Plans foiled

1.       Plans Foiled

BELLE

I stared at the phone, my thumb hovering over the screen. Deliberating. 

My plan had been to book a flight when Grayson wasn’t looking. Then I’d sneak out to the airport sometime during the night. Maybe I could even be home by the morning. 

I knew that now would be my only chance to do this. 

I glanced at the bathroom door, a deep part of me almost hoping that he would come out, see what I was doing, and stop me. I was just so scared. This was all too much. 

I opened up the internet browser on his iPhone but couldn’t bring myself to type anything, even though I knew I was running out of time. 

Even just thinking about leaving Grayson made the pain in my chest grow more and more.

My mark throbbed and tears were starting to well in my eyes. 

But what about my apartment? My job? It had already been really irresponsible of me to spend even an extra night in France rather than racing home. 

My rent was already late, and my landlord wasn’t exactly the forgiving type. 

And I knew that if I brought it up with Grayson he would just smooth talk me into staying another day. I was afraid to disagree with him. I’d seen what he was capable of. 

I’ll never do anything to hurt you,  he had said. But was that true? ~Talk to me.  

Communicate. We’ll figure it out together.~

But what would he say if I told him that I was planning on escaping tonight and going home? And that I wasn’t sure if I still had a job or even an apartment, and I might be homeless? 

I had always taken so much pride in being able to provide for not only myself but also my father after he became unemployed because of his illness. 

Would Grayson still want me if he knew about all the baggage that I came with? 

How pathetic I was? And then there was the problem with my mom and her mate. 

Would Grayson treat me the way that Carl treated my mother? 

She had seemed so worried when she found out that my mate was an alpha, and had even helped me come up with a plan to get away from him. 

But I couldn’t imagine Grayson hurting me. I took in a deep breath. I trusted him. I trusted him with my life. If he was planning on hurting me, then I would deal with that later. 

For now, I just wanted to enjoy being with him without overthinking it. 

I suddenly heard the shower turn off. My heart jumped. Seconds later, Grayson walked out of the bathroom with a towel hanging dangerously low on his hips. 

He ran a hand through his hair, his muscles rippling with his every movement.  “I didn’t realize how much of your mother’s mate’s blood I had on me. Sorry if it freaked you out.” 

Without even knowing what I was doing, I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck. He immediately wrapped his arms around me to stabilize himself. 

“Whoa, what’s going on, baby?” 

I began sobbing into his neck, letting all the emotions from the last couple of weeks flood my body and take me over. I couldn’t help it. 

Grayson probably thought I was insane. 

His grip on me tightened. 

“Belle, baby, what’s wrong?” he asked in a panicked voice. “Why are you crying?”  I just shook my head. I couldn’t speak through the intense sobs racking my body. 

Grayson rubbed my back in a soothing way, then picked me up so that my legs encircled his waist. He walked us to the bed and sat us down, with me straddling him. 

“Talk to me, Belle,” he said, forcing my face out of his neck. Once I was looking at him, he ran the pad of his thumb over my cheek, wiping away my tears. 

“You’re freaking me out, beautiful. What’s wrong?” 

I took in a shaky breath. “I don’t want to leave you,” I said through my tears. 

Grayson’s body stiffened. “Why would you leave me?” he growled out. 

I sniffled. I slowly reached beside us and grabbed his phone that was lying on the bed. It was still on. I held it up for him to see. 

“What?” he asked, obvious confusion lacing his voice. He took the phone from me.  I shut my eyes tightly, preparing myself for what was to come next. “I grabbed it from the bathroom counter when you weren’t looking. I was going to book a flight home and then sneak out of here tonight. 

“My mom said that if I left something that smelled like me next to you while you were sleeping, you wouldn’t notice I was gone until morning.”  He gripped my hips tighter, and his breathing became uneven. 

“Belle, look at me.” 

I shook my head. I didn’t want to see how mad he was. 

He grabbed my chin and squeezed it softly. “Look at me, mate.” 

I opened one eye and peeked at him. He didn’t look as angry as I’d thought he would be. I bit my lip. 

“First of all,” Grayson started, “that would have never worked. Maybe a normal wolf wouldn’t notice their mate missing, but not an alpha. I would have noticed right away, or my wolf would have. We’re attuned to every part of your body, even during sleep— everything about you, not just your scent.” 

I began fumbling with my shirt, my cheeks turning bright red. 

He grabbed my chin again and forced me to look back at him. His expression became intense. 

“Second, you are never leaving me. No matter where you go or how many times you run, I will always find you. Always. Without fail. You are mine, Belle. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. You’re my mate, my soulmate, my everything. 

“Maybe I wasn’t clear enough when I explained all of this to you, and for that I am sorry.

But we will spend the rest of our lives together. I love you.” 

