Chapter 15 GRANT
GRANT
I roll around in my bed, tangling with the sheets as I begin to stir. My eyes open, taking more time than usual to get used to the walls of my room. Thankfully, this room in the pack house is far more familiar than my bedroom in the city.
A violent yawn escapes my throat before I can stop it. I stretch just a little more before getting up. It's been a while since I got an entire night's sleep. I'm not sure that would be possible without Leena.
She isn't in my bed this morning, which isn't strange, but the sight of her is definitely one I want to wake up to more often.
I get up from the bed and move to the window, feeling the rushing air on my bare chest. All I have on is a pair of shorts that honestly don't do a lot of covering.
Still, I have no issues moving around the house like this. Today is one of those days when I'd normally be alone, but the addition of an assistant means that Leena and I are the only inhabitants in the house.
I leave the bedroom, refreshed and eager to start the day. A sweet smell hits my nose before I get very far. It travels right to my brain, drawing saliva to my mouth.
“What is that?” I ask. My stomach grumbles, asking the same question. I move past Leena's door, not bothering to stop there because the amazing aroma is coming from downstairs.
The scent swirls in my gut, pulling me down the stairs two at a time.
The aroma is strongest downstairs, and I follow it to the kitchen door, where I see Leena near a pan on the stove.
She flips something, humming a little. Her eyes are so locked into what she's doing that she barely notices my presence.
“That smells incredible,” I mutter, finally drawing her attention.
Leena turns to me and offers a warm, inviting smile. “Hey, good morning,” she greets, before looking back at her creations. She fishes a fairly chunky slice of bread from the pan and replaces it with another soaked one.
“Good morning,” I return, staring at the toast.
“I hope you like French toast?” she states. Leena hands me a plate, but not before she drizzles some syrup on it and adds some cut fruits. “Just because we eat meat doesn't mean we can't enjoy a nice breakfast.”
“This is more than just a nice breakfast,” I reply, taking the plate from her.
Leena smiles and goes back to the pan. I place the food on the kitchen island beside me and close the gap between us.
Her scent pulls me in even more until my body presses against her. I lean forward, bring my lips to the side of her neck, and just breathe against her ears.
“Need any help?”
Leena purrs, closing her eyes. “Nope,” she says, reluctantly. “If you help, we're not going to get any work done.”
I blow a breath on her skin. “Fair point.”
I move back to the plate she's made for me and begin to dig in. The crispy exterior of the bread meshes well with the soft, almost gooey interior. I moan with contentment after every bite.
“See how happy you are when you have a good night's rest?” Leena asks as she joins me with her own plate.
“Or, maybe it's because I'm waking up to an amazing breakfast,” I try to counter.
Leena shakes her head before taking a bite. “You're so stubborn. Why can't it be both?”
“Because you're going to keep trying to force me to sleep early and wake up late,” I respond.
“Sleep early—Grant, you slept for eight hours.”
“That's like four hours too many.”
She chokes out a laugh. “I'm so glad I'm watching over you right now, because I can't figure out how you haven't killed yourself from exhaustion.”
I shrug in response. “If it ain't broke… besides, I'd have had a better night if you were beside me.”
I tear a piece from my food with my fingers and lift it up to Leena's mouth. They graze her soft lips before getting into her mouth.
Leena maintains eye contact as she chews and this gets my gears going already. I have to constantly fight the urge to place her on the table and just go crazy. As great as this food tastes, I know it's nothing compared to her.
“Don't you remember what happened last time we shared a bed?”
My mind travels to our night together at my house in the city. The intensity of that night is still something I feel now. We had been animalistic and brutal and that's what I want all over again.
Leena gives me a stern stare like she knows what I'm thinking. “I'm determined to fix your sleep schedule, or lack of it. Where's your phone?” Her eyes scan my body, but I get the impression that they soon stop looking for my phone and just enjoy the view of my bare chest.
I smirk at Leena. “See something you like?”
She shakes her head to snap out of her thoughts. “Is your phone upstairs?”
“Yeah. I'll pick it up after I'm done with breakfast.”
“Nope, I'll be taking it for you.”
I raise an eyebrow, remembering a threat she had given me last night before I went to bed. “You said you'd take my phone if I didn't sleep properly.”
“Yes, but I thought about it, and I really should be taking your calls. I'm your assistant, that's my job.”
I open my mouth to argue, but I can already tell that whatever I say is going to be countered very easily. “So, how's this going to work?” I ask, cleaning off my plate.
“You hardly ever use your phone,” she states. “When you do, it's for official calls and information and things like that. While you work, I can relay all of that to you and help sort through messages as well. It'll help you stay focused.”
“Hmm…” I let the idea rest in my mind for a bit. The more I think about it, the more it appeals to me. It would be nice not to have to wait around or constantly check my phone. I could just transfer that time toward doing something productive.
“Alright,” I state. “Let's do it.”
Her eyes light up. “Really?”
I chuckle in response. “So you were expecting a fight?”
She smiles. “Looks like I'm getting to you in a good way, after all. I wonder what else I can convince you to agree to.”
I stand from my seat and close the gap between us, until the concept of personal space becomes a myth. I watch Leena's breathing fully stop while she waits for my next move.
“There are things you don't have to convince me to do,” I whisper.
She swallows, bringing a smirk to my face. I move away from her, letting Leena catch some air again. I wait until she's done with her food before we both head upstairs.
Leena and I go to my office. “Are you sure you're ready to work with me? I spend long hours here.”
