Present Day
There were two nights left before the night of the winter solstice, and the Redwood House was filled to the brim with his wolves. He'd given Kenna the keys to his vacation home upstate, and had told her he'd be there with her by Christmas. He hadn't told her there was a chance he might not make it, because... Well, because he might be dead by then.
His health had deteriorated rapidly over the past few days, and he'd locked himself up in his room to prevent his wolves from seeing him in such a state. Bianca had been staying here with him, for her own sake- A majority of the wolves that had arrived had no idea just how closely their alpha and the daughter of the man they were going to war against had been working together.
"Stay here during the battle, Grayson," Bianca groaned for the tenth time that day.
He had to admit, her nagging had sort of grown on him.
"I will if you will," Grayson muttered.
Bianca glowered at him, and he gave her a weak smile. She'd pulled her chestnut brown hair into a high ponytail today.
"I have to fight this fight," she grumbled. "It's, like, a turning point for me. And besides, I'm not the one who might just end up getting killed by a fucking Omega if you make one wrong move while the Blood Moon is up."
"You're the one who should watch out. Last I checked, I wasn't the one in danger of getting torn to pieces by my wolves."
Reyes, Grayson, and Bianca had all agreed they'd be keeping her role in this battle a secret from as many people as possible: With so many people occupying the rooms of the estate, telling everyone she would be fighting with them might lead to Lorenzo finding out before the battle even began.
"To victory," Bianca said, coming towards him with two glasses of bourbon from his secret stash.
"Victory? Both of us might end up with our heads chopped off by the end of the week."
"To victory," she insisted.
He accepted the glass, and clinked his with hers. As soon as the bourbon went over his throat, he was on the ground, hacking out... Blood.
"Shit, it's starting," Bianca muttered. "Here- You're all right." She grabbed the box of tissues from his desk and started wiping the blood off his lips.
Grayson's breathing instantly turned heavier. It might be wishful thinking on his part, but he was sure these fleeting moments- Moments where she put herself at a much closer distance to him than necessary- had been growing more and more common.
"Tomorrow will be the worst," Bianca murmured. "Then you'll get a sudden burst of strength for a few hours leading up to the ascension of the Blood Moon."
She let her hand fall from his face. "When you get the strongest surge of power, you leave. Understand?"
The world was turning into a blur around him, but he could hear her quite clearly.
"Grayson?"
He loved the sound of his name on her lips. Had he told her that before? He should tell her that.
"You'll be tempted to stay and fight longer, but you can't do that. Okay? You have to run right when you're supposed to. Promise me, Grayson."
He could get lost in her beautiful hazel eyes for days.
"I promise."