Greg… Location Unknown

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Blurred objects and hazy lighting greeted him as he opened burning eyes. Greg attempted to sit up only to meet a tight restraint.

“Hello?” he asked, still not sure where he was. His voice felt like it was far away, captured in a tunnel.

What was that film that clouded and distorted his surroundings? The ceiling that could be made out through the clear material was nondescript, giving no clue about the place or temperament of the owner of the room. He closed his eyes as tears ran down the side of his face from their scratchy irritation. The sensation tickled, giving him more impetus to attempt to break free of these bonds.

Unable to move to investigate, he went inside to find his center. Breathing through the unknown would be his best bet for emerging out of this odd cocoon fast.

He chanced another yell for assistance. “Hello? Is anyone there? Can you hear me?” This time his voice was stronger and almost back to normal besides the scratchiness.

“Yes, hun, praise be to the Goddess!”

Greg knew that voice. Tension slid away. His muscles, which had remained on guard, eased as it was clear he was in a safe place.

Crackling sounds of what must be velcro opening invaded the plastic tent. The woman who was the closest thing to a mother figure they had on this planet sought to free him. He waited as she continued to make quick work of removing the transparent covering.

“There. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

He looked up and around as much as he could before speaking again, “Where’s Zia?”

“Zia!” the woman’s voice called. He managed to turn his head in that direction as the form of Miss Connie came into focus. Right behind her was the silhouette of the woman who was etched into his heart and soul.

“My Zia, thank the Goddess.”

“I’m here, my love.”

Greg wanted to break free of his bonds when he saw his mate rushing toward him. She looked haggard and tired. What had transpired to land them here?

She came close and placed a hand on his cheek. Greg leaned into the warmth of her soft touch. Her scent was different in the most amazing way. If he had been right and his mind wasn’t playing a cruel game of wishful thinking, the Goddess had blessed them mightily. Questions warred with confessions of love and his need to be freed from this bed. He wanted to speak them all at once.

A swallow to prepare to talk instigated a massive sore throat. Instead of the words of love he wished to tell his mate, basic needs won out.

“Water,” he attempted to say, as his Zia continued to stare down at him with tear glistened eyes.

“Miss Connie, he’s mouthing something. Please, help. He wants some water,” she said, never taking her eyes off of his.

He nodded, resigned to this low form of communication until his voice returned.

Miss Connie came forward. “You asked for water?” she said to clarify. He nodded his head again.

The Clan healer placed a straw into the side of his mouth. “Drink.”

He obeyed, sucking in the blue liquid as fast as he could. When the sucking sounds of an empty container interrupted his feast, Greg noticed for the first time. Miss Connie leaned in close enough for him to see every line and micro-expression of her face.

The unmistakable look of fatigue resided on the face of the woman who never seemed to be tired or anything but jovial. This gave him pause. What had happened to make Miss Connie this weary?

She looked down at him. “Now, for all our safety, please tell me your name.”

Why was Miss Connie asking him such a stupid question? He tried to lift his hand to rub his irritated eyes only to remember that he was completely restrained. That and now his body wailed to take a pee.

Might as well get this over with and get to the bathroom.

“My name is”… he paused more to marvel at how much effort it took to talk around the cotton ball of dryness that continued to camp out in his mouth more than anything before continuing, “Greg Griffin, second in command of the Dragofin Clan and mate of Zia Carter.” He looked over at his mate as he said the last part.

Her eyes glistened with unspent tears as she looked on from a few inches away. He wanted to touch her and make sure she was all right.

Miss Connie motioned for someone out of his line of sight to come forward. Lucien stepped into view.

“Lucien, please, help me get these restraints off of him. His pupils are no longer dilated, and his vitals have returned to normal. Looks like he’s going to be all right. Oh, and help me get him to sit up.”

Greg practiced patience as his leader and Clan brother, Lucien, loosened the restraints that had bound him to the bed. After the other man helped him to defy earth’s gravity to sit up, he tested his strength to maintain the position on his own. Lucien had to pull him back to his sitting position a few times.

