Page 66 of Griffin Food

Atlas glances across at his men before stretching out a crick in his neck like he’s limbering up. I suspect they can communicate telepathically like shifters do, maybe all the time, even when in human form. The way they’re all eyeballing each other and not saying a word certainly gives that impression. Also, their griffins are distinct beings, something I noticed from his very first introduction.

The big blond one, Darrion, shrugs.

Atlas turns back to me, a determined glint in his eyes.

He is going to beat on me, the way he did Lark. My stomach tightens. Why the fuck would he do that? Is it some test? An acceptance ritual I must pass?

“Fine,” I say through gritted teeth. “Do your worst.”

A hint of a smile graces his lips. He steps forward.

A bell begins clanging somewhere in the distance. Atlas halts abruptly.

I tense. What the fuck does that mean? All the griffins and Lark turn as one toward the entrance.

“Damn it,” Atlas mutters before turning to scowl at me. “You’ll have to wait.”

The other griffins are already storming out the door. With a last lingering look at me, Lark follows them.

Now it is only Atlas and me.

“If we do not return promptly, I’ll send servants to tend you. Don’t give them trouble. I’m not your enemy, and neither are they.”

Sermon delivered, he strides away.

“What is happening?” I call after him. “What is the bell?”

He ignores me. The door shuts behind him, leaving me alone.

“Bastard.” I yank half-heartedly on the chains. I’ve already established they are well secured. No chance I’m breaking free.

The bell stops ringing.

Are we under attack? If we are, I want to help, not stay here chained up like a dangerous criminal.

Only something has begun. It started with Lark, and it will end with me. A test of some kind. One I pray I will pass.

Alone, the fear of failure rises and consumes my mind. The worry that I’m not enough, not the one, an outsider, just a beta man with no special telepathy, nor inner beast. The one ordinary mate amid so many extraordinary ones. And if I don’t make the cut, what then? Am I out?

A sting forms at the back of my eyes, and I blink it away quickly.

Violet. He said she was my mate. He promised he wouldn’t separate us.

Well, he lied, didn’t he? Because I’m here. And she’s… fuck knows where she is.

And whatever that bell is about, they’d better keep her safe.

Chapter Twenty

Lark

Avillage is under attack. So although I hate to leave Rafe, a sense of unexpected duty toward this unknown community commands me to do so.

Danger is a familiar old friend. I’ve been a soldier for all my adult life, dealing with raiders and thuggery of every kind while patrolling the lands belonging to Violet’s family, back in Hydornia. During our travels, we’d sometimes clash with cutthroats. Most of those encounters ended quickly once they realized we were not easy prey.

But it has been a long time since my blood stirred like this. Since I felt the looming weight of true danger, a village under threat, and innocent people in need.

I follow the griffins. My claws clatter against stone, unfamiliar muscles tightening with every stride.