“What were you doing kissing that griffin?”
She blinked at her father. “I beg your pardon?”
“The man you were plastered to! He’s an Adair!”
That explained so many things, including why she’d only seen him a few times over the years. “How on earth was I supposed to know that, Father? He was wearing the colors you chose for all the party-goers.”
“That doesn’t excuse your wanton actions, young lady!”
“Wanton actions? It was a kiss, Father. It wasn’t like we were groping each other in front of everyone.”
“You will not argue with me. You will stay away from that filth, if you know what’s good for you!”
“GAH! Do you hear yourself, Father? Filth? You know nothing about him!”
“He’s an Adair, that’s ALL I need to know!”
“This feud is absurd! Do you even know why it started in the first place/ No, because it’s been FORGOTTEN! I will not be bound by some stupid feud no one even remembers the cause of!”
She turned and rushed from the room. When her brother, Ainsley, tried to stop her she evaded his grasp. The moment she was outside, she tore the corset off and tossed it on the ground before she shifted into her phoenix form and flew away from the castle. She needed to just be away for a little while.
Her mind was in such a turmoil over first the kiss and then her father’s reaction, that she paid little attention to where she was going. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been flying, almost aimlessly, but she was brought back to her surroundings when a cry, quickly followed by two others, rent the air.
The sound of wings coming from above had her spinning in the air to see a griffin baring down on her. She let out a piercing cry of her own and considered trying to evade the shifter. That decision was taken from her when the other two joined the first. Her only option was to land.
She shifted back to human before her feet touched the ground and then she waited. One of the things stories and movies always got wrong about shifters was how they lost their clothing when they shifted. How bloody embarrassing would that be? She watched as the griffins landed. With any luck, one of the griffins would be Lauchlan.
“Well, well, well. What have we here? A little birdie outside of her own territory.”
The three griffins were unfamiliar to her. As they moved to box her in against a large rock, she felt fear grip her but pushed it down.
“My apologies. I did not intend to fly, uninvited, into your territory. I was distracted with my thoughts. If you’ll just back up, I’ll gladly head home.”
“I don’t think so. You came into our lands without an invitation. How do we know you’re not lying about why you’re here?”
Before she could answer, the sound of another griffin approaching had all of them looking up. ‘Not another one! That’s all I need!’went through her mind as the fourth griffin landed. When it shifted, she was filled with relief.
“Back. Away. Now.”
“Sir? This phoenix came, uninvited, into our territory.”
“Don’t make me repeat myself. The three of you are dismissed. I’ll handle this.”
There was a command in his voice she’d not heard before.
“Yes, sir.”
She watched as the trio shifted and flew off before she spoke. “Thank Goddess you’re here.”
“Kyleigh. What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here.”
“I know. I didn’t mean to come into Adair territory. My mind was a jumble of thoughts and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was flying. It won’t happen again, Lauchlan.”
“Lock. My friends and family call me Lock.”
“Is that what I am, Lock? A friend?”
“I was thinking of something a bit more intimate.”