After another attempt to right himself, his muscles and mind seemed to reintegrate with each other. The others waited as he lifted an arm, flexed and clenched hands rotated his ankles and neck. Except for a little stiffness, he felt like himself again.

“Got to love gaiata, huh?” Miss Connie asked Lucien who nodded in return.

Before he could request water again, Miss Connie thrust a massive container of the green-blue elixir she swore by at him.

“Drink it all,” she said and turned to his mate. “You, come here and drink this all down, too. You being run down isn’t going to help anyone.” The woman said to his mate.

“What about you, Miss Connie? You haven’t slept or left this area.” Zia eyed the woman; concern heavy on her brow.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get some rest after I get you two back to full capacity.” The other woman’s voice shook enough for Lucien to give him a look of concern.

Greg drank as he watched his mate eye the liquid before smelling it. When she realized it was odorless, she took a timid sip, followed by a voracious gulp until she’d drained her container.

“What is this stuff? I feel like I can’t get enough of it,” Zia said to Miss Connie.

“It’s called gaiata, and you can only get it while your here or if I give it to you. Do you understand?”

Zia wore a look of puzzlement but nodded in the affirmative.

Greg finished drinking his share of the miracle water and thanked the Goddess for its fast acting healing properties.

He held his empty container out for Miss Connie to grab and said, “I trust you’ll bring me up to speed, but first, let me go relieve myself.”

Greg waved off Lucien’s help as he tested his ability to stand. When he found it natural like normal, he went and relieved himself in the adjacent bathroom.

While in there, he pulled on the conscious stream of knowledge that all Gryphon had. A moment to bask in the blessing of what the Goddess had done and new hope bounded forth. Whatever had happened wouldn’t deter him from protecting his family. Determined to reclaim his life and memories, Greg focused on isolating his thoughts to remember his recent past.

He retrieved memories of what had brought him to this point. Photographic memories cascaded into his mind’s eye. He scrolled through the meeting at the Lair to rescue Zia’s little friend, Boogie, driving to her apartment, and fighting Egolars. Greg had to grab hold of the sink basin to steady himself as he watched a dazed Boogie run out of the dark passageway and then… his memories blanked out.

Greg came out of the bathroom with focus and determination. Miss Connie eyed his renewed vigor with a nod. Lucien pushed a rolling desk chair to him.

“Sit. I don’t want to peel you off the floor when this wave of adrenaline wears off,” his leader said in his gruff way. “We see you have questions. Have a seat, and we’ll answer what we can.”

Greg sat as Lucien pulled more chairs close to form an informal circle. Once Zia sat next to him, Lucien and Miss Connie pulled their chairs in close to join them.

He steadied his beast who still smarted from the enormous sense of disorientation. When he was able to maintain his emotions and body to a manageable level, Greg spoke. “Please, start with how long I’ve been out. For some reason, my internal clock is off.”

Lucien leaned forward. “You’ve been out of it since last night.”

“What time is it now?”

“It’s around six in the evening.”

Shock buffeted through him. “What? Really? I’ve been out of it for a day?” His mind swam through the events again, landing on the last scene of watching Boogie run away. Then there was an Egolar, but that encounter was fuzzy. His mind rejected the idea. “I don’t feel like I’ve missed a day of my life. I remember being at Zia’s. It was around six in the evening.” The members of their intimate circle all nodded. “You’re trying to tell me that I’ve been out of it for a day?”

This time his sweet Zia spoke up. “Yes, just over twenty-four hours to be exact.”

“How did I get here?”

Zia spoke again, after getting a slight nod from Lucien and Miss Connie. “You were drugged while fighting the Egolars.”

Lucien held up a hand. Zia paused.

“It might be better if we start with finding out what you remember. Or, more precisely, what’s the last thing you remember?”

