When the knock comes, I don't think twice before opening the door.
For what it's worth, you should never open a door without checking who it is, even when you know who's coming.
Because sometimes it isn't who you think it is.
His golden hair is dulled with dust. Or sweat. Or… both? It hangs limply around a face both familiar and not, with heavy shadows beneath his eyes and a grim twist to his lips. His confident, glowing, heroic aura is gone like it never existed, and now Rafe looks…
Honestly, he looks like he belongs in a dark alley somewhere with needle marks on his arms, okay? The whole drug-addled cliche you see on TV.
And his blue eyes are no longer clear and beautiful, but reddened around the edges and burning with something I've never seen before. If I had to guess, he's… angry? But his body language says otherwise.
"Grace." He sighs out my name like I'm a lost child finally found.
I step back out of pure instinct, eager to gain two inches of space. Unfortunately, Rafe seems to take it as an invitation to walk in, because he steps over the threshold.
Lyre's protections do nothing; after all, I'm the dumbass who opened the door.
His hand clamps around my forearm. "Why didn't you follow the plan? You weren't supposed to—"
"Who's that?" Jer's voice cuts through our dramatic and unlucky reunion, and Rafe stiffens.
"Is something wrong?" Ron's deeper tone follows, steady but wary, and out of the corner of my eye I can see him motioning for Sara to watch over Bun. He's clearly outclassed against an alpha wolf like Rafe, but the teenager squares his shoulders and straightens his spine to increase his aura as he walks unhesitatingly to my side.
My brief moment of shock breaks and I twist my arm free, planting both hands against Rafe's chest as I shove him backward.
My words are calm despite their force; raising my voice here will only make me out to be weaker. All I have to do is wait. Caine is on his way.
I just need to make sure he doesn't take me away or hurt the children.
Knowing this keeps me steady, with only a smidgen of fear undercutting my indifferent facade. Fear because this isn't the Rafe I fell in love with. This one is strange, on edge, and filled with what I can now recognize as obsession.
"Why did you leave me?" Each word is harsh, ragged. "We had a plan, Grace. You were supposed to wait for me. What did you tell Andrew? What did you do to him?"
A half-hysterical laugh wants to escape, but I swallow it down. "Why are you here? Andrew should have explained everything by now." Keeping my voice level without any extra inflection is harder than I thought it would be.
My hands itch, both from disgust from touching him and with the urge to slap his stupid face. But I refuse to lower my arms, knowing if I do this man will probably consider it an invitation to waltz into my home.
His hands reach up to hold just above my elbows as his eyes travel over my face with frantic little movements. His upper lip curls into a snarl, a faint rumbling coming from his chest. Then, like flipping a switch, he tries to smooth it away. His face arranges itself into something meant to be understanding, I think.
How did I ever think Rafe was handsome?
After days with Caine—and even seeing Jack-Eye as often as I have—he's severely lacking in that category.
"I understand," he says, voice dripping with false compassion. "You seduced him to get back at me. I get it, Gracie. I don't blame you."
How the fuck did we even…?
No, why would he think that?
But then my eye twitches as I realize what this means. His ignorance, how he's acting as if I did something to his most loyal friend: Andrew hasn't told him anything.
My heart, previously a little frozen toward the guy I considered an enemy all this time, thaws a little.
More importantly, there's the casual possession in Rafe's tone. And he has the audacity to still call me Gracie after all this?
"You don't blame me?" My voice rises with each word, even when I'm struggling to keep it flat. "That's funny, because I blame you for quite a lot."
Ron's full of tense energy beside me, practically vibrating as his hands twitch at his sides. Once again, I jerk my arm out of Rafe's hold, this time to grab the teenager's arm and squeeze gently.
Hopefully my mom-telepathy is better than relationship-telepathy; the squeeze is supposed to mean Everything's okay, don't worry.
Even if he's under the Lycan King's protection, Rafe is the current Alpha of the Blue Mountain Pack.
