Chapter 21

Once we arrived back at Monroe's, the first thing I did was call Chloe.

"So it's true then," she said after I told her what we'd found out today.

"Yeah, it's official. My mom was a Grimm."

"Hmm…" she mumbled as a few clicks of her teeth came through the receiver.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, it's just… I don't know… It seems so real now."

"Yeah… it's all real." I paused. I wanted to talk to her about the trailer, but I'd wait until Monroe wasn't in earshot. My thoughts about that place might offend him.

"Okay, so you're a Grimm." Her tone brightened. "So what, right?"

"Right," I replied with less enthusiasm as I curled my legs under me on the couch.

"Why did you decide to come clean to the Grimm anyway?"

I hadn't talked to Chloe about my plans. I hadn't shared my plans with anyone.

"If I was going to know for sure what I was, then I had to let him in my circle." I avoided the story of the reveal and the Daemonfeuer. Just too much to talk about.

"Did he take it well? Was he surprised?"

"Yeah, it came as a shock." I tried not laugh. "But he took the news as well as anyone in his situation, I suppose."

"I thought I was going to help you research it." Her pout came through the phone.

"You did help. If it hadn't been for your information, I wouldn't have had the names to match it all up. Thank you so much."

"No problem," she said faintly, then her tone went back to her motherly one as she said, "Just because he knows, this does not give you permission to go off on your reckless behavior. I don't want to find out you're out hunting with that other Grimm and waving some family birthright warrior bullshit around, you hear me?"

This time I actually laughed. "I won't wave anything around, I promise."

"You know what I mean, Renée."

"I get your point. So are we still good, now that I'm—"

"I love you no matter what you are," she replied before I could finish. "That won't change." Her direct link to my brain told her exactly what I was thinking about.

I held back a few tears, but I just couldn't keep them from coming. "Good, 'cause I need you, Chloe."

"Come on now. Don't cry over it. I'm happy you know what you are. I always figured it was a Grimm, though."

I chuckled through my tears. "Right, you just knew."

"Hey, I'm wise beyond my years. How many times do you need to be reminded of that?"

"Of course. The all-knowing Chloe. How could I forget?"

"You still have to be safe for me. No crazy Grimm crap. Promise?"

"I'll be safe. Promise." I replied as confidently as I could. Monroe rolled his eyes as I said the words.

I hung up the phone and dried my eyes. Monroe rested his hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at him. "I didn't even ask you… Are you okay with all this? Do you still feel the same? I know we talked about this in Kentucky, but now that it's all…" My eyes welled up all over again.

"Hun, of course I feel the same about you. It doesn't matter to me. My feelings aren't going to change over some family tree in an old book. You're more than just your pedigree, you know?" I held back a grin at his terminology. "Although, I must admit it's strange to date our version of the boogeyman… or woman as the case may be. But our parents never told us they could be sexy, either."

I shook my head at him. "So, I'm a sexy boogeyman?"

"Boogeywoman," he corrected. "And if Chloe got the same Wesen upbringing I did, then she had no clue you were a Grimm. She's just trying to process this, like you are."

"So why did you think I wasn't?"

"I didn't know either way, I mean, there's the stories, and from what I've seen of Nick…" He sighed, trailing off. "But then again…" He pursed his lips as his gaze caught mine. "You taste… different. I mean, your blood… It's like… I dunno how to describe it."

My mind went to Sookie Stackhouse. Maybe Grimm blood was an aphrodisiac to Wesen. Oh, God. Whatever the reason, we didn't need to discuss the taste. No, that was just something we were not going to do at all.

"Okay, there are a few things you just don't say to your girlfriend: You don't tell her that her hair is frizzy, that she's had too much dessert, or that her blood tastes funny." I shook my head.

"Oh, no. It doesn't taste funny," he blurted. "It's not a bad thing. Okay, well, maybe it's not such a good thing that it tastes… Umm... It's just so…"

I put a finger to his lips. "Monroe, let's not go there." Holy, crap! We weren't going to talk about my blood like a milkshake flavor.

"Right, okay. No, you're right." He cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not like I've had another Grimm to compare it to or anything. I haven't tasted Nick's blood." He awkwardly chuckled. "I mean, you know, I don't go around just sampling—"

"Monroe," I said. "I can't have this conversation."

"No, I get it. This is not, umm, apropos to talk about, huh?"

"Not at all," I frankly replied.

Monroe gripped his knees, "Sorry. But I am glad you have your answer now."

"I just hope you being with a Grimm doesn't cause any issues."

"Nah. You know, I've been hanging with Nick all these months. So now I just have two of you. I'm getting a collection." He smiled. Just what he needed, another collection.

"The Reapers have already beaten you up because you're hanging out with one. What might they do for dating one? Maybe Nick is right. What if it's dangerous for us to stay together?"

"It's nothing I can't handle, I assure you." A flash of red passed Monroe's eyes, and I was back in that squalid hotel room at the airport all over again. Monroe could handle it. He'd proved it already. But how he had handled it could just remain a mystery to me.

I reached for his arm and leaned into him. "Maybe they'll just leave us alone, so you don't have to."

"Yeah, I don't think it works that way." Monroe sighed as he stroked my hair. He lifted up my chin to meet his face. "What do you say we take a trip upstairs?" He gave me a wink.

"Sure, I could go for a trip upstairs," I replied with a sexy grin.

"Good, because I wanna find those cameras."

"Oh," I murmured, trying not to sound too deflated.

A/N: Poor Monroe. He just doesn't always know when to keep quiet.