“Yes, I suppose that would help us get to the important part—what got me passed out for a day.” Zia’s hand reached out, and he grasped it, thankful to have his mate by his side. “The last thing I know for certain is that I made Boogie go find you and the others,” he said looking at his mate. “The next part is where things go fuzzy. I had the last Egolar firmly in my hand. I looked down at the bird.” He closed his eyes to bring himself back to that dark passageway. “I ran through what would be my next step. Since the Egolar was in full shift, I wouldn’t be able to get any discernible intel from it. I didn’t want to chance more of them coming now that I had gotten the boy to run to you all. Wait.” He paused and rubbed his eyes that still stung a bit. “It’s fuzzy, like a trick of my mind. I remember ending the Egolar and then… then I felt a human’s presence. Since it was dark, I didn’t want to startle the person in case they were an innocent out where they shouldn’t be. I turned, saw a man, and then nothing.”

Zia and Lucien spoke at the same time. Lucien yielded to Zia. Greg noticed how Lucien treated his mate with reverence. Yes, Lucien had to know as well. If they knew, it was a given that Miss Connie did too.

The last question he had was if his mate knew yet. If so, how did she feel about it? His question was pushed back as he heard her voice.

“Thank you, Lucien,” she said. “Greg, do you remember anything else about the man? Take your time. If nothing comes right away, it’s okay.”

He thought about it.

“Not really. Just that I knew he was human.” Swirls of dust clouded his mind’s eye. “Wait, he did something to me.” Greg pressed in more to sense the loose thought that dangled just out of reach. He closed his eyes once again and willed the series of events to replay without any edit. “I see, something like what Boogie had on his face.” He felt the increase in attentive emotion erupt from the others. Greg had to take his time as not to remember false memories. “Yes, when I found Boogie, I could see that his face was covered in a dusty substance. It took more than one try to get him to snap out of some trance and run to you and the team. I returned my attention to the Egolar, snapped its neck, and stood up.” The memories tumbled forth with eagerness to be revealed. “I felt the presence of the man standing close behind me. Paused to make sure I showed him that I wouldn’t harm him. I turned and looked down to see the man.” Greg squeezed his closed eyes tighter, demanding that the memories untwist enough to remember.

“It’s okay, it’ll come back to you in time,” he heard Miss Connie say.

“No, this is important. I need to know, you all need to know this part. Give me a moment. It’s almost there.”

Greg took in a huge gulp of air and stilled himself. His brain had never betrayed him before. There was no way he’d allow it to start now. Not when something important depended on it. The soft click of recognition snapped into place.

“I remember. Yes, the man was dressed in a suit. He was average height for a human male and had brown eyes and dark hair. I couldn’t take in more of his facial features through the cloud of dust he blew in my face.” An involuntary shudder rippled through him as muscle memory regressed him back to that moment. “I felt like something foreign had invaded my body and froze me from within. Then I remembered waking up here.”

The small group stared at him for a moment. It was Lucien who was the first to speak.

“That account lines up with what we know. Seems like you remember everything until you were dusted.”

“Dusted?”

“Yes,” Miss Connie interjected. “You succumbed to a nasty concoction that I hope never to see the likes of again.”

“Wait, I saw the same dust on Boogie.” Greg looked around for the child. “Where is he? Is he all right?” His heartbeat increased thinking of how the child might not have survived it by how grim Miss Connie made it seem.

“He’s fine. Seems his metabolism was faster than we expected. He burned through it and was back up and around early this morning.” As if to try to make him feel better, Miss Connie added, “he was dusted many hours before you, though. It seems like you two churned through the dose at comparable rates.”

“It’s fine. I have no ego-need to compete with him on how fast our metabolisms worked through poison. Where is he?” Greg still needed assurance that the kid was fine.

“Ajax and Hildy took him up to Lawrenceville to check out a place for him to stay,” Zia said.

“Why there? His family has agreed to move north of the city just like that?”

She looked at him with an expression that said she’d skipped a lot of information. “My apologies. We found out that Boogie was orphaned a few years back. He’s been living on the streets in Atlanta since. Lawrenceville, that’s where he’s originally from. Ajax used contacts to find a Lycanthrope couple up there and whose kids are in college. They’ve agreed to meet him and see if he likes it enough to stay with them.”

“Oh, that poor kid.” His heart softened more for the young fellow. “Guess it makes sense why he’d be so attached to you. You fed him and showed you cared about him.”

