Chapter 205

Grace

I woke with a gasp, the dream's chill clinging to my skin. The punching bag swung slightly above me. I tasted blood in my mouth, and my body still ached. The reflection's words echoed in my mind. I didn’t know what to make of it.

One thing was clear: my head felt clearer. I could see those moments that I remembered in the dream as if I was standing outside my own body. I watched countless fights between Devin and me and how I always backed down.

My confrontational. In love. Hopeful. A liar.

I can remember ever finding Devin not actively. You and the divorce felt more like a nail in a coffin. I remember how disinterested he was when he signed the paperwork and walked out of the office. Apathetic.

I groaned and turned onto my back. I was still sprawled on the hard training room floor. Every part of my body screamed in protest. The anger remained, simmering beneath the surface, but it felt less chaotic, more focused. Not a raging inferno but a smoldering ember waiting to be used. What was that? I felt a little bit like I was waking up out of a haze, and yet everything was so clear. I could remember every word I said to Charles before he left. None of the words seemed wrong. It all felt so reasonable, and yet he was gone. He didn’t tell me where he was going or when he’d be back.

Until you have nothing left….

If he was coming back.

“Ah, you’re awake finally.”

I turned over, squinting at Eason as he came down the stairs and the motion-activated lights turned on. When did that happen? I don’t remember having motion-activated lights down here or anywhere in the house. He took a seat on the last stair, a pint of ice cream balanced precariously on his finger.

"Rough morning?" he asked, his voice laced with amusement. “You look like shit.”

“… Are you here to make fun of me?”

“Sis’, I’m your little brother. That’s my entire job.” He popped the top off the ice cream and materialized the spoon out of thin air. “ Don’t ask all the questions, or I’ll think you have a concussion.”

"Get a new job,” I grumbled, wincing as I tried to shift my weight. My body felt like it had been put through a wringer. Was this the shift or something else? My knee ached.

“I already did that. I became great at it and made a lot of money from it, too. I’m taking a break from that for right now, though. Doctor’s orders, sort of.”

"Knee acting up?" He raised an eyebrow, his gaze flicking down to my leg.

"You plan to heal it?” I snapped, irritation spiking as another twinge of pain came.

“Oh, no, I don’t interfere in karma, bad vibes, or just desserts.”

I snarled. “Karma? You’re calling this karma?”

“Totally. I wouldn’t move around too much if I were you. You might as well just get used to the floor. I gave you a potion while you were out. You need to sit there and let it work.”

“A potion for what?”

“Shifting high.” He scooped some more ice cream onto his spoon. “George called to tell me that it was probably a good idea. And after hearing all the crap you said to Charles earlier, I couldn’t agree more.” He let out a deep sigh. “I swear the moon must bless you. I didn’t have potions when I went to my first shift. It was hell.”

“I don’t want to hear a thing about Charles right now.”

“You want to complain about him?”

"He’s protecting that psycho who attacked us because she’s his mate.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Of course I am.”

He hummed. It sounded disbelieving. “Okay, any other delusions you want to share with the class?”

“It’s not a delusion! I’m not crazy. And no matter what he said, I know the truth.”

“… So he did mention therapy.” I glared at him. He shrouded and ate some more ice cream. “Look, you were straight triggered when I suggested it to you years ago, so I know you didn’t go…. I mean, you married Devin. So obviously, you didn’t go.”

I scowled at him. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Okay. I will not push it.”

I lay back, hoping. For the pain to subside. Then, Eason started whistling the most annoying song. I recognize it from when we were kids. He would always whistle this song to get on my nerves.

“Stop it.”

“Would you like the operatic version instead?”

“I’d like you to shut up.”

“No can do. If I have to sit here and watch you slowly descend into a pretty party, I need something to entertain myself with.” He kept whistling.

I growled. “ What do you want from me?”

“Nothing. You literally have nothing you can offer me, Grace. So, I wonder why I’m sitting here…”

I set my jaw, listening. To the whistling and wishing he would stop, but knowing that he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t until I cracked. I wanted to hold out. Because, damn it, we weren’t in high school anymore, but as he went on to the next verse, which was the exact same as the first, I couldn’t help but snap.

“Fine!” I sat up, cringing at the spike of pain that went through me. “You want to hear about how Charles has been hiding the identity of Alpha Shadow for me? How about my stupid knee? The time that I’m running out of and everything that would have never happened if Devin hadn’t been such an ass!”

I heard myself screaming. I wasn’t even sure if the words even made sense together, but as I lay on the ground, I felt a bit like Cecil when she was first learning the word no and would sprawl out on the floor until I gave her what she wanted.

I set my jaw as the image of her on the floor floated through my mind, and I realized that I was in the exact same position she had been.

I was officially having a tantrum.

I heard Eason move.

I braced myself for his usual responses, calling me childish or something else scathing, but they never came. Instead, Eason walked over, sat down beside me, and extended the ice cream carton and spoon to me.

"Want some?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "Ice cream? Now?"

He chuckled. "It’s always time for ice cream.”

Hesitantly, I took the spoon. The sweetness on my tongue did little to quell the storm within, but it offered a strange sort of comfort.

"Feeling any better?" Eason asked, his voice gentle. “ That you’ve officially had a tantrum. I hear it’s cathartic.”

"…no," I admitted. "But... somehow clearer."

He nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Grace, you have every right to be upset with Charles. Keeping information from you, especially something like this... You’re not out of line for being upset.."

Relief washed over me. No patronizing lectures, no dismissive sighs. Just simple validation.

"But," he continued. I huffed. There was always a but. "Don't forget, he's not just your sort-of boyfriend, mentor person. He's the king of an entire country. He sees the bigger picture, the political landscape, in ways we can't even imagine. There are interests he has to protect that may not align with yours, and that’s just the nature of it."

I considered his words, the anger morphing into a begrudging understanding.

“He basically told me that. Said I wasn’t important enough to know.”

“You must have pissed him off. May I suggest a stellar blowjob?” I glared at him. He wiggled his eyebrows. “If you need tips…”

I flushed. “Eason!”

“ You’re right. You’ll be better for him to teach you so that you won’t start thinking I’m secretly blowing him while you’re not around.”

I scowled at him and looked away, dropping my gaze to the ice cream.

“… Did you halfway accuse him of maybe thinking of sleeping with me, Grace?”

“Shut up.”

“If he’s open to it, I’m open to it.”

“I’ll kill you.” He laughed, and I put another spoonful in my mouth.

"Do you think it was malicious? Now that you’ve had some ice cream and a good tantrum?”

I set my jaw. “… no.”

"By the moon, look at that," Eason said, patting me on the shoulder. "Progress, my dear. I'm proud of you."

A small smile tugged at my lips. "So, what do I do now?"

"Get all the information you can out of him the moment he gets back," Eason advised. "And get on with the makeup sex. Really hot makeup sex, including that blowjob. Not necessarily in that order, mind you. Be mindful of the spikes in emotion and aggression. You’ve got that kind of profile, and it’s going to happen for a little while. Now, let’s get you off the ground. We have an appointment."

He helped me to my feet, my body protesting with a series of groans.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

Eason winked. "Guess you’ll just have to see.