Page 43

Stacy

When I wake up almost exactly four hours later (according to the digital clock on the wall), I’m alone.

I use the facilities in Jared’s camper and hurry outside, but there’s no sign of Grey. Jared sits behind the Airstream on a lawn chair, drinking coffee from a disposable cup while smoking a cigarette. He gives me a two-finger salute and looks the other way. I sense he won’t be fond of an early morning conversation, so I don’t bother to try to converse.

Several Arcana Falls people are sleeping as wolves outside the mess hall door. Linc is walking toward us, and his eyes are on me with friendliness in them.

I wave. “Mornin’.”

He smiles. “Stacy.”

“Seen Grey?” I ask.

“Should be back soon. Just over talking to Brody.”

“Oh, okay.”

His expression goes serious. “Wait here, all right, Stacy?”

“Oh,” I gesture to the mess hall. “I’m just gonna go in there and help.”

“Not a problem. Just don’t want you wandering beyond this zone unless you’re with one of us.”

I give him a small smile and go into the mess hall, passing Jase who appears to be keeping watch, sitting in a chair by the door, but looking both angry and alert.

“Mornin’,” I say to Jase.

“Mornin’,” he responds, his expression mostly tight, but a touch of warmth infuses his gaze.

I’m about to pass him when he says my name.

I turn to face him.

“Got any ideas where he’d go?”

He’s worrying about his sister.

“Wyatt doesn’t have friends. Sounds like he didn’t have a whole lot of resources, either, Jase. But if I had to guess, knowing him I’d think he might hunker down somewhere before coming back to where he sent the girls for whatever he thinks he’s owed. He got some money up front and they’d been there for several days already. Knowing him, he’s keeping a running tally in his head and mathing multiple times a day with plans to come collect.”

“Got it,” Jase says and gets up from the chair. “Thanks.” He walks out, probably to go to Grey.

I wonder how Addy’s doing, not only with what she’s endured, but also with the whole Brody situation. I know how shellshocked I was at being claimed by an alpha I didn’t know.

I see a mixture of people and wolf shapes sleeping, knowing the wolves are the Arcana Falls folks. Almost all is quiet here for the moment, though it’s after six thirty in the morning so I suspect some will start rousing soon. Seeing Eloise and Martha by the sink, I tiptoe over.

“Mornin’ Stacy,” she whispers, sanitizing her hands.

“Good, you’re up,” Martha whispers. “I’m gonna lay down.”

“No worries,” I reply softly and turn to Eloise. “What can I do?”

“I’m just into another four-hour shift. Relieved Cat about thirty minutes ago. We made up a little schedule.” She gestures to the smaller female wolf sleeping beside the medicine table.

“She should go sleep in Jared’s trailer. I’m sure it’ll get noisy in here soon as people start waking up.”

Cat was supposed to take a few hours when I went to bed. Why did she keep going? I hope there weren’t any more deaths. I survey the space and see the same number of mattresses on the floor in the ‘hospital’ area as when I went to bed.

Eloise softly says, “She wanted to stay close. Soon time to dispense more anti-nausea meds.”

She points to a whiteboard leaned against the wall on the back of the medicine table.

I move over there and then return to Eloise, saying, “My name’s not on the schedule.”

“Your mate asked us not to include you. It’s okay, plenty of volunteers put their hands up.”

I frown, but don’t reply. I can see Cat got the next doses of meds in paper cups, lined up on the table. There’s a clipboard on the table, too, with notes on it about the patients.

“Did you get any sleep?” I ask Eloise.

She shrugs. “A little. Glad my girl is back.”

“How is she?”

Eloise gives me a dark look, and I can only imagine how Jennifer is doing.

She leans closer and drops the volume of her voice even softer, adding, “I did wake up when they took Jillian out.”

“No, not Jillian?”

“Didn’t make it.”

