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12
Forge
Maya is still asleep when the dawn awakens me, so I slip outside and take a turn around the parking lot. My wolf is longing to be let out, but no way am I letting Maya out of my sight while I try to find someplace to let it run free. It’ll have to wait. Besides, I’ve got a feeling that it’ll have plenty of opportunity to work out its aggression later today.
There’s something new in the air this morning. We’ll be at the Easton pack’s territory in just over an hour, and the thought of that should fill me with tension, but instead, I feel… kinda calm.
A brand-new state of mind.
I hadn’t realized how much resentment I had stored up toward Griff over the years. When we were kids, we used to be, well, like twins. Always hanging out together. And then he left, I stayed, and I couldn’t get over the fact that he’d cheated me.
But Maya was right—it had to be one of us. And while I was busy stalking around, scaring the shit out of people, he was in the library, learning stuff. Which was how he found out about the law. He deserved his escape.
And this goddamn epiphany would never have happened without Maya’s help. I knew she was resourceful and determined, from the way she’s been looking for her brother, but this is a whole other level.
She should do this professionally, I think. Counseling or something like it. I turn around and rush back to the motel room, excited to tell her about my idea, because I know she’s frustrated that she hasn’t figured out her life’s calling yet.
Not that my baby needs to have a job. I’ll be happy to provide for her every single day of her life. But I know she’s ambitious and she’s got a lot to offer the world.
My wolf lets off a snarl. There’s a dark shape by the door of the motel room.
Shit. I shouldn’t have left her alone. Even for a second.
Heart pounding, I charge. My T-shirt gets shredded as my wolf starts to burst out of my skin. I land on the intruder’s back, and my razor-sharp teeth fasten onto the back of his neck. A deep voice bellows in pain.
And the motel room door swings open.
There’s Maya, in nothing but a T-shirt of mine, her face all blurred with sleep. Her mouth forms a perfect O. “Forge!” she screams.
“Forge? What the fuck?” roars a familiar voice as the figure tries to twist out of my grip.
Griff. The fucking intruder is Griff. The back of his neck is bleeding, and Maya is looking at me with a mixture of horror and outrage.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I tell Maya. My wolf relinquishes its hold on his neck and I force it back inside me.
“What the fuck?” Griff repeats, pressing his hand to his neck, then examining the blood in disbelief.
“What the fuck were you doing, sniffing around my door?” I snarl.
“Coming to speak to you, obviously!” He roars. “What is wrong with—?”
“What do you need?” I cut him off. No one gets near my mate when I’m not around.
Maya thrusts a towel through the door, which she’s keeping barely cracked. Griff takes it and wipes his neck, while treating me to a dirty look. He shakes his head and hands it back with a polite thank you to Maya.
Then he clears his throat. “Have you seen the message from your investigator?”
“Huh?” I yank my phone out of my back pocket and scroll.
Beau has managed to intercept a bunch of messages between several members of the Easton pack, and they’re talking about taking Demetrius out. He’s exhausted their patience.
“Crap,” I mutter.
“Exactly. We’ve gotta go. Do yourself a favor and put a fresh shirt on.”
Maya ismad at me until I convince her that I had no idea it was Griff at the door and my wolf got all protective. Then she softens and kisses me and says she’s always happy to see my animal.
I don’t tell her all the details of Beau’s messages. She’s already tense enough, and I know the long journey would be hell, sitting behind me with nothing to distract her from her worries. I just say we should hurry, before her brother does something he’ll regret.
