of that.”
Her eyes went wide. “S-stop.”
“It will always be the truth between us.” A warm hand glided up and down her back. Anchoring her even as it fanned the flames she never could extinguish when he was near. “A part of you already knows what I’m going to say is true. Has known since I touched you and survived Talg’s curse. Maybe even before. But you never had a safe place to land before. Now you do.”
Her breathing hitched. How could she hate and want his touch all at once? How could she crave his words and yet feel enraged by them at the same time?
He nudged her feet apart, spreading her legs wider, making her thighs tremble.
“It’s gonna hurt, baby.” Grif’s voice was a dark whisper near her ear. “Wrestling with the truth always does. More than a strike. But it’s what happens after you break that matters most. Remember that. Remember, too, that I’ll be here every step of the way. Me and my savage Other blood, the same kind that flows through your veins.”
She wailed—her body flashing hot, then cold, despite the fact he hadn’t moved his hands.
Could it be?
The cracks inside her chest spread as if the ground itself would give way any moment.
What was true? What was false? She wasn’t sure anymore.
Her breath came faster and faster.
Talg had always said she was at fault. That the Ancients decreed she must pay for the Other taint in her blood. Now Grif was saying something no one had ever said to her before: that she was not to blame.
Was there a chance Grif was right? That her Gazi status did not make her unworthy?
Had she allowed herself to be shamed and abused not because of any greater Ancient power, but because of the bitter hate of one male who could not let go of the past?
A sharp stab pierced her chest. More painful than any strike.
This did hurt. Just as Grif had promised.
“Talg had a grudge against you. He told you lies and hid behind false claims, and I want to know why.”
Her breathing hitched.
His tone gentled. “There’s no need for you to keep being so strong, to hold it all in. Let me carry some of that burden. I can handle it. I promise.” His finger slid down to her wet center.
She bit back a moan.
“That’s right. Let me show you what you truly deserve.” The rough knead of his hand against her woman’s center made her arousal flare.
Panting, she rose onto her tiptoes. Spread her legs as wide as the restraints allowed. “P-please.”
Tap.
She screamed as pure pleasure slammed through her. The controlled, light crack of his palm against her swollen wet folds was like nothing she’d experienced before—and everything she wanted.
Another light slap to her swollen center. “Tell me why this bastard Talg has it out for you.”
18
Nayla broke. She could not stay silent any longer, the need to tell Grif as strong a compulsion as the urge to lift her hips and spread her legs wide, to soak in every bit of attention and pleasure she could.
“M-my mother Talg mate. Other find her in cave and rut her.” She confessed her shame.
A rough inhale. A muttered curse.
“Th-that why Talg punish me. That why he hates me.” She sobbed against her bonds, her pleasure mingling with pain. “Talg kill male, but not before he hurt Talg mate bad. She survive, but never the same. Join Void bringing me into world. Talg near madness. Wife and hope destroyed by Others. Talg always say Ancients choose save wrong life.”
Saying it aloud after so long stung like the tip of a spear beneath her ribs. Making it real. Making it hurt. Just like Grif had said it would.
“Your pack should have defended you. They left you in the hands of a man twisted by hate.” His hand stroked her head once more. “I know how brutal that can be. I told you that before, wild thing. My sister and I were raised by a man like Talg. I know how hard it is to escape that kind of cruelty.”
Her heart stuttered.
“Talg was wrong. Your Ancients chose to save you, and I can see why. You’re strong and brave and good. Talg is the one who made a mistake.”
“Talg say my looks insult to Ancients.” Now that she’d started, she couldn’t stem the tide of words rushing out. “But other pack tell me I look like her, Talg mate. I-I think that why he…he refuse allow others to rut