Griffin
fourteen
*FOREST*
It’s way too early when I wake up, yet I don’t feel tired. For the first time in a long while, I have a perspective again; I am motivated. I glance at Rosea, who is lying next to me. Funnily, it wasn’t awkward at all to share my bed with her, and I was happy to notice she felt relaxed, too.
Even in her sleep, she looks so beautiful. Jordan really is a major idiot. He had such an amazing woman at his side and didn’t cherish her at all.
“Are you leaving already?” Rosea asks, stirring slightly.
The scene is so domestic it makes me blush a little.
“Yes, I am heading out and hopefully will meet Griffin. Keep sleeping a bit longer. I will pick you up for breakfast.” Rosea is a very proactive person, and it instantly makes me feel anxious that she might start strolling around and get herself in danger.
“Please wait for me before going anywhere,” I beg. “At least for today.”
She smiles slightly. “I want to have my big entrance at breakfast with you. I am not going anywhere before you pick me up. But don’t make me wait too long.”
“Deal,” I promise, before I grab my training clothes and head to the bathroom to get changed.
Not even ten minutes later, I jog over the pack grounds towards Griffin’s home.
The sun hasn’t risen yet, so it’s still dark outside.
I gaze at the sky. One hour before dawn, I’d say.
Hopefully enough time to meet with Griffin.
I have no idea what to do once I see him, or what to say. It’s been years. We got along so well when he transferred to my pack. I have never clicked with a person before, but when I met Griffin, I just felt like I had finally found a friend.
But I blew it because I allowed my parents to control me.
I pause for a moment. They controlled every aspect of my life, and I didn’t even realize it until now. Fuck, I am so dumb.
“Forest?” I startle when I hear a voice, before it slowly sinks in who it is. Before I can say something, the other clears his throat. “I mean, Alpha Forest.”
“I am not alpha yet,” I say, turning around to look at Griffin.
He is in his training clothes as well, and has his sports bag shouldered. I haven’t seen him in a while, or rather, I have pretty much made sure to ignore him. Seeing him now, and realizing he is still in my pack, yet I’ve never met him, makes me realize how avoidant I truly have been.
I am a whole fucking case study for a psychiatrist.
“What are you doing here, Alpha?” he asks, emphasizing alpha, probably well aware it ticks me off.
“I just walked by coincidentally,” I say before I can stop myself.
Old patterns die hard. I have an avoidant personality.
By the goddess, I truly walked past every potential conflict and never stood up for myself or anyone else.
Having met Rosea and seeing how she carries herself makes it even more evident how many shortcomings I have. “That was a lie,” I say.
Griffin stays quiet, just staring at me, and I have no idea what to make of his expression. He looks confused, upset even, but also curious.
“Were you about to head home?” I ask. A stupid question in itself, as we are standing almost in front of his small cottage. He lives a bit away from the others, and I wonder if my family is at fault for that.
“I don’t know,” he says warily. “Why?”
“You always train after a shift,” I say.
“That was years ago,” he says. “Things could have changed, you know?”
“I know…”
For a while, I just keep looking at him. Griffin still has his red hair and green eyes, and he is still tall and muscular, but he looks so much more mature now. He is growing a beard and obviously trains a lot. “Do I have something on my face?” Griffin asks.
“I just realized you look different to the last time I saw you.”
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you don’t see someone for years.”
Can I kick his ass? Darien asks.
He is mad at me, I tell him.
I know, obviously, Darien grumbles.
And he is right to be.
Yeah, again, obviously. Darien frowns. Why not spar with him?
Maybe he has a point. “You haven’t answered my question,” I say. “Are you heading home, or do you still train after a shift?”
“Both,” he sighs. “I train, but I do so at home.”
“Do you need a sparring partner?”
He stares at me. “Are you fucking kidding me, Forest?”
Part of me wants to apologize for intruding and leave like I usually would, but the other part knows we have come too far now to back down, and frankly, I don’t want to. Even when Griffin is mad at me, I still feel more relaxed around him than around most other pack members.
“No,” I say.
“Fuck!” Griffin drops the bag and brushes his fingers through his hair. “Fine,” he says, his tone annoyed. “Fine, let’s spar.”
When Griffin said he trains at home, I wasn’t aware of how well prepared he is. There is a whole little training area in his backyard. We both spend some time warming up properly, passing the time in awkward silence.
“I am ready,” Griffin says.
I nod, stretching my arms once more before getting up from the ground. I am barely back on my feet when Griffin jumps forward and punches me so hard that it makes me almost drop down again. “What the fuck, dude?!”
“You are the world’s shittiest friend,” Griffin snarls.
