“And scary,” Liana added, grimacing. “But don't be afraid. He's not that bad. Just very grumpy.”
“You're not going to see him. Most people never see more than his shadow,” Timothy said. “He's... Well. A monster.”
“A monster?” Alyx looked taken aback.
“Don't let them scare you either.” Braeden glared at Timothy. “He's broken. Some call him a monster. But where most of us go insane if we don't find a mate in time, he managed to cling to sanity somehow, despite his immense power. It isn't his soul that broke. It's just his body.”
“That's reassuring,” Alyx said, clearly feeling the exact opposite. “Thanks for the warning.”
“Hey, you've faced a fire dragon,” Liana said softly, giving her an encouraging smile. “So have I. Compared to them, a gruff-sounding shadow is nothing. And compared to my time in customer service, the chimera is downright pleasant.”
That, at last, made Alyx laugh. Braeden gave Liana a grateful look.
“All right, if I can deal with my boss's nonsense, I can deal with a shadowy chimera,” Alyx said in determination.
Beneath the table, Braeden found her hand and entwined their fingers.
There was still the strange, dark pressure inside his chest that told him that his fight against Steele's shadow wasn't over yet. But for now, with Alyx by his side and the glow of the mate bond warm in his heart, he knew they'd find a way to deal with it.
***
The griffin arrived with the telltale sound of huge wings beating the air.
He landed right there on the deck of Timothy and Liana's large house, where they'd gathered to wait for him.
Alyx had dressed for the journey in the new clothes they'd bought yesterday, her sleek, black hair elegantly braided to keep it out of her eyes. Even the formerly faded strand of turquoise looked more brilliant now, thanks to half an hour in Liana’s bathroom.
“Hi, Jared,” Liana said happily. “Good to see you again. Would you like something to drink? What about food?”
The griffin shifter broke into a smile. “Coffee would be wonderful, thanks! And good to see you too. They made me get up early to come and fetch you two.”
“Alyx, this is Jared, the griffin shifter. And this is Alyx, my mate,” Braeden said proudly.
Jared's eyes widened a little as he took them both in. Unlike Timothy, he wouldn't have been able to feel the surge of Braeden's power when he and Alyx had at last become mated—but now that he was here, he'd be able to see it in their eyes.
“Congratulations!” Jared said warmly—without a hint of jealousy, even though now all of his friends had found their mates. “That'll be quite something to tell the chimera. But then, I assume he already knows.”
“I'm looking forward to meeting that chimera of yours.” Alyx grinned. “Is he really all-knowing?”
Jared shook his head. “He knows a lot, but not everything. And he's spent the past week or so buried in ancient books. I assumed he'd finally found a solution to our little fire dragon problem, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe he just wants to meet Braeden's new mate.”
“Maybe it's both.” Braeden couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of hope.
If the chimera had found something that could help them—not just to defeat Steele, but also defeat the darkness in Braeden's mind...
“Do you live with the chimera? What's it like?” Alyx asked curiously.
“I work for the council of elements,” Jared explained, “but I don't live there. It's nice enough if you like mountains and caves, I guess—but I prefer real houses and real beds. And better company. Have you met the storm dragon yet?”
Alyx shook her head.
“I grew up with him,” the griffin shifter explained. “I was a foundling. No one knew where I came from. I've never met another griffin shifter.”
“I'm sorry,” Alyx said softly.
Jared gave her a gentle smile. “It's all right. I had a very happy childhood. The storm dragon's parents treated me like one of their own. And I still think of Mountain View as my childhood home. I travel a lot for the council, so I don't go home very often—but it's still home to me. It's a good town. Mountain air, blue sky, valleys full of wildflowers. You should visit one day.”
“It sounds lovely,” Alyx said with a deep sigh. “All the shifter towns sound so lovely. Why did I have the luck to end up in a fire dragon lair? Quite unfair, if you ask me.”