I blow out a hard exhale and hold back threatening tears as I stare at the place where Jilian was and see it’s someone else now. Another female. I also see yellow Post-it notes on the floor in front of each mattress except for where Jillian was. That Post-it is pink. My nostrils flare as I try to decode the scent as there’s only some dark hair showing from the top of the blankets. It doesn’t smell as bad in here as it did yesterday, but the smell of sickness definitely lingers and is making it hard for me to discern who that is.

“Margaret took ill in the middle of the night,” Eloise explains, “Larry must have just started her on the soup recently.”

My eyes find Larry, who is lying on the floor, asleep beside Floyd. Those two are the only ones who don’t have pillows, blankets, or mattresses.

“I want to kick him,” I say, then add, “even if that’s hypocritical of me.”

Eloise cups my shoulder and squeezes. “No, hon. That don’t make you a hypocrite.”

I roll my eyes doubtfully.

She shakes her head. “Big difference between following orders on strangers not knowing much about what it would do and what he did. Larry’s doing it on pack members young and old, family and friends, knowing exactly what would happen. People have been dying and he’s still doing it. Giant difference.”

I say nothing. Because Wyatt has a hold over all of us, clearly, since so many of us are still here and so many of us have done his bidding. I don’t like Larry, he’s not a nice guy, but he’s been ruled by fear, too.

“It was glorious when you slapped him, though.”

“I’m ashamed of how good it felt.”

“Don’t be ashamed. Lot of us wanted to do worse. Kimmy’s doing a bit better, too,” she adds. “No change with anyone else from what Cat said when she briefed me before she went to lie down.”

More folks are stirring, rising to sitting from their mattresses. Grey comes in, Linc behind him. I set my coffee down and move to him, sinking into his body for a moment before looking up.

“Hi,” I whisper.

“Hey,” he whispers back, eyes tired-looking.

I sink into his warmth for another brief moment, taking the comfort it gives me because I suspect today will be another long, hard day.

Tugging on the hem of my t-shirt makes me look down.

“Can we have another granola bar?” Lara asks, rubbing her eyes.

I see five other small heads pop up from their beds like prairie dogs at the mention of granola bars. And another head. One of the sick kids who says, “I’m hungry, too.”

“I need to pee. Can I go pee?” Kimmy asks.

“I’ll take her,” Eloise offers.

“That’s a good sign,” I say.

“Definitely,” Grey agrees. “Maybe the kids should go somewhere else, somewhere they don’t have to keep bein’ quiet.”

“The schoolhouse,” I suggest.

Grey nods.

I smooth Lara’s pillow-mussed hair and whisper, “Any who are up, maybe we can get them all to tiptoe quietly in a follow the leader march to the schoolhouse and we’ll get everyone breakfast over there where you won’t have to be so quiet with all the sick folks sleeping.”

She nods. “We’ve been bein’ quiet.”

“You have. You’ve all done a great job, too.”

She smiles. “Can I be the leader on the march?”

“I would appreciate it if you would, Lara. One sec.” I wave Luke, who is coming out of the bathroom, over.

He comes to me, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “Mornin’ Stacy. Grey.”

“Mornin’ bud,” Grey greets.

“Hi Lukey. Can you supervise the kids in the schoolhouse, and I’ll send breakfast supplies over in a few minutes? Maybe you could ask one or two of the other teens to help you?”

“No problem,” Luke agrees.

“Thanks, sweetie,” I say.

“A word, wife.” Grey tugs my hand and walks me outside.

We get out there and all the Arcana Falls people are up, some are talking in huddles.

I look at Grey expectantly, but he waits as Lara comes out, Luke behind her, and another eight children including two of the children who were ill last night following in single file moving toward the schoolhouse, which is about a hundred feet from the mess hall.

“That’s a good sign. Those two little boys were sick last night,” I remark.

“A very good sign,” Grey agrees.

The kids that walk by don’t look fearfully at any of the Arcana Falls members around the area where yesterday most of those faces were full of fear. Some of them are even smiling.

