The eagle screeched again, and I heard my name in it, making me smile. Was he testing me? I simply nodded in response, trying to see what he was up to.
“I just want to talk.” The words came through his chittering sounds.
I held my arms open wide. “I’m all ears.”
A pulse of energy hit me, making me blink my eyes, trying to focus on the sight before me, but I couldn’t. A moment later, Zephyr, the man, stood where the griffin had been, and he was… completely naked.
“Listen, I’ve been a total asshole, so when I heard you were up here, I just wanted to catch you and lay it all out there.”
I held a hand up to cover his junk. “Shit, could you maybe lay slightlylessout there?”
Zephyr huffed a laugh. “Right. Yeah. Give me a sec.” He grabbed a bag that was hanging off his shoulder and pulled out a pair of gym shorts. Once he was covered, I lowered my hand.
“So… what did you want to talk about?”
His long white hair swished against his shoulders as he approached. After having seen his other form, I could see it wasn’t hair, but feathers. A part of me wanted to touch them, but I resisted the urge.
“I wanted to apologize. I had no right to treat you the way I did. I never gave you room to explain yourself or why you were here. It’s just… Wolfie, he’s my bro, you know? I love the guy to death and would do anything for him, but things haven’t always been easy for him. He’s hopeful enough to want everything, and yet, he’s afraid enough to keep himself from what he wants. I don’t know how a big beastie like him can walk on eggshells, but he does. Then you show up out of nowhere, no one knows who you are, and he’s different. He’s on edge, he’s blocking us out, blockingmeout, snapping at me…literally, and you’re the reason for it.”
“I’m sorry. I never intended to get between your friendship.”
Zephyr held out a hand to stop me. “No. That’s not what I mean. For the first time in his life, Wolfie is fighting for something he wants. Even if it means fighting the ones he loves. He’s fighting foryou. I didn’t understand it at first, and yeah, it pissed me off and worried the hell out of me. I didn’t want him to be taken advantage of. But yesterday… he was with us when I saw the flash of fear in his eyes before he wolfed out. Then he burst into your room and snatched up a tiny human, no offense.”
I chuckled. “None taken.”
“The way he held you, ready to protect you from the world, it surprised me to see him like that, but damn, I felt proud of him. To see him fight for you and for himself. What really sealed it, though, was the way you looked at him. I mean, the guy was practically drooling from his long, hairy snout, and you looked like he was your entire world.”
A smile stretched my lips as I thought of him carrying me from my room after hearing me scream in my sleep. “Heismy entire world. It might be too fast to feel it so deeply and with so much certainty, but I can’t explain it. It’s like something just clicked into place with him.”
Zephyr movedso quickly I almost couldn’t track it, taking my glasses and returning to the spot he’d been before; a wisp of air fluttered around me in his wake. He held them out with a smirk. “Bowen, fast doesn’t mean a damn thing in this world.”
I snatched my glasses back from him and felt myself laughing. “Maybe you’re not atotalasshole.”
“I reserve the right to retain semi-asshole status. I’ve fought hard for that.” Zephyr winked.
As much as I wantednotto, I had to admit I liked the guy. I could see why he was Rudy’s bestie, and I appreciated that he stood up for my werewolf and that he was man enough to come to me like this.
Zephyr’s smirk dropped, and his expression turned serious. He grabbed my shoulder with just enough pressure to get my attention. “Bowen?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t hurt him. I don’t think he would survive it.”
Meeting his eyes, I said with as much conviction as I could convey, “I’m going to do everything I can not to.”
The griffin released my shoulder and patted my back. “Good man.”
I started to turn away from him when he said, “Oh, and one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
Zephyr reached into his bag and tossed something at me. Surprisingly, I actually caught it. “I know you packed light, and our boy iswoefullyunprepared.”
I opened my fist, and a loud laugh barked out of me when I saw the tube of lube. I held it up and gave him a nod of appreciation. I was already dying to see him and catch him up on everything I’d learned from Aurelia, but now… there was an entirely different urgency to it.
Rudy
Needing something to do to keep myself occupied while Bowen was with Ellie, I decided I should probably fix the door I’d busted the night before. I knew it would be bad; I’d been present enough within my wolf to witness it, but seeing it in the light of day brought a grimace to my face even as my cheeks heated.
