Everlasting

Chapter 28

Wulfric

Perhaps telling Griffin that I couldn't sense our bond anymore had been a mistake. He stood frozen in my arms, not returning the hold, while his chest silently heaved against mine like he was close to hyperventilating.

"Griffin?"

He pulled himself from my hold and shot down the street, running just a little too quickly for a human. In seconds, he was back in Glenna and Safiya's house, while I stood staring after him. Even if I could still move preternaturally fast, he had surprised me enough to have gotten away from me this time. Why had he run?

I followed after him, allowing myself the time it took to walk back to clear my head. I was still reeling from all the changes the past few days had wrought, and I didn't know how to help Griffin when I was barely keeping myself afloat.

Before I reached the house, Griffin darted out again, running straight for his car and shooting away before I could hope to reach him. Had he just... left me here?

Well, I wouldn't force my presence on him if he didn't want it, and it seemed Griffin had been pushed beyond his limit. When I walked back into the house, it was to find Griffin's fathers waiting by the door. Everett wore a sympathetic grimace, while Felix just looked grim.

"Griffin told us what happened," Felix said.

Of course he had. I might not have spent much time around Griffin's family yet, but already it was evident how much Griffin relied on them. "Did he say anything else?" I asked.

Everett shook his head no and sighed. "Not really. And I'm not happy that he thought he was in a good state of mind to be driving."

He'll still manage better than I would. It was an inappropriate time for a joke, but the thought still made me smile a little at how twisted up everything had gotten. It wasn't funny, but surely someone out there must be laughing at all of this.

"He'll be fine," I said instead. "Werewolves are almost indestructible."

Felix's expression shuttered at that, and Everett wrapped an arm around him. "Felix's parents died in a car accident," Everett explained, and I immediately felt awful. And worried. Griffin certainly wasn't in a good headspace to drive. I hadn't thought much of it because he still had his fast reflexes and, if worst came to worst, werewolves were exceedingly difficult to injure. But what if something did happen to him because of something I said?

"We should go check on him," Felix said. He fixed me with a very direct look and added, "Griffin must need some space, or he wouldn't have left. But don't give him too much space."

"Take care of yourself," Everett said, and they left.

Space, but not too much space? Could he not have been just a bit more specific?

But my instincts said Felix was wrong. Griffin struggled with deep insecurities around people leaving his life, and he formed deep attachments to the ones who stayed. I knew better than to go after him when he left this way, but that didn't preclude me from reaching out, at least a little. I sent a text asking him to let me know he got home safely, then went off in search of a distraction.

The magic shop was buzzing with activity. My father had recovered from whatever tangle of emotions had been keeping him silent this morning (despair, I thought, but it hardly mattered). He could now be heard yelling profanities as Roderick and another man tried to talk him down.

Well, I wasn't going in there. And I didn't have anywhere else to go outside of this house, so my feet carried me to the only true home I had ever known.