Everlasting

Chapter 6

Griffin

It was probably a good thing we were only staying for the week. I loved my family, loved them dearly, but even I was starting to crave a little time alone. Even Dad was starting to look a little harried. Pop was doing his best to maintain a positive attitude, but three days into our trip, we were all on edge.

"I'm going for a run," I declared.

"I'll join you," Dad said, standing up and brushing off the back of his jeans. Not like it mattered. Everything we owned was going to be covered in dirt by the end of this, anyway.

Had I just been craving time alone? Now that he offered, and no one else jumped in, a little time with just Dad sounded perfect. I smiled and nodded, and he smiled back. Pop waved a distracted goodbye, keeping his eyes fixed on Ty and Blair, who were up a tree. He kept himself positioned underneath them, so if one of them fell, he would either catch them or they'd all pancake together. Meanwhile, Margo was... well, I wasn't sure. She disappeared sometime after breakfast, even though we weren't supposed to go off on our own.

"Meet you by the river," Dad said, and ducked out of sight.

I found my own quiet, private place to strip down and had just pulled my shirt up when something changed. It was just a vague sense at first, until my nose caught up to my instincts and I froze. Two people had just appeared, not far from where I was.

One scent I recognized: Fen, my Dad's fae friend. I hadn't seen him very often, and not in years, but werewolves had a good olfactory memory bank.

The second one was a stranger, yet I could identify this one, too. It was my mate.

My mind rushed to fill in the blanks. I knew about Fen's magic. Werewolves didn't tend to go to him unless they were desperate, because finding your mate was supposed to be a very spiritual experience. Many believed that they'd find each other when the time was right, when both parties were ready. Having Fen do it for you was robbing you of that special moment.

I didn't know what to feel or think. I had kind of liked the idea of meeting my mate sometime years and years into the future. I had wanted it to happen out of the blue when I was finally ready for it to happen. But it seemed my mate hadn't wanted to wait.

But I'm not ready.

Yeah, tell that to your dick.

Though the rest of my body had stilled to process this new turn of events, that particular piece of anatomy had sprung into action.

I hurriedly yanked my shirt back down, tugging it as hard as I could to hopefully disguise the bulge in my jeans. Dad came running into the clearing before I even looked around to see the newcomers, and his appearance thawed me.

"Fen? What are you doing here?" Dad asked.

I grimaced. I didn't want my dad involved before I had a chance to figure things out on my own.

But I finally turned to see Fen and my mate, only to realize that maybe I could use a little help understanding. The last thing I expected to see was a blindfold around my mate's eyes. It was a thick black band covering his face from above his brows to the bottom of his nose. The fabric was too thick to have a hope of seeing through. Tufts of hair stuck up around it, dark as a crow's wing.

I waited for Fen's explanation, but he seemed just as startled as Dad did. Those strange fae eyes finally settled on me. "Griffin?" he asked, as though he hadn't been the one to teleport to us.

I tried not to look at my dad, feeling like that would somehow keep him from cluing into what was happening. I could only imagine what my expression was like just then, with the confusion of emotions warring within me. But I couldn't help looking at Dad, and I caught the calculating gleam in his eyes as he appraised everyone. He was too smart not to catch on. I knew that, and I watched the dawning realization.