A shriek fell from my lips when the shower curtain was ripped open, revealing a very amused Grayson. His eyes dropped and slowly slid down my body and then back up again to lock with mine.

"You're using all the hot water, black sheep."

I blinked at him when his words registered. Was he being serious? I was sure that I had just gotten into the shower like ten minutes ago.

Heat flooded my neck and spread up into my cheeks when I realized that my hand was still between my legs. How long had he been watching me before he decided to make his presence known?

I snapped my hand away but before I could wash my juices from my fingers, Grayson's hand shot out to grip my wrist. My eyes widened when he took a step closer and raised my hand to his lips.

His nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath.

With our eyes still locked—mine wide with surprise and his dark with lust—he slipped my fingers into his mouth and sucked them clean.

Would Lucas ever do that?

As fast as the thought entered my mind, it disappeared because in the next second I found myself smashed against the wall with Grayson's body pressed to my front. His head dipped to my neck where his canines nipped at my skin.

A strange sound fell from his lips when he gripped my hips.

The hairs on my arms rose when I sensed the impending danger. Grayson's mouth was still pressed to my neck and although he wasn't hurting me, my instincts were screaming at me that he was the predator and I had turned into the prey.

Slowly, as not to alert him, I raised my hands and hesitated a moment before I pressed them to his chest. Another rumble fell from his lips but he didn't move.

The moment I felt him open his mouth wider, I pushed him back with as much strength as I could muster.

Grayson stumbled backward and nearly slipped but he managed to righten himself. His head shot up as he growled at me.

I swallowed when his crimson eyes caught mine.

I'd seen his eyes change colour before but there was something different about him now. My claws slid from the tips of my fingers as I prepared myself for a fight. I would fight him if I had too but I hoped that it didn't come to that because I knew that Grayson was a lot stronger than me.

"Grayson," I called softly when he took a step closer, "what are you doing?"

My question made him freeze.

With a shake of his head, he spun around and stormed out of the bathroom. I quickly closed the taps, stepped out of the shower, and grabbed a towel to wrap around my body as I hurried after him.

He was pacing near the open window. As if sensing me, he stopped but kept his back to me.

"Get dressed and meet me in my office," he ordered huskily before he stormed out of the room.

I listened carefully to his footsteps.

He paused only after a few steps and banged on a door.

"Get your asses up and meet me in my office in five minutes." And then he was gone, making my shoulders slump.

Ariana's laughter drifted through the walls towards me. I growled and clenched my fists when it was followed a few seconds later by Lucas's low groan.

My stomach clenched as heat pooled between my legs. It was that sound that had me up most of the night, suffering from arousal. It was what made me get up so early to take a shower where I was trying to get rid of the ache before Grayson so rudely interrupted me.

Muttering a curse, I dried my body and slipped on some clothes before I stormed out of the bedroom. They were about to have sex again and I wouldn't be able to handle it. The sounds Lucas made were already engraved in my brain.

Once downstairs, I searched all the rooms until I located Grayson's office which was surprisingly the smallest room in the house.

I hovered in the doorway for a few seconds before I entered.

The walls were painted an ugly yellow and the windows boarded shut but upon closer inspection, it revealed the pieces of broken glass. It was nothing to be suspicious about, just broken windows. There was a long couch pushed against the wall behind the door and a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that dominated the other wall. Books sat in disarray on the shelves with a few ornaments here and there. A big wooden desk occupied most of the space in the middle of the room.

My fingertips brushed along the top of the desk as I walked around it to stand behind the chair.

The first thing that caught my eyes was the photo frame. I picked it up to get a better look. Grayson stood behind a woman who was holding a baby in her arms. He had one arm wrapped around her waist while his other hand rested on the baby's stomach.

He looked so different: happier and more...human.

"Stop touching my stuff," Grayson suddenly growled from the doorway.

The photo frame slipped from my fingers, hit the edge of the desk, and then dropped to the floor.

"I'm sorry," I cried as I crouched to pick it up.

"Leave it."

I ignored his order and picked the frame up. Turning it around, I stared at the broken glass in dismay. There was a crack at the top corner and a few inches below it the glass had been broken into a million tiny pieces.

"I said to leave it." Grayson grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "Don't you ever fucking listen?"

I stumbled backward and watched as he picked up the big shards of glass and threw them into a trashcan under the desk. Straightening, he took the photo frame from me and carefully placed it back down on his desk, exactly where I took it from.

"Sit down."

I hurried over to the couch and took a seat. Crossing my legs, I leaned back and glanced around the room again. But my eyes were drawn to him.

"Can we talk about what happened in the bathroom?" I asked him.

"There's nothing to talk about," he muttered.

I pursed my lips.

He might think that it was nothing but it sure as hell was something. Grayson had gone from licking my fingers clean to wanting to rip my throat out...or so it had seemed.

"Where are your mate and baby?" I asked, unable to handle the silence.

"Dead."

"Grayson, I—"

He growled at me. "I don't want your fucking sympathy."

I fell silent. There was no use in trying to have a conversation with him when he was in his current mood.

"I'm sorry," he surprised me by saying after a few minutes of silence. "My heat is near."

His heat? It was the first time I have ever heard of a male going on heat. They usually lost their minds when it was Mating Season but only because females threw off pheromones that did weird things to their brains.

"But it's nowhere near Mating Season," I muttered.

Grayson raised his head to look at me. "I told you before that I'm not like you."

"Then what are you?"

He pursed his lips as he stared at me. "I'm a crossbreed."

It took me a moment to figure out what he meant, but by the time that happened, it was already too late to start questioning him.

Ariana entered the office first, followed by Lucas. My nose twitched as they walked past me to take a seat. They smelled like sex.

For a few seconds, Lucas caught my eyes but then he turned away to glare at Grayson.

"What is this about?" Lucas asked him.

Grayson ignored him as he pulled his chair out and took a seat behind his desk. "Have you changed your mind, Ariana?"

"No," she instantly answered him.

My eyes darted between them as my brows dipped into a frown. What plan?

"Sorry I'm late," a man muttered as he rushed into the room. "There was some trouble at the training centre."

"Close the door," Grayson told him.

The man slammed the door closed, making me wince. Muttering an apology, he leaned back against it and crossed his arms over his chest.

I studied him with some curiosity.

He was a few inches shorter than Grayson but just as muscular with some similar facial features. He only wore a pair of black shorts which gave us all a perfect view of the ugly scars covering his chest, arms, and back.

"This is my brother, Emeric," Grayson introduced.

It took me a moment to realize that he was the man who took Lucas away when we arrived. My eyes snapped over to Lucas as more questions flooded my mind. He didn't look like the man on the brink of death anymore.

Obviously! If he was still hurt then he wouldn't have been having sex with your sister.

I gave my head a shake as more questions arose. There would be enough time later to ask them but at the moment I had to figure out why Grayson had called the sudden meeting.

"What's this about?" Lucas repeated his earlier question.

Grayson looked at him. Or was he looking at Ariana?

"Ariana has a plan," he informed us. "I think that it'll work with some adjustments."