"You need to leave. Right now." I clench my teeth as I try to force Rafe backward with only one arm, which he's now clinging to with both of his hands, still staring at me with his feverish obsession. "I don't want you here."
Rafe leans in, too close. His familiar pine scent suddenly smells artificial and overpowering, making me sneeze. "I'm looking for you. I came for you. Do you have any idea what I've been through when I realized you disappeared?"
"Not enough, apparently," I mutter.
His crazed eyes narrow. "You don't understand. It's okay. I forgive you, Gracie. You don't trust me, but I'll show you how serious I am—"
"That's not it." I cut him off without mercy. "You found your mate. You chose her. I accepted it. It's the end of our story, Rafe. I don't want you anymore."
"It's not that simple!" His voice rises sharply, and Ron takes a step forward.
I jerk him back with the faintest shake of my head.
"Yes, it is," I counter, ignoring my ex-boyfriend's rising panic. "You need to leave."
"Our bond isn't—I didn't expect it. That's all. And Ellie isn't like what I thought. But you, Gracie, you're everything—"
"Shut the fuck up," Ron snarls, the muscles of his arm bunching beneath my hand. "Didn't you hear Grace? She wants you to leave."
"Your mate drama isn't my concern, Rafe. You need to leave."
Raphael's eyes finally turn to Ron, taking him in with a sneer. "Who's this? You're even bringing in kids to make me jealous, Gracie? That's how desperate you are to have me back?"
I didn't think it was possible for Ron to stiffen even more, but he does, somehow. I jerk him back with another firm shake of my head, even as I wonder what the hell happened to Rafe's brain cells. I swear he wasn't this stupid before.
"No one's trying to make you jealous, and I don't want you back. Ever."
His eyes dart around the camper, landing on the children in the living room.
"What's all this? Who are these kids? Are you playing house with Andrew now?"
At this point, it's impossible to be angry over his accusations. The level of ridiculous in this situation has risen to TV drama-level stupidity, so it's easy to remain level-headed as I respond, "That's none of your business."
"Everything about you is my business!" He growls, fully growls, his reddened eyes boring into mine. "I've been going out of my mind, Grace. Ellie's been—" He stops, nostrils flaring. "Wait. I smell... What is that?"
I know exactly what he smells. Caine's scent on me, in the camper, everywhere. My heart pounds harder.
"You need to leave." This content belongs to novel※fire.net
His expression darkens. "You smell like—" He stops, jaw working as he processes. "Who have you been with?"
"Also none of your business."
"Grace." The way he says my name now carries a warning. "Tell me you haven't been stupid enough to get involved with another pack. Tell me you're not—"
"She asked you to leave." Ron's voice comes from behind me, steady and cold.
Rafe's gaze snaps over my shoulder as he snarls. "This doesn't concern you, kid."
Somehow, the calm I've forced myself to wear shatters with this little moment, and I let go of Rafe's hand, my hand flying for his face.
He's an alpha wolf; he certainly has the ability to dodge a simple slap. But he's distracted and out of his freaking gourd, so my palm lands against his cheek with a loud smack, startling all of us.
I didn't even know I was going to hit him; my body moved on its own, full of motherly rage and how a kid like Ron, who endures everything calmly and spends all his time taking care of others, shouldn't have to deal with the vitriol of my extra-stupid ex-boyfriend.
Ron being only a couple years younger than me doesn't matter; in my head, he's my kid, under my protection, and I won't let anyone hurt him.
Even if it is just a snarl from my braindead ex.
My hand stings immediately, and I pull my hand back.
Rafe stares at me in shock, and I wish his cheek would turn red from the force. It doesn't, though. A pathetic slap from a human isn't going to do much against an alpha wolf.
"Get out," I demand, my voice suddenly hoarse as tears come out of nowhere. I blink them back.
"Get out," I repeat, refusing to engage.