Page 54 of Jackal's Pride

He shook his head. “No, but explain what you mean.”

Grimacing, I glanced down at my hands. I didn’t have any reluctance in telling him, especially if I’d get to know what he meant about us being the same. “A witch cursed me with the ghost of one hundred and thirty-seven hearts from people I killed with my pestilence. Their presence has grieved me and made me know pain. Understanding it, however, has given me a new outlook.” I closed my palms into fists. “I judged them and their feeble, sad existences. I couldn’t figure out why they fought so hard against death.”

Grim plopped down on the rock beside me with a thoughtful frown, his dark eyes appearing serene. “Like you, I was a being created without emotions. God made me with a purpose and that was it,” he admitted, and somehow I wasn’t surprised. “I used to judge humans for being such flighty and pathetic creatures. Believe it or not, I still catch myself looking down at them.” Grim drifted off and gazed into the distance. He blinked rapidly a few times before continuing, “Strange thing happened while observing those creatures. I found myself questioning their behaviors and their erratic moods. My curiosity grew regarding one emotion in particular—love.” I watched him silently examining his outstretched hands. He made a face and said, “Maybe it was because, at the time, I was only made up of bones. I created fantasies in my head of all these things I could never have—flesh and blood…a heart. Then one day I had those things along with love.” He glanced at me. “Yes, I fell in love with a human.”

“Your wife is a human?” I knew that couldn’t be true. I had seen her do everything Grim could do, maybe even more while we were in the human world saving lives.Saving lives.It was a weird but not an unpleasant thought.

“She was then,” was all he said. He paused for a long moment. “Jackal?”

“Yeah?”

“Where did you find Maureen?”

The memory brought back my anger like a volcano slowly churning. “A vampire kidnapped her. I killed him before he could do anything more than bite her.” That alone left me seething.

Grim clenched his knuckles so tightly they turned white. He let out a breath and his tension released. “I thank you for going to get her. Kitty would have never found her in time. Obviously, the vampire calculated the abduction or else he wouldn’t have caught Maureen off guard.”

Grim dragged his fingers through his hair and arched a brow. “But why did you run to her like you did? Not that I’m ungrateful, mind you, but you helped us too.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Fair enough,” Grim replied, cupping his fingers together. “I’ll ask again, especially now that we know you can reverse diseases. Will you help us every time there’s an outbreak? Each day there are dozens of new illnesses.”

“I will.”

“Is it because of Maureen?” he asked.

I stood, back so stiff that it cracked painfully. I wanted to tell him to leave. I didn’t want to explain myself to anyone, especially my thoughts on his daughter,butsince he was Maureen’s dad, I didn’t. I just couldn’t handle anymore questions. Not when I was far too confused myself. “You should go,” I told him.

“We all need rest,” Grim agreed, not taking my words offensively. “Oh, and Jackal?”

“Jack.”

He was clearly amused. “Jack, about my daughter…”

I was edgier than I was ten seconds ago. “What about her?”

“If you plan to be around Maureen, you should understand some things about her. If my daughter starts saying things she obviously doesn’t mean, it’s a sign that she’s uncomfortable. Instead of sharing her emotions, she'll hide them. Watch her actions, and you’ll find the truth.”

I nodded. “I already know.” Why was Grim telling me this?

A smirk sneaked across his face. Had my answer surprised him? “Well, then, I guess there’s only one thing left to say.” I waited for him to go on. He pressed his lips into a thin line and cocked his head to one side as if weighing his words. “If you hurt her in any way, you’ll wish you weren’t immortal.”

With that said, he tossed up his hand and faded from the cave.

Chapter 22

Maureen

“Man, I’m really hungry.”

I’d repeated those words out loud to myself dozens of times to justify the reason my dinner table is covered in food—food I prepared. The need to justify my actions got so bad at one point, it felt like tiny claws digging and scraping my innards. The sensation along with the sick smell of desperation mixed in with skin lotion sickened me.

Oh, God.

I finally sent Kitty a text, telling her there was food available. Yeah, I know I was trying to ignore the real reason I cooked.

There’s food at my house that will get thrown away if someone doesn’t come eat it.