Chapter 12 LEENA
LEENA
My entire body is on fire. Everything Grant has ever told me feels like a lie. This has to be the most painful transformation yet.
As my bones shift and start reforming themselves, the alpha takes a step away from me, giving me room to fully turn back. My body tears apart, rebuilding itself and repeating the cycle all over again.
I can't… I can't do this.
Just when it feels like my body is going to give way, the pain starts to lessen. I fall flat on the ground as my human form finally takes over.
As I lay there, trying my best to get my breath back, I feel warm hands swooping me up into the air. Grant holds me close to his body, filling and covering me with his scent.
I nestle into him as much as I can while he carries me back to the pack house. I don't see any cars around. All the visitors must have left already.
Grant carries me with ease, transporting me up the stairs until we reach my bedroom. He nudges open the door with his knee and gently lays me on the soft mattress, letting me sink into it. He pulls the covers over me.
“You can wash up when you get your strength back,” he says.
I give him a weary smile as a form of thanks. “How many days did I stay like that?”
“About three,” Grant says.
“That's a lot,” I mutter. “I've never felt so much pain before.”
“That's because it took you too long to turn back. How're you feeling now?”
“Like shit,” I answer honestly. “I hate my wolf side so much.”
He chuckles just a bit. “I wouldn't have guessed that, seeing as you almost didn't turn back.”
“That's why I hate it,” I groan, turning in the bed. I embrace the warmth of the covers on my skin, trying not to shiver too much. My strength comes back in bouts, filling me with energy by the minute. This energy is what begins to fuel my anger.
“Being a wolf is so enjoyable,” I continue, “but getting to that point is a problem, and shifting back is an even bigger problem.
I can't imagine a future where there isn't pain with this transformation.
The only reason I even believe it is because you guys are always so happy to turn.
Then again, maybe you're all just masochists.”
Grant gives me a hearty laugh. “That's quite the theory. You might be right as well, you know. I guess you'll find out with time.”
I know he's just messing with me, but it doesn't stop the fact that I'm still a little scared. “I'm such a bad assistant.” The words come out of nowhere, but that doesn't mean it's not true.
“What?” Grant asks, just as surprised.
“I left you alone for three days. You even came to check on me multiple times, and I just abandoned where I'm needed.”
“I've been fine,” he assures me. “You don't have to worry, I've been keeping things running and getting stuff done.”
“I can see that,” I deadpan, watching how tired his eyes look. He tries his best to keep a straight face, but the lines show clearly that he's back to his days of not sleeping.
“I'm guessing there's been a lot of stuff to take care of, huh?”
“Yes,” he replies. “Nothing you have to worry yourself with. For now, it's alright for you to focus on transforming more often.”
My anger nearly blows a hole in the top of my head. “Are you kidding me? How can you talk about that after what I just went through?”
“What you just went through is even more reason to talk about it. It hurt seeing you in so much pain.”
“Believe me, it hurt me a whole lot worse,” I retort.
Grant frowns. “That's not what I'm trying to say.”
“It doesn't matter,” I reply, turning away from him and facing the wall. My eyes remain there even though I can tell Grant is still looking at me. “If you don't mind, I'd like some space so I can clean up.”
The alpha sighs before standing up and walking out of the room. He closes the door with less force than I expect, considering the fact that he's definitely upset too.
I push off the blanket and head right into the shower to wash off the grime and dirt that I've built up. I just stand there under the running water, making sure it touches every part of my body.
My arms, legs, and especially my back still feel sore, but it's the memory of the pain that really gets to me. The thought of how much suffering I just went through is almost too much to bear.
I can't believe he's bringing that up. So I don't get a break?
The part of my mind that understands where Grant is coming from is shoved into a deep, dark corner. I can tell that he's in alpha mode and just wants to fix whatever problems his pack is having. That's still not the best excuse.
When I finally get tired of using up half of the house’s water, I step out of the bathroom. Most of my energy is back now, and I'm nowhere near as tired as I was more than thirty minutes ago.
I know that I have a few advantages over shifters who were born this way, and maybe quick recovery is one of them.
I step out of my room, turning to look down the hallway. The sounds from the room adjacent to me indicate that Grant is back at work.
I'm not ready to see him just yet.
I head in the opposite direction and walk down the stairs. Molly is waiting at the bottom, wearing her apron. There's a very sweet smell coming from the kitchen nearby, and it has the chef's name written all over it.
“Good morning, Molly,” I greet.
“Good morning, dear. I'm glad to see you're back. How're you feeling?”
Just great. I'm sure everyone sees me as the wolf too scared to turn back. God, I'm so embarrassed.
“I'm alright,” I state. “Something smells good.” Even though it's the truth, I'm happy to use that as a distraction to pull the conversation away from me.
“Thanks. I'm trying out a few new muffin recipes. Maybe you'd like to be my taste tester.”
My eyes widen. “Are you kidding? I'd love to.”
“Awesome, but not right now, though. Give it some time.”
“Oh, okay, I'll be in the gym if you need me.”
