Who Are You

17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
A Great Place to Start

❯❯❯❯❯

DJ's razor-edged nails raked the surface of the marble countertop as Lester dabbed a clean cloth around the gash on her waist. Vyn was now relaxed, but he sat worried as he watched his father work on his friend.

"Is she going to be okay?" Normani asked, biting the side of her finger agitatedly.

"It's a wound from an Alpha," Lester said patiently, keeping his focus on DJ's injury. "It'll take longer to heal than a normal slash, but she'll be fine."

Sensing the anxiety Normani was feeling, Grim headed back to the fireplace where Lauren was having a conversation with Jett and Shark about their kind. "Lauren, why don't you take Normani upstairs? We also need to talk."

The green-eyed girl nodded, proceeding to the kitchen to do what she was told.

"The two of you," Grim said, referring to Jett and Shark. "Stay on watch and don't let your defenses down. The Crows might come in any minute."

They gave their Alpha a curt nod and followed her instructions, retreating to the hallways to get a better sense of their surroundings. Grim went upstairs, leaving the rest of her pack to heal. Normani was holding a cup of tea as she sat on the counter with Lauren, her head turning to Grim's direction as she arrived.

"What changed your mind, Normani?" Grim asked, cutting straight to the chase. She kept her gaze on her as she sat on the foot of the bed. "To be honest, I didn't expect you to stay any longer than two minutes around us."

"I really want to be mad at you right now," Normani said bluntly, taking a sip from her chamomile tea, "and the rest of your pack, but earlier in school, I got . . . trapped with a werewolf, and I was so scared because I didn't know what to do. Until DJ came and she fought against that werewolf. I saw it, I saw everything—how she saved my life, and up until now I can't forget how brave DJ was and how much it took her just to defeat that hideous animal."

"You're aware that we're literally the same thing, aren't you?" Grim said, finding Normani's choice of words somehow offensive, but she wasn't surprised.

"Oh. Well, he's really ugly, and you're not."

Grim smirked, toying with her hands. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Normani rolled her eyes as Lauren laughed beside her. "Don't get used to it now."

"I'm really thankful for the two of you," Grim suddenly said, offering them a soft smile. "By putting the Mountain Ash around the house, that was a huge help for us, knowing that we don't deserve any favor from you after everything."

"It's not that we're forgiving you already," Normani said, again, straightforward with her words. "I mean, we're helping you, but it's only because you're doing the same thing for us. Without you, we would've been dead as soon as they came. But then again, we wouldn't be stuck in this situation if it wasn't for you."

Grim closed her mouth and nodded. "I understand, and I also believe that there are things you'd like to know more about? Now's the perfect time while there are still no signs of the Crows."

"But Jude's out there, right?" Lauren asked.

"He won't be back until the Crows are here. I don't think that axe just scratched him. He'll also need to recover for a bit . . . just like we all do."