Page 76 of Griffin Food

I blink. Thrust my head out from underneath the cover. I’m about to ask him what he’s talking about when the door to the study thrusts open, and Atlas—wings high and proud—charges into the room.

He is not alone. Fenix is right behind him. His brooding eyes slide to me and then across to Darrion.

Then, from behind them, charges a huge, snow-white wolf.

I scream.

The wolf charges. I scream again as he launches himself fully at the couch. Giant paws hit the seat. It skids across the floor and slams into the bookcase. Books tumble down around us. The wolf creates a barrier, but I feel them hit him as he smothers me completely, his huge body pinning me to the couch.

I squeal and fight for freedom, convinced he’s about to savage me, but all he does is lavish the side of my throat with his big wet tongue.

“The harbinger of chaos,” somebody mutters on the other side of the room—I believe it is Darrion.

“Get the fuck off her, mutt,” Fenix says, his voice closing in. “You’re terrifying her to death.”

The wolf snarls and snaps at the approaching male.

“Lark!” Atlas’s snapped command cuts through the frenzy.

Lark? Wait! Where is Lark?

The giant wolf crushing me unpeels itself, displacing the books that landed on it and sending them thudding to the floor.

I don’t move as I blink up at the huge wolf who is now sitting, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, staring at me expectantly. There are a lot of sharp white teeth showing, and his tail is thumping wildly against the stone floor.

That has to be a good sign, right?

“Here, let me help you.” Fenix darts forward, takes my arm, and helps me sit up.

The wolf growls.

“Stand down,” Atlas barks.

I give the wolf a wary look as he continues, fluctuating between watchful interest and curling his lips at Fenix.

Fenix’s wings are fully spread, catching the sunlight streaming in through the window in the most arresting way. His hair is red and a little windswept.

He smiles and releases my arm. “Don’t mind him,” he says. His voice has a soft, measured quality that wraps around me like an extra soft blanket. The wolf finally stops his growling. “He’s new to the form. Enthusiastic, but well-meaning.”

Form? New? I eyeball the huge wolf. “Wait, where is Lark?”

Darrion chuckles. I cannot think what he finds amusing in this situation.

The wolf lunges forward, his big wet nose hitting me in the center of my chest. His big tongue laps out, poking into the bodice of my gown and catching my nipple.

“Goddess,” I mutter weakly, and panicked by the nearness of those sharp teeth.

Fenix lands a hefty blow to the wolf’s ribs. The wolf’s head swings around to snarl at the male who dares to interfere before he turns back to me and sits down, this time with his huge head in my lap.

Then he edges a little closer, making me feel very much still trapped. Goddess, his head is very heavy… snuffling against my core and… is he drooling?

Atlas sighs. “He won’t settle until you acknowledge him.”

Fenix remains watchful. The wolf edges closer, settling more weight on me. My breathing is all kinds of erratic. He just—he just licked me intimately. “He’s staring up at me like I’m dinner,” I say weakly. “Whose wolf is this?”

“I believe it is yours,” Darrion says dryly.

The giant wolf growls, lifting his head to peer back at Darrion out of the corner of his eye.