Grey touches my face to pull my attention to him. “So, we were thinking we need to get everyone stable and then move the sickest folks back to The Falls where we can look after them better. Jase and me were gonna coordinate that back home with Rye and Mase, getting people there patching up the town hall as fast as possible so we could use that since Cat’s clinic isn’t big enough for this many people.”

“Oh?”

“Uh huh.” He lets go of my face and scrubs his jaw with his fingernails, looking pensive.

“All that was said in past tense. Have plans changed?”

“Gonna get people stable here instead. That water tanker is coming this morning, and we’ll see what comes of the water and soil tests, but regardless of that… Brody has other ideas.”

“Other… ideas?”

“He’s thinkin’ about helping the pack here or somewhere else if this place is too polluted. He wants to lead. Feels it like coming here wasn’t just for Addy. Brody feels like this pack is his calling, too. Not surprised. He’s been searching for his place a long time. Always traveling, seeing what’s out there. He says he wants to claim this pack as his and build it to where it’s supposed to be. Plans to hold a town hall meeting with them once everyone’s on the mend to propose it to them. He’s already called and paid the electric bill to get things turned back on here. He’s asked for our blessing in recruiting a dozen betas from Arcana Falls or our waiting list to start. To come with him and help him build this pack into a healthy one. They can decide if they wanna stay after that or come back home.”

“Waiting list?”

“Bailey has a list of folks looking to join our pack. Unless we develop some of the forest surrounding us to build more homes, that’s not happening any time soon unless people decide to leave. We like our forest.”

“I like the forest, too.”

“Some on that wait list might be game to come here instead and carve out their place in a new pack. But gotta tell you this isn’t cut ‘n dried with Brody.”

“No? Why?”

“Cuz Joel called and it’s your pal Malachi back at the village in the holding cell and Joel told us he might be after that role.”

He waits while this sinks in. And he watches me studiously as it does. I don’t like the way his voice sounded when he said, “pal”.

And I’m now paying more attention to the tone and body language of my mate. He’s more than tired. He’s something else, too.

He continues. “This guy is beta, but Joel reads that he has traits that show he could develop into an alpha. Those traits could boost up if he comes back and leads here. Connects with his wolf enough, lives healthier. I mean… if he’s the right man for the job and if this pack wants him as their leader, because we’re not leaving everyone here in just anybody’s care.”

I swallow down a whole lot of emotion as I continue processing this news.

“Though I’m leaning toward Brody because of how strong he feels about it being his calling, it should be up to the people. I sent Joel in to talk to Malachi last night, to give him the details on what’s going on here.”

Grey stops speaking and looks at me expectantly. When I don’t say anything, he goes on, “He finally opened up and talked to Joel this morning who knew who he was from the video footage the night your cousin took Erica. Cut his hair, grew a beard. Once Joel started filling him in about what was going on here, Malachi had other shit to say, too. About you.”

I wince.

Greyson’s expression hardens and accusation, I think, is what hits his eyes.

“Interesting reaction,” he observes.

I fill my cheeks with air and blow out a big breath.

“Um…” I start but when I don’t continue talking, Grey does.

“Says he was supposed to pair up with you, his words, that he was gonna fix things, find a way to dethrone your brother and take over. Told Joel you and him were gonna fix it and make things better here. He saw Rye maul Jimmy from the bushes that first night he was there and ran. Came back here and clearly helped your brother put together that latest plan, determined to come save you from us. Can only guess it was his anger at us, his intentions to take you back here might be what got him lumped with the others by Erica’s magic that ripped the negativity up into the sky. Maybe the fact he isn’t bad is why he survived. Don’t know. Joel says he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. But we might leverage Ronnie’s touch to see what she thinks. Or, I’ll sit there and look him over, see what my gut tells me.”

He flexes his jaw like this is the last thing he wants to do.

I moisten my lips and huff out an exhale.

