Chapter 87: Chapter 87

Her smile is so patient. Like this flashes of the monster I can be are nothing to concern her. But that is just idiocy.

“There are things you don’t know about me, Grace.”

She nods. “And that’s all right. If there ever comes a time when you want to talk, you’ll know where to fine me.”

Would anyone else have indulged my secrets? I don’t think so.

"Sister, you'll never leave me, right?"

She smiles. "Didn't we agree before? You won't leave me, and nor will I leave you."

Then, because clearly this woman has no sense of self-preservation at all, she walks right into my arms and rests her head on my chest.

“Jay…Thank you.”

My arms are wrapped around her, and I truly cannot imagine what she is thanking me for. It’s not like she knows the steps I’ve taken behind the scenes to protect her. Speaking of… there are guards that I’ll be dealing with shortly.

“The time I spend with you makes me so happy,” she says.

Hmm. Okay.

It’s not so different for me. Of all the souls on this earth, I’m most content with the one beside me right now.

My wolf…likes her too.

Theo is angry she cannot run with us. Her humanness is something we both have to get used to.

My phone rings and she steps out of my arms so I can answer it.

The number is one I recognize.

My beta.

“Is it time to go to work?” I ask him as I answer.

“We are ready for you,” is Terrence’s reply.

“Go!” Grace says. “You shower and dress. I’ll have breakfast prepared by the time you’re out.”

Within twenty minutes, I’m out of the apartment. Only instead of walking out of the complex and being picked up by Terrence, I see him standing across the lot in front of another set of apartments.

He disappears into unit 107 and leaves the door open.

Splendid.

I’ve been itching to let my anger out.

And those guars who allowed Alpha Sean Stevens not only onto these grounds but directly to Grace’s doorstep. They were about to pay.

My wolf would make sure of it.

* * * * * * * * * *

SEAN In the living room of the Stevens Pack home, my father presides like some king.

I’m the current alpha, but you wouldn’t know it for how he carries himself.

We had discussed a gradual transition of power, and for the most part he has honored that. But then he’ll get into one of his moods—like he is now—and he’ll treat me like I’m thirteen all over again.

"Sean, Lily said that Jason had his beta pick you up to meet him. Why did he suddenly want to meet you in private?"

My father’s voice sounds confident on the surface, and accusatory—because that’s why I’ve been called home. To answer my father’s inquiries.

But there’s a thread of worry in the tone too.

After all, the Stevens Family is dealing with Pack Reed. Our company holdings have been…struggling these last several years, and we cannot afford any holdups. My soon-to-be marriage connection with the Atkinson Pack would be their ticket back to success.

Oh, we keep up the pretenses—we have to.

If anyone was to think we are weak or vulnerable, we’d be subject to attacks from other packs or from wolves in our own pack who think they can beat me.

If Jason is to oppose the marriage or, worse, if he was to declare that Lily and I cannot marry—which is within his right as the highest ranking Alpha in the region—then everything we’ve worked for would be lost.

And Pack Stevens, as we now know it, would fall completely.

“What did he say?” My father presses again.

"Nothing much," I prevaricate.

"Nothing much because you say so, or because there actually isn’t much to tell? I can’t believe that, Sean. Why would Jason have his beta pick you up for no reason?" My father’s hands curl into fists. He has a short temper and his wolf is violent.

"That's right, Sean,” my mother says as she enters the room. “Lily isn’t wrong to contact us—we should’ve heard about Alpha Reed’s visit directly from you.” She sees the mood my father is in and she moves to his side. She holds my dad’s hand, and as his mate, she manages to calm him.

There’s isn’t a true mate bond, I don’t think. Not with the way my father fucks most every other female he comes across. But they are connected and as Luna, my mother can calm him. They get on well enough, I suppose. In their own way.

“If anything did happen, you can just be honest with us," she says persuasively.

I take a deep breath. ”It's really nothing."

My father crosses his arms. “It has to be something. Quit playing games.”

But I can’t say it.

That invitation—and let’s be real, it was a summons—was initiated with one result in mind. To keep me silent.

If Jason Reed were to learn I told anyone of his ‘relationship’ with Grace Cummins, I have no doubt the retribution will be swift and harsh.

Jason Reed did not make idle threats.

The old patriarch of the Reed family had been rumored to be a severe man, but I think he probably pales in comparison to the current Alpha. In my gut, I know the true menace is Jason. Jason shows no fear of anyone or anything. And he’s so powerful, his reach of influence is boundless.

"Does Jason still have a grudge against the Stevens Family? Does he want to take action against us?"

Mr. Stevens asked.

“It has nothing to do with the Stevens Family,” I lie. “The day Mr. Reed met me, he just talked about my engagement." It’s the only excuse I can come up with. “He wished us much happiness and success.”

My parents finally breathe a sigh of relief and their expressions brighten considerably upon hearing that.

On the other hand, my sister, Zoe, says indignantly as she storms into the room, "In the end, it's all because of Grace. If it weren't for her, why would our family be so nervous about this marriage?"