I wipe the blood off my nose. Now, we are getting somewhere! Darien growls, sounding much too happy for my liking. All this talking pissed me off! This is so much better. Can we now? Can we?!
Not like we have a choice. But don’t come forward fully. I want to beat him as myself.
I can respect that.
I can feel my strength rising, thanks to my wolf, and my senses heighten much more now. Finally, someone who doesn’t bore me to death while training, Darien says.
Something in Griffin’s eyes flashes as his wolf comes forward, too. He obviously doesn’t give a flying fuck about playing fair now, but I guess I get where he is coming from. My wolf doesn’t mind, either; he is just happy to have someone to properly fight with.
He lands a kick against Griffin’s stomach, sending him flying, but Griffin is up on his feet immediately.
He has really improved tremendously. Martin told me he didn’t have anyone good enough to train with.
Was he lying? Or did my parents make sure that Martin’s path didn’t cross with Griffin’s either?
Somehow, I have the inkling it’s the latter.
Judging by how little I have seen Griffin around, it looks like he was truly being kept away from most other pack members.
Griffin lunges forward, making me step sideways instead, but it was just a mock attack.
Good move. Almost made me stumble. But he is not the only one who has upped their training, and Darien is in full fighting mode now.
The next punch and the one after are ours.
But then, Griffin finds his footing and rhythm again, knocking me over once.
I am up on my feet immediately, though, dashing forward to tackle him.
I toss him to the ground, rolling over him before he can kick me, and then hover above him.
Griffin tugs one of his hands free, though, punching my shoulder until I loosen the grip.
Before he can kick me off him, I jump up, dodging his attack.
Griffin lunges forward, grabbing me by my middle and rolling over together with me.
We keep at it until the sun starts rising slowly, and Griffin finally taps out. We both drop onto the ground in exhaustion, catching our breath.
“I knew you would be a good sparring partner,” Griffin says after a while. “I sometimes saw you train.”
“They kept you away from the regular training schedules?”
“Your lovely father made sure I had the most awful shifts and was placed in the middle of nowhere constantly. Would have loved to challenge the future beta to a fight, too, but we barely met.”
That answers my question, relief flooding me when I realize Martin didn’t lie to me.
“Fuck it!” I curse, pressing my hands to my face. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck them! I am so done with their bullshit.”
Griffin pushes himself up on his elbows, looking at me thoughtfully. “And now?”
“I want you as my sparring partner again,” I say quietly.
“What if your psycho parents oppose it?”
“I couldn’t care less anymore,” I say bitterly.
Griffin throws me a curious gaze but doesn’t push for answers.
“So, will you?” I ask. “I am incredibly sorry for how I treated you the last few years,” I say. “I should have stood up for you, at least later down the road when I had more to say and more strength. I am really sorry.”
“Took you long enough,” Griffin says, showing me a toothy grin. “If I weren’t such a great guy, I would kick your apology to the moon. But I am just so fantastic.”
“Aren’t I lucky?” I chuckle. “Glad to have you back, Griffin.”
“Glad to have you back. I never left.”
“I know,” I say.
“But admittedly, your parents would have fucked me completely over if we continued to hang out,” he admits.
“They can’t do that anymore,” I say with finality in my voice.
Griffin tosses me a curious gaze. “Did something happen?”
“Maybe,” I say.
“Right, you met your luna. I have heard.” He eyes me curiously. “How did that happen so fast?”
I look at him for a long while. “It’s a long story,” I finally say, diplomatically.
“Do you want to tell me?”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I mean, you were my only friend—“
“I still am your friend, Forest. You know I think your parents are shit, always have been, but you were always a decent guy.”
“Then you are my only friend,” I say. “But I don’t know if I am able to share my story with you.”
“Then take your time.”
We both sit up. “Do you want to join Rose and me for breakfast?” I ask. “Martin will be there too. I’d like you to meet Rose and him.”
Griffin stares at me. “Are you planning an uprising?” he asks. “You want me to join you, like officially, at the time when everyone is at breakfast?”
“Yes,” I say.
His curiosity seems to grow. “Everyone will see us together.”
“Good.”
“Your parents will be there.”
“Fantastic,” I say. “That’s what I am hoping for.”
Griffin raises his brows. “Whatever made you change overnight, it must have been quite the experience.”
“More like quite the shock,” I admit. “But I am not backing down on this.”
“And your luna is okay with the drama?”
I grin. “You haven’t met her yet. Just wait. She is going to wipe the floor with them.”
Griffin smirks. “There is no way I am going to miss this. Anything to show up your parents,” he says. “Go ahead, I will take a swift shower and then join you in the dining hall. 7 a.m.?”
“Yep, sounds good. Meanwhile, I will pick up Rose,” I chuckle. “And probably take a shower as well.”