Page 154 of Burning Embers
“Gracie, get out of here!” The man’s voice is low and raspy, almost sickeningly so. He coughs as if those few words cost him.
“Gracie?” Emery asks.
“What the hell is happening?” Izzy demands. “Reid, get off of him!”
“Reid.” A gentle hand rests on my shoulder, and Hale’s unique, woodsy scent permeates the air. “Get off of him so we all can talk.”
Threat!My wolf paces relentlessly behind his cage.Must eliminate.
We don’t want to scare Izzy,I tell him, and a boulder lodges in my throat at the realization that I already have.
Fuck.
I can’t even begin to imagine what I must look like to her right now. Feral. Out of control.
A monster.
Exactly like Michelle intended.
With great reluctance, I jump off of Grayson, though I never let my eyes stray from him. There’s something about him that lifts my hackles. Something primordial and predatory in his piercing blue eyes…
Eyes that are currently fixed on Izzy as if she’s the only thing in the world.
I follow the direction of his gaze to see Izzy standing in Ethan’s arms, her cheeks pale, her eyes wide. Ethan whispers something to her softly, and she collapses against him, allowing him to support her weight.
A surge of jealousy rushes through me.
I want to be the one to hold her, comfort her, take care of her.
But she’ll never allow me to.
I take a step away from the fucker on the ground and curl my hands into fists. I’m not sure if it’s to curb the desire I have to punch him in the face…or to ignore the nagging voice in my head demanding I go to Izzy, pull her into my arms, and promise her that everything will be okay.
I scowl and force myself to turn away from her. She’ll never care for a beast like me, and I wouldn’t want her to. It’s why I decided to keep my distance from her in the first place.
I can protect her from the shadows just as well as I can in the light.
“Hello, Grayson.” Emery kneels down so he can stare into the other man’s face. “Surprised to see me?”
Grayson doesn’t respond, but his expression shutters and closes over, turning unreadable.
“You guys know each other?” Izzy asks from the safety of Ethan’s arms.
“He’s dating our sister. Sydney,” Emery explains, his voice rife with cold malice.
Both Izzy and Grayson flinch at his words.
“Wait. Your sister is Sydney?” Izzy volleys her gaze between the twins and Grayson. “You’re dating their sister?”
A look of absolute heartbreak crosses her face, and I want nothing more than to rip Grayson’s still-beating heart out of his chest. No one is allowed to hurt Izzy.
Absolutely no one.
Not even me.
“Can someone please explain to me what’s going on?” Hale's voice sounds deceptively calm, despite the tenseness in his posture.
I don’t see Jake or Gerry anywhere, but I imagine that’s intentional. This is wolf business, and I’m not sure how much Jake knows about us.