Killian closed his eyes and exhaled. He looked up and met first my eyes, then Griffin’s. “I can’t stand between something special like this, but no more fucking games.” Killian’s shoulders sagged. “She’s lost so much already.”
“There won’t be.” I straightened my shoulders, standing tall beside Griffin. I couldn’t let him be the only one fighting for us. “I told you last night that I felt the connection. It’s real.”
Killian’s jaw tightened as he glared at his friend. “Remember when you told me you’re not the ‘settling down’ type of guy?”
Wow, I figured this was going to be tense, but I hadn’t expected Killian to call out his friend directly. Though I guessed I shouldn’t be surprised that he was protective of me after all we’d gone through.
“Yeah, I remember, but ever since she walked into our lives, I’ve been pulled in her direction.”
Griffin faced me. “That damn tug had me going into that coffee shop the first day without Luna having to nag me. Then I saw the most beautiful girl standing behind the counter, and I froze-then acted like a dirtbag.”
“I can’t argue with you there.” If he wanted me to comfort him, he’d come to the wrong person. He had been an asshole that day.
“He hits on every woman that way.” Killian dropped his backpack on the floor and locked eyes with me. “He tries humping anything with two legs when the mood strikes.”
“This is different,” Griffin rasped. “When I realized what she was to you, it drove me insane. Every time you touched her, I wanted to punch the shit out of you. That’s one of the reasons I left for so long. I had a ton of stuff that I needed to do with Mom and the council, but also, I couldn’t stand to see her with you, and I didn’t want to be tempted to interfere. You’re my best friend. If she made you happy, I had to leave in order to respect that.”
Killian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Dude.”
But I wasn’t sure if that was the only thing. Maybe his reasoning was a tad bit selfish. “Griffin and I decided to pursue this, but know you will never lose either of us.”
“If you break up, I will.” Killian hung his head, but then he stalked over and hugged me. “You’re my family now, and I don’t want to risk that.”
Griffin growled but didn’t do more than that. “Man, I would never hurt her. I know I have a bad track record, but I’m serious about Dove. She’s it for me.”
“If you were being all noble and left out of respect for the relationship that you thought she and I had, then why did you come back last night?” Killian released me and faced his friend.
“I couldn’t stay away any longer. Hell, Mom told me if I didn’t stop frowning and snapping, she would personally put me in Shadow City’s jail. I could barely pay attention to the council meetings because all I wanted to do was come back here to her.” Griffin sighed. “I wasn’t going to act on it. I
wanted to see her for a few minutes to subdue whatever this urge was inside me. But then the whole Luna thing happened, and I found this note that our little runaway left you.” He pulled the piece of paper back out of his pocket.
I inhaled and held my breath, guessing how Killian would react.
“Note?” Killian asked and took it from him. His eyes scanned it, and I saw when realization sank in. “This was how you were telling me goodbye?”
“We’ve gone through this.” I didn’t want to talk about it again. “I couldn’t say it to your face because I wouldn’t have been able to leave. But I had to make sure you knew I left of my own free will-and how much your friendship means to me.”
“Don’t make her feel bad,” Griffin said as he touched my arm. “She thought she was doing the right thing.”
Killian’s jaw tightened, and he folded my letter up and put it into his back pocket. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?” He pointed at Griffin.
“Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Dove.” Griffin tightened his hold on me. “She and I are a package deal.”
“No, it’s fine.” Griffin was already acting like we were together, and though I loved the sound of it, I had to make sure Killian was okay with it. After all, he’d been there for me first. “I’ll go outside and get some fresh air.”
“Stay close, please, and make sure the guards are in sight,” Griffin said. He kissed my cheek and released my hand. “There’ve been enough attempts on your life to last a lifetime.”
That was a very true statement. “I don’t plan on venturing far.” Not wanting to affect their conversation, I slipped out the back door and made my way around to the side of the house near the living room. They still had no idea how strong my hearing was, and I couldn’t help but want to listen to what they had to say.
“Do you realize how important she is to me?” Killian asked. “If you ever hurt her-”
“I couldn’t. It’s not possible.” Griffin sounded so sincere. “The connection is real. I swear it is.”
Hope blossomed in my stomach. The scary truth was that I was at the mercy of our connection. I had no clue how powerfully the bond would impact us, but the more time I spent with him, the harder it was to leave his side. Each kiss and touch made the tug so much stronger.
“Oh, I believe that you think that.” Killian sighed. “That’s the only reason why your ass hasn’t been beaten to a bloody pulp.”
A smile slipped into place, and I made my way toward the wood’s edge, not wanting to hear any more. They were coming to an agreement, and Killian hadn’t wanted me to listen.
I focused on the sounds of the animals in the forest and glanced at the sun. It was midday when the sun was at its highest point in the sky and the moon farthest away, which meant I was at my weakest for the next few hours. At some point, I wanted to be able to shift and run free.
A crack sounded about a mile away and I jerked to a halt. Was that a gunshot? I scanned the area, realizing that the guards weren’t in position. I’d been so caught up with Killian and Griffin that I hadn’t been paying attention.
The noise took me back to the day when my pack had been murdered. I scanned the area, looking for one of the guards to alert, but I couldn’t find one.
That was odd. They were supposed to be surrounding the house.
Another shot echoed, this one closer, followed by a low grunt.
Somebody was in trouble. I started to run in the direction of the shot, but I stopped. I couldn’t leave Killian and Griffin and run off on my own. They’d be pissed, and rightfully so.
I rushed to the back door and threw it open. “Someone is in trouble, and the guards have disappeared.” I stuck my head in to find them running toward the kitchen. Good, they were moving.
“Call for backup. I’m going to go see what I can do.”