“You didn’t tell me much about him,” Grey adds, “Definitely not about the pair up plans.” He waits.

I open my mouth and nothing comes out.

Now Grey looks hurt and that won’t do, so I find my voice. “No, I didn’t tell you that, but it’s not exactly like that.”

“I asked if you were in a relationship that first night and you said not exactly . Guess that refers to Malachi?”

Yeah, that is what I said.

“I was desperate to fix things around here somehow and he was a friend growing up, one of the few men around here I’d dare to talk to about it. He and my brother got together, and their conversation turned to a plan for me and Mal to pair up when I got back from… from my mission in Drowsy Hollow and Arcana Falls.”

He says nothing, but I feel emotions from him that feel a lot less than nice.

“We didn’t have a romantic thing, but Wyatt figured we did.”

“You might not have had a thing for him, but he did for you,” Grey says.

I shake my head.

“He does,” Grey snaps like I’m disagreeing with him.

“I’m not arguing that; I know he does. If I didn’t do what Wyatt wanted, he held the fate of the women and the elderly, of Halla over my head. But if I did, I’d get taken off rotation here and also get Malachi closer to Wyatt so he could find a way to take over, I hoped.”

Grey jerks back, lips thinning as I keep talking.

“I held back some of the poison herb I was putting on the pies. I’ve got some hidden in the bottom of my suitcase wrapped with catnip. I kept it so that we could… maybe…give it to Wyatt and rise up when he can’t shift. I… I’ve never had a physical relationship with Mal, Grey. Never.”

His jaw muscles clench. “That poison was in our fuckin’ house?”

I’m about to answer, but he snaps, “Another thing you didn’t tell me.”

His tone and body language are both bitter and angry now. And this is my fault.

“There was a lot happening,” I reason, but we both know I’m making an excuse. “And you never told me everything. I don’t know how my suitcase got to your house.”

“Bailey brought it over from the motel.”

“Oh.”

“So this Malachi wasn’t one of the ones who took you on all fours as a reward?” he snaps. “That’s obviously what you mean by being on rotation, right?”

My face drops.

“He’s not one of the ones who made you fear being claimed by me?” His voice gets a little louder.

And everyone that was outside in earshot has moved into the mess hall and I hear the door close. They’re trying to give us privacy.

I shake my head, lowering my voice. “No. And I’ve never had romantic feelings for any male but you. I was only considering the pair-up to help my pack, not that I had a choice. If Wyatt wanted me paired up, it was his choice to do so.”

His eyes work over my face.

“Plenty of other men did use me as a reward, though,” I admit.

He bares his teeth. “Any of them here right now? Any of those guys back there?”

My face clearly gives him his answer because he barks, “Fuck!” thrusting his hand through his hair.

And now he’s on the move, marching away from me.

I follow.

“Where are you going?”

He picks up his pace and his hands are clenching and unclenching.

And I realize he’s about to go into the building the men are currently in.

I wince. “Grey, don’t!”

He spins around to face me, and his eyes are practically on fire.

“I don’t want anyone else to die because of the culture Wyatt created here. Wyatt did that. He turned our pack into this.” I throw my hand out. “He did this, and those men don’t deserve your fire. If they had a chance to be good men, maybe they would be.”

He looks away, pissed off.

“I was in survive mode,” I tell him. “But so were they. We’ve all been in this mode for a long time. But now, with you, I’m moving to thrive mode instead.”

His fire dims just fractionally. But not enough.

I hug him tightly and press my cheek against his chest. “You’ve changed everything for me, Grey. Everything. I’m so grateful.”

It’s a long moment before his body loosens up and I can breathe again when his fingers sift through my hair.

“Please don’t go in there and hurt anyone,” I plead.

He’s so tense, so angry, so I repeat, “Please, Greyson. Please don’t.”

Finally, his arms wrap around me, and his lips press to the top of my head.

