His Trouble Maker

Chapter 24

JESSICA

I'm spent.

Completely fucking drained.

My body's aching, still trembling with the aftermath, but | can’t move. Can't even open my eyes. The car feels

like it’s swallowingwhole, the leather seat cold against my skin. I'm sticky, sore, and every inch ofis

throbbing, but | don’t care.

The only sound | can hear is the heavy rise and fall of my breath. His breath, too, deep and slow, like he’s

savoring the moment just as much aslam.

“Where the fuck did you learn that Jessica?” His voice is thick with something between amusement and disbelief,

like he’s trying to figure out, plece by piece, It's a question that doesn’t deserve an answer, but | know he’s

expecting one.

| tilt my head back, trying to find the strength to speak, but all | can do is smirk, barely able to keep my eyes

open. “Does it matter?” My voice comes out hoarse, cracked from more than just the words. “You seem to like it,

though.”

He chuckles, dark and low, the sound vibrating through the car. His fingers trace the edge of my jaw.“Damn girl.”

“Is that a compliment?”

Gray smirks, that familiar arrogance dancing in his eyes. Without warning, he licks his lips like he’s savoring

something dangerous. He leans in close, his lips brushing mine for a fleeting second, a kiss that’s too quick to be

mal, too fucking perfect to forget.

Then he pulls back just as fast, his lips moving to the top of my head, pressing a kiss there as if markingin

sfucked-up way that makes my stomach churn and tighten

“You don’t need compliments, Jess,” he says, his voice low, like he’s savoring the taste of his words, and

everything inburns. “You already know what you are to me.”

Yeah? And what's that?

| chuckle, trying to shake the thought away, because if | start questioning this now, I'll lose myself in the mess of

it. | don’t have tfor that Instead, | let my head fall back against the seat, closing my eyes. It feels good

hearing him shouting, not out of anger for the first time.

Ater a few minutes, | heard him start the engine of his car. His one hand is still holdingand | felt comfortable

with it. “Are you driving us back to the training center?”

He lets out a low chuckle, his hand tightening slightly around me. “Do you still have strength to train today?”

| open my eyes, blinking through the haze, and nod. “Yes. | need to train.”

It's the only thing that keeps my mind from spiraling.

“Why do you think you need to push so hard?? He doesn’t sound judgmental, but there’s something in his tone

that makes it feel like he’s trying to crackopen. “You could just be an instructor, Jess. Work in the Alpha’s

office, play it safe. Why the need to always go further?”

| hate the question more than | should. My jaw clenches, and | can feel the fire stirring in my chest. He doesn’t

get it. He doesn’t understand why | can’t settle for anything less than this constant fight. | force myself to stay

calm as answer, my voice low but firm.

“Because I'm not sdamn desk jockey,” | snap, before biting my tongue. | don’t want to sound like I'm

attacking him. But | can’t help The words just spill out, sharp and raw,. “I hate it when people say women can’t

be warriors. That shit... It’s Infuriating.”

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Chapter 24

| can hear him shift slightly in his seat, but he doesn’t say anything right away. “Who says that, though?” he

asks, his voice soft, but there's an edge to it now, like he’s trying to make sense of what's driving me.

troll my eyes, the frustration creeping up again. “Everyone. The Alpha’s office. The pack. They're all still stuck in

the past, thinking we should Just.. be quiet. Be ‘good’ little women. But that’s not me. That's never been me.”

There's another beat of silence, but this time, it feels different. He seems to be processing, his grip tightening on

the steering wheel like he’s trying to keep his thoughts in check.

“You know, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone, Jess,” he says, his voice softer now, almost a whisper.

| almost laugh, but it’s bitter. “You really think that’s what I'm doing? Proving something? I'm not. I'm fighting for

what they think | can’t have.

That's what it is.”

He doesn’t say anything at first, just lets the car roll forward as the streetlights flicker past us. And for a moment,

| wonder if he’s given up on understanding. Then, finally, he speaks again. “You want to be a warrior?”

I nodded.

“You know what that means, right?”

I tilt my head slightly, unsure of what he’s asking. I've been fighting all my life-fighting against what everyone

thinks | can’t do, who they

think I should be.

For you to beca warrior, you need to have Pierce and mine’s approval first.”

Right.

| turn my head slightly, staring at the dashboard, the familiar streets passing by like I'm seeing them for the first

time. “You think I don’t know that?” | murmur, low, my voice tight. | tum back to him, feeling my heart slam

against my ribs. “I've had to prove myself my whole life. To everyone. But you” | swallow hard, the bittemess

creeping in, “you heard us earlier?”

He will never give you his approval Jess” He said, and | fucking know why.“He’s Pierce and the last thing he

wants is to have his baby sister fighting a war that he’s trying to fought for her.”

“I can fight for myself too”

| just...need more time.

I'look at him.

Goddess.

Sometimes | think the universe was a little cruel putting eyes like his on someone like him. Because when Gray

looks at me-really looks-i forget everything. All | know is the quiet way his lashes cast shadows over his cheeks,

and how his eyes flick down to my lips like he’s thinking something he’ll never say.

How is it possible for someone to make you feel brave and breakable at the stime?

| reach out, almost without thinking. My fingers brush his hand, and | feel him stiffen-but he doesn’t pull away. |

let my fingers curl between his, slowly, nervously, like threading a thought through a needle.

His hand is warm. Big. Still,

He looks down. His lips parted for a second before he finally looks up and meet my eyes.

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Chapter 24

“I'll get your approval,” | whisper, softer than | mean to. “Right?”

He looks atand suddenly, I'm thirteen again. Barefoot on the back porch, heart hammering against my ribs,

stealing through shadows just to catch a glimpse of him training past midnight like a fucking lunatic.

But just like then, Grayson only sparesa glance-brief, careless-and turns away, continuing his life like he

never even saw me

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