The door to Grayson's bedroom clicks closed as I stomp over to the opposite corner of the room. The room seems different somehow, gloomier than the last time I was here. Now, the dark furniture doesn't add to the style of the room, it adds to the dark thoughts swimming in my head.

How could Grayson be so cruel? How could he decide to kill an innocent so easily? I know he didn't necessarily believe that Eli was innocent, but how could he act as judge, jury, and executioner without gathering all possible information? Eli is weak- he was unconscious for God's sake!

As much as I hate to admit it, the thing that upsets me the most isn't the fact that he was so quick to kill my warlock friend- it was the fact that he didn't respect me. He sent his goons in to carry me out kicking and screaming while he got blood on his hands unnecessarily- and all because he has this vendetta against all coven members.

I had to threaten him with something deep. Something that would show the severity of his actions. When Cooper told me about marking, I thought I would bring it up when we got intimate, or when I felt the time was right- not in the heat of the moment to stop him from making a rash decision.

As I turn around to face Grayson, his eyes are black- as they usually are whenever he's infuriated with something. He's been angry more often than not, and I'm usually the one to calm him down. Not today...

The silence between us is deafening. The only sound is of our breathing- mine coming out in short puffs and his in long, shallow breaths. He doesn't say anything, so I choose to begin this argument.

"Aren't you going to apologize?" I give him a glare as I cross my arms in front of my chest. He only scoffs in return.

"I should apologize? How about you apologize for threatening me and not allowing me to complete a werewolf tradition? And all because I was trying to protect you!" As he screams, a vein in the side of his neck protrudes from his skin. His eyes war between black and steel, but settle on black.

"I had to threaten you because you were going to murder my friend! A friend who, might I remind you, saved my life? He's not going to hurt me!"

"He could have-"

I cut Grayson off before he can speak again. It's my turn to be angry.

"And you were going to throw me out of there, like a prisoner? You sent your little guards to grab me and force me out of the room! Do you know how scared I was?" My vision becomes blurrier by the second as tears cloud my eyes. The salty tears don't fall, but they will any second now.

His eyebrows furrow as he takes in my fearful form. His fingers extend out to me, as if his instinct is to hold me when I'm vulnerable and upset.

"Thea, you should know that they would never hurt you-"

"I wasn't scared of them," I say in a low voice that I knew he could hear. "I was scared of you." Now my tears fall, trailing down my cheeks, down my chin, staining my face with wet mascara. I must look like a deranged raccoon, but I don't care what I look like right now.

Grayson's face says it all. Tears form in his eyes before he quickly wipes them away with a fist before they can fall. He looks at me with regret and guilt as his mouth opens and closes as he searches for the right words to say.

"You were scared of me?" he whispers, and I almost don't catch his words. I nod my head slowly, watching his reaction. He exhales quickly before grabbing his dark locks between his fingers and pulling harshly. He paces around the room, left foot, right foot, left foot- turn. Right foot, left foot, right foot- turn. He stops pacing to walk over to me, but almost as if he remembers why he's pacing in the first place, he stops reaching for me and begins pacing again. I'm mesmerized by his movements, I'm stuck watching this vulnerable side of Grayson that I'm so unaccustomed to viewing.

He turns to the back wall and clenches his fist. He then turns to me, and I can finally see his face. His canines are extended, and his nose looks more like a snout. His eyes are pitch black, and I take a step back from him. He looks more like an angry beast than a man in this moment.

"I can't even punch the fucking wall because you'll be more scared of me than you are right now!" He growls more to himself than he does to me. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." He continues apologizing, muttering words under his breath that I can't hear. It's painful to watch the person you care about suffering, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do.

His nose looks more like its human feature by the second, and he now looks like my Grayson. His eyes turn to two beautiful blue orbs, and if he didn't look so sad, I would say he looks normal. He slowly walks over to me, keeping his eyes trained on mine. He hesitantly reaches out to me and hold my hand softly, as if it could break in his hand from a mere touch. He looks like a sad puppy right now.

"I'm so sorry, Thea. I never meant to scare you, and I really hope you can still see that I would never hurt you. Never. I may get angry sometimes, I may punch walls- or people- but I would never touch you in any way you don't like. I love you too much."

I freeze up when I hear his confession. Did he just say that he loves me? I look up at him, calming down as his thumb gently ghosts my hand as he rubs up and down in a soothing patterns. Grayson loves me? The more his words echo in my brain, the more I question them. Did I hear him correctly? I know he cares deeply for me, but I didn't know that it was love. I've never been loved by anyone that isn't family...

"Y-you love me?" I whisper, the words coming out hesitantly and unsure. He gives me a small smile and grips my hand a little tighter.

"I thought it was obvious. I've been in love with you ever since I met you at Java. I've just been waiting for you to catch up. I don't want to wait to tell you anymore. Even if you don't feel the same way yet, I'll wait forever until you-"

"I love you, too." I smile widely at him, my head tilting up to meet his eyes. He naturally gravitated closer to me while bearing his heart to me.

