Chapter 54

My stomach sank at the sight of Grace. She was who I was doing this for, but would she understand my reasons? Would she give me a chance to truly explain? I needed to know what Allison was up to. Her timing was too coincidental to not mean anything.

“This is who you are leaving me for?” Allison bit back angrily as she looked Grace up and down several times.

“I already left you several years ago.” I retorted bitterly.

“She’s a mouse!” Allison argued. “She’s pale as a vampire, like even her hair is pale! She’s tiny. I’m losing you to that?! She’s not even pretty!”

“ENOUGH!” I bellowed. “Stop insulting my mate, Allison. We’ve been over this already.”

“I just don’t understand why you would pick her over me!” Allison wailed.

A flood of emotions filled my senses, from anger to jealousy, and I knew they weren’t my emotions. I saw Grace out of the corner of my eye looking stoic, but I could feel her raging inside, and that made me nervous. She had been bound twice, but if her feelings were strong enough, I was afraid she might break the bindings, and we would be in an even bigger mess.

“I pick her in every lifetime,” I responded, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the meeting room toward the front door. I was done with the games she was playing, and the torment she was inflicting on my mate. “We are done here.”

“But Rhys!”

“It’s Alpha King to you!” I growled. “Now, I said you could stay in the pack, but we are done here.”

Allison rolled her eyes and decided that she had lost this round and took her leave officially. I waited till she was out of my sight before turning back toward my mate and the others.

Grace’s arms were crossed over her chest, and her face was a mask of indifference that I knew was a practiced form of protection.

“How could you have possibly agreed to let that bitch stay?” Sawyer said as he walked over and slapped the back of my head.

“I am you Alpha King,” I reminded him angrily.

“And you are my brother, get over it.” Sawyer sneered back.

I approached Grace, who turned away slightly.

“I’m sorry for what she said to you,” I told her, pulling her into me slightly, “But I had to let her stay.”

“Why?” Sawyer demanded. “She’s a lunatic who is only going to cause trouble.”

“She is,” I conceded, “But she’s up to something, and I have to know what it is. I want to be able to keep an eye on things and the only real way to do that is to keep her close.”

I rubbed Grace’s arms gently, but she didn’t relax. She just stood there stiffly, not saying anything, which scared me a little bit.

“Aren’t you worried about whatever she has planned?” Leon asked.

“I made it clear that she was not welcome here, and if she crossed lines, she wouldn’t like what happened.” I told them, but that didn’t help Grace’s agitation with me lessen. She just seemed to seethe silently, and I could feel her confusion and jealousy like it was my own.

“Grace, are you okay?” I asked, turning her toward me.

She didn’t say anything, all I got was a single nod.

“I don’t believe you,” I whispered in her ear. She didn’t react to me at all, so I mindlinked Sawyer. I knew if I suggested she go calm down somewhere, it would not be taken well. But if Sawyer could help, I could talk to Leon about what was going on and come up with solutions.

“Come on, Grace, let’s go finish our walk.” Sawyer suggested.

She nodded and pulled away from me, and I reluctantly let her go. As soon as the door shut, I turned to Leon, knowing he would know what had happened since Sawyer came and got me.

“What does she know?”

“Sawyer told her everything he knows about Allison. She never reacted to any of it. He told her that she betrayed her family, and killed her own mate, and she said nothing. It’s quite concerning.”

“She’s not not reacting,” I told him. “She’s just doing it internally, and I’m afraid she’ll break the binding that keep her from shifting.”

“Isn’t that what we want?” Leon questioned.

“Not like that.” I answered. “That would be traumatic, and an out-of-control shift. She could lose herself to the Lycan part of her.”

Leon nodded and ran a tired hand through his hair. “Then you should probably be with her. You’re her mate, you should be able to help her settle.”

I hadn’t thought about that, so I immediately mindlinked Sawyer to find out where they were. He said that that she had asked for space and was in garden. He wasn’t far from her in case she needed something, but he was honoring her request. I told him he could leave, and I made my way there without another moment’s hesitation. I had no idea how to make it right to her, but I also knew I had to try.

She was sitting on the ground with her eyes closed as I approached.

“Go away, Sawyer.” She said, when she heard my footsteps.

“It’s me, my love.” I said gently, sitting down next to her.

She looked at me, but she didn’t smile the way she usually dd.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked her, after a few moments of silence.

“There’s nothing to say.” She whispered.

“I beg to differ, my love,” I responded. “Your emotions tell a different story.”

“She’s beautiful.” Grace finally confessed. “Absolutely stunning. I think you made a mistake in choosing me. I can’t even compare to her.”

“Gracie, I didn’t marry and mark her because I didn’t want her. She’s the one who doesn’t compare to you. No one has ever compared to you. And no one can ever replace you. You are the only one I want.”

Grace’s feelings didn’t change though, it was like she didn’t believe me.

“You killed your other fiancés who had interior motives.” She said after a long moment.

“I did, yes.” I answered uneasily, my heart beginning to race a bit.

“But you didn’t kill her.” She paused for a moment before saying one more word. “Why?”