"The coven is planning to kill you."
At those words, Grayson lets out a loud growl and speeds around me to grip Eli's neck tightly. Eli gasps for air as Grayson's arms tense from the harshness of his actions. I let out a loud cry and put my hands on his shoulders as I shove him back as hard as I can. Looking back on it, that probably isn't the best thing to do when facing an Alpha who is blinded by rage, but Grayson is literally strangling Eli and I'm not thinking about my own safety.
It feels like hours, although it must be only seconds, before Grayson reluctantly loosens his grip on Eli and backs away from him. Grayson's steel eyes settle on me, and instead of the anger dissipating, it remains.
"Never, EVER, step in front of an infuriated werewolf! If you were anyone else, you would be dead!"
I back away from him, slightly scared of his black eyes and elongated canines. I rarely see this threatening side of him directing anger at me like this.He's been angry at Eli and Clay (the werewolf he attacked for disrespecting me," but never at me before. The way his veins strain in his neck and the malice I feel directed towards me is not something I want to get used to.
I remain strong in the face of Grayson's dangerous form as I cross my arms in front of my chest in a defensive stance in front of Eli. Just because I'm speaking to"Alpha Grayson" instead of "my Grayson," it doesn't mean I'm going to sit here and accept his behavior.
Eli continues taking ragged breaths as the heart monitor attached to him slows down from its increased speed. I feel partly responsible for Grayson's actions. Although I shouldn't feel this way, since we are mates, I feel like many times our actions are tied to one another and that I should apologize for him. However, I'm not going to pretend that this aggressive side of Grayson's is acceptable.
"I would hope that you wouldn't kill your mate, Alpha." I spit the word out like an insult. He doesn't deserve to be called by his first name when his werewolf side is acting all possessive and irrational. Grayson's eyes slowly turn back to their usual icy blue, and I can see the remorse now that his anger has passed.
"Baby, I'm sorry. My wolf side-"
He tries to reach out for me but I back up even further as I glare at him and cut off his apology.
"No, you don't get to be forgiven that easily. Eli just told us that his coven was planning to kill me- not him! He obviously doesn't agree! So why would you hurt him, especially when you know that hurting him will hurt me?"
"You don't know warlocks like I do," he attempts to reason. "They're loyal to their own while they betray anyone who isn't one of them. This is probably just some huge plot for you to trust him, then he'll kill you when you least expect it!"
I shake my head and turn around to see Eli's hand clutching at his neck which is now morphing into a reddish- purple color to match the rest of his beaten body. I hold Eli's broken hand gently in my own and rub my thumb back and forth over it. This is the closest I can get to giving him a hug while he's in this condition.
"Eli wouldn't do that."
Grayson's sarcastic laugh pierces the air, adding to the tension in the room. His jaw is clenched as he breathes heavily through his nose in a failed attempt to calm himself.
"You don't know that."
"I wouldn't do that," Eli adds, his voice rough and tired-sounding. He looks like he's on the verge of sleep as the medicines and the previous pain catches up with him, yet he still looks Grayson directly in the eyes. "You can hear my heartbeat. You know that I'm not lying to you. And let's be honest, I'm too weak to use any magic to deceive you."
I turn to Grayson as my eyes widen slightly. He's a built in lie-detector? Has he always been able to tell when I'm lying? That's unfortunate...
Grayson glares at Eli, his chest heaving up and down. "Fine," he grumbles. "If you're not planning on harming my mate again, then tell me what your coven is planning." His front is now pressed to my back as his hands slowly slide to my waist. He holds me possessively to his body, and I don't even try to fight him. Although I'm still annoyed with him for hurting my friend, he is still wound up from thinking that I was injured again. I know firsthand what it's like to think your mate is hurt- it's horrible.
I lean my head back to rest on his chest as I close my eyes. I wish that there wasn't an entire supernatural coven out to kill me, and if I just close my eyes and focus on the woodsy smell of my mate and the warmth of his fingers through my shirt, I can almost forget about it all. Almost.
Eli grunts as he adjusts his position. My eyes fly open at his struggle, but Grayson's arms act as metal restraints, not allowing me to move forward.
