My chest tightened as Griff stormed toward the study, his veins burning with a mix of determination and fury. I had no idea when this had happened, and he had never confided in me that my men had been so hostile. I had no idea men could be so bitchy.One of the enforcers at the door knocked before letting him in. When Griff stepped in the wood-paneled room, his gaze drifted past the bookshelves and sofa and locked straight to the huge bay at the end, where a 1970s version of myself sat behind the huge wooden desk with Gerrison.Sunlight streamed in from the tall windows behind us, hitting my voluminous blonde hair, making it glow like a buttercup in the middle of summer. It curled outward at the front, defying gravity, and fell in dramatic waves down to my red shirt.Griff’s pulse quickened. His fingers trembled. He clutched the Tiffany box and inhaled a deep breath.The only way to describe how Griff felt at that moment was fluttery. Now that I knew him better, it was easy to see why
I sat on the edge of the bed, gaping up at Griff, who couldn’t even look in my direction. What on earth had the bond shown him? Just the part where I had cracked, or the lead up, where he had shattered my heart and humiliated me in front of all those women?He turned his back on me, but the muscles around his shoulders remained taut, as though he was readying himself for another physical altercation.“Griff,” I whispered. “You can’t believe what you saw in that vision. It wasn’t even the whole story.”“Which was why I did my research,” he said, his head nearly turning toward where I sat. “Mating bonds don’t lie, Cathwulf. You enjoyed my destruction.”My heart sank into my roiling stomach, and I clutched the edge of the mattress, trying to cling onto something solid before I toppled forward. “But it was a moment of madness—”“Several minutes,” Griff hissed. “I stood in your body, unable to escape it as you tortured me with every manner of violence. It lasted longer than last night’s ch
I called for Griff through our bond, but he’d found a way to block the mental link. I tried looking for him, but all the staff I encountered repeated the same message. Word had spread that I was their alpha’s murderer, and everybody wanted me out, including Griff. That, and the fact that he had told me to get out of his sight, told me it was time to leave the island.Hours later, I returned to London in a haze. The part of me that should have fought for Griff was crushed beneath a barrage of blame. Even if I could push through the guilt, I’d had no words to convince him to forgive my brutality.The sun had already set by the time the Shuttle pulled into Embankment Pier. I trudged out of my room down the black-and-white hallway and toward the exit, where a stream of passengers had already formed a line.The doors opened up to a glass walkway that offered an enhanced view of our surroundings. Further up along the river, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben loomed from one side of Westmi
The chief enforcer snorted. “I was a few years younger, but I remember you from the academy. Even back then, I knew you were destined for greatness.”My lips formed a tight line. I didn’t need to read his mind to catch his meaning. Randel couldn’t believe that a man like Griff was capable of achieving all those things without my intervention. As a member of Fenrir’s inner circle, he would have heard about our progress, but I couldn’t let him walk away believing I had done all the work.“Franklin Griffiths is more capable than any wolf. It was his knowledge and strength that got us through our trials, not just mine.”Randel nodded and continued toward the driveway.With a sigh, I pushed open the door and walked through the empty hallway. At this time of the night everyone had gone to bed, and my footsteps echoed in the silence. Damp air filled my nostrils as I descended the darkened stairwell that led to the basement, and I pushed the door open to find Fenrir standing beside the fighti
Cold shock barreled through my system, even as my chest exploded with streams of burning scorpions. The last week flashed across my mind, filling me with a painful realization. Hades had attached the curse to the bargain Griff had made with the faeries. He’d given us days five before it took control of Griff’s body and destroyed Shifter City.We’d spent the last five days scrambling around trying to break the curse and transfer it to someone else. We had spent all that time worrying about what was inside Griff and hadn’t given a thought to what Hades might have placed in me.Fuck. Griff and I were mates. Rumpel Kracknuts had even hinted that curses could go deeper than the soul of the afflicted. I’d been too concerned with his murder of the healer to even think that he was hinting that I carried the curse.Bloody Hades had turned me into his Trojan horse, and if I couldn’t find a way to stop the swarm, it wouldn’t just mean the destruction of Midgard. It could mean the end of Shifter
By now, the air was thick with smoke, but it was nothing compared to the brimstone of Hell. I’d lost track of the flying scorpions and continued through the trees toward the clearing.The swarm had formed the shape of a centaur-like creature, but with a scorpion body replacing that of an equine. Ten feet tall, it stood on six clawed legs with a tail as long as its spine. Hellfire glowed from its bulbous stinger, forming a line of crimson flames down its back.Its back was turned to me, but the same black carapace covered its human side, ending with a round head peppered with bristles. The creature placed a hand on the surface of the obelisk and drummed its fingers.“Urus, teimas, mannaz, othala,” said the voice of an old man. “What a clever combination. Especially when crossed with wunjo and era. Yes... yes… Fine work.”My lips tightened, and I stormed around to look the scorpion man full in the face. It was the only part of his body not covered in the black shell, and he had the sall
Mum rushed to our side with a bucket of water and set it on the floor. “I’ll get more.”Some of the other wolves had gathered a pile of rocks around the clearing, only to disappear and fetch more, while a few of them remained to hurl them at Snorri. Each stone that landed dented his huge scorpion body, but it did nothing to break him apart.An idea hit me upside the head. “Dad.” I gave him a nudge in the side. “Let’s try getting these stones wet.”Without another word, he walked to the pile of rocks, gathered up a pair, and dipped them in the water. I left the attackers to join him and took one from his hand.I was no expert on arthropods or any other type of shelled creature, but Dad had once told me on a hunting trip that the protective coverings around their bellies were softer than the ones at their backs.“This way.” I flicked my head toward the obelisk.The other wolf shifters continued their attacks on Snorri, making him lash out at them with his tail, but more importantly, the
Flying scorpions hovered above us, breathing plumes of fire over our heads whilst trying to re-form. The other wolf shifters tossed wet stones at the swarm, making them break into further pieces. Roars of triumph mingled with the skin-tightening clicks of armored wings, but none of that mattered. Not while Griff was standing before me and declaring he’d made a mistake.The cacophony of sounds faded into the background, and I gazed into his amber eyes. Amber eyes that shone with love and sorrow and regret. Amber eyes that I could have lost myself in for an eternity. Beki pushed herself against our bond and swooned with joy.I wasn’t quite so hopeful.How many times had I gone through this before? I needed to know that the bond wouldn’t bring up something else that would turn Griff away.“Why?” I asked. “Why did you return if it wasn’t for Fenrir?”The muscles in his handsome face tightened, and his gaze jerked to the side. “I didn’t want you to leave the island,” he said, his voice tig