Page 118 of Gray

Ever since he’d left days before, I had locked my emotions up tight, just like I’d done for the past two years. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about how much I missed him. I had only focused on hunting. In an instant, the lid on that box was thrown open, and all those emotions flooded back to me. The worry. The fear.

The love.

“My dad tried to sloth-nap me,” Gray murmured, snuggling in closer.

I looked at Alastair for more elaboration.

“Belphegor escaped and took Gray with him,” he said.

I sucked in a breath, the blood turning to ice in my veins. I held Gray closer and kissed his brow. He gripped my shirt. Maybe he needed my closeness too.

“We chased Belphegor and Vepar for hours before the trail went cold,” Alastair continued. “But we refused to return home until Gray was with us. The next day, Daman tracked them to a villa in Florence, where they’d stopped to meet with a reaper.”

Castor shifted a bit to look at me, Kyo still snug in his arms. “I snuck in and found Gray asleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms. No surprise, right? But anyway. Galen kicked some demon ass, and we wounded Vepar but not enough to kill him, the bastard. Then we took off and came straight home.”

“I was asleep the whole time,” Gray said. “My dad used the same power on me Galen used on you. Remember? You were so cute when you first woke up that time. You said I had big eyes.”

“Did he hurt you?” I asked, cupping his cheek.

“Nuh-uh. Not hurt at all.” Gray rubbed his eyes and laid his head on my shoulder.

“Why did he take you?”

“’Cause he wants me to switch sides. I’m not gonna do that though. He might be a bad guy, but he really does care about me. That’s what made it all so hard, Mason. I had my sword at his throat and couldn’t do it. Just like I couldn’t do it almost two thousand years ago. I’m weak.”

“No, you’re not weak. Your heart is just so big, angel.” I rested my cheek on his hair.

“Gray might not have killed him, but the mission wasn’t a total loss,” Alastair said. “We learned that thereissomething Belphegor wants from the celestial realm. Lazarus lied to us.”

Castor scoffed. “He lied about a whole hell of a lot more than that. If Belphegor was telling the truth, Lucifer planned for us to lead his Nephilim army when we came of age. Lazarus found out and decided to turn Lucifer’s weapons against him. We’re nothing but puppets on a bloody stage, our strings being fought over by selfish pricks who don’t see us as anything but tools.”

Bellamy’s hand tightened into a fist as he stared out the window.

“You’re hurt,” Gray said, looking at my wrapped bicep.

“It’s just a scratch.”

Clara rolled her eyes.

“Let me look.” Gray unwrapped the shirt and held his hand over the wound. A warm tingling came from his palm, and the sting of the cut faded. “There. All better.”

“Thank you.”

Galen stood up and threw Simon over his shoulder. As he walked toward the archway leading from the room, Simon shyly smiled and told us good night. Castor and Kyo followed suit before Daman grabbed Warrin and dragged him from the room too.

“Gotta make up for lost time,” Raiden said with a shit-eating grin. “Who do you think will break their bed first? Galen is the obvious choice, but I’m leaning more toward Cas. He’s kinky.”

Alastair pinched the bridge of his nose. “They can break down the entire house for all I care. I’m going to bed.”

“Wait,” Gray said, perking up. He looked at me. “Well, I guess I should ask you first. I got ahead of myself.”

“Ask me what?”

Gray slid his arms around my neck and softly smiled. “I want to officially mate with you. Bonded life forces and everything.” The tops of his cheeks reddened. “As my dad was taking me away, all I could think about was you. I know things are unpredictable right now with the war and stuff, but I love you. And I don’t want to waste a single moment by your side. I go where you go, remember? In life and in death.”

My breath hitched in my throat. “Are you… proposing to me?”

He flashed me a nose-crinkling grin. “Yeah. I don’t have a ring or anything yet, but we can use bread ties or rubber bands ’til we get them. Oh! Or we can raid Castor’s jewelry collection. He has a ton of rings.”