After Rafe walked away, Grayson adjusted in his chair. The idea of Damon being harmed prickled at him like the bite of a thousand ants.
“Are you okay?” Aurora asked, her tone concerned.
Grayson rubbed his temples. How had his life turned so complicated over the course of a couple of days? “The idea of Damon being targeted fills me with rage. I would never—never—let anything cause him harm.” He covered his chest. “I’d sacrifice myself first.”
Aurora tilted her head as she stared at him. “That’s admirable, Grayson. Let’s not even consider that option.” She gave him a warm smile, reached across the table, and placed her hand on top of his. “I see how the tension has affected both you and Rafe. Can you try to keep tempers tamed so I can continue with peaceful negotiations?”
His wolf pranced wildly inside. Claim her. Claim her now.
Warmth pulsed beneath her fingers, igniting the blood with a vibrant surge beneath his skin. How could he think clearly after having his mate touch him so? He raised his gaze to meet hers. Her cheeks reddened, and she pulled her hand back, glancing away as if embarrassed by her action.
Or was it him? Had he looked at her with too much yearning, revealing the rising ache to be with her that he hid inside?
The sudden absence of her hand left a cool spot. Grayson already missed her touch and ached to reach for her hand once more. He struggled against the urge to suggest something stupid, like inviting her to his place after dinner.
Now was definitely not the time. Not only did he have his pack to protect, but Damon’s life in particular. Grayson would never let anyone hurt Damon. Even if he had to fight against this overwhelming urge to get closer to his mate.
This beautiful witch just enchanted him with her magical touch. How else could he explain the mystifying bliss that danced through his body?
But maybe they could work together to resolve this mess. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Damon and my pack safe.” He swallowed. “Will you help me?”
Aurora
The way that Grayson implored her with his eyes, and the near desperate plea in his request to help save Damon’s life, pulled at Aurora. She’d do whatever he’d asked during that charged moment.
“Yes, of course I’ll help you, Grayson.” She blinked since his intense stare seemed to capture her. She smoothed her hands on her napkin. “But remember, I have to remain neutral.”
“I understand.”
The server arrived with their food, a tray of appetizers and nachos.
After he walked away, she added, “If I’m to be effective, I can’t be seen as favoring your side.”
A lump of guilt welled in her throat. “Even staying here and going to dinner with you is problematic. It could look like you are softening me up to be more sympathetic to your pack.”
He furrowed his brows. “I can’t invite you up here without offering you hospitality.” He snorted. “It’s not as if the Sacco pack would do so.”
From her initial meeting with them earlier that day, she had to agree. They came up with a plan for their next steps. After they ate, they’d go to visit Damon. In the morning, Grayson would talk to Rafe for a counterproposal. Then Aurora would present it to Kane and Lars.
With their agenda established, the rest of the dinner went smoothly. Grayson asked her about her life back in Salem.
“I live with my aunt. She took me in before my parents split up to keep me away from the fighting. After they’d divorced, I ended up staying.” She grinned. “She’s easier to be around than my mom or dad.”
“Where are they now?”
“My mom moved to New Orleans around six years ago. It was supposed to be a temporary visit, but she hasn’t made plans to return any time soon. My father moved to California.”
He arched his brows. “So it’s just you and your aunt?”
She nodded. “Aunt Colleen is only twelve years older than me, so sometimes it seems we’re more like sisters. We live in an apartment over her store in Salem, where we offer readings and sell magical ingredients or supplies, unless we’re on an assignment for the network.”
“Do you like it?” His eyes probed her.
The way he asked that question suggested he could read her underlying reservations. Perhaps she’d unintentionally conveyed it in her tone. “Sometimes.” She shrugged. “And others…” No need to tell her client that she had doubts about continuing with what he’d hired her to do. “What about you?” She diverted the conversation to him. “I know you’re a badass CFO and beta shifter of your pack. Is there time for anything else?” She tilted her head, hoping it didn’t sound as if she was probing about his personal life, and then sipped her wine.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really. It keeps me busy.”
“What about family?” A girlfriend?
“My parents died when I was young—a direct result of violence between packs.”
“Oh.” Empathy swept through her. She leaned back in her chair. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. It was a long time ago.” He drank some beer. “But it’s one of the main reasons I want to avoid violence. They were killed in a pointless battle with another pack while traveling in Quebec. I ended up traveling south with my two younger sisters and we were taken in by this pack.”
“Are your sisters here?”
“No.” He shook his head. “They found their mates and moved away with them.”
She pursed her lips as they itched to ask something, wondering if it was too personal. It tugged at her with a perplexing discomfort.
Curiosity won out. “You haven’t found your mate?”
He fixed his eyes on her, and she couldn’t look away. In that moment, his expression appeared so vulnerable, it tugged at her heart. He opened his mouth as if about to say something, but then snapped it shut and glanced toward the entrance of the pub. Victoria had just entered, and she stared at them with cool eyes.
Grayson adjusted in his chair. “No.” He faced Aurora again.
At first, she thought Victoria’s dislike was because Aurora was a witch. Now she had another thought. Was there something going on between Victoria and Grayson?
