Fangs, Fate & Other Bad Decisions Chapter 81

The ride to my high-rise is silent, save for the hum of the engine and the occasional shift of Mike's hands on the steering wheel. The weight of the moment presses down on me, and I feel it in the way my muscles tighten with every breath. Griffin, though, is unusually quiet for once. He’s not saying anything. Not that I blame him. We’re both consumed by the same thoughts—by the same realization that Harley has permanently changed everything.

After a few beats, he suddenly, without looking at me, asks, “So? Are you just gonna sit back and wait?”

I turn my head to glance at him, my voice low and strained. “I don’t know, Griffin. She asked for space. And I...I can’t just barge in. I can’t make her do this on my terms. If I push too hard, I’ll just make it worse.”

At my words, Griffin tilts his head my way, his eyes narrowing, but his face remains impassive. “You’re really going to do this again, huh? After everything? Hold back? Wait around until she says she’s ready?”

I let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing my temples. I know exactly what he’s getting at. “I’m not waiting. I’m respecting her request. She needs space, and I’m going to give it to her. She’s been through more than enough.”

Griffin leans forward slightly, his voice steady but sharp. “And what exactly do you think space will do for her, Thane? You gave her space last week, and look how that turned out. You almost *lost* her.”

His words hit me like a bucket of ice water. I feel my heart skip a beat, and my pulse quickens, but I don’t look away. I can’t avoid it anymore. Griffin is right. I pushed her away when I thought I was doing the right thing. And now it’s not just about me and her. It’s about whether she’ll even let me back in at all.

I open my mouth to defend myself, but Griffin doesn’t give me a chance.

“You’re doing this all wrong,” he says, his tone softer but no less firm. “Every time you pull away like this, every time you act like you don’t want her, you make her feel like she’s invisible. And I know you don’t mean to. But that’s what happens. And that’s how you’ll lose her completely.”

I close my eyes for a second, letting the weight of his words settle over me. His voice is calm, but there’s a hardness in it that matches the ache in my chest. I know it’s coming from a place of truth, having witnessed me make the same mistakes over and over again.

“I’m not trying to lose her,” I say, my voice quieter now. “I just...I don’t want to break her. I don’t want to force her into something she’s not ready for. What if I hurt her? What if I push too hard?”

Griffin chuckles, but there’s no amusement in it. Just exhaustion. “You’re not going to break her, Thane. That woman is way stronger than most of us give her credit for, even if she sometimes forgets it herself. But you sure as hell will break yourself if you don’t stop running. If you keep holding back because you’re afraid of what you feel. You’re afraid to let her see everything, I get that. But that’s the only way this works. You have to be all in. No more half-measures.”

At that, I turn to look out my window, staring into the night. The city blurs past us, a haze of lights and movement. But I can’t seem to move. I can’t seem to stop thinking about Harley. The way she looked at me when I bit her. The confusion, the fear, and beneath all of that, the curiosity. The pull. She feels it, too. I know she does. Even if she doesn’t know what it all means just yet.

But am *I* ready for what that means? Am *I* ready to give her everything?

Griffin’s voice breaks through my thoughts again, more direct now. “You can’t hide behind your fear anymore, Thane. You have to stop pretending that you don’t want her. That you don’t need her. Because if you keep doing this, if you keep repressing your feelings, you’ll lose her. And you’ll be alone. Again. And this time it’ll hurt way more.”

I clench my fists, my nails digging into my palms as his words hit home. I’m not ready to be alone again. I’m not prepared to lose her. Not when I’ve already come this far. I owe her more than that.

“You think I don’t know that?” I mutter. “For the first time in my godforsaken life, I’m fucking scared, Griffin. I’m scared that if I push too hard, I’ll ruin it. That she’ll pull away completely. That she’ll hate me for pushing her into something she’s not ready for.”

Griffin turns his head to look at me, and for the first time tonight, I see a flicker of understanding in his eyes. He leans back against the seat, his voice softer this time, though still carrying the weight of everything we’ve been through. “I get it. I do. But you can’t let fear make the decisions for you. It never works out that way. And I know, *I know*, you’re terrified of screwing this up. But here’s the thing, Thane. You’re already screwing it up by not being honest with her. By not showing her that you care. By pretending you’re not in this for the long haul.”

I let out a long breath, letting his words sink in. He’s right. I’ve been letting fear control me. Letting it control my decisions. But I can’t keep doing that. I can’t keep pushing her away out of fear of losing her.

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?” I ask, my voice strained. “How do I fix this? How do I make it right?”

Griffin gives me a wry smile, the same sharp grin that’s always there, but now it feels like he’s trying to lighten the mood just a bit. “Start by not running, Thane. Start by showing her that you’re not going anywhere. Show her that you’re in this. And maybe—*just maybe*—you won’t lose her.”

We drive in silence for a few moments after that, and I let his words settle into me like a truth I’ve been avoiding. Maybe this is the moment. Perhaps I’ve been running too long and hiding behind my own fears.

When the car pulls into the parking garage below my building, I don’t wait for Mike to open my door, and I step out of the car, my feet heavy against the concrete floor. My penthouse is waiting for me, but so is Harley. The weight of that knowledge is crushing, but I know one thing for sure: I’m done hiding.

As I enter my penthouse, the silence is deafening. The world outside feels far away, and for the first time, I let my thoughts settle wholly on one thing, one person.

Harley.

I’ve been running this whole week, telling myself that I wasn’t worthy of her, that I didn’t deserve to feel this way. But the truth is, I can’t live like this anymore.

She’s mine. And it’s time I showed her exactly what that means.