Grant didn’t know where his true feelings lay with Britta, but he knew that he didn’t want to lose her as a friend. He began to rely on their nightly runs together as a way to blow off steam and remind himself that there was more to this world than his incessant anger. Because boy, was Grant angry.
Ever since Kaiser rolled into town with one purpose, and one purpose only, Grant’s world had flipped upside down. Because as Kaiser brought death to the town, he also brought death to Grant’s immediate world. That fateful night, Grant lost his mother at the hands of a rogue. Grant killed that rogue a few seconds after his mother perished, seeing only red. He wanted to make the rogue pay. He wanted there to be torture, to make the rogue feel what he was feeling as he saw his mother take her last breath as the rogue ripped her apart.
Grant had been through a lot since then. He mourned, and he grieved. Hann came to visit him, helping him through the process. And he thought that maybe he would be able to recover. His mother was the sweetest, kindest shifter he knew, and she raised him to be everything his father, a cold-hearted brute that left years ago, wasn’t. He knew that his mother would’ve wanted him to grieve while also put his life back together. So he was trying to do her right and fix himself up.
Grant knew what it was like to lose someone he loved. And he didn’t want to even think about how he felt around Britta, because the fear of watching her being torn apart meant that he would fall apart completely. He wanted to protect her from everything already, and he knew that if he let his feelings grow, he would fall head first for her.
“Britta’s too good for me, you know,” Grant told Lukas after they both sat in silence for a second. It was a true statement. Britta was too good for a lot of people, even though she didn’t think so – and her string of men proved that she didn’t think so.
“Isn’t that the truth,” Lukas joked with him, shoving his shoulder lightly. Grant smiled back at him. “But why don’t we let Britta make that decision. Who knows – she might like having some shithead with her instead of some great person. That way, she looks like the saint in the relationship.”
“No matter what, she’d be the saint in the relationship,” Grant joked back, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out. He hadn’t worked out hard in his human form for a while, as he always trained and practiced when he was in his wolf form. He could feel his muscles began to tense up, and he mentally noted that he needed to practice in both forms so that he could be ready for anything, at any time. “And even if I was in love with her, which I’m not, I would never put her through the hell that dating me would be.”
Grant thought he himself sounded a bit like a high school teenager but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t put Britta through that, even if he did have a high sexual desire for her.
“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit,” Lukas told him. “You’re not the evil being that you think you are, you know.”
“Yeah, but I’m not exactly a great person, am I?” Grant told him, shrugging as if it didn’t bother him. “I mean, you know that first hand.”
Lukas sighed, both of them knowing exactly what Grant was referring to. The incident when Lukas first came to town and was still a rogue. Grant hated thinking back to that night, as he felt like he had changed since that moment. He didn’t hang out with those guys anymore, as he realized after his mother died that all they wanted to do was start fights and rumors. He didn’t need that in his life anymore.
“You’ve changed since then, Grant,” Lukas told him. “Do you think I would be sitting here talking to you on my own free will if you hadn’t? You were affected by what happened with Kaiser first hand, and I’m sorry about that. But from that moment on, it was like you became someone different – someone better. You’re making up for the things that you did, and I’ll be there for you every step of the way. Because you’re not just some pack member to me, man. You’re a friend. And I really never thought I’d ever say that to the guy that tried to kick my ass my first night here.”
“Sorry about that,” Grant winced, though he felt slightly better from the ego boost he knew Lukas was trying to give him.
“Don’t mention it,” Lukas laughed. “We’ve both changed since then. For the better.”
“I’d like to think so,” Grant added. “But that still doesn’t mean that I’m good enough for Britta.”
“Is this you admitting that you’re in love with her?”
Grant threw his sweaty towel at him, laughing the whole time.
CHAPTER 3
“There’s my favorite bad ass,” Thea yelled as Britta walked into the mansion that Thea and her best friend, Annie, shared. Britta had become a regular guest at the house since her and Thea became close friends after the whole Elder situation. Now, Britta didn’t know what she’d do without the little human she’d grown to love.
“Kato said he’s gonna be working with Hann until eight, but he’ll bring you some food home to make up for him being gone all day,” Britta informed her as she flopped down on the couch. Britta had just left from the little meeting with Kato and Hann. Britta sat with Ross, Hann’s own bodyguard, towards the back of the room, both of them listening silently while playing game after game of tic tac toe on post it notes as the two powerful shifters talked.
Britta looked up at Thea, who was currently standing on a chair as she tried to reach a book that was on one of the high book shelves the girls had littered throughout the whole house. Annie, the youngest and hippest librarian you’d ever meet, was the one to blame for the incessant about of books.
“He better bring me food,” Thea grumbled as she finally found the book she was looking for, jumping down and hopping over to where Britta was splayed out on one of the big couches. Britta smiled as she sat down next to her. Everyone though Thea looked like a little fairy, with her light blonde hair and icy blue eyes, and when she hopped around like she currently was, Britta couldn’t help but see the comparison.