“With both of us working closely, you won't need long hours.”
“Fair enough.”
I exit the office temporarily before returning with my phone. Leena happily takes it. She barely opens her mouth before a call comes in.
“Tell them you're my assistant,” I say to Leena. “Whatever they want to say to me, they can say to you.”
“Okay,” Leena nods firmly. I can sense the resolve she feels. After another quick breath, she answers the phone. “Hello?” she says in a calm voice. “This is Leena, Grant's assistant. If you have a message, I can pass it on to him.”
As she continues the conversation, I turn on my laptop and wait for it to boot up. As my documents show up on the screen, Leena nods and hums until she finally ends the call.
“That was Lewis,” she says, joining me at the table. Leena picks up a pen and paper and begins to scribble some things. Once she's done, she hands it to me. She swipes her hair away from her face as I take it. “He says hunters attacked there.”
I stare at the description of the place and instantly know what he's talking about. I squeeze the paper in my hands, shaking my head.
It can't keep being like this.
“The hunters…” Leena says, drawing out the last word. It's almost like she has a question but doesn't know how to phrase it.
“Ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to make sure we never see the light of day,” I spit. “They're getting bolder and maybe even a little organized. If that happens, then it may be the end.”
“I'm surprised they don't work in packs, too,” she says.
“Their egos are too big. It's like that for humans. They want to do everything to get to the top, even if it means climbing over other people.”
“That night—the night I got turned…” The air grows heavy as she speaks. I can tell this is difficult for Leena so I give her all my attention.
“You can talk to me,” I assure.
“It's just…” Leena sighs. “It's just very difficult to remember that day. I should've just stayed home, but there I was. A wolf did this to me, and then those hunters came. As soon as they saw me, they felt like I wasn't human and therefore not worth anything.”
I let out a really long sigh. “They barely see us as anything. They barely see themselves, and that's our advantage. You understand?”
My phone rings, cutting me off. Leena turns to it with a sigh, making me chuckle.
“First day answering the phone and you're tired on your second call?”
She turns and sticks her tongue out at me. There's something about how she acts that assures me Leena is comfortable now, even though we were just about to have a very difficult conversation.
“Hello? This is Leena, Grant's assistant. How may I help you?”
I give her a thumbs up before opening the accounts I've been sent overnight. I look through, immersing myself more in the work than in Leena’s conversation. The call eventually ends, and like before, Leena takes notes.
“It's another hunter sighting,” she explains. “From the east, but there was no attack.”
“That's good, they don't know that shifters are hiding in the mountains there… but how long can we keep this up?”
The phone rings yet again. Leena rushes for it, and the call begins. Once she ends it, I get her attention again. “It was Nate,” she says.
I perk up. “That's a high-priority call. What did he say?”
“It's some good news at least,” Leena replies, placing the phone on the table before reclining further into the chair. “He said he was able to find out some of the identities of the suspected hunters.”
“We need to be one hundred percent certain before we attack.”
Leena pauses, keeping her eyes on me. “Attack?”
“We're going to take the fight to the hunters,” I explain. “We can't just sit here and wait for stuff to happen.”
“So you're going to try and fight them on the full moon?”
I shake my head. “Even if it's not a full moon. Once the plans are properly implemented, we can begin our attack.” For some reason, everything I say seems to confuse Leena even more. “Is everything okay?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I'm not sure how I feel about senseless killing.”
“What they're doing to us, that's senseless,” he explains. “What we're doing is different.”
“But it's still murder,” she argues.
I pause for air. “Leena, it's kill or be killed in this world.”
I can see her battle with her morals. “Yes, I get that, but I think it's much better if that happens in self-defense. It sounds better to me than when we talk about killing people as they live their normal civilian lives.”
I'm about to counter this when the phone rings again. I try to reach for it, but Leena gets there first. She looks at the screen and is just about to answer.
“Who is it?”
“It says Jill.” I'm unable to control what my face does after that. Leena sees this and is shocked. “What's going on? Why do you look so annoyed?”
“Jill is my ex-wife. I completely forgot her number was on my phone. We haven't talked in years.”
“Oh…” Her tone is unreadable. “Do you want to answer it?” The call ends, but starts up just a second later.
I shake my head. “I don't want to talk to her. Looks like you picked the perfect day to start answering my calls.”
“I'm not sure what the protocol is for an ex-wife, so I'll just leave the call on speaker.”
Leena swipes across the screen to answer the call. “I thought I'd have to call a couple more times before you’d answer,” Jill gripes.
I remain silent, and so does Leena, until she begins her scripted greeting.
“Hello, this is Leena, Grant's—”
“Oh, I'm sorry,” Jill apologizes. “I didn't realize he had a woman in the house. My goodness, you must feel like I'm intruding with this call.”
Leena looks more confused than I do. “No, I'm just his assistant.”
The simplification annoys me so much, even though I try not to show it.
Leena and I have been sleeping together, and we're not exactly shy about wanting each other. It seems a bit reductive to announce herself like that, even if there's some truth to it.
“Oh… either way, I'm sorry to bother, but I have news,” Jill explains. “There was an attack here, and the alpha of that pack has been terribly injured.”
“What's the alpha's name?”
“Tom Callaway.”
The temperature in the room drops. I watch all the blood leave Leena's face as she reacts to the news that her former alpha has been injured.
“Please let Grant know,” Jill remarks before ending the call. As the line goes dead, I see a look on Leena that I haven't seen before—one of pure hate.