As soon as the words leave my lips, Grayson's smile grows wider than I've ever seen it. He wraps his arms around my body and spins me in circles around the room. Our combined laughter echoes throughout the space, and I couldn't be happier than I am right now. This compassionate, caring, drool-worthy man loves me- and I love him!

Without lowering me, he supports by butt with one hand and steadies me with a hand on my lower back. My legs naturally wrap around his torso as our lips meet halfway. The sparks spread through my entire body, and they feel like tiny fireworks releasing under my skin. For some reason, the kiss seems so much more meaningful now that I know he loves me. I'm giddy just thinking about those three little words.

I'm half paying attention when my back hits the mattress, my thoughts focusing more on the movement of my lips and the fluttering feeling residing low in my belly. Every time his tongue brushes mine, my core tightens again. I'm full of need- for Grayson, and a release.

He senses I need a break to breathe, but he apparently doesn't need oxygen because he continues kissing down my neck, licking, sucking, and biting on his way down. I wouldn't be surprised if my neck was bright purple tomorrow. "Gray," I moan when he reaches the sensitive area between my neck and shoulder. He continues kissing and lightly biting the area, sending me into a fit. My body can't help but squirm at the sensitivity.

His large hands cage me in. Only part of his weight is on me as he continues his assault on my neck, and he lets more weight fall on me to stop my squirming and to stop my legs from finding the friction they need to soothe the rising intensity in between them.

"I want to mark you so badly," he groans as he nips at my neck once again. I can't help but let out a large moan. I kind of want him to mark me, too. Would I be too much of a pansy if I let him after our big argument? I definitely don't want him to think that what he said and did was okay, but I desperately need to feel closer to him- I love him.

"Wait," I whisper, lightly pushing at his arms. He immediately stops what he's doing and lifts his body off of mine so all of his weight is on his elbows. He's literally doing a plank position on top of me and doesn't seem like he's out of breath at all... Do his abs have abs? Stop getting distracted, Thea...

"We need to finish talking about what happened earlier. You can't just send your guards to physically remove me from somewhere you don't want me to be. And you can't not listen to me. You know that Eli's my friend, and you were still going to kill him!"

He releases a breath from his nose as he drops his head into my neck. He nods as he mumbles "I know," into my neck.

"You know what?" I ask, unsure of what he means.

He lifts his head back to me as he changes positions so he's laying next to me instead of over me. "I'm not used to listening to other people. In the past, what I say goes. Now I have my little Luna to take into account. It was wrong of me to overrule you. I promise you that it won't happen again." He seems genuine as he says it, and I really want to believe him. However, how can I be sure he's not just telling me what I want to hear so that I'll let him mark me? There's still an insecure part of me that questions why Grayson would even want to be with me in the first place. If it weren't for the mate bond, would he even look in my direction?

"I can practically hear those gears turning in that cute head of yours. Tell me, baby." He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear as he looks at me in awe. Just the way he looks at me makes me blush.

"I just- the way you were acting earlier... I've never seen you act like that."

He nods, understanding where I was coming from with my hesitation. "I know you don't fully understand, but werewolves are possessive and protective- way more than humans. We make decisions based off of instinct way more than we do on logic. When I thought you were dead," his eyes dilate slightly as he remembers, "I almost went mad. I was about ready to kill anything in my path. I'm actually surprised nobody got hurt. I couldn't think straight. When I saw that fucking warlock with you, knowing he was the one who kidnapped you right under my nose, all I wanted was blood. I couldn't listen to reason. I couldn't listen to you, because all I was thinking about was getting you away from him- to keep you safe."

"He didn't kidnap me," I tease him about his choice of words as the corner of my mouth rises up in amusement. He's exaggerating quite a bit.

"He took you away from your guard in a portal. I consider that kidnapping." His hand gently cups my cheek as his thumb strokes my skin. The warmth from his hand is so comforting that a light sigh escapes from me.

"I'll admit I wasn't thinking clearly and wasn't considering all of the facts. Look, I'm not going to lie to you- I don't trust him. I never will." I open my mouth to interject, but Grayson's thumb presses lightly against my lips to shut me up.

"However," he stresses the word, "I won't hurt him unless he gives me a reason to. I'll try- for you."

Looking up at the man I love, I can almost feel his honesty. That must have taken a lot out of him to admit that he was wrong. He's trusting my judgement and listening to my wants even though everything in him is screaming to decorate the walls and floors with Eli's blood.

I don't know what possesses me to be so bold, but with a wave of confidence and love for Grayson, I open my mouth and suck his thumb into it while keeping eye contact with him.

His eyes immediately close as his jaw loosens with the feeling of my mouth sucking on him. When his eyes open once again, his eyes are pitch black. He sends me a predatory smile as he smirks.

"You don't know what you've just started."

Then he pounces.

😏