“So, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to find myself a hubby,” Britta joked with her, half serious. “Hanging out with you and Kato, and Annie and Lukas, is making me feel single and alone.”
“If you would just let me be your wing woman, you wouldn’t be having this problem,” Thea sang to her, hiding a huge smile as she bit her lip. Britta laughed and shook her head. Ever since Thea and Britta had become friends, Thea had been determined to find Britta a good man. However, Britta and Thea had completely different taste in men, and Britta knew that Thea would set her up with someone that Britta had no chemistry with.
Britta didn’t like those type of men that were looking for a damsel in distress or wanted to protect their lady at all costs. She could protect herself, thank you very much. And she could find her own man – she didn’t need Thea’s help.
Though, she was single and alone currently, so maybe she needed to change something about the way she was going about this whole dating thing. All guys seemed to want her for was one thing: sex.
And she wanted a mate.
“Hey girlies,” Annie called to them as she walked through the front door. She reappeared in the living room entry way a few seconds later, dressed in her regular librarian meets punk rocker clothing attire that Britta had grown fond of. Annie flopped on the couch across from them, her legs dangling from the edge of the love seat. “You’re never gonna guess what my father just told me.”
“I might know,” Britta told her, though she was racking her brain to figure out what exactly Hann said that would cause Annie to make a statement like that. “I just saw him. Kato and Hann had a little meeting to hash things out and go over some new uprising threats.”
The uprising threats had become a normal thing, sadly. They no longer spiked fear and resentment in the pack. Now, they were just something the shifters had to live with. It was crazy to think of how everything had changed so drastically in just a matter of a few weeks.
“This had to do with the other alphas,” Annie replied
, sitting up slightly. Britta scrunched her face up in confusion. Even though her and Ross had played tic tac toe the whole time, she would’ve remembered if they mentioned other alphas.
“Wait, maybe I don’t know this,” Britta told her.
“Well, I don’t know it at all, so spill,” Thea laughed, ever hungry for pack gossip. Even before her and Kato got together, she always loved hearing about all the pack drama.
Annie laughed and then launched into the story that he father told her. “I guess there are a bunch of shifters and alphas that are going to come into town and start training at the gym. My dad wants to make it more of a training facility for a lot of shifters to learn at. And because the Moonlight Pack is one of the strongest packs around, if not the strongest in America, people around the nation, and the world, are looking to what we’re doing and they want to join. Especially the smaller packs that don’t have as much strength and have the ability to travel here to Maine to learn and become stronger together.”
“That’s crazy,” Britta breathed. She couldn’t believe Hann hadn’t told Kato and her. Maybe he just learned about what the other packs wanted to do and didn’t have the time to inform her. “There’s going to be so many shifters everywhere.”
Britta had met other shifters from other packs, of course, but she had never been around a ton of other packs like she was about to. Other shifters and packs tended to make her nervous. She immediately looked over to Thea, worried that some of the foreign shifters would give her problems, and she saw the worried look on Thea’s face. She also saw the worried look on Annie’s face as Britta remembered all the chaos and hate Kaiser had thrown at Annie simply because she was a halfie – half human, half shifter.
“We’re all going to stand our ground,” Britta said, trying to reassure her friends. “If one of them steps out of their place, if one of them even glances at one of you, or one of us, wrong, they will be ridiculed. Trust me. I’ll do it myself.”
“My dad said that he wouldn’t let anything happen, either,” Annie told her, smiling big. Britta knew that she was sending love through her smile to Britta for what she said. “He said that he already sent word to everyone who wanted to come. He said that everyone is welcome to come and join us in our training, and the Moonlight Pack would be more than willing to train and help all and any who come. But he also sent a little message that said, because we are a… special pack, there is no toleration for closemindedness or cruelty towards humans or halfies.”
“Me and Hann will make sure we create a little piece of hell for them if they don’t listen, don’t you worry,” Britta told them, a wicked smile on her face and anger in her eyes. She hated that there were still shifters around that disregarded halfies and humans that mated with shifters. Hell, her own pack wasn’t that forward thinking, and there were still a few shifters here and there that lived back in the day.
But Britta wouldn’t stand for any of her friends, or any of her pack members, feeling horrible because of some rude visitor.
“You know, you’re so sweet when you get all dark and angry,” Thea laughed, pulling Britta towards her on the couch and into a hug. Britta tensed slightly before accepting the bear hug little Thea was giving her. Thea was a hugger. Britta… wasn’t. But she couldn’t help the soft spot Thea had quietly carved into her heart in the last few weeks.
“I do have some good news in all of this,” Annie announced, smiling and looking straight at Britta. Britta couldn’t help the nervous butterflies that started fluttering in her stomach. She hoped that it actually was good news.
“What?” She asked, acting like she was fine and her anxiety wasn’t reacting in the slightest. She broke away from Thea and sat up on the couch, confusion and a bit of excitement in her eyes at the possibilities of what the good news could be.