“We’ll talk more later about all that. For the moment we’re gonna get things shipshape here or figure out where these folks are gonna set up.”

“Okay,” I breathe, relieved.

He continues, “The people should decide who they want leading them.”

“Definitely.”

“But thinking Brody should take lead when we head home until that gets decided. We’ll talk all that over with Mitch. SCC might have other ideas after everything they’ve seen here. Mitch already said they might take temporary stewardship of the pack, though he doesn’t know Brody wants to take the pack on.”

“Oh.”

“Mitch is close to Brody’s and Rye’s father. I think he’ll think Brody’s qualified to lead. We’ll see. Then we’ll see what’s what with your friend back in Arcana Falls. As for you ‘n me, I wanna get us home as soon as fucking possible.”

“Home?” I ask, shoulders drooping.

Grey’s expression goes even harder.

I explain, “But I want to help here. You told them not to put me on the schedule, but I can’t just leave and–”

“I know you need to help and that’s fine,” he clips a little impatiently. “I’ll deal if I have to for a couple more days. After we know everyone’s good enough. But no longer than necessary because I feel like I’m ready to blow and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I want you home, safe, away from this stinking hellhole, and I want to find your motherfucking brother and deal with him. Jase is on fire to catch him too. Now, so’s Brody.”

I gulp. Grey is absolutely seething with anger.

“Unless he comes back here, which I suspect won’t happen. Instead, he’ll try to come at us in The Falls again.”

“Or he’ll go to that whorehouse to try to collect money.”

Grey straightens up. “Jase already said you brought that up and I need to address that idea with Brody.”

“Wyatt is obsessed with money,” I say. “I don’t know if he ran out of whatever he got for the girls before he went to Arcana Falls, but if he believes he’s owed some, I think he’ll be coming back to collect.”

“Anyway, Cat thinks three or four days of care and meds for the vast majority should have them on the other side of this. Maybe sooner if Dani’s potion or Mitch’s experimental drug helps.”

I breathe out relief. “Good.”

“Talked to Cat an hour ago. She doesn’t think we’ll lose anyone else here. One or two are on that borderline, but she’s hopeful.”

“Good,” I breathe out again. “Thank goodness.”

There’s awkward silence now. Grey is looking at me but saying nothing, though I feel the sensations of his emotions in my chest as well as see it on his face.

“Where were you just now?” I ask and try to do it casually, try to keep him talking even though it feels like he wants me to talk instead.

He jerks his chin over his shoulder. “Looked through your brother’s house for clues that might help us know where he might’ve gone. Had some conversations with some of the men from around here. Got the list of names of people poisoned by that shithead with his soup for the SCC. Spoke to Joel, then Brody.”

“Did you get any sleep? I woke up alone.”

He shakes his head. “No.”

“Are you going to?” I ask.

“Not yet,” he says. “Not easy falling asleep with all this shit goin’ on and certainly not easy to sleep with my wife lying in another alpha’s fuckin’ bed. Don’t matter he’s got no scent; I still know whose goddamn bed it is.”

“I didn’t want to sleep in that bed,” I remind him.

That’s what’s odd about Jared. But now isn’t the time to ask about it.

My mate flexes his jaw muscles but says nothing.

My mate is angry with me. Maybe he needs space.

“I’m gonna go get breakfast for the kids. Then I’ll help with the next rounds of medicine dispensing before starting to cook for everyone else.”

“Sent Boyd to the supermarket already for eggs and bacon and fruit,” Grey says. “Wait and give the kids some of that.”

“Okay,” I say.

He looks me in the eyes. “Anything else you wanna tell me?” His eyes travel to my toes and back up again. I don’t like the vibe coming off him.

I bite my lip and then release it.

Gus walks by, giving us a nod, and going into the mess hall. And something dawns on me.

“Gus told you he heard me talking to Cat?”

I know by Grey’s expression that the answer is yes .

“Cat told me some shit, not realizing you hadn’t already told me yourself. What the fuck does Gus know?”