In Damon’s log cabin an hour later, Aurora put Victoria out of her mind. Why bother caring about some shifter who would be out of her life soon enough?
Grayson introduced Aurora to Damon, a dark-haired enforcer with a rather wild look about him, and his mate, Sophie, an auburn-haired human with a kind smile, and then got right to the matter. “The Sacco pack has not relented on their demand. They still insist that an eye-for-an-eye means your head.” He nodded to Damon.
Sophie gasped and covered her heart. “No.”
“It will be okay,” Damon soothed her.
The gentle way he cared for Sophie’s well-being although he was the one being threatened pulled at Aurora’s heartstrings. The way he looked at Sophie was as if she was the most important thing in the world. Would anyone ever look at her like that? Unexpected longing rose inside her.
Grayson would meet his mate one day. Would he look at her like that? A pang of jealously twisted her gut, which was ludicrous. Why was she reacting so foolishly? She was a professional here on an assignment. A professional, she reminded herself.
“Damon, you need to leave the area until we settle this dispute,” Grayson said. “It’s for your protection.”
He stood up straighter. “I can’t do that. I’m the reason this whole mess started to begin with.”
“But your continued presence will stoke their thirst for vengeance.” Grayson exchanged a glance with Damon, imploring him to listen.
“I should be here to defend the pack,” Damon insisted.
Grayson exhaled. “I understand that your role as an enforcer makes you feel a duty to the pack, but in this case, you’ll do a greater service by leaving for a while.”
“But—” Damon countered.
“I’m sorry, it’s on alpha’s orders,” Grayson declared in an understanding, but firm
tone.
Damon nodded and glanced down. He then raised his gaze back to Grayson. “I’m not going anywhere without Sophie.”
Grayson exhaled. At least Damon was listening to his alpha rather than going rogue and insisting he remain. He must have realized that he might do more harm by staying.
“Of course not. You should both go away for a while,” Grayson suggested. “Use it as an opportunity to spend time alone together. You’re newly mated, yet you haven’t had that chance with all the strife here lately.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Sophie replied in a hopeful tone. “We can go to the ocean. I can introduce you to my family and friends. Show you my world before I moved here.”
Damon nodded at her with a gentle smile before his expression turned conflicted. “I shouldn’t be the one leaving—I should be helping to clean up this mess.”
Grayson put his hand on Damon’s shoulder. “I understand why you’d feel that way. I would, too. But it’s better that you leave for now. Not only will it keep you safe, but it will also remove a target from the Sacco’s aim.”
Sophie clasped his hands. “Listen to him, Damon.”
“It’s just temporary,” Grayson added. “Besides.” He arched his brows. “It will give me a break from worrying about you and getting more gray hairs.” He pointed to his head, which didn’t have a speck of gray in his dark hair.
Damon flashed a mischievous grin. “I seem to be the source of plenty of that lately.”
Grayson’s concern for Damon was apparent, and it tugged at Aurora’s already tarnished neutrality. How was she supposed to stay neutral when she couldn’t stop having inappropriate thoughts about one of the shifters?
After they left Damon’s, Aurora said, “You don’t have to drive me back down. It’s a beautiful night.” She motioned to the mountain, so picturesque under the starry night—something she didn’t see often in the city. “I wouldn’t mind the walk.”
“I’m happy to join you,” Grayson replied.
He left his car and they walked back down the road, snaking along the side of the mountain.
“That seemed to go okay,” Aurora noted.
“Somewhat.” Grayson’s tone sounded terse.
“Did something go wrong?”
Grayson exhaled. “I hate asking him to leave.” His shoulders sagged. “But it’s not like we have much of a choice.”
She could sense how much it distressed him and she yearned to ease it. “You’re looking out for him. Doing what’s best to keep him safe.”
“I hope so,” Damon replied.
So did she. A comfortable silence fell as they each seemed lost in contemplation.
Aurora glanced to the road ahead. “Do you live up there?”
“Yes, I’m just up the road.”
For a few seconds, she pictured turning back that way. What could happen if they went to his place instead of him walking her back to the hotel?
Focus. Don’t think that way. That’s not going to happen.
Once they reached the hotel across the road from the base lodge, they both lingered on the snowy path out front. Grayson pointed out various landmarks in the area.
“The cross country ski trails are over that way. And down beyond, is a lake, which is frozen over right now so people are skating on it. In the summer, it’s a popular swimming spot.
Was she imagining it, or was he just as reluctant to part as she was?
Should she invite him upstairs?
No, that would be completely inappropriate, especially after their conversation about her remaining neutral.
Finally, Aurora said, “Thanks for dinner tonight, Grayson.”
“You’re welcome.”
When their eyes locked, the heat between them turned palpable. Her heartbeat quickened. She yearned to close the space between them, rise to her tiptoes and kiss his lips. For a highly charged second, she thought he was about to do the same to her.
Snapping herself out of the fantasy, she declared, “Good night.”
Her voice sounded strange, not like her own.
