Chapter 3
Thornar
Gracie was absolutely not fine.
I might not know everything about the captivating woman across from me. I didn’t know much about god scars or what even had the capability to capture a fucking god. But what I did know? Gracie’s soft “I’m fine” as we rushed her back to the privacy of our room was absolute bullshit.
I didn’t care who you were, no one was “fine” after a seizure like that. She’d fallen from her chair and nearly cracked her head open on the stone patio.
I watched Gracie closely as she stood, tracking the way her weight shifted. She shouldn’t have been on her feet yet.
Despite that, I knew I had to sit back, even if only for a few moments as she gathered herself. Our mate was still learning to trust and open up to us, and while I wanted to demand answers, I also knew that it could have the opposite effect.
“Ravik and Basir will be back soon. They just wanted to update everyone on the vision so we can move the timeline forward,” I said when I saw her eyes roving the room.
I leaned back against the counter, watching her move through the kitchen like she’d done it a thousand times before.
Opening cabinets. Pulling down bowls. Measuring without a second thought.
“Okay,” she mumbled, completely occupied in thought. I decided to just watch her work, curious what she planned to make.
For the next hour, I watched Gracie move like an artist. She lined ingredients across the island in neat rows, flour dusting her fingers as she kneaded and mixed, her focus narrowed on the task in front of her.
The chaos from lunch—the darkness, the gods, the way her body had hit the floor—seemed at odds with the steadiness in her hands.
There was only a slight pause when she reached for the wrong cabinet, her brow furrowing before she corrected herself and kept going.
She didn’t miss a beat. Part of me wished she’d rearrange the whole damn kitchen just to make it hers.
She deserved to claim space like that. To take something and bend it to her comfort.
A softness settled in her expression as she handled the ingredients, a quiet contentness. But it didn’t reach her eyes. It wasn’t until she placed a mound of dough underneath a cloth for the second time and stepped back that she seemed to register that we had been sharing the space in silence.
“I should make something else for dinner—”
“Gracie, come here.” My voice made her tense, but I knew it wasn’t about me as much as the questions she thought I would ask.
She hesitated for half a second before stepping into my space.
“Sorry, I was caught up in my own head about everything going on and I lost track of ti—”
I brushed a finger over her lips, and she closed her eyes in frustration.
“You don’t owe me an explanation for not wanting to talk,” I said. “I am curious about what has you so wrapped up in thought, though.”
Gracie let out a long exhale before deflating, her head dropping as I resisted the urge to pull her completely against me.
“I just don’t understand why.”
“Why what?” I frowned.
“Why…me?” She opened her eyes and held mine. “Why would she pick me? Why out of everyone that follows her would she pick me…us, actually? Why make us her champions? And what does this god scar mean for us?”
It meant we were mates but so much more. Before I could answer, though, she continued.
“And who is behind the gates? Why do we think we can go against Ivan, let alone the gods? Just…why? Why for any of this, Thornar? I just don’t get why she would choose me.”
By the time she was finished, there were tears in her eyes. My heart clenched painfully, needing to fix her pain and confusion. Unfortunately, my solution for fixing it included the violence that she no doubt feared would soon come to pass.
Pulling her forward gently by the waist, I brushed some flour off her cheek before speaking honestly. “I don’t know. I don’t know why she chose you or us. I can guess, though. I’m sure she saw the same strength I see, little flame. But I don’t know for sure. I just know she didn’t make a mistake.”
Gracie inhaled softly before moving to rest her head in the crook of my neck.
My hands smoothed over her waist as I held her against me.
I managed to keep my thoughts calm, not violent, despite the rage that threatened to rise up at Gracie not being happy in every way possible.
I knew she would feel it if I let it through.
“What I do know,” I finally offered, “is that we have options, especially with traveling. In Nightstar Flight territory, on the west coast, there is an institute. If there are answers, they will be there.”
Gracie pulled back, her gaze filling with hope. “What type of institute?”