Darn.

I shake my head. “Gus might have heard me talking to Cat… I…”

“More secrets?” he accuses.

“No, not secret exactly.”

“Then what , exactly? Cat Savage tells me you’re afraid you can’t carry our child with the miscarriage and stillbirth rates here. You tell her this, not your mate?”

“I told you I was worried about not being able to get pregnant. About thinking it was the water here.”

“You did, but you didn’t tell me every pregnancy in the last couple years around here ended in miscarriage or stillbirth.”

“I’ve been worried about being unable to carry a child. But there’s more. Other things I didn’t ask Cat about with the lack of privacy when we had that conversation.”

“What? What else are you keeping from your husband, woman?”

Ouch.

I can’t blame him for being upset that I didn’t share my fears, but it feels like my heart is breaking right now that he’s frustrated and upset with me amid everything else going on.

“I…” I blow out a hard exhale and scratch my forehead, contemplating. “Can we talk about this somewhere more private?”

He gestures ahead, tags my hand, and walks me forward until we get to the front office. We go inside and he sits on the reception desk, arms folded, waiting for me to speak.

But something about his body language reminds me too much of my brother. I feel sick to my stomach, suddenly, even thinking of Greyson being in Wyatt’s league. I know he’s not like Wyatt. I know he’s not going to hurt me.

But being here, in Silver Hills, inside this building where I’ve spent so much time… where I’ve been backhanded… where I’ve had things thrown around while I’m trying to work because Wyatt is pissed off or can’t find something…

It feels like years since I’ve been in here. So much has changed for me. I used to spend most days here and nothing has changed here, but I’m changed. Deeply.

I know who I am. I know what I deserve. This man right here. He’s mine and though he’s angry with me, I think he’ll understand once I tell him.

“Wyatt’s my half-brother,” I begin. “Different mothers. But it sounds like we would’ve been related anyway. When Wyatt’s mother died, Father took a second wife. His first wife’s cousin. This was my mother.”

Grey’s face changes, and I keep going.

“Stick with me here, I’ll get there. He was able to mate with them and produce the both of us so it must have been fated, right?”

“Your father was alpha, so yeah,” Grey agrees.

“There are a few situations in the pack that had me concerned. Rumor is that Kimmy, one of the little kids who’s sick right now, the one with just one arm… rumor is that her sire was her great-uncle.”

Grey’s expression darkens.

I go on, “Her mother’s uncle got drunk and forced himself on her.Wyatt put him to death for it, but Kimmy’s mother denied that he was Kimmy’s father. Said she’d been with two other men that month of conception so any of them could have been Kimmy’s sire, but I think she was afraid Wyatt would put Kimmy to death, so she made that up. It’s stuck with me that maybe Kimmy was born missing an arm because of incest. And… Wyatt has never been right in the head, and I found out about five years back through finding unfiled census records for The Collective from before Wyatt was born that Father was first cousins with Wyatt’s mom. I can’t find records about my own mom, how she was related to Wyatt’s mom, and it could be that she was related on the other side of her family, but she could also have been another first cousin. To both Wyatt’s mom and my father.”

I shrug and continue. “I asked Aunt Shea if our mothers were related and she said she didn’t think so, but she was acting weird about it. Changed the subject. I tried to bring it up again a day later and again… she deflected. Aunt Shea is one of Father’s sisters so I feel like she should know, they’d be her first cousins, too. Nobody really told me much about my mother when I was a kid. Just that Father brought her from some other village to look after Wy when his mom died and wound up taking her as his. My mother disappeared when I was a baby, so my grandparents came from their village to look after me. I stayed with them until I was six when my grandmother died, and I then moved in with Father and Wyatt. And… no one really knows much about where any of them are from. Or they didn’t want to tell me. Maybe I’m not right in the head either. Or maybe our offspring, if I’m healthy enough to carry and deliver them… w-won’t be.”

