Chapter 81

BELLE

My mouth fell open as I stared up at the back of Grayson’s head. I couldn’t believe he had just spoken to my boss like that! He seriously didn’t care if I got fired, did he?

I shoved at his shoulder, trying to get him to take a step forward so I could get out of the corner he had caged me in. Of course, he wouldn’t budge.

“I’m fine-“I started.

“And who exactly are you?” Jerry asked before I could continue. I could hear the challenge in his voice. Oh G od, this was not good.

“I’m her… husband,” Grayson stated. “Belle is my wife.” He sounded far too pleased to be saying

that.

“No,” I immediately disagreed, shoving at his back even harder. “You’re not-”

“So you’re the asshole who broke my door,” Jerry said.

I huffed. Seriously, why was no one letting me talk? Stu pid men. Now Jerry knew that Grayson was back here, even though I had promised him that my so-called ex wouldn’t ever return.

“I hate to break it to you, buddy, but you’re the reason she’s even working right now,” Jerry continued, scanning Grayson’s massive form with a sneer.

The fact that he wasn’t intimidated by Grayson was just further proof that he was an idiot.

“Belle isn’t scheduled for a break tonight because she’s working to make up for the loss of revenue she caused this morning.

“So I suggest you let her get back to work before I decide she doesn’t have a job here anymore.”

I could feel Grayson starting to shake. His square jaw looked like it was ready to pop free of its hinge. “Belle’s not getting paid?”

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He looked back at me, his eyes darkening, starting to swirl with black once again. “You’re not getting paid to work?”

I swallowed. “Just for tonight.” I told him, trying to speak calmly so he wouldn’t lose My cool. “It’s fine though, really-

“No. It’s not fine. It’s the furthest thing from fine.” His voice sounded like gravel. He turned back to Jerry, openly glaring

Jerry finally seemed to come to his senses when he saw Grayson’s furious expression and took a step back in fear. “I’m taking Belle home right now.”

Jerry’s brows rose in surprise. “Excuse me? She’s not done with her shift.”

My pulse started to pound. “Grayson,” I whispered. I hated how desperate I sounded. The last thing I wanted to do right now was beg, but I didn’t have a choice.

I squeezed his arm, hoping that the contact with him would make him more understanding, even if I wasn’t his mate anymore. “Stop. Please. I can’t lose my job.”

Grayson looked down at me, studying me for a moment. It seemed to cost him an effort to inhale steadily.

He turned back to my boss. “You will allow Belle to go home for the night. You will not speak of this again. In fact, you won’t even remember it happened.”

Then, before I could even comprehend what was happening, I was abruptly thrown over Grayson’s shoulder and marched straight past my boss and all the other people in the diner.

“Grayson, put me down!” I screamed. I was able to lift myself slightly, shocked when I saw Jerry walking in the opposite direction from us. My brows furrowed.

What the hell? He was giving up just like that? “Grayson, put me down right now!” I screamed even louder, pounding on his back and kicking my legs.

I winced when my fists felt like they were connecting with solid rock rather than flesh. I doubted that this man had any sort of body fat on him at all.

“Stop,” Grayson ordered, tightening his hold on my legs until it became nearly impossible to move. I huffed in anger. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

He carried me through the back entrance of the diner, where thankfully, no one could see the embarrassing predicament I was in.

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“I’m not done with my shift!” I yelled.

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Grayson shrugged his massive shoulders, lifting me up and down with the movement. “Don’t care.”

“I cannot get fired, Grayson! Please! Put me down!”

Without warning, Grayson stopped walking and shifted my body so that his arms were under my butt, holding me up, so my feet were dangling a few feet off the ground.

We were at the same eye level in this position. My breathing hitched when my gaze met his black eyes, showing me just how close he was to shifting into his wolf.

“You will not be fired,” he growled out, his tone deep and definitive. “If you want to keep that da mn job where they treat you like sh it, then so be it.

“I’ll ensure that you do not get fired for leaving tonight. But I’ll be da mned if I let them force you into working like a dog for hours without paying you.”

