Page 21 of Bound to the Griffin
I had to draw back with a curse, my throat tight, my voice husky. “Damn it, Gwen, you make me forget where we are and what I need to do. You make me fight for every scrap of discipline I have.” She was still laughing, heat dancing in her eyes and pink high in her cheeks, when I shifted in a flash of golden light.
This change was fast—a burst of power, and then it was gone—and I was landing on four paws in the snow, spreading my wings beneath the trees. Twisting toward her, I watched the awed expression on her face and preened, lifting my beak into the air in a proud display. Then I twisted my head around to rub against her arm and crooned at her when she burrowed her fingersinto the pelt at my shoulders and scratched. “Yeah, yeah, you’re beautiful like this,” she muttered with a laugh, “and your fur is really soft and your feathers really shiny.”
While proud of my sleek griffin body and the power inherent to being what I was, I could also appreciate the humor in her tone. She was mocking me just a little for showing off; I deserved that. When I lowered myself into the snow and nudged her to my back, she climbed on and cuddled against me. “You are really warm. Aren’t you worried they’ll see you in town now that it’s light?”
I shook my head, rose, and trotted down the hill to where oaks gave way to evergreens and the canopy opened up. With a screech, I leaped skyward, Gwen clutching my fur to hang on. This wasn’t a long flight for sightseeing and showing off; this was a quick journey downhill, coasting on my wings before landing in her backyard.
The house to one side of the B&B was abandoned, and in the other lived a supernatural who wouldn’t blink twice at seeing their sheriff in griffin shape. I’d kept low enough to the treetops to remain invisible from the street beyond the houses. As a flying creature, I was keenly aware of every sightline and angle. It was the only way to keep a secret while still getting the much-needed flying hours to clear my head and do my job.
It was much harder to let Gwen slide from my back and walk into the house while I stayed outside. I hugged her with a paw to my chest, tail lashing, and she giggled when she got a mouthful of feathers. “Stop it, Sheriff. You have a job to do, remember? We’ll talk more later.” Her tone implied we’d do a hell of a lot more than simply talk when I returned. I pranced in the snow asI watched her hurry indoors, where it would be warmer than out here once she lit a fire in the hearth. Only when she was safely behind locked doors did I leap skyward to fulfill my mission: find the burglar, capture him, interrogate him, eliminate the threat to Gwen, her B&B, and the town. Simple. Now that I had a trail, I’d catch this guy in a heartbeat. I’d be back before noon to cuddle with my mate.
Chapter 18
Gwendolyn
I floated into the B&B like I wasn’t even touching the ground. My boots tracked in snow, and my coat was damp and cold, but inside me, everything glowed. Jackson had waited until I unlocked the back door before launching skyward again, a flash of wings, a shimmer of light against the pale morning. Then he was gone, off to hunt the burglar after the money. I wondered if we should have hidden it again, but I didn’t think either of us had given much thought to what to do with it.
I leaned against the door for a moment after locking it, heart fluttering, thoughts about the money already slipping away. Magic was real, and so were griffins, warlocks, and, crazy as it sounded, mates. Somehow—impossibly—I was part of it now. Part of him. The bond between us still thrummed through my body, subtle as a heartbeat, warm as fire. Now I knew why I’d felt like that magical early morning flight had tied me to him. Why ithadfelt like being struck by lightning when we first met. I hadn’t been crazy, feeling a sudden attraction to a man I didn’t know, that was this true mate thing he talked about. I wanted to believe in it so badly it ached.
Kneeling before the hearth in the living room, I coaxed a flame to life with numb fingers and a half-broken matchbook. Sparks caught, smoke curled, and soon orange light spilled across the old rug and faded furniture. I huddled close, but barely paid attention to the flickering flames. My thoughts were elsewhere, and I was smiling like a fool. A fool who might actually have fallen head over heels in love with a certain sheriff.
My life had changed so fast. A week ago, I’d cursed myself for buying this drafty, broken B&B in a half-forgotten rural town. Now? Now it felt like the best mistake I’d ever made. Second Chances. That could be the name for the place, couldn’t it? Or something about finding yourself. Something warm, something that whispered “welcome,” no matter how lost you were.
I liked that idea very much, and the thought carried me as I put breakfast together. Nothing elaborate, just the plain food I’d been gifted: toast from the mayor’s stash, jam, strong tea in a chipped mug I’d dug out of the back of one of the kitchen cabinets. Probably long forgotten by the previous, notorious owner of the place.
I’d just sat down to eat by the fire when a knock sounded at the front door. I blinked, startled, my mug halfway to my lips. Who could that be? I doubted Jackson would knock like that, he’d come through the back door. Besides, wasn’t it too quick for him to be back from chasing down a bad guy, doing his job? I rose slowly, uncertainty filling me—uncertainty that had a little to do with the welcome this town had given me, but mostly with feeling safe without Jackson around. Maybe it was the pile of money sitting in one of my upstairs bedrooms that made me twitchy.
I peered through the foggy glass panes in my front door to be sure. On the porch stood a man I didn’t recognize. He was rugged, broad-shouldered, maybe in his forties, with brown hair touched with silver at the temples. His eyes caught me, golden in a way that made my breath catch; not human, not quite. The eyes reminded me of Jackson’s. A griffin, maybe? Now I was seeing the mysterious and magical in everything. It made me feel silly, for all I knew, this guy was as human as I was.