“I believe it’s part of the university, but it acts more as a library with archives, high-level scholars, and lots of research. My sister goes every few months. If we can get into their archives, maybe we can get a feel for where this started and how a god could even end up imprisoned.”
“You’re right, that would be a good place to start,” she murmured.
When a timer went off, she moved out of my arms as I tried to hide the rumble that threatened to escape my chest. It was easy when Gracie was against me to forget.
To forget the way I needed her close at all times. To forget how easily that need slipped past reason when it came to my mate.
I watched as she placed the bread in the oven before looking around the kitchen with a renewed interest and lightness, my words seeming to have their intended effect. So why wasn’t she back in my arms?
“This is a beautiful kitchen. I’ve never cooked anywhere like this.”
“I’m guessing you’ve cooked a lot?” I asked.
“Yeah…it was actually my job,” she said with a sad smile. “Every night for Ivan and his men.”
My vision flashed red. The idea of her being forced to cook for any man, let alone that bastard, was unacceptable. That wasn’t her fault, though, and I knew she was watching for my reaction. “I can’t wait to taste it.”
Pushing off the counter, I walked toward my little flame and took her hand, nodding toward the living room. I already had an old show going, but I wanted nothing more than to just sit next to her, to take the quiet moment while we had it.
Gracie seemed to love the idea because the minute I sat down and pulled her toward me, she melted into my side and pulled a blanket over us.
She may not have realized it yet, but I could feel the tension leaving her, hour by hour, while in the safety of our home.
Thirty minutes later I realized that she was breathing deeply and had fallen asleep.
After everything her body had just gone through, this was what she needed.
The door clicked open, and I slowly turned my head to signal to Ravik and Basir to be mindful of her sleeping.
“What’s that smell?” Ravik asked quietly, looking around in confusion. The scent was mouthwatering, the fresh baked bread making our home feel like it’d been wrapped in a warm fucking blanket.
Basir was already at the oven, looking through the glass. “Did she make this?”
“Yeah. I think it’s almost done, but I didn’t want to wake her up.”
“It’s fine.” She sighed contently, her eyes fluttering open. “I shouldn’t sleep anyway, and I want to see if you like the bread.”
I had zero doubt we would love it.
A few minutes later, as she pulled the bread from the oven, I entertained her with a story of when my sister had tried to bake bread and nearly burned down the kitchen.
The minute a slice of bread with butter was put in front of me, though, my attention was captured.
It was easy to see the artistry and skill it took to pull off something that appeared to have come right out of a bakery.
Even so, I still didn’t expect the reaction I would have when I took a bite.
The taste was fucking amazing, and I couldn’t help but add a “holy shit” as Gracie’s smile grew.
I didn’t even bother listening to Basir’s reaction or Ravik’s, who grabbed a second piece, because I was so busy enjoying the delighted smile on her face.
“This is amazing, little flame,” I told her seriously. “Best bread I’ve ever had.”
“Stop it,” she teased, her cheeks pink.
“I’m serious.” I lost my smile. “This is real talent, Gracie.”
“It’s damn good,” Ravik agreed. “We almost never cook besides the occasional breakfast. You are welcome to take over the kitchen any time.”
Gracie’s eyes lit up. “You wouldn’t care? If I added or moved stuff around?”
“We would love it,” I said as Basir nodded sharply.
I wasn’t sure what about our words affected her so much, or maybe Gracie was just realizing how serious we were, but the heaviness of the daylifted as we ate dinner the other two had brought back and finished damn near an entire loaf of bread.
It wasn’t until a yawn broke from Gracie’s mouth that I realized how exhausted she had to be.
Slipping from the room, I went into her suite to get it ready, closing the windows and turning on the bath to the correct temperature. It may have been presumptuous to draw her a bath, but she had lived without comfort for so long that I wasn’t about to question my instinct to do so.
When I walked back into her room, I found Gracie putting something away in her closet and offering me a curious look. I nodded toward the bathroom before placing a kiss on her forehead and leaving her to it. Mostly because if I thought about her naked, I wouldn’t be able to leave.
Back in the main room, I found Basir and Ravik in the middle of a serious conversation.