I gasped. Did I hear him right?  “You love me?”  

Grayson nodded. “With all that I have.” 

“But there are so many things you don’t know about me. You don’t know about all the baggage I come with,” I said. 

“Then tell me,” Grayson said as he stroked my hair lovingly. “I want to know everything about you. “

“Are you sure?” I whispered. 

He nodded and bent down to kiss my nose. “Nothing would make me happier.” 

I looked deep into his eyes, searching for a reason not to open up to him, but I couldn’t find it. Maybe it’s time to let somebody else take care of me for once.   

“I’m homeless,” I said. 

Grayson’s expression went from adoring to furious within seconds as he processed what I had said. His grip on my hips tightened almost to the point of pain before he stopped himself and instead began kneading them. 

“For how long?” 

I looked down at my hands, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. 

“Well, I’m not officially homeless yet, but I will be when I go home. My landlord isn’t very understanding when it comes to late rent. I’m sure all of my stuff is already out on the sidewalk.” 

Grayson growled. “Is that why you were so worried about going home?” 

I nodded my head slowly, still not meeting his gaze. I could feel the embarrassment coursing through my body. 

Grayson said nothing for a while, and it forced me to look up at him to decipher what he was thinking. His face was twisted in disgust, and all of his muscles were tight. 

Was he wondering what he had gotten himself into? Was he wishing that he had been given a different mate? 

My shoulders slumped as I voiced my next question: “Do you still want me?” 

Grayson’s eyes snapped to mine and he growled ferociously. He yanked my body into his chest. “You are mine!” 

His wolf seemed to speak now as the darks of his eyes took over. “I will always want you!”  I nodded to show that I understood. “I’m sorry,” I whispered into his chest. 

He pulled away so he could look at me, his animal eyes penetrating mine. “Why are you sorry?” 

“I’m sorry that you’re stuck with me. I’m sure I wasn’t what you were imagining when you thought of your mate. I might not even have a job, either, so who knows when I’ll be able to get back on my feet.” 

“Is that why you didn’t tell me any of this?” Grayson asked. “You thought I would be ashamed of you?” 

I nodded again. “Aren’t you?” 

To my great surprise, Grayson just laughed. He ran a hand down his face. “I have done a terrible job explaining all of this to you,” he said darkly. 

“I meant it when I said that I will make sure you never pay for another thing in your life. You will move in with me as soon as we get back to Minnesota. You will no longer have or need a job. I will provide for you just like any good male mate does. 

It is the way of all werewolves. It is not in our nature to have it any other way.”  I gaped at him. “You want me to move in with you? After only knowing me for a couple of weeks?” 

He chuckled. “No, baby girl, I don’t want you to move in with me. You will move in with me.

You don’t have a choice in the matter. I will tie you to my bed if I have to, just to ensure that

I get to wake up next to your beautiful face for the rest of my life.” 

I knew that I should be afraid, that I should run for the hills. This was exactly what I had feared when I’d thought about getting into a relationship with Grayson: not getting to make my own decisions anymore. But I didn’t feel scared. I felt warm. For the first time in my life, it felt like I had nothing to worry about. Grayson would take care of me. 

“As for the being ashamed of you part,” Grayson added in a disgusted tone, “that is not possible. I wasn’t mad at you for your situation. I was furious with myself for not being there to take care of you when you needed me most. You were so close to me and I had no idea. I could’ve had you in my arms so long ago.” 

Relief surged through me. I smiled and leaned my head on his chest. 

“I never want to leave your arms,” I whispered. 

He smiled slightly and pressed his mouth to my hair. “Then you won’t,” he said. 

I sighed as I nuzzled into him further. “It feels good to finally be honest with you. I didn’t like all the lies I was telling you. I was just so scared.” 

Grayson rubbed my back again, massaging the tight muscles that were slowly starting to loosen. “What other lies did you tell me?” 

I bit my lip. “Uh, I don’t live in Winona. I live in Minneapolis.” 

Grayson chuckled. “You don’t think I knew that? The minute I met you, I had one of my pack members dig up all of your records.”  I gasped and looked at him. “You what?” 

He laughed again. “Don’t look so offended, my love. You belong to me, remember? I have every right to know everything about you.” 

“Yeah, whatever,” I said, still a little upset about the invasion of privacy. 

He leaned down and began to playfully nibble on my ear and jaw, obviously trying to lighten my mood. I laughed and shoved him away. He chuckled. 

“Anything else you lied to me about?” Grayson asked. 

I thought over the last couple of weeks.  “Um, there is no book called Hands of Gold?”   Laughter shook through Grayson again. 

“Yes, I figured that one out as well,” he said happily and brought me closer in his arms. 

And, for the first time in a long time, everything was okay.