Griffith blazed right through me with an even wider smile. “I think that’s a yes.”
“Yes.” I wanted to laugh. It was such great progress to both of us that the wolf was calming, even though it seemed such a tiny result.
We continued to talk softly, saying things like what a beautiful night it was and how our beasts admired the wolf and hadn’t meant to scare him.
Griffith reached for my hand and took it in his. He held our clasped palms up for the wolf to see. “This is how we are to each other. And we only just met.”
I squeezed his hand to let him know I agreed.
I spoke. “We felt the fated part of it immediately, but we were both also scared to say anything. It’s only today that we’ve acknowledged it. Because of you. You’re one of us. If you wish it. We won’t force the issue.”
The tail relaxed. The hair on his back flattened. He took a step forward then sat at our feet between us.
Together, we lowered our clasped hands to gently brush the top of his head. I was shocked that he allowed it and yet also relieved. We spoke the truth, but he still stiffened at the touch.
We didn’t linger and took our hands back in seconds.
More small talk ensued.
The wolf settled forward on his front legs, head down. Acceptance? I shrugged at Griffith.
Griffith said, “Would you like to come with us? I have a house here. It’s about a fifteen-minute drive. Falkan only has a hotel room, and that wouldn’t work for you right now. But at my house, you are free to stay shifted. Would that be okay?”
The invitation was the right thing at the right time. The wolf made a sort of whistling sound and jumped back up to sitting position, watching us carefully again.
“That sounds like a great plan,” I said. “I haven’t seen Griffith’s house yet, either. It will be a surprise treat for both of us.”
Griffith chuckled. “Well, I haven’t had time to clean for guests.”
Suddenly, the wolf snorted. I joined in laughing.
“I think that means we don’t mind,” I said to Griffith.
I wasn’t sure the wolf would follow when we got up to walk. I still wasn’t sure of anything where Kyle was concerned, but as we got up and started back into the club, the wolf came silently at our heels, graceful and elegant.
We moved through the club. There were a few stares but not many. Sometimes people chose to remain in their shifted form even while partying, so we weren’t a completely unusual sight. Kyle was just an unusually handsome wolf.
The wolf followed us out to the parking lot and, when Griffith opened the back door of his car, he jumped in without hesitation.
“So far so good,” I breathed to Griffith as he shut the door.
“We’ll see.”
The wolf lay flat on the back seat throughout the drive. We pulled into a pretty little neighborhood with jacaranda and eucalyptus trees lining the road. We then turned into a driveway of a small one-story house. It looked somewhat old, but homey. Like how Griffith felt to me when I’d first met him.
It might have been old, but it was kept up. The lawn was neatly trimmed. Pink flowers greeted us by a tiny porch. A welcome mat met our feet at the door.
The wolf grunted.
We both looked at him, but he did nothing more than sit and wait to be let in.
Griffith snapped on the lights, and immediately we were standing in his small living room. There was a fluffy blue couch and two fluffy chairs facing a coffee table and big TV.
“Can I get anybody a drink?”
“Sure. What do you have?”
“Water. Juice. Coke.”
