Page 8 of Midnight Hunt (Wolves of Midnight #4)

7

VIOLET

So this was what it felt like to be human.

I’d only ever been exposed to silver a few times in my life, and the encounters had been brief. Every occurrence had been while I was shopping, but accidentally touching a pair of silver earrings was nothing compared to the pain I’d felt this morning.

Having silver in my bloodstream was so much worse, and although I’d broken a few bones in my lifetime, I’d never needed to heal this long. It had been hours before I could finally get out of bed unattended to use the bathroom. Nora and Brielle had practically spent the entire afternoon taking care of me, which had felt strange.

I was used to taking care of others , not the other way around. I’d basically raised Melanie from infancy and supported Kolton as he’d become Midnight Pack’s alpha at the tender age of nineteen. I’d become a secretary for our family’s billion-dollar business at age seventeen and oversaw pack communication, making sure the two worlds didn’t collide.

Taking care of others was my main responsibility in life, so being unable to left me feeling useless. My least favorite thing.

The attention was nice, though. Family members had flitted in and out of my room all day, and I’d spent quality time with each of them. Mom had made me a fresh batch of Snickerdoodles, and I’d eaten over a dozen. Nora and Brielle had helped me paint my nails while we watched a movie. When they’d left to feed the babies, I’d finally called Reid and told him what happened.

“Do you need me there?” he’d asked, his worry clear.

“No, that’s okay ,” I’d quickly reassured him. “I have a full house of people taking care of me.”

We’d chatted for a bit until his coach had called him back to practice.

When the afternoon dragged on, I started to get bored. Kolton and Jagger had set up a working station on my bed—so I could at least respond to some emails—but not before dropping the bomb that I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere alone until further notice.

“But I plan to visit Reid again this coming weekend,” I’d protested, feeling even more useless. They were going into protective mode again, and I understood why, but that didn’t make this any easier.

I wasn’t some fragile little omega who needed constant support from big macho alphas. Well, maybe at the moment, but I’d be all healed by tomorrow. I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

Seeing the frustration on my face, Kolton had only shaken his head and replied, “You can still go, but you’re not going alone.”

He hadn’t said who would be going with me, but I already knew. Which was probably why the male in question had been avoiding my room all day. Everyone else had come to see me but him. I tried not to let it bother me, but by the time evening rolled around, his absence was all I could think about.

Had I done something to upset him? But even on the rare occasions when he was mad, it wasn’t like Griff to avoid me. I must have said something during my pain-filled delirium this morning. I couldn’t think why else he would stay away.

As my unease over his absence grew, I decided to distract myself with a much-needed shower. Choosing not to call anyone for help, I carefully got out of bed and slowly hobbled into the bathroom. My leg was still tender, but the pins-and-needles feeling had lessened. The break should be completely mended by morning. Still, by the time I finished showering, blow-drying my hair, and putting on fresh pajamas, I was more than ready to slip back into bed.

Limping back into the bedroom, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw a tall figure leaning against my door.

“ Jeez , Griff,” I said, placing a hand over my pounding heart. “A little warning next time.”

“Sorry. Just wanted to check on my patient,” he replied, taking in the way I favored my still-healing leg. A sudden frown creased his brow. “You shouldn’t be out of bed yet.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a little tender,” I began, but he was already striding across the room toward me. My words of protest fell on deaf ears as he scooped me up like I weighed nothing and carried me the short distance to the bed. “Really, Griff? It was like three feet.”

Ignoring my grumbling, he set me down on the mattress and started cleaning up my mess. My jaw practically fell into my lap.

“What?” he said, spotting my expression.

I watched him place my laptop on my desk, along with the portable work station Kolton and Jagger had set up for me before replying, “You’re cleaning.”

“So?”

“Since when? ”

“I did the dishes last night, if you recall.”

“I do. I was shocked then too. You’ve just never been one to willingly clean something.”

He shrugged and gathered up the blanket I’d been wrapped in all day to drop it by the closed door. “I clean now. I even do the laundry. Guess you’ve been too busy with Reid to notice.”

The words were delivered lightly, but they still felt like a jab. I watched him collect my dishes and start to stack them before murmuring, “Are we okay?”

He paused to casually lean on the desk. “Of course we’re okay. Why do you ask?”

Hmm. Maybe I’d read his absence wrong.

I quickly waved his question away. “Forget it. I’m just tired.”

He studied me for a moment, then straightened and picked up the dishes. “You should get some sleep.”

“Yeah.”

There was a moment of awkward silence, both of us staring at each other but refusing to speak. Something was definitely up. What had happened while I was unconscious?

Wait. Was it Desirae? Was he dating her and just didn’t know how to tell me?

“So, Desirae seems nice,” I blurted, then immediately wanted to kick myself.

Smooth , Sable drawled.

“She is,” he replied, a line slowly bisecting his brows as if he was confused.

Swallowing a frustrated groan, I added, “She seemed sweet on you earlier.”

The line between his brows immediately vanished. “Oh, that? She was just glad I kept the other pack males from trying to pursue her. She’s not ready for that yet.”

“You sure about that? I bet she’d be open to you pursuing her.”

