It was a little after noon, so about thirty minutes unaccounted for. “What time do you normally deliver mail here?”
“Later in the afternoon,” Frank said.
“About three,” one of the security guards clarified. “I thought he was early because of the package.”
“Package?” Frank asked. Then he nodded. “Oh, right. I had a certified one for Sawyer today. He lives…” Frank glanced down the hill then back at Eduard. “But wasn’t that Sawyer I just saw? And Pearl? She’s such a sweet dog, but she was growling.”
Eduard patted his shoulder. “She was letting us know you weren’t well. Dogs are very attuned to that type of thing, you know.”
Frank nodded, but obviously had no memory of the gun or that he’d shot it. Since none of their neighbors were close enough to have heard it, Eduard decided to keep that information to himself. He’d not be able to check the gun for clues, but if he accused Frank of attempted murder, it wouldn’t be right. He’d been manipulated, magically. Their only saving grace was that he had no memory of it. Otherwise, they would have had to bring in the hellhounds, and Eduard did not want to deal with Henry’s uncle right now.
The sirens began to sound in the distance and Eduard patted Frank’s shoulder again. “Help is almost here,” he said. “I bet you’re a little dehydrated. It’s hot today, isn’t it?”
Frank nodded.
Andvari came outside and stood with the other guards speaking lowly.
The first responders pulled up the driveway minutes later, with an ambulance not far behind them. Eduard quickly answered their questions and let them assist a still-confused Frank. It didn’t take long for them to get him loaded up and off to the hospital. Eduard let Cecil deal with the rest of the details of getting someone from the postal service to pick up the truck and followed Andvari back into the house.
“We need to get him somewhere more secure,” Andvari said. “At least until we have a better understanding of this threat.”
Eduard couldn’t agree more. “The wards don’t stop humans and whoever is doing this used that knowledge to his or her advantage.”
“Clearly. They know more than we do. I do not like being at such a disadvantage.”
“I told him about New York this morning,” Eduard said. “I think we should leave now, and then make plans to head to my estate once we leave the city. We can keep everyone out of there and use the opportunity to give Sawyer his first taste of our culture.”
Andvari scowled. “And you want the first experience to be with the griffins?”
Eduard arched a brow. “Do you think the dragons or the vampires will welcome him with open arms?”
Andvari’s scowl deepened. “He’s not used to… all of this. And you know as well as I do the are…”
“I know. He’ll be fine. We’ll get him the right clothes, take him to a few dinners, and let him get a feel for more than just the four of us. We have to do it sooner or later. If we’re at my estate, I’ll have to at least make a few social appearances. He’ll be able to dip his toes in without being completely overwhelmed. Besides, we’ll all be there for him.”
The griffins tended to be a more exclusive society than many of the other clans. With incredible amounts of wealth that had grown over centuries, most of them lived in multi-million dollar estates on an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Eduard’s estate was actually a smaller estate within his father’s massive property. They called it his ‘cottage’, but as it was nearly four thousand square feet, Eduard didn’t think calling it a cottage was entirely accurate. Sawyer would need to be schooled in some of their ways— as uppity as they may be— but Eduard had no doubt he would be able to manage just fine. Sawyer’s mind was amazing, and his quick wit and charm would get him a lot further in their society than Andvari might suspect.
“Fine,” Andvari said. “I can’t handle all this banging around anyway. None of us are getting any rest. Sawyer is exhausted and miserable. And so am I.”
“Let’s check with the others, but I think this is the best course of action.”
They found their mates upstairs in the master bedroom, with Sawyer and Henry curled up together on the bed and Draco pacing beside it, snarling and growling. Eduard went over to the dragon, stepping in front of him and meeting Draco’s flame-reddened eyes. “Hey. We need you to calm down so we can talk about what happened. Can you come back for me?”
Draco nodded then sucked in a deep breath. The flames faded from his eyes, and he leaned his head down to Eduard’s. “That was too close,” Draco whispered.
Eduard could only nod his agreement. He glanced toward the bed where Andvari sat beside Sawyer. He looked like he was in shock. His body trembled as Andvari pulled him closer. Henry’s eyes were equally wide. He stared over at Eduard as if he hoped for some answer that would make all of it go away. He wished he had answers, but this type of magic was dark and hadn’t been seen for as long as Eduard could remember, and he could remember a long time. There were rumors, of course, of clan members who had been banished resorting to the old ways, but they’d always been treated more like urban legends than anything else. Besides, the hellhounds were enough of a deterrent that no one really worried about that type of thing. They had their own supernatural police force, for lack of a better description, who handled any supernatural being who got out of line. Eduard could only imagine what their alpha would say when he learned of this newest debacle.
Cecil appeared at the door carrying a small tray, his face creased in a concerned frown. Eduard gave Draco a gentle nudge toward the bed before heading over to the butler.
“Ms. Robinson suggested something sweet would help Master Sawyer with his shock. I’ve brought him his favorite soda and some of Vivian’s chocolate chip cookies. He’s not eaten yet today.”
“Thank you, Cecil. Why don’t you go ahead and have Vivian prepare something for us.”
Cecil smiled softly. “The young master already asked for a light lunch to be prepared for the two of you. It will be ready shortly with enough for all. The moment I shared the news with our chef, she began cooking.”
Of course she did. Viv would probably cook enough to feed the entire work crew in addition to them. And then she’d start baking. “When you bring lunch, please bring something special for Pearl as well. She saved his life today and deserves a treat.”
Cecil nodded as he passed Eduard the tray, and then left the room. Eduard pushed the door closed and returned to the bed. Draco had curled up on the other side of Henry, sandwiching the two younger men between him and Andvari. Pearl was lying across all of their legs, her nose buried in Sawyer’s belly. After sitting the tray on the bedside table, Eduard carried the glass of iced soda with a striped paper straw to Sawyer and pressed it into his hands. “Drink,” Eduard said.
