Firefighter Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters 3)

He is our cub, his lion said matter-of-factly. He is the son of our mate. That makes him ours.

Griff shook his head, muzzling the lion again. No matter what his inner beasts whispered, he had to remember that he had no claim to Danny.

Or to Hayley.

He heard her close Danny’s bedroom door upstairs, and the soft tread of her feet down the stairs. Realizing she was heading toward the front room, he quietly called out, “I’m in here, Hayley.”

She retraced her steps, coming into the kitchen. “Oh!” she exclaimed, her jaw dropping as she took in the tidy work surfaces and sparkling floor. “You cleaned?”

“I could hardly sit on my backside while you were busy putting the bairn to bed, now could I?” Griff dried his hands on a tea towel, smiling at her.

He was simultaneously pleased by her evident astonishment…and infuriated. Not at Hayley, but at the previous men in her life. If they’d treated her right, she wouldn’t have looked so flabbergasted that a man might do a few chores.

Reiner Ljonsson, you have a lot to answer for.

He nodded at the two glasses he’d placed on the kitchen table, an inch of deep amber liquid from his hip flask at the bottom of each. “Do you drink whisky? It’s from my clan’s distillery. I’ll warn you now, though, my ma’s spirits aren’t for the faint-hearted. It’s a bit like swallowing the sun.”

“I could do with that,” Hayley said ruefully, seating herself and picking up one of the glasses. “I don’t think I’ve been warm since we came to this country.” She took an incautious sip. “Hey, this is act-”

She stopped mid-word. Her eyes went very wide.

Griff laughed out loud as she struggled valiantly not to cough. “I did warn you. It’s bloody freezing in the Highlands. Especially at fifteen thousand feet. Eagle shifters need a bit of fire in their bellies.”

He took the other glass, and sat down as well, surreptitiously stretching out his aching leg. “So how does a warm-blooded Californian lass end up in this cold, wet land, anyway?”

“Work,” Hayley replied succinctly, taking a second, rather more respectful sip of her whisky. “I’m from SoCal. School funding there is slashed to the bone. I happened across an article about teacher shortages in England, and, well, it seemed like a good idea.”

Griff took a tiny sip of his own whisky, savoring the sweet burn. It was a taste of home—and one he couldn’t indulge in very much any more. Alcohol didn’t interact well with his pain meds. “Long way to come for a job.”

She went a little pink. “Well…this is going to sound stupid, but I thought coming to Europe might help with Reiner. I hoped that if Danny was closer, easier to visit, he might finally get in touch.”

Griff’s lion snarled, and his eagle’s wings spread. Not now, he told them, not letting his beasts’ anger show on his face. “He lives over here?”

“Yes. Well, not England. Denmark, or rather a little island near it. He was always kind of evasive about exactly where.”

“Hmm.” Griff furrowed his brow. An island near Denmark…? “Was it Valtyra, by any chance?”

Hayley’s eyebrows rose. “I think so. You know it?”

“It’s actually a shifter country. There are a couple of them in Europe. Tiny wee places, out of the way, keeping themselves to themselves. Hard to get into, generally.”

“Oh. I was hoping to at least take Danny to see his dad’s homeland someday, but it sounds like that’s going to be harder than I thought.” Hayley pursed her lips a little. Griff firmly repressed a fantasy of how that full, enticing mouth would feel under his. “Griff, if there are entire shifter countries…does the government know about you, then?”

“Aye. Well, some of the government. Our existence is a state secret, but we’re quietly interwoven through most of society here in the UK. Our own Parliament, our own courts, our own additional laws.”

Hayley sighed with relief. “So does that mean I don’t have to worry about Danny being dragged off to some Black Ops secret lab?”

“Not in this country.” He flashed a grin at her. “The Queen looks out for our interests. The entire British royal family have been dragon shifters ever since the War of the Roses.”

“Wow,” Hayley br

eathed. He loved the way her face lit up with delighted curiosity. “Now I really want to read a shifter-written history book. What about America? Is there a, a secret shifter President or something?”

“Ah, no. Shifters in America have to be more careful. There are rumors…well, let’s just say that shifters who go to ERs over there don’t tend to come out again. If you’re thinking of going back…” His heart lurched at the thought. He realized his knuckles were going white, and made himself relax his hand before he broke the glass. “Talk to me first. I can put you in contact with some good people, who can watch out for you and Danny. Shifters in the States have to stick together.”

Hayley had gone a little pale. “Okay. Though I don’t actually have plans to return. There’s nothing for me in California.”

Thank God. “No family?”