Mated to the Griffin (Elemental Mates 5)

Still. She loved her dad. And even if he really didn’t want anything to do with her or the shifter world, she needed to at least try and fix things between them.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Jared

Gareth kept his parents busy for longer than Jared had expected. When they finally made it into the kitchen as well, they looked visibly exhausted—but their war council with the chimera was forgotten as soon as they entered the room.

Jared still couldn’t believe that after such a long time, his parents had been returned to him. It was overwhelming. There were so many questions he had, so many experiences he wanted to share.

His parents didn’t even know what his favorite color was, that he hated eggplant and loved asparagus, and that as a child, he’d once believed that griffins were just dragons with feathers.

He wanted to tell them everything about himself and his life. He needed them to know that he’d been happy, that he’d grown up loved, and that their sacrifice hadn’t been for nothing.

And he wanted to know absolutely everything about them in return.

“How did you meet? Did you immediately know that you were mates? Did we all live in that cave?”

Laughing, his dad raised a hand. “One thing after the other. We were young when we met. Just twenty. And of course we knew immediately. I’ve never felt anything like it before, and never will again.”

“It’s like stepping out into the sunlight for the first time in your life,” Chiara said softly, intertwining her fingers with Jared’s.

Jared’s mother smiled fondly at them. “That’s what it was like. I looked at him and I knew. He was supposed to travel, but we spent all summer together. In the autumn, we traveled together at last, visiting all the secret places of our people. The next year, your father and I were chosen as Guardians of the Light. We spent a few more years learning all there was to know about the element we were guarding.”

“And then, at last, we moved to the mountain you’ve seen.” Dean laughed. “You haven’t seen even half of it. There are the caves, of course—but the mountain is beautiful. A good place for a griffin. We’d fly together, every sunset and sunrise. And we used to dream of a tiny griffin learning to fly right there upon the mountaintop, one day soon.”

Marianne closed her eyes, a distant smile on her face. “And after so many years of waiting, not long after, I was finally pregnant.”

“We wanted you,” his father said, leaning forward to look at Jared with eyes filled by both grief and an unending love. “We wanted you so much. The day you were born was the happiest day of our lives.”

“You were such a sweet baby.” His mother reached out to gently brush her fingers against Jared’s cheek. “Always smiling and laughing. So curious.”

Jared swallowed. “And then Darkness made its move.”

His mother smiled sadly. “It wasn’t a hard sacrifice to make. Our lives for yours. It was an easy choice. But to never see you fly—to never see you stretch your wings, to never see you find your mate or hold our grandchildren...”

“I would have done the same,” Jared said, fighting against the emotion that made it hard to speak even now. “It was the right choice. Even if it cost us some years, that’s over now. And we can make up for lost time. You’ve already met my mate—and we’ll keep flying together. As often as you want. I promise. Now that I’ve finally found you, nothing’s going to keep this family apart ever again.”

***

“You can go,” the chimera growled from the shadows when they assembled in the council chamber again later that day. “I need to think about what you’ve told me. I need to search through my books. I need to plan. We might be five now—but it won’t do to underestimate our enemy.”

“Let’s go home,” Jared said, warmth rising up inside him.

For the first time in his life, his house in Mountain View would become a real home—not just a place where he spent a night or two between his travels for the council.

He wanted to show Chiara the shifter world he loved. He wanted to introduce her to all the people in the peaceful little shifter town who’d watched him grow up. And he wanted his parents to see how happy he’d been as a child. That he’d been loved.

“Yes,” the chimera agreed, the shadows rapidly flickering from dragon to serpent to goat. “Go home. Get settled in with your mate. When I know more, I will summon the council of elements again. But until then, leave me to my books.”

Just like that, the swirling shadows at the back of the huge cave flickered out of existence.

The chimera was gone.

And for the first time in months, there weren’t any fires Jared had to put out.

“Yes,” Chiara said, smiling u

p at him. “Let’s go home.”

***