Zee chuckled and shook his head. “Well, if you do, I’ll have no problem dropping you, and then you’re on your own. So, what do you say? You ready?”
“I’m ready tobethere,” I said, not feeling at all confident about this.
“I guess that’s as good as it’s going to get. You may want to stand back, Wolfie.” He winked and took off his shirt, tucking it into a bag that hung at his side with the strap going across his chest. When his hands went to his pants, I turned around to give him privacy. Knowing Zephyr was undressing had me looking over my own baggy jeans and loose tee that made up most of my wardrobe. How many shirts and pants had I gone through in shifts I couldn’t predict?Unlike the man behind me, who seemed so cool and in complete control.
A loud shriek sounded, making my beast want to respond with a roar. I could feel it building in my chest, wanting to let loose.Please. Please don’t shift; I really don’t want to know what it feels like to hit the water from thousands of feet in the air.
I bit my lip and turned around. The sight before me had me sucking in a sharp breath. “Holy shit!”
Zephyr preened, his taloned front feet gripping the ground as his back paws stomped. Shaking his feathered head, his beak opened in what looked like a smile. I’d never seen him in his griffin form before. He washuge.
“Cool,” I whispered.
The griffin chuffed a laugh and tilted his head to indicate for me to approach.
“So, how do I do this? Do I just climb onto your back?”
His large eagle eyes met mine with the same incredulous look he’d had on his human face. Before I could respond, he reached up and grabbed me with his talons, hooking them over my shoulders. I had just enough time to get my duffel bag before he lifted into the sky.
Werewolves werenotmeant for flying. My eyes pinched tight as Zee flew us. I could feel the ground fall away into a chasm of nothingness beneath me as the wind zipped by. I was too busy focusing on breathing and not moving, not wanting to fall, to think abouthow high up we were. Luckily, my beast seemed to understand the consequences for once and stayed safely tucked inside. Thank the gods for small favors.
I didn’t know how long we flew but I was more than ready for it to be over. Unable to concentrate on anything but the talons that held me, I didn’t catch the nudge and chuffle that Zee gave. Suddenly, he released me, and I was falling. A yell that turned into a roar burst out of me, but it was cut off when my feet abruptly hit the ground and I crumpled to the earth. My eyes flew open to find Zee hovering a mere five feet above my head, wearing a very clear grin on his avian face.
“Dick,” I muttered as I stood and brushed myself off, trying to get my heart rate to settle back down.
The griffin gracefully lowered, and he shook out his head and wings, looking rather pleased with himself. While he shifted back to his human form, I took the opportunity to look around.
A sense of wonder wiped out the discomfort of the flight and being dropped. This was it! I stared at the structure with amazement. Seeing the building—in person—that we had spent almost a year scrutinizing online was surreal. More surreal than being flown by a griffin.
A small figure appeared in the doorway that I immediately recognized. He looked up at the sky before pulling out an umbrella. It was cloudy, but itwasn’t raining. The sun, however, was peeking through, and that could be disastrous.
Maxime wore long gloves and held the umbrella tight as he descended the stairs. The closer he got, the smaller I realized he was. By the time he was at the bottom of the steps, I felt my smile grow. He was tiny, maybe just over five feet, but compared to my six-foot-three, he was practically pocket-sized. I wanted to scoop him up, but he leveled me a look that dared me to try it. His size didn’t diminish his commanding presence.
“Maxime! Holy shit, it’s you!”
The man gave a cool, genuine smile. “Rudolph, it is very good to see you. I would hug you, but I think it would be better to wait until we were inside.”
I looked up at the sky again and gave him a nod. I wouldn’t want to risk hurting him.
“Can we? Go inside, I mean?”
Maxime gave a nod. “Yes. I have the keys. The agent met me on the big island last night, not wanting to come here. She was trying not to say, but she seemed anxious enough that she must believe what is said about the place.”
“The curse? Do you think there’s anything to it?” I asked, glancing at the run-down building. This particular island, Malterra, was once used by the U.S. Navy as testing grounds, but after many incidents and stories that swept through the workers, they abandoned it.Malterra was said to be protected or cursed, depending on who you heard it from.
Maxime arched a perfectly manicured brow. “Do you think there is anything to the legends of werewolves or vampires?”
I let out an awkward chuckle. “Good point. But do you think it’s safe?”
“I think… I would prefer cursed land to mobs with pitchforks.”
“Right.” I wondered if that was something he had ever encountered, but then I didn’t know how old he was. Apparently, it was ‘uncouth’—his word, not mine—to ask a vampire his age. Maxime appeared to be in his early twenties, but that didn’t mean anything. I might not be ageless like him, but I knew with my clothing choice and scruff on my face, it was hard to pick out my age of thirty-one.
“Come, let’s continue inside.” Maxime turned and headed back up the steps into the main house.
Looking up at the building, I felt a mix of trepidation and excitement. Zee came up beside me, back in his human form and fully clothed again. He gave me a slight nudge and walked past me. “Come on, Wolfie, nothing to be scared of, except maybe all the work you have ahead of you.”
Blowing out a breath, I followed. I wasn’t afraid of a little work. When we walked inside, my mouth fell open. Okay, maybe it would take more than a little work to fix this place up. Maxime must have noticed my reaction. Heclosed the umbrella, set it near the door, and crossed the room to me. He reached up and placed a hand on my cheek, drawing my attention down to him, meeting his gaze. His red-rimmed pupils locked onto mine.