“My dad said that Michael and some of the other alphas thought it would be cool if there were actual training sessions,” Annie told her. “Like, our pack members will run some classes or become actual trainers to some of the shifters coming in. And guess who my dad recommended first, before anyone else?”
“Who?” Britta squeaked out. It couldn’t possibly be her. No way in hell would Hann, her alpha, pick her to become a teacher. She wasn’t ready for that type of responsibility. She wasn’t even good, or strong, enough to become some type of professional in combat. Was Hann crazy? No, she couldn’t think of her alpha like that.
“You!” Annie exclaimed, a huge smile on her face. “He also talked about Lukas, obviously, and Grant. But he said that out of all three of you, you’re the best teacher. And, you’re smarter than the rest when it comes to technique.”
“I… I don’t know what to say,” Britta responded normally.
“Don’t say anything and just go kick some ass like the badass you are!” Thea interjected, making all three of the girls laugh. Britta shook her head in embarrassment. She didn’t like all of this attention on her in a positive light. She never had a lot of experience being in a situation like this, and it was like she didn’t know what to do other than sit there and think.
She didn’t know how she felt about the butterflies that were now in her chest.
And she didn’t know how her life had changed so drastically in the last few weeks.
And she didn’t know how she felt about her alpha giving her all the credit in the world. She felt like she didn’t deserve it. But she couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face as she realized that maybe, just maybe, she could actually be something, or someone, important. Someone helpful. Someone that actually had a purpose.
So she made sure to keep that smile on her face for the whole day.
CHAPTER 4
Grant felt like he hadn’t left the gym in weeks. But ever since the complex became a place for shifters to go and train, he found himself there more and more. It was less to train and more to keep his brain from thinking of memories that he didn’t want to think about. If he wasn’t at the gym, he was at the bar where he now worked. And if he wasn’t at the bar or at the gym, he wasn’t doing anything important – and his mind would wander. And he didn’t want to let in those feelings. He didn’t want to remember the pain that he held in his heart.
So, now he was back at the gym and back at the punching bag. He was so focused on his rhythm and keeping his breathing in check that he didn’t even notice Britta until she was right in front of him. He quickly straightened up, surprised that she could sneak up on him so well considering that she failed earlier today. He must’ve been deeper in focus than he thought. At least he wasn’t thinking.
But now that he met Britta’s bright blue eyes, he realized that he stopped thinking of everything all together. And all he found himself thinking of was her.
“What are you doing here?” Grant found himself asking, hating the sharp way he sounded. “I mean… I just didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to, but I was about to go on a run,” she told him, shrugging as if nothing in the world bothered her. “I realized that we never talked about whether we were gonna run together tonight. I didn’t want to piss you off or anything, considering you’re always pissed off.”
“I’m not always pissed off,” Grant laughed at her, exasperated, as walked over to a nearby bench to sit down.
“So,” Britta asked as she followed Grant over to the bench, standing in front of him. “What do you say? You gonna come?”
Grant was stretching his calves when he looked up and saw Britta standing over him. All he could seem to see was those blue eyes of her. He saw them in his dreams. He sat up, noticing the way that she acted like she didn’t care. He knew better, though. If he said no, she would more than likely storm off and give him a cold shoulder. They both liked their nightly runs together, even if both of them would never admit it.
To Grant, these runs were a form of stabilization. And a way to be around Britta more. He couldn’t help the way he felt. When he was with her, he felt… different. B
etter. No longer in that dark funk that had held him for the past few weeks since Kaiser came with murder in his eyes.
“Okay,” Grant said finally as he looked into Britta’s fierce blue eyes. He couldn’t help the way his blood rushed when she smiled at him. God, the little things she did killed him. And he loved it.
The two walked outside together quickly without saying much, both of them feeling the thrill of shifting into their wolf form after being in their human form all day. Grant watched as Britta walked behind a part of the outside gym building to undress. Grant quickly undressed himself, laying his clothes in a neat pile on an outside bench up against the wall.
Grant braced himself as she shifted, welcoming the tingling sensation that cascaded down his spine and throughout his whole body. He felt his blood bubble with the transformation, and that slight pain that he used to feel was now a prick throughout his body. He didn’t feel it at all. All he felt as his four paws hit the ground was a rush of adrenaline that he always had when he shifted into his wolf form.
Britta ran out in her wolf form, her black coat shining against the moonlight. Grant looked up at the bright starry sky as Britta sidled up next to him, both of them breathing in the night air. Grant’s senses were still adjusting to his new form, though everything was already heightened for him. When he was in his human form, he already had heightened senses. When he shifted into his wolf form, those senses seemed to skyrocket even more.
Britta and Grant began to run together into the thick of the dense woods, both of their eyes adjusting quickly to the dark trees and limbs that suddenly surrounded them. Grant breathed in the woods, welcoming the pine scent. It was like he was walking into the house he grew up in after being away for decades. He loved the forests that surrounded his little town in Maine, and he loved that he now had someone to run with him.
The Uprising (Moonlight Wolves Book 3) Page 2