"I don't know what they're planning. I'm a traitor in their eyes, so they won't tell me anything." Eli takes a few raspy breaths as he holds his hand to his side. "Fuck, this shit hurts. How do you deal with this?" My cheeks slowly deflate as I blow out a slow breath between my lips.
"I've never been hurt as badly as you, but you deal with pain if you have to."
"Well," Eli laughs, then winces. "Let me know the next time you have even a paper cut. I'll take care of it."
"Yay!" I jump up and down and do a little dance in celebration. "Paper cuts are the worst! They're so small yet they're so uncomfortable! And I read a lot, so I would know."
Eli rests his hands behind his head as he grins at my excitement. "You definitely read way too much. It's not natural."
"It totally is! Your thing is magic, and my thing is reading. Oh!" I say, then begin fiddling with my fingers. "Does your offer extend to helping my little sister? She's always falling and scraping her knees, or hurting herself on the playground."
"There's a little Brooks? I've got to meet her! I'll bet she's cute," he smirks and quickly looks down my body before meeting my eyes again. "Just like you."
I roll my eyes at his empty flirting, but Grayson's grip on my waist tightens protectively as he pulls me away from the warlock.
"Are you asking to be murdered? Because I can take care of that for you," he growls more than speaks. I spin my body in his arms so that I'm facing him and place my palms on his shoulders. The tingles spread throughout my body with just a touch, and I hope it's enough to calm him down.
"He was just joking. He knows I'm with you." When Grayson continues to tense up and send metaphorical daggers at Eli, I sigh and cup my hands around the back of his neck. I bring him close to me and kiss him lightly on the lips. What I expect to be a short and sweet kiss turns to the exact opposite. Grayson's hands latch onto my body like I'm about to run off into the sunset with Eli instead. His lips attack mine as if he'll never have another chance to claim them again. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was jealous...
I bask in his possessive nature, secretly enjoying his powerful aura and intensity as he kisses me senseless. I back away when I become embarrassed that we have an audience. Grayson opts to hug me to his side instead as he nuzzles my neck.
"Mine," he mumbles, his warm breath hitting my neck. "Not his. Mine."
I place my hands on his cheeks and look into his eyes which are battling between black and silver. I nod and whisper "I'm yours."
He nods stiffly, then grabs my hand. "Let's go. The warlock obviously doesn't have any useful information."
I plant my feet firmly on the ground as I lean back on my heels to keep my position. Grayson keeps moving, and my shoes begin to squeak on the linoleum hospital floors as I refuse to move. Grayson doesn't even notice my struggle until I begin to pull my arms back out of his grasp.
"No!" I say firmly as I retract my hands from his. He definitely let me go, because there's no way I would get out of his grasp if he didn't allow me to- he's much too strong. "Eli's coven almost killed him! You can go if you want, but I'm staying while he recovers."
Grayson lets out a humorless chuckle. "That's cute if you think that I'm letting you stay here with him. No, you're coming back to the pack house with me where you can be surrounded by guards 24/7. Not here in unmarked territory with no easy means for extra protection." He takes my hand in his once again and walks me towards the door. I once again plant my feet on the floor and pull away from him. This time, he doesn't let me go.
"Stop! Gray, stop!" I cry out as he continues to pull me towards the door. I look back at Eli and see him trying to get up from the hospital bed, but he's so weak that there's not much that he can do. He looks extremely angry, and I see a hint of blue swirling in his typically mocha-brown eyes.
I know one way to get him to let me go, and without overthinking it, I begin whining. "Ow, you're hurting me!"
He wasn't actually hurting me. He was being pretty gentle in the way he help my wrist, but he immediately let go of my hand once he heard my words. His eyes widen as they focus in on my wrist which I am cradling to my chest- thank you, Mom for making me go to theater camp for one summer when I was seven!
I stumble back from the lack of resistance and thankfully catch myself before I fall on my butt. I glare at Grayson who just has a guilty look on his face.
