Ash’s foot-long talons shifted on the windowsill, leaving scorch marks in the wood. Griff knew that the Fire Commander knew that he knew about Hugh, but Ash’s cast-iron sense of honor meant he would never openly confirm the paramedic’s true nature. *He is tired, but he will recover. Will you?*
Griff shrugged, gesturing with his crooked hand at his bad knee. “Ah, well, I doubt it. But I’ll live a while yet, thanks to you all. You can go back home and get some rest now. I’ll be fine.”
Ash spread his wings…then paused. He turned his head, considering Griff for a long moment with one blazing eye.
*I am sorry,* Ash said at last. *I understand what it is to taste something, only to have it snatched away. I share your pain. It is possible to live with it.…but you will have to be strong. For your mate’s sake.*
Before Griff could respond, he was gone. A trail of sparks swirled in his wake, quickly winking out.
He’s right. I have to be stronger
in future. This was all my fault.
If he hadn’t succumbed to temptation and indulged his base, carnal desires, he would never have provoked his inner beasts’ jealous rage. He’d selfishly taken advantage of Hayley, and as a result, had nearly left her with a monstrous corpse cooling on her kitchen floor. How would she have explained that to Danny?
I can’t ever touch her again.
The thought was as cold and bleak as the grey dawn light filtering through the broken window. But it was the truth. He couldn’t put Hayley through this again. He wouldn’t.
I have to leave. Now. Before she wakes up.
Nonetheless, he delayed long enough to sweep up the floor. It wasn’t safe to leave broken glass lying around, not when little bare feet would be charging downstairs at any moment.
His heart clenched at the thought of Danny bouncing into the kitchen, how his eyes would shine in delight if he found Griff still there…
No. I have to disappear, completely. It’s better for them both.
At the back of his mind, his lion roared, flinging itself futilely against its cage. Griff ignored it. Slipping on his coat and shoes, he limped down the hallway. He didn’t dare let himself take one last look at Hayley, for fear his animals would break loose and undo all his good intentions. Very quietly, for the last time, he eased open the front door-
And found himself unexpectedly confronting a man on the doorstep.
The man had obviously just been reaching for the door-knocker. He dropped his outstretched hand, taking a sharp step back in surprise. Griff had never seen him before in his life, yet there was something eerily familiar about his features.
The man’s nostrils flared. A low, deep growl ripped through his throat, possessive outrage flaring in his amber eyes.
The stranger’s scent hit Griff like a brick. He suddenly knew exactly who the man was.
“Who the hell are you?” demanded Danny’s father.
CHAPTER TEN
Hayley
Hayley jolted awake to the sound of snarling. Her body flooded with adrenaline in instinctive reaction, her deepest monkey brain screaming at her that there was a dangerous predator nearby.
Oh my God! He’s shifting again!
Heart pounding, she scrambled to her feet. “Griff!” Following the snarls, she raced into the hallway—and stopped dead.
Griff was still human, although the sounds ripping from his throat were pure lion. He had his back to her, his hands braced on each side of the doorframe as he squared off against a man outside.
The other man was a little taller than Griff, but much leaner. Nonetheless, he matched Griff snarl for snarl, forcibly trying to push his way into the house. His angular, handsome face was contorted with feral rage.
Even though Hayley hadn’t seen that face for five years, she instantly recognized him.
“Reiner?” she gasped.
The sound of her voice broke the two men’s stand-off. Griff lurched as he turned, his bad knee buckling. Reiner took advantage of the firefighter’s momentary weakness to shove past.