He huffed a laugh that sounded a bit nervous.

He’s uncomfortable, you ninny , Sable growled. Stop trying to force something that isn’t there .

Annoyed, I said, “Sable thinks you should ask her out.”

WHAT? my wolf familiar barked at me.

Griff laughed again, the sound incredulous this time. “ Sable said that?”

See? He’s too smart to fall for your lies , Sable sniffed.

Feeling ganged-up on, I didn’t answer, and the silence quickly became awkward again.

“You should get some sleep,” Griff repeated, clearly wanting to be anywhere but here. Not knowing what else to say, I simply nodded. He turned toward the door with my dishes and somehow managed to open it, nudging the soiled blanket out into the hallway in the process. “Night.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Without waiting for a reply, he shut the door, leaving me more confused than ever.

For the next two hours, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Every time I tried, nightmares swiftly invaded my mind, making me jerk awake. Just knowing that my would-be abductors could be plotting yet another attack was troubling me more than I cared to admit.

Being a Rivers came with many risks, and there were countless werewolves who would love to see our family fall from power. We held a covetous position in the werewolf world, one that many wanted and would kill for. We’d dealt with plenty of attacks from other werewolves over the years, but they hadn’t known we were hybrids. Now that they knew—and chose to attack anyway—was extra concerning.

Beyond frustrated when another hour passed and I still wasn’t asleep, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and texted Reid, You up?

I waited several minutes but didn’t get a response.

Sighing, I selected the TV app on my phone and flipped on my flatscreen. I browsed for a few moments, then selected a movie and turned the volume down low so it wouldn’t wake anyone. Half an hour into the movie, a particularly funny scene made me laugh out loud.

A second later, I heard a sound outside my bedroom door. I immediately went on high alert, imagining the two male attackers bursting into my room. Sable surged to the surface, ready to help again if they tried to abduct me.

The doorknob turned, and I prepared to spring from my bed and go crazy on them. The door cracked open, and—

I flopped back against my pillows with a huff. “Griffin Hayes!” I hissed between my teeth. “You scared the crap out of me.”

Sable settled back down with a chuckle.

“Sorry,” he whispered, poking his blond head inside my room. “I heard something and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I laughed ,” I whispered back, still annoyed. “What are you doing stalking the halls like a creeper anyway?”

He shrugged but didn’t respond.

“Let me guess. Kolton put you on guard duty?” I rolled my eyes, but deep down, I was more than a little relieved that Griff was keeping watch while we slept.

Instead of answering, he said, “Can’t sleep?”

It was my turn to shrug.

He opened the door wider and came all the way in, only to cluck his tongue in mock disapproval when he saw the TV. “You’re watching a scary movie in the middle of the night? No wonder you can’t sleep.”

“Pfft. You know they make me laugh. It’s you who’s scared of them. You were terrified of closets for months after we watched that one slasher movie.”

“I was twelve. I’m not scared of them anymore.”

“Ha. Prove it.”

When he raised an eyebrow, I scooted over and patted the mattress beside me.

“Watch the movie or admit I’m right.”

He quietly groaned and stared up at the ceiling, and I struggled not to laugh.

“Come on. It’s time you faced your fears, Griff. Watch the movie with me. I’ll even hold your hand.”

He suddenly went rigid, then quietly barked a laugh, making me think that I’d imagined the tension. Closing the door, he silently crossed my room and flounced onto the bed beside me. Propping himself up on an elbow, he muttered, “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

I grinned ear to ear and settled more comfortably against my pillows. “You won’t regret it. Horror movies are hilarious. You’ll see.”

“Just shut up and watch the movie,” he grumbled, making me grin even wider.

Only a few minutes in, he started to fidget. I kept peeking at him out of the corner of my eye, fighting back laughter every time he grimaced. At the next jump-scare scene, I waited for the perfect moment, then grabbed his shoulder and said, “Boo!”

He violently started, and I burst into a fit of giggles.

“You think that’s funny?” he said.

“It’s hilarious,” I replied, batting my lashes at him not-so-innocently.

He scowled. Then, faster than I could blink, he grabbed one of my pillows and whacked me in the face with it.

“Hey!” I protested a little too loudly. Grabbing another pillow, I whacked him back. Or tried to anyway. He caught it and wrestled it from me, then whacked me in the face again. With a growl, I launched myself at him, only to end up flat on my back. When his gloating face appeared above me, it was my turn to scowl. “No fair. I’m still recovering.”

“Excuses,” he drawled, hovering over me a moment longer before sitting up. When he extended his hand toward me, I batted it away and scooted back against the headboard on my own. He just smirked and settled against the headboard beside me.

As we continued to watch the movie in companionable silence, my restlessness from earlier faded. My eyelids were beginning to droop when he abruptly said, “Did you tell Reid?”

Struggling to stay awake, I replied, “About this morning?”

“Yeah.”

“I did. He asked if I needed him here.”

Griff was silent for several beats, then asked, “And do you?”

“Hmm?” I yawned, losing the battle with sleep.

“Do you need him here?”

My eyes slid shut, the pull of sleep too strong. As it dragged me under, I mumbled out a reply. I meant to say yes, but what slipped out was, “I have you.”