Chapter 6
Chapter Six
The crowd noise lessened as they drove away from the fairgrounds, Leo behind the wheel and Mira next to him. Adam and Cinder had hitched a ride with the others so that Leo and Mira could have the SUV to themselves, which he appreciated.
“So tell me about the Wiccans,” he said.
“Well, I saw their booth and I asked if the Corners were around,” she said, glancing at him before turning her gaze to the window. “Then I showed up at the Wiccans’ store before they opened yesterday morning and met Lorene. Do you know the Wiccans?”
“Yep. Cinder was part of their coven before she mated Adam and became our lygisa, and the pack sends wolves as guards during their big ceremonies for solstices and equinoxes. I’ve helped out from time to time.”
“That’s cool,” she said, then continued with how Lorene had shared that she was a shifter, but another Wiccan cast a spell that suppressed her shifter nature, and only the Wiccan who cast the spell could undo it.
“I can’t believe they aren’t able to help,” he said. “That must be so frustrating to know you’re a shifter but can’t access it.”
“Frustrating, yes, but I guess I’m more upset that I had a whole family I never knew about. It feels like everything I ever knew is tinged with a lie.”
“I bet. I’m sorry for all you went through. But I’m glad you came here for the festival.”
She looked at him again and smiled. “Me too. I’m sorry my life blew all to hell before we met.”
He chuckled. “That’s okay, I promise. It’s not like I can claim any sort of idyllic childhood myself.”
When they reached Thorn Hollow, he parked at the alphas’ home and left the keys in the cupholder.
“Would you like to take a walk around the territory?”
“Sure.”
“This is the alphas’ home. Adam and Cinder Beaumont and his parents live here. His cousin Brick, who is also the second in command of the pack and head of the security team, used to live here, but he’s mated to Jade now and they have their own place.”
She stared at the home and then nodded. “Our people live in RVs and we never stay in any one place. When I was little, maybe three or four? We were living in Washington State, and the group was larger, closer to a dozen instead of seven. A wolf alpha wanted to use one of our people to help him take over another pack, so he tried to abduct one of the psychics. There was a fight and a lot of people died. Our people never stayed in one place for long after that.”
She told him more about finding out the truth of her biological family, that they’d been lost in a battle, the entire gryphon clan wiped out. Including the twin brother she never knew she had.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they walked through the woods.
“That’s so awful,” he said softly. “I didn’t know gryphons were real, let alone that they’re never female. You’re really special.”
“Not if I can never shift.”
He stopped and faced her, her pretty face dappled by the sunlight through the trees. “You’re still you. It doesn’t matter if you can shift or not. You’re not alone, Mira. I’ve got your back.”
She stared up at him, her mismatched eyes dark with emotion. “You don’t know me, though.”
“I feel like I do, at least an echo of that in my heart. And I know it’ll only get stronger as we get to know each other better.”
She hooked her hands behind his neck and went onto her toes. “You’re really something special yourself, Leo. Sexy. Strong. Good at catching females when they pass out.”
He grinned. “It was my first time.”
“You aced the test.”
He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers, his skin electrifying as she parted her lips and the kiss deepened.
His wolf howled in his head, a satisfied, happy howl at finding their mate.
She might be struggling with coming to terms with her newly revealed past, but he wasn’t going to let her go through it alone.
Clutching her sides, he pulled her a little closer, groaning softly in his throat as her body pressed to his and everything in him ignited.
Giving her bottom lip a gentle bite, he eased from the kiss and smiled at her dazed expression.
“I fucking love your eyes,” he said. “So beautiful.”
They continued their walk around the territory, sharing tidbits about their lives.
By the time they reached his home, he was fully smitten with her.
She was enchanting and funny, and so sweet.
She was torn up about the history she’d never known about herself, but hopeful to build a new life with him.
And he was looking forward to that too.
When he opened the door to his home—their home now—they walked inside and he closed the door, wanting so much to simply throw her over his shoulder and haul her off to bed to find out what she sounded like when she fell apart. But he knew she was in a fragile state after what she’d learned.
And they’d just met a few hours ago.
They had the rest of their lives, and there was no need to rush.
So he told his wolf to calm down and gave her the nickel tour of the house.
“I want to say welcome home, Mira. But you and I haven’t talked about the future like that yet. So I just want to say welcome.”
Her face softened. “Thanks, Leo. I’m so glad we met.”
* * *
Could he cook? Sort of. Sort of?
Yes. But only a few things.
Like eggs and toast. And boxed mac and cheese.
But he could grill like a beast, and he was thankful he’d just gotten a grocery delivery and had plenty of things on hand.
He wanted to cook for Mira, to show her that he was the sort of mate who would take care of all her needs.
And since he couldn’t show her his talented tongue right now, he was going to dazzle her with his grilling skills.
She followed him to the kitchen, where he pulled two thick rib eyes from the fridge.
