Mated to the Griffin (Elemental Mates 5)

“Sorry,” he said softly, hesitating in the doorway.

“You lied to me!”

“I know. And I’m really sorry.” He waited for a moment. Then, with a tentative smile, he offered, “You can throw more pillows at me if you want.”

A surprised laugh broke free from her before she remembered that she was supposed to hate him.

Ugh, handsome and charming. Of course it was too good to be true.

“I want you to leave.” She glared at him. “You’re one of them.”

Jared shook his head. “I’m really sorry I didn’t explain before all of this happened—but there wasn’t exactly a lot of time. When I saw that man attack you in the alley, I had no choice but to interfere. Maybe I should have told you back at your hotel—”

“I told you about the werewolf,” she said. Once more she felt tears brimming in her eyes and viciously forced them back. She wasn’t going to let him see how much his betrayal had hurt her. “I told you that I’d given up on my happy, normal life with people who didn’t think I was a lunatic—all to expose the supernatural world for what it was. And all you saw was someone you could trick.”

Jared paled. He shook his head. Hesitantly, he came a few steps forward, but stopped at a good distance from her.

“All I saw was a gorgeous, courageous woman. Who might have a fondness for weird conspiracy theories, but who’s definitely not crazy. You’re smart, Chiara. You figured out where the amulet was hidden.”

The artifact—right. She still wore the golden disk around her neck. Now she reached out for it, the weight of the gold strangely reassuring.

“So that’s why—you used me. You used me to get to it.”

He flinched, and she knew that she’d scored a point at last.

“I was looking for it as well,” he admitted. “Or rather, I didn’t even know what I was looking for. I didn’t have time to tell you last night, Chiara, but I’m an orphan. I never knew my parents. All I have left of them is this medallion.”

He reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a small piece of jewelry on another golden chain. Slowly, he came closer, then held it out.

After a moment, she begrudgingly took hold of it.

And then she gasped. There, on the golden chain, gleamed a symbol she was more than familiar with.

A triangle with three lines pointing upward.

But what does it mean?

“There’s more going on here than you know,” he said softly, then nodded towards the bed. “May I?”

She knew she should say no. She knew she should throw him out.

Instead, to her surprise, she found herself nodding after a moment.

It’s because of the amulet. He might know something that’ll help me. It’s definitely not because he’s so infuriatingly handsome.

“Go on then. Spill.” She glared at him to keep from remembering how good it had felt when he’d held her.

“There’s a war going on in the shifter world,” he told her.

“Werewolves?” she asked, shuddering as she remembered the terrifying wolf she’d seen.

Jared shook his head. “Way, way worse. Dragons.”

“Dragons,” she echoed faintly. Even now it sounded crazy—even though she’d seen a dragon with her own eyes.

“There have always been dragons. They are powerful—but every once in a while, a dragon is born as the champion of a specific element. There is a council of elements as well. The dragons of water, fire, earth, and air use their powers to ensure that our world stays a secret from yours. They protect you—and they protect us.”

“They didn’t do a good job with those werewolves,” Chiara said bitterly. “Go on.”