Chapter Two
Two
Atlas
I was going to kill my best friend.
Currently, my best friend and would-be spotter, Fallon, was flirting with two human women attempting to use the hip abductor.
When I hired Fallon to work as a personal trainer at my gym, I didn’t expect him to use it as a hunting ground for his conquests. Which, knowing him, I should have. That one was on me, but it still didn’t make it okay.
I silently strolled over to where he was chatting up the ladies, placing a hand on his feathered shoulder, which made him jump.
“Oh, uh, hey, Atlas,” he said, fixing his beady bird eyes on me.
Fallon was a griffin. A big monster with a birdlike upper body and the lower half of a lion.
His hands were scaly talons, and he had big paws for feet.
A large pair of wings hung from his back, allowing him to fly short distances.
While the ladies loved his little lion tail, they really had a thing for another interesting part of his anatomy. An interest he took full advantage of.
“This is Melanie and Molly,” he said. “I was just giving them some tips on using the hip abductor.” He leaned against the machine, giving them that same flirtatious look he’d been using since college. “Isn’t that right, ladies?”
They nodded, both fighting back smiles. They were falling for his shtick hook, line, and sinker.
“Hey, Fal,” I said calmly, doing my best to keep up pretenses around the gym patrons. “Do you think you could help me with something in my office?”
“Sure thing, boss man.” He dug one of his taloned hands into the pocket of his gym shorts, fishing out one of his business cards. “Here’s my card. And remember—I’m available for private sessions.”
The wink he gave them made me want to throw up in my mouth.
Instead, I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, leading him away while the girls giggled behind us.
“Fal, what the fuck was that about? You were supposed to be spotting me,” I growled under my breath.
He chuffed, puffing out his feathers. “Come on, man. We both know you had it under control. You’re stronger than me, and when I’m spotting you, we’re really just hanging out while we lift…”
He wasn’t wrong. I preferred working out in the early morning, when the gym was silent and I could just zone out, focusing on lifting and lifting alone. But I’d been so busy running the business that I hadn’t hung out with him as much lately.
“I know that’s what we’re doing but you can’t use the gym to pick up women. If you sleep with half the population of Briar Glenn, we won’t be able to retain any members.”
“You saw me give them my card. I was trying to get them to sign up for training sessions.”
I rolled my eyes. He seemed to forget that we’d been friends since we were kids. I knew him better than my own brothers. “You’re so full of shit.”
He whistled—the griffin equivalent of a laugh. “I’m just trying to meet some new people. Have a little bit of fun.”
Now that I was a business owner, his idea of fun and mine were two completely different things. He liked to get shit-faced and pick up girls at clubs, I liked staying in and playing video games before crawling into bed at nine. We were in totally different places in our lives.
I’d recently opened my gym, Leviathan Fitness, after moving here to Briar Glenn six months ago. It was the perfect up-and-coming small town to open a business in, and thanks to a grant from the city, I was able to purchase the former rec center, converting it into a state-of-the-art gym.
Things had been slow at first, but membership was growing every day. Now that we were finally turning a profit, I could breathe a little easier.
We headed inside my office and Fallon scanned the room. “So what did you need help with?”
I plopped down in my desk chair and threw back my head. Gods, he was dense.
“I didn’t need help with anything.”
Fallon sat in the chair across from me, propping his paws up on the corner of my desk before I shoved them off. “Did you give any more thought to taking me as your guest to the wedding? I know you were gonna go with Jade, but now—”
Jade.
My ex.
The breakup was still fresh, and even though I was the one who broke off the engagement, I was having a hard time adjusting to being single. I guess that was to be expected after a fourteen-year relationship.
“Come on,” Fallon pressed. “I can be your wingman.”
“I don’t recall a time that you were ever Atlas’s wingman,” a suave British accent chimed in.
Our friend Cyrus shuffled inside, his tentacles propelling him across the floor.
He was a kraken, an ancient species of monster that was so rare that most lived their lives without ever meeting one.
The three of us were roommates in college, when a tense living situation evolved into a lifelong friendship.
“I was before he started dating Jade,” Fallon said. “Atlas could have been living it up in college but instead—”
“Enough,” Cyrus hissed, showing his sharp teeth as a warning.
I didn’t want to reminisce about those days. They were long gone. And for good reason.
“Okay. Okay,” Fallon said, holding up his talons. “Message received.”
“I don’t even want to go to the wedding,” I said, raking my claws through my fur.
Stuffy music. Uncomfortable suit. No date.
