Shifting Boundaries

Original Chapter 32

Everett

Griffin cried when Felix left the bunker after lunch. I was kind of happy Felix's leaving impacted him, since it meant he wasn't only attached to me, but it was awful to have him crying against me.

"Pop will be back soon," I assured Griffin.

"No leave!" Griffin argued.

"He's just outside. Here, why don't we go to the window and watch?" I knew Felix wanted to keep me and Griffin away from Niles, but surely there wasn't any harm in looking out the window for a little while. I stood at the window with Griffin resting on my hip and his cries died down as soon as he saw Felix where he was stretching in the clearing in the middle of the houses that were tucked away in this part of the forest.

"See?" I said to Griffin. "Pop didn't go far. And even if he went away for a while, he'll always come back. We will never leave you." At least, not the way he feared we would.

We watched Felix for a little while until Griffin got bored. "Read a book?" he asked.

So it was that fifteen minutes later, Griffin and I were nestled into the couch reading when the sound of arguing came from outside. I sat up straighter and listened hard, but I wasn't able to make out what was being said. I could, however, tell that it was Felix and a woman - Molly, I thought.

I slid Griffin from my lap and onto the couch and was just standing up when the front door opened. "Molly, stop!" Felix yelled. He was clearly upset, which had me hurrying toward the door... that is, until Molly stepped into the living room with a stranger at her heels. Given the fact I didn't recognize him and Felix was supposed to be training someone right now, I guessed that this was Niles. Patrick, who had been in the house to protect me and Griffin, was on his feet between us and the stranger.

My body reacted automatically, positioning myself behind our protector with Griffin tucked behind me. Felix darted into the room, brushing past Niles, who was still in the doorway. He stood in front of me, too. If the situation weren't so tense, I might have laughed at how absurd it was to have two warriors blocking me from the same threat. There was no room in me for laugher, though. This was too serious.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Molly rolled her eyes. "Your mate is being a dramatic pansy. He didn't want me letting Niles into the house."

"So why did you?" I asked. My voice came out in a growl - something that had happened only a few times before. I didn't like the way Molly so blatantly disregarded Felix's wishes, though, and insulted him on top of it. This house was a sanctuary offered to us by her father, one we accepted in good faith. She shouldn't be bringing people in without our permission, and especially when one of us expressly told her not to.

No wonder Felix's chest was heaving. Anger burned in his eyes and I could tell he was fighting back the urge to do something rash. I put my hand on the small of his back in the hopes that a little bit of contact might soothe him. I think it only intensified the protectiveness he was feeling, since he shifted into a fighting stance.

"Pop!" Griffin yelled from the couch. I heard his feet hit the floor and quickly spun around to snatch him up into my arms. I could trust Felix to guard my back if I needed to take Griffin and run. Why would Molly bring such an unknown into the bunker?

"Hi, Griffin," Molly said brightly. "This is Niles."

"Answer him," Felix demanded. "Everett asked why you brought him here when I expressly said not to. I think you owe him an explanation. And me, for that matter."

Molly stood up straighter, anger flashing in her eyes now. "Remember your place, Felix. You're my dearest friend, but this is my family home and you're in my family's pack. We do not answer to you."