"Baby, I didn't mean to- Did I hurt you? I-"
I cut him off now that I have his attention. "I'm fine. Now listen up, because this is what's going to happen. I'm staying with Eli until he recovers. Whether that means I stay here, or he comes to the pack hospital to recover- I don't care! He's hurt because of me, so I'm not leaving him alone until I know he's gonna be okay. You don't get to boss me around. I'm your mate, not your pack member."
Grayson clenches his jaw the further I get into my speech. I can tell he's not used to being challenged. I can also tell that there's no way in hell he's leaving me unprotected. Unless he wants me hate him, he needs to work out a solution- a compromise.
His eyebrows are lowered, one slightly higher than the other, as he thinks through his options. While he's considering, I turn to Eli to find him passed out in the hospital bed. His soft snores along with the rhythmic beeping of the hospital machines are the only sounds in the room. The steady sounds are soothing and consistent. I choose to focus on them instead of the possibility of Grayson forcing me to leave.
Physically, Grayson could definitely overpower me. Not only is he a man, but he's a werewolf, which makes him much stronger than me. If he so pleased, he could drag me out of here effortlessly and keep me locked in a room with guards stationed outside. One of my original fears of dating a wolf was this exact situation- we disagree about something, and then he uses his strength and power to force me into submission.
It's not the Grayson I know, but this is the first argument we've had. I don't know how he's going to react to being ordered around by his little human mate.
I bite my lip until a metallic taste spills onto my tongue. I release my lip and run my tongue over the broken skin. I'm waiting and waiting for him to say something, and after a full five minutes of silence, I look back at Grayson and see him looking out the window with a blank look on his face. I've learned to recognize that far-off look he has on now is when he's mind linking others.
When two guards come into the hospital room and head straight towards me, I squeak and back up into a corner of the room. The unlikable Jared grabs my wrist, harder than he has to, as he drags me to the front door. The other guard steps in behind me and places his hands on my mid-back as I struggle to break free from their hold.
"Be careful with her. When I return, if I see a scratch on her, you'll both face the consequences."
"Yes Alpha," the two guards say in low voices. Thing 2 behind me ends up having to carry me towards the door as I refuse to go with them willingly. I'm kicking, screaming, and crying for them to let me go, for Grayson to change his mind. He's going to kill Eli as soon as I leave. It's up to me to save his life. I use all of the anger and resentment I have for Grayson at this moment and put it into the biggest threat.
"If you do this, I will never let you mark me!"
(Almost ended the chapter here, but I'm nice, so I kept going :) )
The two bodies holding me stiffen against me, obviously understanding the severity of my words. From what Cooper told me, marking your mate is how you show your affection as well as claim your mate. It would be the equivalent of a human never marrying or never telling others that they were together in the first place.
Through the tears of betrayal in my eyes, I can see Grayson's wavering form. His jaw loosens as he looks at me.
"How do you know what marking is?"
"It doesn't fucking matter!" I curse at him as I wriggle out of the guards arms. Once I'm free (I use their shock to my advantage), I run in front of Eli and block his vulnerable, sleeping body from Grayson. "You kill him, you hurt him, I'm done with you. Do you hear me?"
Grayson immediately growls at the thought of me leaving him, his eyes instantly turn black. After the growls cease, I hear a light whining sound coming from his throat. His eyes shine with sadness. He looks at me, confident and in control, then turns to his warriors that were previously carrying me out the door.
"Take him to the pack hospital. I want eyes on him at all times. The moment he tries anything, you stop him. By any means necessary." The threat is evident in Grayson's tone, but the fact that he's not planning on killing Eli lifts a weight off of my shoulders.
The next hour is a blur to me. They work on getting Eli discharged from the hospital- a large feat considering the shape he was in. I'm pretty sure threats were passed along for the hospital staff to comply.
Somehow, I ended up the passenger seat of a black truck with Grayson driving. The details of how I got there were fuzzy as I'm blinded by anger. I'm still shocked and hurt that I had to threaten our relationship for him to respect my wishes.
Once we get to the pack house, I immediately open the truck door and slam it closed again. I storm into the house, not stopping until reach a familiar door on the third story. There's no point in me avoiding the conversation that's about to occur.
He's going to explode.
I'm going to explode.
Let's just hope that the destruction isn't irreversible.