“You keep saying that.” I couldn’t help but antagonize him. His first move told me everything I needed to know about him as a fighter. He was strong, but he relied on his strength to win. Besides that, he had no form, no fighting technique, and bad general awareness of how to move. Maybe Shadow City had gotten spoiled since they had guards. This alpha was focused more on political studies and alliances than maneuvers, though I imagined with the proper training, he could be a force on the battlefield.
Rolling his shoulders, he stretched his neck side to side like that would make a difference.
I leaned back on my feet like I didn’t have a care in the world. I enjoyed goading him. My body warmed, but I pretended it was from the brawl and not due to the handsome man standing in front of me.
“For what it’s worth, I was trying to go easy on you, but not anymore.” He shook his hands out at his sides and wiggled. “It’s on.” He lunged at me, dropping as he kicked out one of his feet with the intent to make me fall.
Wanting to end this, I let the moon charge through my blood and jumped over his leg. I landed behind him and dropped my elbow so that it touched the back of his neck and shoulder but didn’t press
down hard. “If I wanted to, I could knock you out. You still think I was only lucky earlier?” He turned, and his chest brushed my side.
Goosebumps spread all over me as my body sizzled. It has to be the moon, I lied to myself. But the lie was pointless. This strange feeling had to do with the sexy guy right in front of me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was my fated mate. But a jerk like him couldn’t be that.
His head lowered to mine, and I didn’t want to move. Something coursed between us and made my head fuzzy.
That was what I needed to snap out of whatever spell was captivating us. I took three large steps away from him. The warmth vanished. “What are you doing here?”
“I went for a slow run and was heading back home.” He nodded to the white house next door.
His words didn’t make sense for a moment. “Wait, you’re Killian’s neighbor?”
“Right next door.” He gestured to the house with all the beer cans littering the yard. “Did your boyfriend fail to mention that? I’ve lived next door to him for two years now.”
“Why would he?” Normally men who had overinflated egos were short by shifter standards, so with Griffin’s height, I wasn’t sure what his excuse might be. Maybe small-dick syndrome. My gaze dropped to his crotch, and I could see the outline in his blue jeans.
No small dick. Maybe insecurity then.
“Because I’m his best friend.” He scoffed like that should be obvious. “And we’ve been inseparable since I left Shadow City.”
“Are you sure?” I tilted my head and shrugged. “Because it seems like you’re busier hanging out with Luna and her daddy than trying to be a friend to Killian.”
“Aw.” He chuckled. “It’s cute that you’re so concerned.”
He was enjoying getting under my skin. I wanted to snap back at him, but I’d already said and done too much. I’d come out here to be alone and calm myself. Fighting with him had resulted in the complete opposite.
The time had come for me to take control. I took a few steps toward Killian’s house, determined to leave his ass behind.
“Dove.” He sighed and caught up then stepped in front of me. “Give me a moment, please.”
Wow, he was being nice…except for blocking me. “You have one minute.”
A growl emanated from his chest at my demand, but his eyes softened. “I want to know how you really are.”
The concern in his voice caught me off guard. I didn’t like him sounding like a nice guy, especially when I got confused vibes from him. There was no evil inside him, which proved that he was a good person, unlike Luna and Dick. Once again, I was thankful for that perk of being a silver wolf-being able to sense someone’s true intent. Hating him wasn’t possible, despite him getting under my skin. That was why I needed him to be the douchebag from a few minutes ago. “I’m fine.” The awful odor of a lie wafted off me.
“You’re trying to lie to me?” He coughed and waved a hand in front of his nose. “Do you think I can’t smell it or something?”
Man, I hated that he had me there. “The words came out.”
And now I didn’t have any of them. The hole in my heart ripped open even more. So far, my lone wolf status hadn’t fractured me mentally, but the restlessness was a sign of that beginning. I needed to figure out my next steps, which should involve finding another pack, but I couldn’t take the risk. At least, not right then. As soon as I joined one, the link would alert them all that I was different than a normal wolf.
Griffin’s fingers brushed my arm. “Hey, are you okay? It’s like you’re somewhere else.”
“Yeah, sorry.” I would work harder to hold myself together. I couldn’t break down, especially in front of him. “And I’ll be fine.” I internally cringed, waiting for the smell of a lie to reek again, but reassuringly, the air stayed fresh. I did believe that.
Strange.
I hadn’t expected to.
“What can I do to make it better?” He inched closer to me. “I want to make things easier for you.”
My body betrayed me, and I leaned toward him. I had to forget about his touch, smell, and proximity. “Tell me what you learned from the bear shifter.” There. Even if he did affect me, I’d managed to keep our conversation strictly business.
“Well, that was a clusterfuck.” His jaw clenched, and his hand dropped as he looked up at the night sky.
Wow, helpful. “Care to expand on that?”
Griffin met my stare. “I came over to tell Killian what happened, and I heard you two eating dinner together.”
I studied him, at a loss. “Why didn’t you knock?” He didn’t seem like the type who would care if we were eating dinner. He’d barge on in.