Grey is looking at me with sorrow in his eyes.

I ask, “How can a pairing like Father had with both our mothers be fated?”

He blows out a long exhale but doesn’t speak so I keep going.

“I don’t get it. And maybe that’s part of why Wyatt doesn’t believe in fated mates, and I had trouble with the notion. Because why would Fate pair up an alpha with a relative? How could I spill all these concerns to you when we first met, Grey? There’s so much going on. So much. And I’m… I’m trying to come to grips with it all while being in a relationship for the first time and … and… not wanting to upset you. Wanting everything to be perfect.”

Grey takes a step back and my heart sinks.

He frowns. “Things can’t always be perfect, Stacy. That’s life.”

I feel myself slump. “I’ve been afraid you’d reject me.”

As if I didn’t even say that, he says, “Take it Kimmy’s mother’s uncle wasn’t an alpha?”

“No…”

“Well, we’ll have to look into all of that, I suppose.” He’s looking at me with a very guarded, still hurt expression. “Wyatt born before your father became alpha of this pack?”

“Yeah,” I say. “We both were.”

“Your father may have been considered beta until he took over for your grandfather. Was he the firstborn son?”

I shake my head. “No. He had an older brother that got killed by human hunters.”

“That’s likely it,” Grey reasons. “Traditional shifter packs often have strong betas that’ll become alphas in the right environment. Your grandfather’s firstborn was likely intended to be the alpha of this pack, but your father took on traits when your grandfather died.”

I absorb this.

“Our pack is unique,” he reminds me. “The way our pack operates is a little different. Since most packs have one alpha, the rest betas and omegas, the strong betas can transition to alphas. Usurped alphas can eventually transition to beta, lose their alpha traits. It’s conceivable a shifter could become a father before he takes on alpha traits.”

“Oh?”

His eyes work over my face, and I can tell he’s not okay with all this information. Even less okay with the fact I didn’t share it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, Grey. I’m ashamed. Ashamed of who I am, where I come from, how I grew up and what my life looks like. Especially compared to looking at who you are, where you come from. I was going to ask your sister to help me find out the truth through her genealogy project, but I was going to wait until all this was over with Wyatt.”

“So you were going to tell me?” he asks acidly.

“I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily. Or upset you, if I’m honest. I really don’t like upsetting you.”

“Not wanting me upset doesn’t give you the right to keep things from me, wife.”

“You’re right,” I say.

He gives me a disapproving look, but pulls his phone from his pocket and makes a call.

And I feel lost. Lost and sad. And disappointed that I’ve disappointed him.

“Bailey,” he greets. “Hey. Yeah we’re figuring it all out and lots goin’ on so I can’t give you the skinny right now, but listen… I need you to dig into genealogy records for the Silver Hills pack as far back as there are records. Particularly for the Meadows family. I want you to call me once you’ve got it all. I want as much information as you can dig up about Stacy’s parents and Stacy’s brother’s parents. Half. Same father. If you run into roadblocks, involve Mitch. I’ll give him a heads up. I need a complete picture.”

He listens for a minute, thanks her and says goodbye before he pockets his phone and folds his arms over his chest. “Anything else I need to know?”

“How angry are you with me?” I ask.

“How about you answer me first, wife?” he presses, and his voice definitely holds a hint of accusation. “Then we’ll talk about how I feel about all this.”

I swallow hard. “I… I hid some food and other supplies at your house. I… put a little stockpile away in the garage in an empty tote that I found.”

He frowns, jerking back with confusion, so I explain. “I’m terrified of running out of supplies. After living here. Going hungry so many times. Seeing how it is here, maybe you can understand that?”

He licks his teeth behind closed lips, and I really want the hardness out of his expression. I want to touch him, too, but I’m nervous.

“I don’t like making you angry,” I add. “It might be because of what I’ve been through, so I’ve found myself trying to keep things from you that might make you angry.”