“Are you sure I can’t help?” she asked.
“Positive.”
After putting a container of mashed potatoes in the microwave to heat, he put the steaks on a tray and walked out to the tiny back patio where the grill was.
While he worked, he told her about the town and the pack, sharing how he’d been low-ranked for quite a long while but decided he didn’t want to get left behind while his friends were kicking ass and climbing the ranks.
“What made you okay with being low-ranked?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Less responsibility, I guess. I liked turning a wrench more than anything, so I didn’t really care what rank I was. Then Solan and Brick started rank fighting, and I can be a little competitive with them, so I decided it was time to kick it into gear.”
“Psychic houses aren’t ranked. My folks are the leaders, and everyone just works together.”
“I think wolves are too aggressive to not have a ranking system. The females aren’t ranked, though.”
The evening air smelled like pine now mixed with the smoke from the grill as he set the steaks on the grate.
It was a comforting sort of smell that made him feel at home, especially with her by his side.
He joined her at the edge of the concrete, her face tilted toward the setting sun. “It’s quiet here,” she said.
“That’s what I like about the town.”
“I always wanted to stay in one place, you know? It was just not what the house wanted.”
“Do you remember that battle with the wolf pack when you were little?”
“Not really. I was too young to remember it, but I do have small flashes of things. Mom being scared, people screaming, howling.” She shivered, and he put his arm around her, drawing her close.
He was thankful she’d been spared.
They talked quietly while the steaks grilled, and then they ate at a tiny café table on the patio.
She put her fork down and settled back in the metal chair with a sigh. “That was amazing. You’re really great with the grill.”
“Happy to grill for you anytime.”
“I might take you up on that.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Can I tell you something?”
“You can tell me anything.”
She rested her chin on her hand. “I used to know exactly who I was. Now I’m not so sure.”
“You just learned some devastating truths about yourself. Plus, you met me. All that mixed together is enough to make anyone’s head swim. You don’t have to figure everything out in one day.”
“I appreciate it. My folks were pushing me to just move on, like I hadn’t been devastated to learn I was adopted and my biological family was gone. The others were, too. They like harmony in the house. Disharmony and upset emotions can mess with psychic abilities.”
“You’re definitely allowed to feel however you want for however long you want.”
She reached for his hand and they linked fingers, resting their joined hands on the metal table. “Yesterday was the worst day of my life. But today has just been the best.”
They moved inside and cleaned up the kitchen, and after she yawned a half dozen times, Leo offered her his bed.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said.
“You could,” she said. “But I’d like you to sleep with me. If you want? Just…sleep.”
“I’d love that.”
He offered her one of his shirts to sleep in and showed her the attached bathroom so she could clean up. By the time he finished in the spare bathroom, she was in bed, wearing his shirt and looking like a dream.
She patted the space next to her with a soft smile, and he climbed in wearing only boxer briefs. He turned to face her, and she smiled at him after she yawned.
There was a long, tense moment as they settled next to each other. He could hear her heart pounding, scent the sweetness of her arousal. His body was strung tight, and he could tell by the subtle way she was trembling that she was no less affected.
It was a crazy torture to be so close to his truemate and not slip his hands all over her soft skin to find out what she sounded like when she fell apart.
He wanted to drive her wild.
And he was driving himself wild in the process of thinking about it.
He cleared his throat, and it was more of a growl than he intended it to be.
“Gosh, I want to touch you,” she murmured, scooting closer.
He slipped his arm over her waist and drew her closer. “I thought you just wanted to rest?”
“I do. But the part of me that’s a gryphon wants to lick every inch of you.”
He nearly swallowed his tongue.
She let out a soft giggle and ducked her head against his chest. “This is rough. I want to sleep with you, really sleep, but I can’t seem to turn off the voice in my head that thinks a good tumble in the sheets will fix everything.”
It was his turn to chuckle. She tilted her head to look at him in the dark room, and he kissed her.
“It’s been a crazy day, but I think just sleeping is a good idea. The beasts in our heads are running on the instinct to claim each other and are disappointed we’re just planning to rest.”
“Maybe your wolf is more aware of things than my gryphon? Because I can only feel a slight stirring of things from her.”
“Maybe. Do you want to sleep, beautiful?”
“Yeah. No. Wait. Yes.” She hissed the last word a little and then kissed him. “Yes.”
“Then goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight, Leo.” She yawned and then sighed, her body slowly relaxing against his.
Talk about freaking difficult. He couldn’t fall asleep right now if his life depended on it. Every sense in him was tuned to her. To the rhythm of her breathing as she drifted off to sleep, the sweet smell of her, and the knowledge that she was right here, in his home and his bed.
It had been a wild and wonderful day.
He’d gone to the fairgrounds as a security team member to keep his alphas safe and found his truemate.
He couldn’t wait to see what happened next.