“You don’t know my boss, Grayson. He’s let people go for far less. And he hasn’t liked me since I started working there. How are you going to keep him from firing me? By threatening him?

“I don’t think that’s going to work in my favor.”

“I have my ways,” Grayson replied calmly, completely unbothered by my panic. I gave him a

dubious look.

“Stop worrying. Everything will be fine, I promise.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently.

I whipped my head back, disgusted that he would even think to put his lips on me after all he’s done.

Grayson’s eyes darkened even more, obviously not liking my reaction. I took a step back. Would he take his anger out on me like he had done so many times in the past?

“We’re done talking about this,” he fumed. “Where do you live? I’m taking you home and making sure you get something to eat and then a good night’s sleep.”

I immediately shook my head. “No. I’m not telling you where I live.”

One of Grayson’s brows lifted in a challenge. “You think I don’t have ways of finding out, baby?”

My heart fluttered when he called me baby.

I never thought I would be much for pet names if I ever got into a relationship, but there was just

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massaging my hip as he continued to hold me, his touch bringing me back to reality.

What the hell was I doing? He was able to make me lower my guard far too easily.

“Put me down,” I snapped yet again, wriggling in his arms. “And don’t call me baby.”

“No and no,” he shot back in the same final tone I had used. His grip on me never faltered. “Tell me where you live.”

I nearly screamed in frustration. “You don’t get to make demands of me, you…you bu ttface!”

Grayson’s eyes glittered in amusement. “But tface?” he repeated.

I couldn’t even let myself be embarrassed over the terrible insult I came up with, too consumed by my anger. “Yes, you’re a buttf ace! And a jacka ss and a…a jerk! Now put me down! And leave me

alone!”

Grayson ignored me, chuckling with amusement as he once again threw me over his shoulder like I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

I screamed in fury and kicked my legs, but nothing I did made him loosen his hold on me even the slightest bit.

“Stop!” I finally screamed as loud as I could manage. My irritation was so intense at this point that I couldn’t help my cries of frustration. “Put me down! Put me down right now!~”

To my surprise, that actually made Grayson pause. He stopped and lifted me from his shoulder, placing me on the ground gently.

His brows tugged together with concern when his dark eyes met mine. “Belle, baby, why are you crying? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I hadn’t even realized I was crying. I wiped away the tears quickly. G od, why did I have to be so weak?

I shoved his hands away from me harshly when he made a move to reach for me again. “Don’t touch me!” I screamed. “Don’t you ever touch me!”

Grayson looked like he was in physical pain as he watched me. “Okay, I won’t touch you,” he agreed. “Just tell me what I can do to make you feel better. It f ucking kills me to see you cry.”

I laughed in disbelief, the sound getting clogged in my throat. “You’re why I’m crying!” I yelled. “If it weren’t for you, if I hadn’t ever met you, I wouldn’t be crying right now.

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“I would be back in Minneapolis, completely content and oblivious to the fact that there is a man as evil and manipulative as you out there.” I sucked in a breath, my voice dropping to a h oa rse whisper.

“I wish I hadn’t met you.”

Grayson stiffened. I had to look away from the expression of pure torture he was sporting. “You don’t mean that.”

“Oh, don’t I?” I asked. “Don’t you understand what you did to me, Grayson? You ruined me. You completely and utterly destroyed me.

“I’ve been in agony for months, walking around like a zombie, only a shell of my old self. I’ll never be able to recover from what you did to me. It’ll forever plague me.

“And now here you are, acting all sweet and messing with my brain and making me think you might want me again and asking me to listen to you when I know what you did wasn’t right and…”

I paused, my lip quivering and my throat constricting as I desperately tried to hold back my tears.

“I-I want you,” I cried quietly, my words barely comprehensible. “I want you so bad that it hurts to look at you and be near you and just… I can’t want you. I can’t have you.”

Grayson stepped forward. “Yes, you can—”

“No, I can’t!” I interrupted. “Not after everything you did to me, and especially not when I know what you’re really capable of.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking my head and sniffling through my runny nose.

