Hayley didn’t even wait for him to finish. “Griff, will you marry me?”
YES! Griff’s lion and eagle roared as one.
“No,” he said, roughly. He had to look away from the shocked hurt in her eyes. “That won’t work. Tell her, Michael.”
“Legally, he’s not a shifter,” Michael said to Hayley, apologetically. “By definition, a shifter has to be able to shift. Otherwise any human criminal could claim to be one of us, and demand to be judged according to our laws. It doesn’t matter how you, or me, or anyone may personally view Griff…according to the law, he’s just a regular human being.”
Hayley stared at the lawyer. “Are you seriously advising me to marry any old random shifter? What do you expect me to do, get one out of a mail-order catalogue?”
Griff let out a brief, humorless bark of laughter. “No need for that. John Doe owes me a life-debt.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting down a migraine as his animals howled with rage at the merest idea of giving their mate away to someone else. “Bet he never expected me to call it in like this.”
“I am not marrying John!” Hayley said hotly. “Not even for pretend!”
Michael coughed, looking a little embarrassed. “Ah, it would have to be for real. The court would see through a fake marriage.”
“Well, there you go.” Hayley folded her arms, glaring at the lawyer. “Do you have any practical suggestions?”
Michael spread his hands. “If this comes to court, your only chance of winning custody is to demonstrate that you can provide Danny with a supportive shifter role model. If you can’t do that through your mate, the next best thing is to have multiple close shifter friends. You need to get yourself—and him—integrated into the local shifter community. As quickly as possible. Fortunately, you shouldn’t have any problems there. Griff’s very well-connected.”
Hayley bit her lip, glancing up at Griff. He could read her expression as clearly as if her thoughts were printed above her head in glowing neon letters: But that means we’ll have to spend a lot of time together…
His eagle keened a high, piercing cry of loneliness. She fears we will plummet out of the sky, leaving her alone in the storm. She does not want us at her wingtip. She knows she cannot rely on us.
“It’ll be all right,” Griff told Hayley, forcing the words past the ache in his chest. “I just have to make the initial introductions for you. You’ll be able to take it from there by yourself.”
She looked down at her hands, her hair swinging forward to shadow her face. “Okay,” she said, very quietly.
Michael cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “The longer you can keep Reiner in the dark, the better. I have to reiterate, it’s best if you can keep this out of court entirely. If he does find out, I strongly recommend that you settle with him privately, if you can. Persuade him that it’s in Danny’s best interests to stay with his mother.”
“That would require Reiner to become an actual alpha, rather than an insecure beta spoiling for a fight,” Griff said darkly. “We’ve probably got a better chance of me learning to shift.”
“What a good idea. Please do that.” Michael shuffled through papers on his desk. “It would make my life immeasurably easier. Now, about the other matter-”
Griff held up his hand, forestalling him. “Hayley, would you mind waiting in the car? I’ve got some…private business I need to discuss. This will only take a moment.”
Hurt flashed across Hayley’s face, but she left without argument. Griff waited until he’d heard the office door swing shut behind her downstairs before turning back to Michael. “You have it ready for me to sign?”
“All in order.” Michael slid the paper across the desk, along with a pen. “I can witness it now, if you like.”
“Good.” Griff flipped through the pages, quickly checking that everything was as he’d specified. “I appreciate the rush job. How much do I owe you?”
“Oh, call it a few bottles of your mother’s best Scotch. It doesn’t take long to draw up a will when there’s only one beneficiary.” Michael cocked a curious eyebrow at Griff. “Why don’t you want her to know?”
“Because she’d probably argue.” Griff scrawled an awkward, left-handed signature. “It’s easier this way.”
Michael’s gaze flicked to Griff’s crooked, frozen right hand. “That’s new,” he observed, quietly.
Griff made a noncommittal noise. He pushed the will back to Michael. “Thanks for this. It’s a weight off my mind to know that at least Hayley will be taken care of financially when something happens to me.”
Michael cast him a level look as he countersigned the document. “You mean if something happens to you.”
“No,” Griff said simply. “I don’t.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Danny
Grown-ups, Danny had decided, were just plain weird.