Page 58 of Griffin

As we walked side by side, the lingering frustration from lunch started to fade. Whatever weirdness Todd had brought to the table, it didn’t matter now.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself as Michael and I walked to the ice cream shop.

The late afternoon air was cool, and the hum of people talking, laughing, and walking along the street should have been enough to relax me. It wasn’t.

The line outside the shop was already spilling onto the sidewalk, full of tourists and locals alike.

A shrill cry made me jerk my head up, and I thought I spotted a bird of prey flying overhead.

Huh. I didn’t know red-tailed hawks were native to this area.

Then Michael turned to me, a little grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, and I forgot all about the hawk.

“Told you this place was popular. It blew up on social media a while ago. Some influencer came through, and now it’s the place to be,” Michael said.

I managed a smile, trying to focus on him and not the tangled knot of frustration still simmering in my chest.

Michael looked excited, his eyes lit up like he’d been waiting for this all day. I should’ve just enjoyed the moment. Should’ve just let Todd’s antics go.

But my mouth had other ideas.

“So, about Todd…” The words came out before I could stop them.

Michael tensed, his smile dimming as his posture stiffened. Part of me instantly regretted bringing it up, but the other part knew ignoring it wouldn’t help.

If we were going to work—if this was going to work—I needed to be honest with him.

Michael was fast becoming the most important person in my life, and I couldn’t stay silent about something that bothered me this much.

“What about Todd?” he asked cautiously.

“I told myself I’d reserve any judgments until I’d seen and spoken to him,” I began carefully. “But?—”

Michael’s expression shifted, a shadow of defensiveness creeping in. “Griffin…”

“I know Todd can be a little... intense,” he said, cutting me off. His tone was calm, but I could hear the edge beneath it.

“Intense is a polite way to put it,” I said, trying to keep my voice light.

But my wolf stirred uneasily, pacing within me like it was trapped in a cage too small.

Its restlessness only added to my own, a low hum of unease threading through every muscle in my body.

I could feel the tension radiating off Michael, his shoulders tight, his movements a little too controlled.

He was trying to act like everything was fine, but I could sense the crack in his composure as easily as I could hear a pin drop in a silent room.

I knew I was walking a fine line bringing Todd up like this. But my instincts—and my wolf—had never steered me wrong before.

They were sharp, honed, a survival skill that had saved my life more times than I could count.

And right now, those instincts were sounding alarms loud enough to drown out any rational thought.

There was something off about Todd.

I didn’t need years of knowing him to see it; it was plain in the way he acted, in the way his energy shifted when Michael and I were together.

Todd’s presence wasn’t neutral. It wasn’t the easygoing vibe of someone secure in their place in Michael’s life.

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