“What you’re doing right now is cruel. Acting like you care about me when you and I both know you don’t. It has got to be one of the most horrible things a person could do to another person.”

“I’m not acting, Belle,” Grayson said, a muscle sliding up and down his throat. His eyes were back to their normal green, boring into me like he wanted to make me permanently drown in his gaze.

“I do want you. I want you more than anything in this entire world.”

I angrily wiped at my tears, hating that I was letting him see me cry once again. I didn’t want him to know how much of a hold he still had on me.

“You mated with someone else. You rejected me. You-you left me on my own during the worst pain of my life after you decided you would rather have someone else

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%10080% 16.14 sumtuning mat restivicu scanization masticu i Graysuits cycs. TOU BUT ifidice with someone else,” he whispered. He cursed under his breath. “F uck, Belle, no wonder you’ve been so upset.”

He reached for me, but I dodged him, stepping back. I searched his eyes, confused as hell.

“I don’t understand,” I said.

Grayson took in a deep breath. “Belle, I never mated with that she-wolf.”

My heart turned upside down. I stared at him for several seconds, suddenly feeling dizzy. I couldn’t have heard him correctly.

“What?” I choked out.

“I never mated with anyone else,” he repeated. He took a step closer to me, so he was now less than a foot away from me. “Nothing ever happened. You’re still my mate. You’ve always been my mate.”

“You… You never slept with anybody else?” I asked, needing to hear him say it one more time.

Grayson shook his head, bringing his hands up to cup my checks. I was too busy trying to suck air in and out of my lungs to fight his touch this time.

“No. G od, no, baby. Sh it, I thought you knew. I thought you felt that we were still connected. This should’ve been the first thing I told you when I found you.”

He took in a deep breath, leaning in so close that I felt his breath fan over my face. “It’s only ever been you. You’re the only person I will ever be mating with. I’m still your mate, and you’re still

mine.”

“But… But I saw…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. The memory hurt too much.

“I know what you saw. I know. And I promise you there’s an explanation for it, just like there’s an explanation for every other terrible thing that happened to you because of me.

“Kyle stopped us before anything happened.” He wiped away the tears streaming down both my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

I could feel his pain radiating off of him through the bond in the same way I was sure he could feel mine. It only made each other’s pain worse.

“I can’t believe you’ve thought I was mated to someone else this entire time. Didn’t you feel it when Kyle stopped us?”

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Grayson made a whimpering noise. I opened my eyes, barely able to see him through my pooling tears. He took another tentative step forward, so his body was brushing up against mine

“Will you please let me hold you?” he asked,

I should have said no.

But I didn’t.

Grayson wrapped his arms around me and pulled me flush against him. That was all it took for me to burst into tears. My emotions came pouring out all at once, exhaustion and pain nearly overtaking

me.

“I’m so sorry, Belle,” Grayson repeatedly whispered in my car. “It’s always been you. I promise it’s always been you.”*

My knees buckled beneath me. I nearly dropped to the cement beneath us, but Grayson didn’t miss a

beat.

He scooped me up into his arms, hugging me close to him as he began to walk. I didn’t even care where he was taking me. I just needed to be close to him.

I sobbed into his chest like I had done earlier this morning when he’d found me. The information that he hadn’t slept with another person and that he was still technically my mate was shocking.

I didn’t know how to process the relief and pain that was coursing through me. So I didn’t. I just cried and let Grayson hold me.

Only minutes had passed when I heard Grayson speak again. “Belle, where are your keys?”

I lifted my teary gaze from the crook of his neck. To my utter surprise, we were in front of the door to my apartment. I frowned. How the hell had we gotten here so fast?

How had he even known where I lived? I guess he really did have ways of finding out my information.

“Belle, baby. Keys. Please, I just need to get you inside and into bed so I can take care of you properly,” Grayson said.

I blinked, finally processing what he was saying. “I left them at the diner,” I realized. I weakly wiped the tears from my eyes. “It doesn’t matter, though. The lock doesn’t work.”

