Unclaimed

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Something must have shifted in me when Peter hit me. I probably should have run away from everyone, from the whole pack. I should have sought distance from everyone. The new pack had brought me so many bad feelings and bad memories that should've stayed buried. Instead, I ran straight for Grady. Why had my first instinct upon being scared been to find this giant man? The instinct I'd always had before was to isolate.

I said 'I love you'! But it's true isn't it? This whole day has been proof of it. I trust him in my bones. I got scared and ran to him, knowing I would be safe with him.

As Grandma took my plate away, I realized I had been silently staring at Grady the entire time we ate.

"Charli?"

I blinked away the fuzziness in my vision and smiled at Grady. "What's up?"

He rolled his eyes as a smile came over his face. "I thought something was wrong, but you're smiling now."

"I'm okay. I was just thinking."

He put his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me closer so he could press his forehead to mine.  "Thinking about what?"

"I thought I had a chance to escape you. I thought that if I fought back against the way I felt I wouldn't get taken under by it, but today I got hurt and the first person I wanted was you. A year ago if someone had hit me and embarrassed me in front of strangers, I would've wanted to be completely alone for days."

He kissed my forehead gently, then my cheeks, before he captured my lips. I knew what he was telling me without words. When he sat back, his mouth moved while he tried to decide what to say. "Does it hurt?"

I reached up to the throbbing ache in my cheek that had never left. "It doesn't hurt."

He was silent for awhile, rubbing over the knuckles on one of my hands. "I'm not upset with you, by the way. I know everybody's been kind of angry around you today, but it's not your fault. It's not because of you. We all want what's best for you, and getting punched by a pack mate isn't it." Grady sighed. "You have to be careful around people, Charli. Right now, you're an unmarked female in new territory. You've never been like this before. Tonight, everyone's going to know you're mine, but they're going to have questions."

He squeezed my fingers and massaged circles into the back of my hand. "I understand that you're a little gun-shy about jumping into things with me, and I understand why. Some of them won't. They're going to want to know why you aren't carrying my mark. So you need to decide whether you want to tell them your story or that you aren't ready. I want you to be prepared to answer these questions because you aren't going to be able to escape them."

"I don't want them all to know. I'm just..." I can't imagine my life without you. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have to protect me. I'm not unsure of you- I'm unsure of myself. I doubt myself, my own abilities to be a partner to you. The words Aunt Lydia embedded into my soul from Alpha Evan's mouth have scarred me and I'm not sure I can ever live up to the expectations of being a Luna.

I knew I needed to say it, but I couldn't. So I lunged forward and kissed him, trying to catch up to where we'd left off in the office. He immediately responded in kind, pressing me backwards as he gripped my waist.

Gold eyes bored into my soul when he pulled back. "Fuck! You make me crazy! Get upstairs."

I tried to run, but I tripped on one of the steps halfway up. Grady's strong arm looped around my waist and righted me, but didn't release me as he pulled me along with him.

I turned to him as I reached the doorway, and he lifted me. His strong arms tossed my back onto the bed, and he stalked closer to me.

"I can't do this all the time, you know?" he said as he leaned over my body, his golden irises sweeping me from bottom to top. "You're lucky it's Saturday. We can't do this in the middle of a weekday."