knows to get me to quit. But he’ll only do it to ensure I am ready.
“If I pass your tests?”
“I’ll be right by your side.”
I cover my face and dig deep for what it is I want.
“And if I fail?”
“You’ll fail knowing you did the best you could, and I’ll still be by your side.”
“I want to hurt him. I don’t know about the rest of it, tearing down things from the inside out, but I want to make him pay for what he did to me.”
“I have one request.” He turns gravely serious.
“What?”
“If I think you’re not ready, or that you’re unfocused, or a danger to the team…”
“I’ll tell you.”
“And if I think you’re not ready?”
“I trust you. I trust you’ll always be honest with me. Whether to say I’m good to go, or that I need to step back. You say the word, and I’ll listen.”
He didn’t have to be honest with me now, and yet he was. I’m new to this relationship thing, but I know what he did for me is huge. Like massively, hugely ginormous. If it’s possible, I fall a little more in love with him.
It’s his turn to scrub his face. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here, in my bedroom, where I’ve waited a year to finally get you in my bed, and we’re talking about putting you back in harm’s way. It feels all kinds of wrong.”
“But if it helps in any way, it’s worth it. Right? Isn’t this why you became a Guardian in the first place? To save those who’ve been taken?”
“It is, just never thought I’d be doing it with my wife.”
“Your what?”
“You heard me.”
“Griff…”
“I’m not asking. I’m putting a ring on your finger, a chip in your back, and I’m making you my wife.”
“A chip in my back?”
“Damn straight.”
“Um…”
“It’s a tracker. Non-removable, unlike your necklace. I’m not putting you out there without a way to find you again. That’s non-negotiable.”
“But the ring thing? That’s a joke, right?”
“Does it look like I’m joking?” He stands and holds out his hand. “Let’s go tell them the good news.” He says good, but with the way his mouth twists on the word, he’s not happy about this at all.
I take his hand, but I’m not sure what good news we’re sharing with his team. That we’re getting married? Or that Griff’s agreed to Forest’s crazy plan?
Hell, I can’t believe I’ve agreed to Forest’s plan.
Twenty-Nine
Moira
I stagger to my feet and wipe the sweat out of my eyes. Axel crashes into me with a flurry of punches and kicks delivered with brute force and incredible speed. My ribs ache. My ears ring. I weave back and forth like a drunkard.
He strikes again. Pushes me back. I counter with a jab. He bats my arm aside like an annoyance. I hit and miss a dozen times while each of his powerful punches lands a direct hit.
“Break!” Griff’s shout is my reprieve.
We’ve been going at this for what feels like hours but is really less than ten minutes. I’m wrung out with no fight left in me. I crash to the ground and hold my aching ribs while I struggle to catch my breath.
The thing is, Axel’s been pulling his punches. He’s not supposed to, but he’s going easy on me.
“That was pathetic.” Griff looms over me. “Get up.”
I don’t know what happened to the kind, protective man I love. Griff the Instructor is a grueling taskmaster with zero pity. He demands my best and expects I give him two hundred percent each and every day. There is no respite. He’s made it his mission to either turn me into a warrior princess or force me to admit I’m in way over my head and throw in the towel.
In that, he’s kept his word. He’s pushing me to quit, but I’m tenacious to a fault. I want the Guardians to put me on this mission, and I’m going to fight to earn my place.
I need this in my life, and I’ve decided it’s the only way I’ll ever feel in control and safe. Griff gets it. He’d like to lock me up at home and never let me out again. It’s the overprotective alpha male in him trying to keep me safe, but he knows I need this.
And he’s not going easy on me.
The last two weeks?
They’ve been hell.
“I hate you.” But I struggle to my knees.
“You can tell me all about how much you hate me later. Get up.”
“What am I doing wrong?” I