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“What?” Grayson snapped. His hand flew to the doorknob and twisted. The door opened with no problem.

He growled, the feeling vibrating against my chest. “You’ve been staying in an apartment that doesn’t f ucking lock?”

I shrugged sheepishly. “It’s not like I have anything worth stealing.”

He swore under his breath, his body trembling with the evidence of his wolf, but he stepped through the doorway without arguing.

And that’s when sudden panic rose in my chest.

“Wait!” I yelled.

Grayson’s movements paused, and he looked down at me in concern.

“The fact that you didn’t sleep with someone else doesn’t change anything,” I said, swallowing thickly.

Grayson’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re not forgiven,” I somehow managed to say without fumbling over my words.

“You may not have had sex with that girl, but you still cheated on me. I saw it-felt it. A-And you still said horrible things to me and hit me and abused me and… “I paused, breathing deeply.

“What you did to me is still unforgivable.”

Grayson growled. “No. F uck this. You need to know what happened. It wasn’t me-

“I don’t care!” I yelled back. “I truly don’t care! Nothing, absolutely nothing can excuse what you did to me! Now, put. Me. Down!”

Grayson’s throat muscles shifted in a pattern, and he made a h oar se animal sound at the back of his throat. He still didn’t let me go. And I wanted to scream.

Finally deciding I’d had enough, I brought my leg up as hard and fast as I could and slammed my knee right into his crotch, knowing it was the only place that wasn’t covered in pure muscle.

And therefore also the place where I could do the most damage.

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He didn’t let go of me, but his hold loosened just enough for me to squirm my way out of his arms and onto the ground.

Still overtaken with pain, Grayson doubled over slightly. Knowing this was my only charice, I pushed him out of the doorway of my apartment and slammed the door shut directly in his face.

I didn’t waste a second before grabbing a folding metal chair from the table nearby and placing it under the doorknob.

Then I grabbed the door chain and bolt lock and made sure both were secure, praying it would be enough to keep him out. My apartment may not lock from the outside, but it sure as hell did from

the inside.

I wasn’t stu pid enough to sleep in an apartment where any random person could come in at any time

while I was in there.

It only took a second for Grayson’s angry voice to be heard from the other side of the door. He banged against the wood. “Belle! Let me in right now!”

I didn’t reply as I watched my door shake on its hinges. I backed up, afraid he would come smashing through at any moment.

I knew Grayson could break it down if he wanted, but I really hoped he would give up before it came

to that.

I could feel tears start to fall again as Grayson continued to bang against the door. “Open this door right now, Belle, or I swear I’ll break it down!”

I sat down on my mattress, which still left me in view of the door, bringing my knees close to my chest. I couldn’t stop the so bs that took over my body.

I didn’t even care if Grayson could hear me. I didn’t care about anything anymore.

I just sat on my bed and… cried.

The banging stopped the moment the first so b left my mouth. I could barely hear Grayson’s broken voice whisper, “Belle…”

He sounded so sad, so broken. But not as broken as I felt. And definitely not broken enough for me

to do as he asked.

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I didn’t reply as I watched my door shake on its hinges. I backed up, afraid he would come smashing through at any moment.

I knew Grayson could break it down if he wanted, but I really hoped he would give up before it came

to that.

I could feel tears start to fall again as Grayson continued to bang against the door. “Open this door right now, Belle, or I swear I’ll break it down!”

I sat down on my mattress, which still left me in view of the door, bringing my knees close to my chest. I couldn’t stop the so bs that took over my body.

I didn’t even care if Grayson could hear me. I didn’t care about anything anymore.

I just sat on my bed and… cried.

The banging stopped the moment the first s ob left my mouth. I could barely hear Grayson’s broken voice whisper, “Belle…”

He sounded so sad, so broken. But not as broken as I felt. And definitely not broken enough for me

to do as he asked.

I wasn’t sure how long I stayed like that. I cried for what felt like hours until my throat was co arse, and my voice was gone. I didn’t hear Grayson again. I wasn’t even sure if he was still outside my

door.

I tried telling myself I didn’t care.