Everlasting

Chapter 20

Wulfric

Griffin's parents weren't subtle.

As we stood out in the hall and waited, I focused on straining my ears to try and hear Griffin's conversation with the doctor. Appropriately, the clinic seemed to be perfectly sound-proofed, with not even a murmur making it through. It was damned annoying.

I was glaring at the door, still fruitlessly trying to hear because it was either that or attempt to make conversation with Griffin's parents when we should have been still enjoying our afterglow. I noticed first Everett, then Felix "discreetly" eyeing my neck where the open collar revealed my pale, unmarked skin. They didn't say a word about it, which was worse than if they had commented. I detested the reminder that Griffin hadn't wanted to mark me last night, and I especially didn't need to think about that when I should be worrying after his health.

I had imagined, after learning about Griffin's species, that I would never have to watch him ailing. Barring a bad accident, I had been certain he wouldn't die unexpectedly. He was immune to so much of what plagued humanity, and should have been guaranteed a long lifespan. Even if I knew there was no putting off the inevitable, even if he was going to die someday, there had been comfort in the knowledge that it wouldn't happen for a good sixty to eighty years.

Now, I no longer felt that certainty, and I was trying not to dwell on it.

Was it any wonder I didn't want to be mortal again? Their lives were full of uncertainty. There was never any guarantee everything wouldn't change in an instant. How many times had I heard about someone young dying unexpectedly from cancer or mold poisoning or a car wreck? Who would ever choose to live like that? Not me. This only firmed my resolve.

More importantly, I now decided that a life like that wasn't for Griffin, either. I didn't want to experience a repeat of this morning. Griffin's sudden sickness, his confusion, and this welling sense of overwhelming worry that I couldn't escape... it was all too much. My father had managed to make himself and his children immortal, with some conditions. Surely, he could figure out how to do the same for Griffin.

And if Griffin was already sick...

If it was serious...

Then I needed to get my father working on a solution right away.

I pulled out my phone and sent him a quick missive. I wouldn't risk putting what I wanted into writing. Instead, I requested a meeting. Hopefully, Griffin would be stable enough for me to leave his pack lands for a little while. If he wasn't, it would just have to be a phone call.

How had I not thought of this solution sooner? It was so obvious. If I wasn't going to become human for him, then wasn't the next natural step to make him like me, instead?

I felt better now. More settled. I didn't know how much time had passed out here in the hallway, but Griffin's parents were talking quietly amongst themselves and seemed to have settled into comfortably ignoring me, so I thought it must have been a while.

The door opened and Griffin walked out, looking remarkably normal. His eyes sought me out and he didn't look away, not even as his parents crowded him, talking over each other in their concern.

"Griffin, what are you doing up? Shouldn't you be resting? What did Laura say?"

"Back to bed, kid. Here, let me carry you."

I laughed at that, and Griffin laughed with me. Maybe I should have been fretting over him like his parents were, but they seemed to have it covered, and it was obvious to anyone looking at him that Griffin was feeling better and that he wasn't currently worried. Whatever happened must have been minor, and I was sure he would tell us about it as soon as there was a gap in the conversation.