“Good night, Aurora. Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She gave him a smile before she turned and rushed into the lobby before she said something she’d regret. As she ascended the elevator up to her room, mercifully alone, she questioned her reaction. What was wrong with her? She’d never been so unprofessional with a client. Every part of her responded to Grayson in a way that was foreign to her. She felt like a teenage girl newly discovering her sexuality, although she had never felt quite so lit with awareness.
What was it about him that affected her so?
After she changed into pajamas, she performed a short meditation before the window to end her day, looking out at the moon. She then climbed into the massive king size bed, pulling the white fluffy comforters up to her chin, she turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels to search for something to watch.
Ladyhawke was on, a movie she hadn’t seen in years. Rutger Hauer played a man cursed to become a wolf each night. As she watched the movie, she was pulled into the story of two lovers forced to be apart, agonizing over their plight. They remained devoted to each other in search of a way to be together again.
Aurora couldn’t help but think of Grayson and his dual nature. What did he look like in wolf form? For someone who never cared much for shifters, especially wolves, she spent far too much time fascinated by one in particular.
Chapter 5
Grayson
When Aurora stopped by Grayson’s office the next morning, wearing a pair of black jeans and an emerald green sweater that drew his attention to her full breasts, it took all his self-control not to move closer to her. He forced himself to stay seated in his leather desk chair and not inhale her bewitching scent by keeping his feet glued to the floor.
“Sleep well?” she asked him. Her blue-violet eyes were bright, captivating him.
Not really. He’d been tormented by thoughts of her as the inner struggle with his wolf had grown worse. His wolf insisted they should court her and then claim her. Grayson didn’t know what he was doing. He certainly didn’t need to invite Aurora to dinner or to bring her to Damon’s with him, but he couldn’t stop himself. The yearning to be close to his mate was almost overwhelming.
“Fine,” he lied. “You?”
She averted eye contact, and her cheeks turned an enticing shade of pink. “The bed is very comfortable.”
Had she had any thoughts about him? Last night, he was surprised he hadn’t succumbed to the urge to kiss her. He’d come so close. The sensual tension that burned between them was almost impossible to resist.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He cleared his throat and opened the manila folder on his desk. “Here’s an offer to present to the Sacco pack today.” He handed it to her from across the table, careful not to brush his fingers against hers. It would stir a new form of agony, in which he’d want to touch her more.
She opened the folder. After skimming the document, she glanced at him. “That’s a generous offer. Do you think they’ll respond?”
Grayson pulled his lips into a grim line and glanced outside. “They better. It’s more than they deserve.” What he needed was a few runs out on the trails. The mountain air would help him clear his head. When he brought his gaze back to Aurora, he smiled. “Thank you for doing this.”
After they went over the details of the offer, she stood and he followed suit.
“I’ll let you know how it goes.” She turned to leave.
His gaze skimmed her from the head down and he almost groaned while staring at her ass. Yes, he definitely needed to get out on the mountain to clear the lusty haze from his head.
A few of inches of snow last night added a light powder to the ground’s surface, which would likely be flattened by the time the lifts closed. Gray lingered in the sky, and clouds occluded the sun. Still, enough light peered through to cast some warmth through the otherwise breezy morning. He inhaled the crisp mountain
air tinged with the scent of the nearby pines and followed it up with a few more deep breaths to help center him. For someone who had spent his life being the cool, calm one in the pack, he didn’t know how to deal with this inner restlessness, the disquiet that urged him to search for something more.
On Grayson’s fourth run, he veered off to the trail that would lead to the staff housing near the lower part of the mountain. One of the perks of living here was the slope-side lodging. He could ski to the office and back home.
He skied over to Damon and Sophie’s cabin. They were preparing to leave today. Grayson wanted to say goodbye as well as ensure that they hadn’t changed their minds. They would be safer far from the Sacco pack, at least for now.
After greeting them both, Damon offered Grayson a hard cider, and they sat outside on the Adirondack chairs that Damon had created from old skis. He was good with his hands, a skill Grayson envied. Damon had built his cabin himself with the support of other shifters.
Although Grayson was quick with numbers and skilled at negotiations, when it came to building things, he was better suited at calling a contractor. That’s how he’d had his home built farther up the mountain. He’d ensured it had plenty of room for a family, yet it remained empty. Would that ever change? Or would he stare out of the picture windows to the forests on the mountain each day, alone?
Grayson drank some cider, the crispness of the apples tart on his tongue. “There’s something I wanted to ask you about.” He exhaled and stared into the forest in the distance. “Was it worth it?”
“Was what worth it?” Damon asked.
“Letting down your guard. Being vulnerable and allowing yourself to commit to a mate.” He faced Damon. “Because I know how reluctant you were and see how happy you are now, it makes me wonder…” He didn’t finish the sentence and instead, shook his head.
“Ah.” Damon groaned and raked one hand through his dark, chin-length hair. “I know how much trouble I have brought to the pack, and the guilt is something that I still struggle with. But the answer is yes. It was worth it. She is worth it. She means everything to me.”
The Wolf and His Forbidden Witch: A Howls Romance (White Mountain Shifters Book 2) Page 4
