<b>Chapter </b><b>19 </b>


    JESSICA


    28


    “Is she okay?” I ask Grayson after following him inside the pack clinic and not having the courage to go in. My hands won’t stop shaking. My chest is tight and everything in me is screaming that I need to see her, but my legs won’t move.


    “She’s stable,” he says, and I exhale too fast. My eyes sting. “Pierce is already there. You should go inside too.”


    hate how cold he sounds. It’s because he heard everything. Shit. I was angry. I was scared. I didn’t think it would matter because he wasn’t supposed to be there. He wasn’t supposed to hear the parts of me I don’t let out unless I feel like I’m drowning.


    “I didn’t mean it,” I say, voice barely above a whisper, barely enough to carry. “I was just-” I stop. What? Upset? Hurt? Trying to prove something?


    Grayson finally turns. Just slightly. “I understand,” he says.


    I blink. Understand… what?


    My eyes search his face before I can stop myself.


    Grayson looks empty.


    He’s never looked at me like that before. Not once. It’s always anger or control or that sharp edge like he’s about to say something reckless just to get a reaction.


    “You said what you felt,” he says, quiet now. “I’m not going to punish you for being honest.”


    “I wasn’t-” I start, but the words get stuck halfway out.


    The clinic door creaks open.


    Pierce leans out, face pale and drawn. “Jess.”


    I turn to him fast, the sound of my name snapping through whatever held me frozen. My heart stutters, caught between one breath and the next.


    His brows are furrowed. Eyes shift–me, then Grayson, then lower. “She’s awake,” Pierce says. “She asked for you.”


    I nod because it’s all I can do. My throat is too tight and my chest is too full to answer properly, and I know that if I open my mouth right now<i>, </i>something else mighte out instead. I try to find Grayson but he’s already walking away.


    “Jess?” Pierce calls again, and I blink hard, dragging my eyes away and forcing my feet to move.


    “I’ming,” I say, even though the words scrape on the way out.


    After that day, Grayson seems to be so busy. My mom has been discharged, and it’s good that the bite from the rogue is healing well. I don’t know how she got bitten inside our vige perimeter though. I think Pierce is leading the


    investigation, which is why I can’t ask him about Gray.


    <b>1/4 </b>


    12:45 Wed, 30 Jul GE


    That’s why I’m here now, standing outside his office like an idiot, fighting for my life over whether I should knock or pretend I just passed by. I don’t even know what I’m going to say. Or why I need to say anything at all.


    “This is so stupid, Jess,” I mutter, pressing my forehead against the door. “Why are you even bothered about it?”


    “Uh… excuse me?”


    I freeze. Slowly–so slowly–I look up. And my heart drops somewhere past my ribs.


    She’s gorgeous.


    71%


    +28


    Tall hair curled just enough to look effortless, lips painted soft but sharp, like she didn’t even try and still walked out of a magazine. Expensive perfume, perfect posture, a folder in one hand, and a face I recognize even though I’ve never seen it this close.


    Grayson’s rumored girlfriend.


    Or ex. Or secret. Or whatever she is now. No one’s seen her in years since her family left the pack.


    “Hi,” she smiles, and even her smile is gorgeous. “I’m Aria, and I’m looking for Grayson’s office? I’m sorry, everything in here changes. You know, I’ve been here before–I mean, I was part of the pack, but our family moved to Italy so…”


    Sheughs again, soft and breezy. “Oh, shit. I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”


    I blink. My mouth is dry. She talks with her hands when she’s nervous, but her nervous still looks good.


    “Is Grayson inside?<i>” </i>she asks.


    “I…” I swallow, trying to find my voice. “I don’t know. I haven’t knocked yet.”


    “Oh,” she says, and her smile doesn’t falter. “Were you-?”


    “No. I mean–kind of. Not really<i>.</i><i>” </i>God, I sound insane.


    She steps back slightly, giving me space like she’s trying not to make it weird. “I didn’t mean to interrupt or anything. I’ve just been trying to find this hallway for like ten minutes.”


    “It’s fine,” I say quickly, even though none of this feels fine. “Really.”


    She smiles again, and this one’s softer. “You look like you’ve had a long day.”


    And I don’t know what to say to that, because she doesn’t mean it in a bad way. She’s just… kind. Warm. The exact opposite of what I was expecting from the girl everyone whispered about.


    Before I can say anything, the door swings open behind me. I jump. Literally jump and then I freeze because standing there, in the doorway, is Grayson, wearing that same unreadable expression I haven’t seen in three days.


    His eyes go to me first. Then to her. Then back to me. I feel so awkward especially when Aria squeals, pushes past me, throws her arms around his neck. “Oh my god—babe!” Aria leans back, still smiling, still close enough to breathe his air like it’s hers to take. “God, it’s been forever,” she says. “I miss you, Gray.”


    and


    371%


    12:45 Wed, <b>30 </b>Jul


    Gray chuckles, and suddenly I feel the urge to rip his smirk off his face.


    What’s so funny, Westwood?


    +28)


    “What? You won’t tell me you missed me too?” she says, looking up at him through a flutter ofshes that look anything


    but subtle.


    “Still arrogant, I guess?”


    That makes meugh.


    Both of them look at me, and I pretend to look away.


    I mean I’m not eavesdropping. Not really.


    “Jess.” Grayson called my name and I forced a smile. Thankfully, Aria’s hands are no longer around his neck. “What are you doing here?”


    i straighten a little too fast. “Nothing… I was just-”


    I don’t even finish the sentence. My brain scrambles for something that makes sense, but all I end up saying is, “It’s nothing.”


    His eyes flick down. “You don’t have ss anymore?”


    “I—yeah. I just—“I want to say I came here to apologize but he looks really not pissed and even have time to catch up with some girl.


    “Go and wait inside my office.”


    1 re at his back. I’m not his damn dog. “I should go.”


    “Inside. Now.”


    Aria looks at us, and I suddenly feel so exposed I can’t breathe right. Tss. I just don’t want to embarrass him, so I follow his order and walk inside.


    As I reach the door, I catch him leaning in–whispering something to Aria before she chuckles and gives me a look.


    “Just give me a minute,” he tells her, voice low. A secondter, he’s inside too. The door shuts behind him. “Sit down, Jessica.”


    I don’t move. “It’s bad <i>to </i>make your girlfriend wait for you.”


    His eyes flick over me. “Sit.”


    I’m not your dog Grayson.”


    “Could’ve fooled me,” he says, moving behind his desk. “You’ve been circling this office like a stray for the past forty


    minutes.”


    12:45 Wed, 30 Jul & G ti


    X71%2


    My eyes widened. So he fucking knew. “You’re such an asshole.”


    Grayson shrugs. He pulls open the top drawer of his desk, fingers shifting through loose papers until he finds what he’s looking for. It’s a small ck bag. He zips it closed before handing it to me.


    This will keep you here for a while,” he says. “I’ll try to be back in fifteen. I want you here.”


    My brows furrow. I don’t want to ept anything from him, so Grayson puts it on myp instead.


    “Don’t be such a brat.”


    A–what?” I blink at him.


    He lets out a quiet chuckle, then takes a step forward before I even figure out what thatugh is supposed to mean.


    His handnds on the arm of the chair, and before I can pull back or ask what the hell he’s doing, he leans down and kisses <ol><li>me. </li></ol>


    It’s just a quick kiss, but it’s enough to knock the air out of me. “Fifteen minutes. Don’t disappear.”


    AJA