The others stared, waiting. Tara gave him a little jerk of her head, as if saying,“Can’t get out of it now.”
Grayson sighed. “Basically, his mom is insane. Remember how Tara made me go on a run with her? Well, we ended up in front of Keld’s mom’s house and I guess she could, like, smell him on me. So she just went for me with her claws.”
“Jesus!” Jenna’s eyes listed over the yellowing bruise. “Are you okay? You must have been terrified.”
“It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to be scared,” Grayson lied. “Anyway, he was there. He came out of the house right as his mom lunged. He got her off me and yelled at her in Loaish. I don’t know exactly what he said, but I’ve never seen him like that. His mom looked afraid.”
“That’s awful,” Jenna said, resting a hand on his. “But why would that make Keld stop talking to you?”
Grayson shrugged. “That’s the part I can’t figure out.”
“He’s upset he couldn’t protect you,” Aureli said, dropping a maraschino cherry into his mouth.
Everyone turned to gape at him.
He glanced around. “What?”
“How could you possibly know that?” Tara asked. “Or are you making a very confident guess?”
Baffled, Aureli said, “It’s obvious. Grayson got hurt when he was with him and it was his mom that did it. He probably feels awful. Then there’s the whole extra layer of him being an Alpha, thinking it’s his job to keep his Omega safe, and all that nonsense.”
Grayson blinked at Aureli. “I… didn’t think about it that way.”
Aureli jerked a shoulder. “I used to be like that. Emotionally repressed machismo culture.”
Jenna and Tara exchanged looks.
“Men…” Tara muttered, shaking her head.
“Asking for help with your brothers will make him feel useful again,” Aureli suggested. “Might help him get over the whole mom incident.”
Grayson pressed his lips together. “But what if you’re wrong and he actually just doesn’t want to be with me after all?”
Even Jaeyong laughed at that. “He’s been pining after you for months, Gray. Come on.”
Grayson grimaced but got to his feet all the same. “Fine. I’ll ask him, but if you guys are wrong, you’ll be picking up the pieces for months.”
He pushed away from the bar and headed for the door. Cool night air greeted him as the door swung open. He stared down at Keld’s contact, thumb hovering over the call button.
Fuck it.
He tapped it and jammed the phone to his ear. It rang and rang until Grayson let out a frustrated breath and hung up. Histhumbs moved across the screen, writing out an irate message as his legs carried him toward the bus stop.
Grayson Miller:I’m coming over and you better open up when I get there.
He compulsively checked his phone every few seconds as the bus traveled the oceanside road toward Sandpiper Park, but not a single message from Keld rolled in. Hurt and confusion were rapidly giving way to anger as time ticked on.
At his stop, Grayson stomped out of the bus and across the complex parking lot. Keld’s stupid Range Rover was there, parked in its usual spot. As he passed, Grayson pulled the windshield wipers into the air.
He rode the elevator up to the fifth floor and stalked down the hallway until he reached apartment 504. His hand smarted as he bashed the knuckles against the door.
“Keld!” he shouted. “Open up!”
When the Mer didn’t immediately come to the door, Grayson raised his fist to pound again.
“Keld! I know you’re home.”
The handle clicked and one of Keld’s orange eyes peeked out from the darkness. “Is everything okay, Grayson?”
