Chapter 499
Chapter 499:
I let out a sharp cry, my hands frantically grabbing the heavy mahogany railing. I managed to stop myself from tumbling down the entire flight, but my ankle twisted violently beneath me. A blinding, tearing pain shot up my leg.
Before I could even hit the marble, a rush of wind swept over me. Grant materialized with terrifying Lycan speed. He didn’t hesitate. He scooped me into his arms, lifting me effortlessly against his broad chest.
He carried me into the main living room and gently deposited me onto the plush velvet sofa. He vanished for a fraction of a second, returning with an ice pack wrapped in a towel.
Grant dropped to one knee on the thick carpet. He carefully lifted my injured leg, resting my calf against his muscular thigh. His large, warm hands applied the ice with slow, soothing circles around the swelling joint. The heat of his skin bled through my panic, miraculously steadying my trembling body.
𝗨𝗉d𝖺𝗍𝗲ѕ e𝘃e𝗿y we𝗲k 𝘰𝗻
But the guilt in my chest was heavier than the physical pain.
“I’m sorry,” I sobbed, tears finally spilling over. “I’m just a weak link, Grant. A liability to your career, to your Pack. I can’t even protect myself p>
Grant’s hands stilled.
He looked up at me. The calculating politician was gone. The volatile, murderous Lycan was completely silent. In his deep, golden-flecked eyes, there was only the raw, devastating devotion of a Fated Mate.
He reached up, his rough thumb gently wiping a tear from my cheek.
“You are not my weakness, Carmella,” he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that vibrated straight to my soul. “You are the only reason I still have a soul to fight for p>
The air in the living room shifted. The frantic urgency evaporated, replaced by a heavy, intoxicating gravity. Grant’s gaze dropped slowly from my eyes to my trembling lips. He leaned in, his rosemary and rain scent wrapping around me like a warm, inescapable promise, closing the final inches between us.
Carmella Golden POV
Grant’s lips were a breath away from mine, his intoxicating scent of rosemary and rain wrapping around me like a heavy, inescapable promise. My heart hammered against my ribs, caught between the terrifying reality of our doomed existence and the magnetic pull of the man who had sworn to protect me.
BANG.
The heavy oak double doors of the living room flew open.
“Mom! Dad! Look p>
Jaxon ran into the room, his face glowing with pure, unadulterated joy as he held up a painted papier-mâché volcano.
Grant’s massive frame went completely rigid. A low, vibrating growl rumbled deep in his chest — his powerful Lycan Inner Wolf fiercely protesting the sudden interruption. But his self-control was terrifying. In a fraction of a second, the volatile predator vanished. Grant shifted his weight and seamlessly picked up the ice pack from the carpet, pressing it gently against my sprained ankle.
“That is incredible, buddy,” Grant said, his voice warm, though a faint, gravelly edge of suppressed frustration lingered beneath it.