Since he looked like a man who worked with his hands but still took care to look neat, I didn’t immediately get “criminal vibes.” But what did I know about that kind of thing? This was probably a resident of the town, and it would be rude not to open my door. He hadn’t knocked a second time and seemed to be patiently waiting for me to make up my mind. That, more than anything, decided it for me. The door didn’t creak when it swung open, and it wasn’t crooked either. I couldn’t recall if it ever had been, but I was damn certain it had creaked before.
The man dipped his chin and offered a polite smile. “Morning,” he said, his voice easy and deep. “Name’s Ted. I own the plumbing and repair shop down the street. Welcome to the Hollow.” He had a lovely voice, warm, kind, a little melodic, actually. There was an accent under that charm I couldn’t quite place. Then I saw something glint in those not-quite-human golden eyes, and I knew Iwasdealing with something just like Jackson. Maybe not exactly alike, but there was a side to this man I did not know.
I hesitated in the doorway, caught between manners and the instinct that told me not to let strange men into my home. The instinct that said I might be dealing with something more powerful, more dangerous than I could imagine. Well, I could imagine a lot more now than I could have even yesterday. There was no one in the street, but it still felt like eyes were on me, peering out from darkened windows, staring, judging. Would they judge me for letting him in, or judge me for leaving him out in the cold? With a dry throat, I said, “Uh, hi. Nice to meet you.”
He nodded toward the house and offered another calm, easy smile. I felt myself relax a notch under that gaze. He certainly seemed polite, centered, not like a beast that could leap at meat any moment. Not that Jackson would ever do that, but I had just had fireballs lobbed at my head that morning. “Heard your heater’s been out. Thought I’d come take a look,” he said, cutting through the spinning thoughts in my mind with that polite, neighborly offer.
I blinked, then peered around him, down the street, to the shop he’d said he came from. The shop where I’d once been greeted with feral silence and fierce glares. Cowboy hat guy, Kai, wasn’t it? Yeah, that’s why this guy seemed familiar; they had to be related. “Oh. That’s… very kind of you.” Suspicion prickled low in my stomach. I hadn’t exactly shouted about my heating problem from the rooftops, and this guy’s relative, he might be a wolf. A wolf that had bitten me.
As if summoned by my doubt, Drew appeared, sauntering around the corner of the B&B. For half a second, I thought he might’ve come from the backyard, which was odd enough to make me frown. He wore the same tan and green uniform Jackson always wore—neat—but his collar and shoulders were completely dusted with snow.
He greeted us with one of those easy smiles that everyone here seemed fond of now that they’d stopped hating me. This guy, wide in the shoulders as he was, smiled wider when our eyes met, and for some reason, I was suddenly picturing a golden retriever wagging his tail. “Morning,” the deputy drawled, tugging at his hat and giving a polite nod.
“Guard duty for the sheriff?” Ted asked him, not looking away from me. His gold eyes were on my face, unreadable, his brow furrowed as if he were deep in thought. I wondered what the plumber thought he saw, wondered if he knew what Jackson andI had been up to all night. Flying together, like we had, in more than one way.
Drew grinned, sharp and amused, and—guiltily—I wondered if he knew what I’d been thinking. “Something like that,” he said. And suddenlybothof them were looking at me, and I felt heat crawl up my neck. Damn it, they’d been put up to this by Jackson, hadn’t they? But when? Last night already? This morning, before he started his hunt?
Too polite to slam the door in Ted’s face, I stepped back instead. “Well… I suppose you can come in. Tea?” I asked nervously, now that there were two men to entertain. Though I was pretty sure the deputy could be trusted, young as he seemed, Jackson must have trusted him; he’d put him on guard duty, after all. Guarding me, damn it.
Drew shook his head, planting himself against the wall beside the door like he owned the spot. “I’ll keep watch.” He tipped his hat at me, smirking. I didn’t know how he did it, but he seemed to go still, somehow getting comfortable and just… blending, right there against my wall. Turning into the oddest garden statue I’d ever seen was a little eerie.
My more insistent guest shifted closer, blocking my view of the deputy and drawing my eyes to the soft crinkles at the corners of his; laugh lines. Then, motion flickered just over his shoulder: a curtain shifting in a window across the empty main street. I thought that house had been empty too, but no, there was definitely a man visible: pinstriped suit, black hair, and tawny skin catching a ray of early sunlight. Then he retreated into the dark of the house.
Ted brushed past me then, and I pushed the watchers to the back of my mind for now. He moved with a confidence that made me stiffen, and my skin prickled. That was the kind of thing a man like Evan used to do, brush his way inside, expecting a graceful reception at all hours. “No need for tea, thanks,” Ted said, however, which would have been at odds with Evan’s response. Not that my ex would drink tea, but he’d certainly expect to be served.
Ted walked down the hallway, a big, bright-red metal toolbox in one hand, with which he gracefully navigated around the rickety vintage hat stand. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, heading straight for the basement door. I trailed after him nervously, words spilling out faster than I could stop them. “It’s, um, an old system. Really old. Pipes, boiler, all of it. I know it probably needs a full overhaul, but that’s not really in my budget right now...”
He waved a hand, cutting me off as he paused in the kitchen, in front of the basement door. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been itching to fix this place up for years.” His smile was warm, but his next words froze me solid. “Besides, you’ve got a whole pile of cash lying in one of your upstairs bedrooms, don’t you?” He turned and silently went down the stairs that normally groaned with every step.
