Page 61 of Unforgivable Fate
The words were for the Enforcers, not Tyrell. Nova knew that. But still Tyrell seemed to think he was in control. He sneered at the man that shared half of his DNA.
“You’re not any better than us. If you let them do this, you’re not any better, Griffin!”
Griffin let out a long sigh, “Maybe I’m not, but I want to be. I try to be. And knowing you’re not in this world anymore, that you’re not hurting people and wreaking havoc against innocent people, knowing that no more Clary’s will ever walk this earth, seems like a fair trade.”
“Dammit, Griffin! Griffin! Griff!”
Griffin turned and pulled Nova into his side, kissing the top of her head. She squeezed his hand and leaned against him as they turned and walked away. Tyrell continued to yell for Griffin to come back until they reached the woods and as they stepped back into the cover of the trees, Tyrell’s angry yells turned to painful screams. The sound of snarling wolves and the scent of blood filled the air but they didn’t turn around.
They kept walking, back to Crescent land, back to their pack, back to their home.
This was for the best, Nova reminded herself as she held Griffin’s hand and tried to drown out the noise of death behind them. Tyrell deserved to die for what he’d done to her mate all those years ago. His death was the only way to ensure they were able to live without a constant threat hanging over them. But she’d known that Griffin couldn’t live with himself if the blood was on his hands so she’d devised a way to let Tyrell’s own men handle him. Griffin may have planted the seed but they weren’t good men or they wouldn’t have been with Tyrell to begin with and their easy betrayal of him proved as much.
Griffin was a good man and he had handled himself with strength and grace and walked away better for it.
Nobody spoke during the walk. At one point she heard Leo’s phone buzz and saw him pull it out to check his messages. She assumed it was Michael texting to confirm they’d all made it back home safely. She was grateful that none of them had been forced to fight tonight and prayed that they would never have to resort to what they’d done again.
Once they were out of the woods, coming out near Nova’s backyard, everyone grouped together. Nova hugged her brother. Darius and Griffin shook hands. They moved in a circle, embracing and patting one another on the back for what felt like a long time, as if they were all as grateful as she was to have walked out of those woods in one piece, with the people they loved.
“Michael texted that they made it back home.” Leo confirmed.
“I’m glad.” Griffin spoke softly and then cleared his throat, looking between Leo and Darius, “I’ll go and thank him and the others personally tomorrow but for tonight, thank you. Thank you for having my back. Thank you for trusting me and believing in me. It…”
Griffin’s voice broke and Nova felt tears well in her eyes. She watched as her brother put a hand on her mate’s arm. Griffin looked up, undoubtedly commanded to do so by his Pack Alpha even if Leo hadn’t spoken a word. His eyes were watery but he met Leo’s intense gaze.
“We’re family and family sticks together. Always.” Leo gave him a small smile.
“Family.” Griffin nodded and Nova’s heart felt like it was melting.
The past was firmly in the past where it belonged. It was over now. Done. Nothing about it could hurt them anymore.
Tonight her mate would shift with her and her brothers and their pack. It was Griffin’s first full moon as a Crescent wolf and she was excited at the prospect of having him by her side as her wolf ran free. She felt lighter now that Tyrell was gone and she realized that even before he showed up yesterday, she’d still been holding her breath, expecting the worst because in her family, there always seemed to be some final barrier they had to overcome to find their happiness.
Now, as she watched Griffin and Darius talk and saw the way that Leo leaned against his mate’s side, unafraid to show affection or what some might call weakness, she didn’t need to see the future to know that it was a good one. She slid under Griffin’s arm and smiled when he automatically pulled her closer without stopping his conversation with Darius. She smiled at her brother and Leo smiled back, as if they were the only two in on the secret that this was the start of something wonderful, the start of the rest of their lives.
It took Leo nudging his mate in the side some time later for Darius to groan and pause his in-depth talk with Griffin about pack roles and training schedules, “I know, I know.”
“What?” Griffin looked from Darius to his Pack Alpha.
“The full moon will be up soon and we have a pack to gather.” Leo smiled. “A pack that includes you now.”
“Right.” Griffin grinned. “Right.”
“We’ll leave you two to decide how you want to spend your first full moon.” Leo glanced from Griffin to his sister. “If that’s alone, we understand, but we’d love to see you run with the pack too at some point. Let them get to know your wolf the way they’ve gotten to know you.”
“We’ll find you later.” Nova agreed. “But for now, I’d like to keep this one to myself for a little while longer.”
“Mmm, now there’s a DeLuca sentiment if I’ve ever heard one.” Darius hummed, playfully nudging his mate. “Come on. Let’s leave them to it. We have responsibilities to tend to.”
“Thank you again.” Griffin called as they waved and headed around the house.
“Stop thanking us.” Darius called back. “Family. Remember?”
“Family.” Griffin was still grinning as he turned to Nova and she wrapped her arms around him, looking up at him with all the love she felt in her heart.
“Do you feel lighter?” she asked. “Now that you know Tyrell isn’t out there anymore, a shadow just waiting to descend on you, how does it feel?”
“It feels good.” He wrapped his big arms around her, “Thank you.”