“What’s the plan?”
“We don’t know yet. Intel is set to arrive tonight,” Ravik said. “It’s possible we’ll have to leave as early as tomorrow.”
“Shit,” I murmured. I hated that we’d be so rushed, especially when Gracie was finally getting settled.
“If not tomorrow, then the next day,” Basir said. “We have five territories to cover in twenty days.”
I nodded sharply. “I’m going to check on a few things before we leave.”
I didn’t wait for a response before pulling on boots and a jacket. If we were going to be gone for the better part of a month, there was some shit I needed to lock down.
“You want us to double shift numbers?” Commander Dain asked as I looked up from the somewhat disorganized desk. The third floor of the compound was designated for our units, and we had an office that really only Basir used. It was why he hated when I came down here and messed up his organized shit.
It was also entirely too far from Gracie, and I wasn’t sure why this man was repeating something I’d already made clear.
“Yes. For the next week. After that, I want you to start giving units a day or two off in between to rest. I also instructed the trainers to focus on combat readiness rather than general training.”
The older commander stared at me, frowning. “This about the Cold Moon Pack?”
“Does it matter if it is?”
“I just think it’s fair to know what we’re walking into.”
I studied his expression for a long moment before offering, “Yes. It is.”
“And the individuals brought from there? Is that why we are facing conflict?”
“No. We are facing conflict because Ivan is messing in shit that he doesn’t know how to handle.” I paused. “And because he hurt Gracie.”
Dain leaped at the opportunity. “The woman who’s been accompanying you, I assume?”
“Yes. My mate.”
“I see. Then we will await your direction beyond current orders.”
With a quick salute, he was off.
When I was finally done tying up all the loose ends I could before our absence, I stood and made my way from the room, only stopping when I heard muffled whispers through a barracks door.
“I’m telling you, it’s because of her. There is no threat. They’re just tossing us into their fucking problem because they found their mate.”
“I’ve heard Ivan is pretty fucking brutal, but I agree. It does seem out of nowhere.”
“I don’t want to fight a war for some wh—”
I kicked the door open with my boot, leaving it to swing on its hinges. The three gathered soldiers sat frozen in the middle of their card game to stare at me in shock before quickly gathering their wits to stand at attention.
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I advised flatly, one of the men turning a sickly shade of green.
“Are we going to have a problem following orders?” I asked each of them calmly. “Has your allegiance flown because you don’t understand every minute detail of what’s going on?”
“It’s not—”
“It is,” I said evenly. “You have no idea what is going on with the Cold Moon Pack, nor do you understand why we are moving against them. So I highly suggest you shut your fucking mouth before it gets you in trouble. Understand?”
“Yes sir,” the men said in unison.
“I don’t want to hear another word out of any of your mouths about our mate. If I do, if I hear you utter one syllable—” I spoke in a cold, hard whisper. “Fighting Ivan’s sickly pack is the last thing you’ll need to worry about.”
“Yes sir.”
I turned toward the door, resisting the urge to pull my gun just to scare the living hell out of them.
My wolf had other ideas as he howled over the idea of anyone even alluding to our mate as anything but absolute perfection.
I was thankful that I had a hold on him.
After all, slaughtering our own soldiers wasn’t great for morale.
As I passed one of the officer’s suites, I peeked my head in. “The three in that room.”
“What did those bastards do now?” Sergeant Rigg asked gruffly, almost making me smirk.
“Assign them to the first unit out when we deploy.”
“Got it.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Absolute dumbasses.”
The walk back home was long, the cool night air of the Ironsun territory nearly silent. I knew Gracie would most likely be asleep, but I still wanted to see her.
When I walked inside, I walked straight past Basir and Ravik and into Gracie’s bedroom. She slept in the middle of her bed, wrapped in blankets, her red hair spread around her.
“Hey, we have to talk,” Ravik called from down the hall.
“When do we leave?” I asked, begrudgingly walking back into the living room, finding Basir already in the process of gathering bags.
“First thing in the morning.”
So much for giving Gracie time to get settled.