Attending a wedding after calling off your engagement was a special kind of torture. Nothing reminds you of your shortcomings quite like other people’s happiness.
Wouldn’t it be enough to send a gift?
Unfortunately, I felt obligated to attend.
A few months ago, the mayor himself had strolled into Leviathan Fitness with a wedding invitation addressed to me in hand.
Apparently, he’d invited all the small-business owners on Main Street to join in his daughter’s special day.
It would be a great networking opportunity.
I’d been so busy opening the gym that I hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know anyone outside of the few friends who’d relocated here with me.
“You say that now, but I know you. You’ll get there and you’ll have a great time. People are always drawn to you, A-man.”
Cyrus nodded his agreement. “He’s right. People can’t resist that charming tail of yours.”
I groaned. I hoped they were right. “I guess I’ll go.”
“That’s the wolf daddy I know,” Fallon said.
“What did I say about calling me that?” I barked. Him and that fucking nickname! He was the last person I wanted to call me daddy.
Fallon gave me finger guns with his talons. “You know you love it.” He stood up and stretched out his wings. “I gotta get going. I’m training that hot older woman today and I want to make sure I shower first.”
I rubbed my temples because what the fuck was I going to do with him.
“Are you going to be home for dinner?” Cyrus asked him.
“Yeah,” Fallon said. “What are you making?”
“Eggplant parm.”
“Fuck yeah,” Fallon chirped. “My favorite.”
I chuckled. “I swear the two of you are like an old married couple.”
“No,” Cyrus said flatly. “We are not.”
“I’ll see you at home, honey,” Fallon said, blowing Cyrus a kiss as he walked past him.
“I don’t know how you can still live with him after all this time,” I said, shaking my head.
After we graduated from college, I moved in with Jade, and Cyrus and Fallon got an apartment together. All these years later, and they were still roommates.
“If he didn’t live with me, he’d live with you, so consider it a favor.”
I pressed my hand to my chest. “I’m forever in your debt.”
Cyrus’s wide blue eyes searched my face. “Are you going to be all right going to the wedding alone?” he asked.
Damn it, he was good. He could see right through me.
“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” I said, forcing myself to sound confident. “I just hope my suit still fits.” There was no way I could attend a wedding in joggers and a hoodie.
Cyrus tapped two tentacles against the doorframe, obviously contemplating something. “You know, you’ve been spending a lot of time here since the breakup.”
“Well, between Chai being sick, getting all the tax paperwork together—”
“Those sound like excuses,” he said, cutting me off.
“What else am I going to do?”
“All the things you’ve missed out on over the last fourteen years,” he suggested.
Fourteen years. I’d wasted my twenties on someone who saw me only for what I could give her. She wanted the perfect house. The perfect boyfriend. The perfect husband. And I didn’t get shit in return.
“I think it’s a little too late for that,” I said.
I was never getting that time back.
Before he could press me any further, I asked, “How’s painting going?”
Cy was going through something of his own. He was an acclaimed artist, but lately he’d been spending more time staring at his canvas rather than painting. While I wasn’t one to pry, I was genuinely concerned about my friend.
“You cheeky bastard,” he said, flashing me a sharp-toothed grin. “Don’t change the subject.”
“Just giving you a taste of your own medicine.”
“If you’re worried about my art output, you could always come over and model for me. I could paint a nude portrait for you to hang in the office,” he teased.
I barked a laugh. “No, thanks.”
“It would be tasteful,” he scoffed, sending the both of us into a fit of laughter.
When we finally got ourselves together, he looked at me with a soft expression and asked, “You know you can always talk to me, right?”
“I know. And the same goes for you.”
“I’m gonna take a dip in the pool. Want to join?”
Cyrus was one of the main reasons I’d insisted on having a saltwater pool. Krakens could spend time out of water, but he needed a place to swim and replenish his saltwater stores.
“Nah. I’m good.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” He tipped his head and started to turn away before he whipped back around. “Oh, and let me know if your suit needs alterations. I’m happy to help.”
That was the thing with krakens. They had exceptionally long lifespans, giving them plenty of time to pursue hobbies. In his seven hundred years, there wasn’t much Cyrus hadn’t tried and mastered.
“Thanks, Cy.”
He waved with one of his tentacles and scuttled out the door.
I’d work for a few hours tomorrow getting the tax paperwork together for my accountant, make sure Chai was good to work the front desk, then attend the wedding later in the evening.
But first, I was going to go home and try on my suit.