with all these hormonal thoughts?

Maybe now that I realized Grim actually feels...something for me, it's awakened a part of me I didn't know existed. Great, add that onto my plate of things to handle.

I really wonder if by the end of this I will become my crazy grandmother. I was told stress can drive someone crazy, and recently, the only thing eating away at my bones has been stress. And hellhounds. And those dirty thoughts about Grim. Okay, maybe stress isn't the only thing gnawing on my bones.

"I know you're awake," Grim's hand touches my ankle making me roll over suddenly and stare at him. I almost instantly gasp as I see him.

His lips look darker in the red light of my room, his black eyes reflecting that same red light as he stares at me. The way the moon filters through my window highlights his hair perfectly, making my throat squeeze up in hunger. How the hell is he so sexy? Seriously? How?

By the way Grim chuckles, I realize my mistake. I thought my thoughts. Kill me now.

"Sorry," I look off awkwardly, blushing.

"It's a normal reaction for humans."

"Yeah?" I look at him sharply. "How many humans have looked at you like that?" I raise an eyebrow.

"None," he answers smoothly, making my spine liquify. "You're the only human who's seen me besides your friend Ruby. I normally hide, and I was when I was at your parents...funeral," Grim's voice turns to a whisper. "But you saw through my facade and look where it brought us." Grim motions to me and leans in closer. My eyes widen as he expects me to lean closer to him, but I just lean away because I know exactly how intoxicated I get on his Earthy mud smell.

"Why were you at my families funeral anyway? I saw them there and then they were--"

"You what?" Grim's voice cuts through me. It's sharp as a knife, making me wince and back against my bed's pillow. I notice how Grim's head suddenly tilts as I accidentally move my pillow making my breath stop for a complete moment.

"My parents. I-I--" Grim cuts me off by standing up suddenly and pacing.

"That's impossible."

"What?" I look up at him. I beg him with my eyes to give me this answer. He's given me so many, he cannot keep this one from me. Not when it includes my parents.

I know Grim doesn't want to tell me what happened, but when I forcefully grab his arm and force him to look at me, his eyes soften as they meet mine. "Cassie--" he cuts himself off as he suddenly tenses. I think he's seen the angel feather, but when I turn to look at my pillow, it's covering it. I hope it doesn't give off any putrid odors that I cannot smell since I'm a weak human. Shocker, right? Grim continues slowly, "What you saw is not something you want to know about. Ignorance is sometimes bliss, remember?"

I turn on Grim in a second. "You said that about the prophecy and look where we are. I know about it and why the angels are after me."

And how I cause your demise. I don't say that, of course. And I definitely don't think it.