“You think I’d hurt you?” he asks, incredulous. “You still think that?”

“No. Not that. It’s not because I fear you, but because I want to make you happy. I want to be your reward in the way you described which is very different from the way women are treated as rewards here. I don’t want to cause you any unhappiness. I just want to make you happy and be someone you can’t wait to come home to every day. I don’t want you to reject me.”

Pain slashes across his features and he gruffly orders, “Come here.”

I step forward and look up into his beautiful eyes.

He doesn’t reach for me, just looks down into my eyes searchingly, so I reach for him and put both palms on his chest.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him honestly.

I am sorry. I’m sorry I’ve kept things from him and I’m sorry if I’ve lost some of his trust.

“I’ll do better,” I vow.

“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, wife. And I’m sorry if I’ve said or done shit that has made you afraid to level with me. No more secrets between us. None. Yeah? We’re still new but there’s depth in this relationship already, isn’t there? Or did I misread that? Because if I did, there’s something seriously wrong with my instincts.”

“You didn’t misread that.”

“You still don’t trust me or what is it?”

“I trust you. I just… I think I’m coming to grips with living a life not ruled by fear.”

“What do I gotta do to get you there?”

“I think I’m getting there now, Greyson.”

“Then no more secrets. Promise me.”

I nod. “Promise.”

“Even if I get angry.”

“Okay.”

“Promises mean everything, Stacy.”

“I don’t make promises lightly, husband,” I say.

He swallows and more of the hardness melts away.

“I wanna punish you right now. You’re lucky we’re here or I would.”

I rear back but he catches the back of my neck and holds it, grazing my mate mark, which causes tingles to shunt through my body.

“Not the kind of punishment that’d hurt you, the kind of punishment that'd frustrate you because I'd keep you on edge for a while, not letting you come.”

My eyebrows fly up in surprise.

He’s not done.

“But then you’d come,” he says gruffly, “You’d come so much, so hard, you’d beg me for mercy. And it’d be a while before I give it to you.”

“Uh…not sure your idea of a punishment dissuades me, Grey.”

“Don’t push your luck with me right now, woman, or I’ll get creative.”

I can tell by his face he’s not joking.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly, and I mean it. But I also smirk; I can’t help it.

“Whatever babies we have… they’re gonna be fine,” he says, angrily.

“I hope so,” I whisper.

“I know so,” he counters. “And just so you know, I want at least four.”

Four babies? “Um…”

“Non-negotiable,” he states, then adds, “Unless there’s a health reason to stop before then.”

“Um… okay… but how do you know they’ll be fine?”

“I just do,” he clips angrily.

“Between drinking the water here, the high miscarriage and low live birth rate of this pack in the past few years, plus the potential cousin thing… I’m scared.”

He shakes his head, thrusting his hand through his hair. “First cousins isn’t anything new. Not in the human world, not in ours. It’s taboo nowadays but genetically, there’s only a small chance of any issues. If they were siblings, that might be a different story.”

I wince. He goes more alert.

“There’s one more thing I should probably tell you,” I whisper. “Wyatt couldn’t ever get anyone pregnant around here, and he threatened me. That’s another reason I wanted to be paired up with Malachi. So Wyatt wouldn’t… um…”

His eyebrows fly up and red sparks flit around his temples.

Shit.

“Spit it out,” he orders.

“He was on a bender, was really drunk for like… two whole days and he forced his way into my mouth.”

I watch tiny red bubbles appear in the whites of Grey’s eyes and burst like webs before blood begins to trickle. He growls, his anger a living and breathing thing that somehow translates to the building, because now the building is rumbling right along with him.

The way blood bursts from his eyes when he’s upset, it feels like the right circumstances could put his entire head at risk of exploding. Me bursting into tears right now might be the only thing stopping it because Grey’s hands suddenly grip me. Red sparks materialize as his lip curls and the rumbling coming from beneath our feet… it’s loud.