I wave goodbye to her before strolling to the empty gym. There's an unfamiliar scent, likely from one of the wolves that came for the transformation. But now, I have it all to myself.
I walk over to my favorite area, put on a pair of boxing gloves, and get to work. All my anger and frustration are poured into the large punching bag. I use every bit of force I can muster, hitting the bag with groundbreaking power.
I'm not sure how long I spent releasing my anger, but it must've been over an hour. The sound of footsteps in the hallway makes me pause mid-punch.
I take deep breaths, trying to regain my composure before Molly appears. I don't want her to see me being wild with anger.
It's not Molly who appears at the entrance, though. It's Grant. He shows up in a sleeveless shirt, revealing absurdly ripped arms.
He folds them over his chest, making them pop even more. Looking down from that, I see that he has shorts on, exposing toned legs.
This isn't the first time I've seen him like this, but the view is still enough to make me pause every single time. However, I soon remember that Grant is the reason I'm so worked up in the first place.
I look away from him and go back to beating the shit out of the punching bag.
“Try to drive like you're going upward,” he says, not moving from the door. “That'll generate enough force.”
“You've come to tell me what to do again?” I throw back at him.
He grunts and moves from the door frame. “I was making suggestions, Leena. I haven't given you orders. Believe me, if I give you an order, you'll know it.”
Grant's words make me shudder, causing a tingle in my spine. I hate how he has this sort of effect on me, even when I'm upset.
He reaches me and moves past the punching bag, before picking up a few wearable pads for his hands. He drops his phone on the floor before coming back to meet me.
“You hate to hear it,” Grant says as he wears the pads, “but that doesn't mean it's not the truth. Turning often helps with the pain.”
“You don't even have any regard for how I feel about this,” I counter.
Grant lifts his hands, urging me to punch them. “Come on.”
I give him my attention and start to unload punches into his hands. He absorbs the force, moving according to what I'm doing. It feels better to spar with an actual person, not that I will admit that to him.
“I'm trying to be reasonable with you,” he says. “The logical thing to do is turn. You think I'm just trying to hurt you.”
“No, I think you're being inconsiderate with how you're saying this. You didn't even let me rest for two seconds.”
“I'm sorry it's so early, but I care enough not to want you to go through what happened,” he says. “I'm not your enemy here.”
“Then talk to me like you're a friend!” I add a punch with a lot of juice at the last word. It sends Grant's hand back, which surprises him a little.
“Fine,” he states. “Let's see what you've got.” He unlaces the pads and tosses them to the floor, revealing his bare hands. “Hit me.”
“What? I'm not going to—”
“Hit me, Leena.”
I tighten my fist within the gloves and throw a punch at Grant. He catches my gloves with ease, which makes the man smirk. “You can do better than that.”
I try to punch him again, faking a jab toward his face, letting me land a hit on his side. This time, I'm the one with the smug smile.
“Looks like you don't know everything,” I say.
He quickly twists my arm and pulls it into himself, drawing me close to him. “Are you sure about that?”
The urge to kiss him overwhelms me. Looking into his eyes from this distance is more than I can bear.
I lean in, but Grant beats me to it. He kisses me deeply, letting me have a long taste of his mouth.
I embrace this feeling as Grant pulls my gloves, setting my hands free. My arms move around his neck, and I jump to meet him.
Grant catches me with ease, placing his hands under my ass while my legs wrap around his waist. He moves me until he's resting me against a wall and drops his lips to my neck, sucking on my soft skin.
I moan into the air, relishing every second that our bodies spend together. Our scents begin to mingle, blocking off the part of my brain that makes decisions.
All I want is to feel Grant moving deep inside me. I want him to fuck me right here and it looks like he has the same idea. Grant's kisses become even hungrier, and I can feel the lust emanating from him.
A free hand moves to my chest and Grant squeezes my tits through my clothes. His fingers brush over my nipples, making them even harder than they already are. I need more. I want him to suck on them.
My legs move restlessly as they call for Grant to plunge between them. Suddenly, a distracting noise stops us in our tracks.
Grant and I see his ringing phone on the floor and realize that our moment of passion has come to a sudden end. Whatever call reaches an alpha's phone is probably really important.
I let go of him, standing on my two unstable feet while he reaches to answer the phone. I patiently wait for him to finish the conversation before asking what's happening with a growl.
Maybe it's the fact that our moment was interrupted, but all my annoyance rises up again, growing even worse this time. Grant ends the call and looks at me.
“There's been a hunter incident in the city.”
I gulp in response. The only thing I hate more than being a shifter is the fact that I now have to face hunters. From everything I've heard and seen, they're completely ruthless, with no room to listen or consider anything they don't want to hear.
“So you have to go,” I say, more as a statement than a question.
“Yes, but I want you to come with me.”
My first instinct is to say no and stay, while Grant runs off to take care of business.
Hopefully, that will give us the space I need to stop being so mad at him. However, when I see just how tired he is, all those instincts get tossed out the window.
He looks exhausted. I know he's been tiring himself out, and he'll keep doing it if I'm not with him.
“When do we leave?” I ask.
“Right now.”