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EMILY
When I walked into that bedroom, I swear my sole intention was to ensure Griffin was okay. But then he started saying all these things that made my heart flutter, and before I knew it, I planted one on him. And then he returned the favor. And suddenly, we were two ravenous beasts who’d been starving for each other for too long.
But hearing Griffin confess his feelings, after so much uncertainty—hearing that declaration as if it were set in stone—stirred something inside of me. Something animalistic, as if my own wolf were crying out to touch him—no, claim him.
I was completely consumed. Until Cassian walked in, and I was suddenly feeling too much at once. My wolf, or whatever this new aggressive side to me, was not fond of the interruption. But shame filled me the instant I heard his voice booming into the room.
“Are you kidding me!” Cassian shouted, stomping into the room and heading straight for Griffin. His eyes were darker, taking on a different shade, as he growled and snarled at Griffin. “While I’m waiting out here to take you back to my pack, where you are my luna, you’re in here with him? I’m your fucking mate!”
The pain I’d heard in his voice had been quickly replaced by rage. He barreled toward Griffin, jerking him up by his shirt, ripping the collar.
“Cassian, no!” I screamed out, lunging forward to break up the grip he had on Griffin. But before I could scramble to my feet, he’d already punched Griffin twice in the face and once in the stomach. I rushed to Cassian’s side, putting my arms up to end it, but his wolf was surfacing—his canine incisors grew into long fangs, and his eyes had taken on a new look entirely. It wouldn’t be long before he sprouted fur.
His aggression grew, shoving me to the side, focused only on his target. Griffin hadn’t fought back, but when he saw me hit the bed, his fury came alive as well. He punched Cassian in the jaw, and the two broke out into the most feral fight two human forms could have.
Ember rushed into the room, confused about the ruckus, and her eyes grew wide as she watched the two men bashing each other, the dresser, the mirror, and the nightstand, decimating everything in their path like a wild tornado.
Not knowing what else to do, I threw up a barrier, trying to separate them. Only, I didn’t know how to put up a single wall between them as I’d only had practice setting a barrier over the room. The sheer force from the sudden magical wall between them sent them both flying into walls on opposite ends of the room, blocked from entering the other’s space.
Not that they could after hitting the wall with such potency. When I was certain I’d had their attention, I released the barrier, scolding them both for their behavior.
I was pissed. No, more than that. I was livid. But more than anything, I was disappointed. When Griffin had said he was open to sharing me with Cassian—though I wasn’t a fan of the wording—it was like a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Like, finally, there was a glimmer of hope for the future. When he said those words, I realized I was holding back because I didn’t want to choose, but I hadn’t moved forward because I didn’t want to hurt one of them.
But seeing Cassian react like that and Griffin responding, I knew it could never work out that way. The three of us, together? Apparently, not.
“What the hell is the matter with you two?” I shrieked, my voice reaching an octave I didn’t know possible. “You could’ve destroyed the apartment! No, you damn near did and would have, if I hadn’t stopped you. Now get it together.”
Cassian spat out a hunk of blood onto the carpet, swiping his arm across his face and smearing red like it was war paint. His breathing was heavy, his chest heaving as aggressively as his attacks were. “Don’t act like you’re some holier than thou princess,” he spat, using Griffin’s pet name against him. “I can’t believe you were in here getting ready to do who knows what with him while I was right outside.”
I stepped forward, my hands on my hips. “Excuse me? As if it’s any of your business what I do and who I do it with.” Was I planning on sleeping with Griffin before Cassian walked in? Hell no. Well, not now, though I wouldn’t mind it in the future. But who the hell was he to assume those things about me?
“Actually, it is my business,” Cassian answered, his tone low and even, filled with the kind of anger that’s calm and calculated—the dangerous kind. “You’re my mate, luna to my pack. And you’re messing with that.”
Griffin growled from his corner of the room, hunched low like a dog backed into, well, a corner. I’d never noticed how much their actions mimicked wolves, even in their human forms, until now.
“Don’t talk about him like that,” I barked out, a little wolf of my own joining the mix. I couldn’t help it; he was insulting my mate. Though, he was also my mate, which made me want to console him, as well. “Like it or not, I’m mated to both of you. Griffin can accept that, so why can’t you?”
“You’re not seriously asking me to share you with him? You don’t get to bounce back and forth like some kind of tramp,” Cassian snapped.
I gasped as pain, anger, and complete shock rolled through me. He actually called me a tramp. Ember placed a hand on his shoulder, and he snarled at her, though she didn’t waver. “Come on, Cass. You need to leave before you say anything else you regret.” Her tone was soft, though her eyes held a warning.
He grunted and turned away, heading toward the door, stopping for just a moment to add, “Have fun with your mate.” That word held so much contempt, it made me wince. “I’ll have Ember bring you your things tomorrow. Don’t bother coming back to the warehouse.”
Turning on his heels, he left the apartment, Ember standing in the middle of the bedroom. “What should I do?” she asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.
“Go with him,” I answered. “Make sure he’s okay, and he doesn’t do something stupid. I think it’s best if I don’t go after him right now.”
Ember snorted. “No doubt about that.” She grabbed her phone and said she’d text me later, disappearing from the apartment and leaving me with grumpy asshole number two.
Griffin was still breathing heavy, his shoulder tensed up and in a fighting stance, waiting for the conflict to start again. I sighed and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm to snap him out of it. He blinked a few times and relaxed his muscles.
“You want some popcorn?” I asked, shrugging my shoulders.
* * *
EMILY
We spent the afternoon watching movies, though my mind never stopped racing; the adrenaline in my body hadn’t settled since the fight. Griffin sprawled out on the couch as I sat in the chair, stewing.