She scarfed at that. “Ha, evidently not enough to know that the poor kid was homeless. For two-plus years, I never thought to check out what was going on with him, the other kids or my neighbors. This ordeal has made me aware of how narrow-minded and self-absorbed I’ve been. Greg, if they can’t find a place for him, I want to see what I can do to help.” She held up a hand when he and Lucien started to protest. “I know he can’t stay with us at the Lair. Ajax and Hildy already explained that even though he’s a shifter, he is still a human-shifter of this world. He most likely wouldn’t be able to survive in the Lair. So, I can make some calls too and see if anyone would be able to take him in.”

“He’s a werewolf. Do you know anyone capable of dealing with a pubescent werewolf?” Lucien asked eyebrow cocked.

She laughed. “No, but I do know one Mrs. Leila Carter. With the right conviction to make things up to me, she could tame and raise even the spawn of Satan.”

“Don’t play like that. Your mother should always be honored. She’s not only your mother, but she loves you,” Miss Connie said. Then as if directed by a meddling invisible force, to Greg’s amazement the woman asked his mate, “Have you called her back yet? You said she was worried about you. You also said you’d call her back today.” Miss Connie gave her the look he’d seen too many times over the years to mistake as anything but her ‘do what I say’ look. “Call your Mother.”

Zia squirmed. “I will as soon as I can get your approval to take Greg home and get him into his bed to rest.”

“That would be our bed, and you don’t have to wait to call your mother.”

“And tell her what? I can’t come back home to live, because I have mated with the love of my life. That would be to a man that she’s never heard of. Oh, and that, no she can’t come for a visit because the place where he lives might kill her if she’s not the one I got this alien gene from. Yeah, I see that going over as well as stale, dry coffee cake.”

Lucien laughed. “She’s got a point. This is a Clan first, dealing with the in-laws. Greg, let me know how that works out for you. Will you be there or here for the winter holiday season?”

Greg felt the heat rise as he fought the urge to pop Lucien in his mouth. Taking the high road of a wise Gryphon, he decided to stay in his good place and said, “Where’s the Clan’s support. What happened to we take care of the family? If we get to go to Texas, so do you all.”

“Wait a minute, that’s not how much ride or die we need. Let’s not jump the gun on holiday visits to see my folks.” Zia’s words came as fast as her eyes darted between the men. “It’ll take time to ease my mother into my new life decisions. She’s not the mother you’d expect me to have.”

Miss Connie laughed. “Oh, dear, how well do I know that to be true. I spoke to her when I asked you to come back. Your mother was more cunning than a produce broker at the end of the market day with one bushel of veggies left. She could get a leprechaun to give up money just to stop the haggling.”

“Yep, you’ve encountered my mother. She could wear down the patience of a statue.”

Greg couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to connect with her mother. “But, you still need to check in at least and let her know you’re safe. Isn’t that why your friend, Jeremy, showed up at your place? Because she was so worried about you?” Something about the thought of that guy made Greg’s head hurt. Not in any jealousy. It was as if his beast reacted in an adversarial way to him, though.

Greg filed that in the back of his mind to ponder later. For now, he needed to get up to speed on where they were with Clan business.

“I can see it on your face, and the answer is to wait until tomorrow,” Lucien said. “Matt and I got back early this morning, got caught up on things, and are here to help you two. Matt wanted to come and check on you, but Miss Connie would only allow one outside visitor at a time, so I pulled rank. You can see him when you’re fully rested. Wren ushered him downstairs almost as soon as I said he’d need to wait anyway. As for that Egolar den at Zia’s, Ajax had some of his scouts check the place out today. It looks like they cleared out last night.”

He looked from Greg to Zia, “Zia, hope you don’t mind, but the other mates got together and sent a team over from one of Hildy’s old clean up crews. This crew is supernatural, knows how to keep a secret, and are friends from her previous life. They cleaned out your apartment. Unfortunately, their suggestion is for all the contents to be destroyed including the truck. Those Imps did a number on your things. They say everything reeks of demonic stank—their words, not mine.”

Zia nodded and mulled the advice over for a moment. “I understand. They’re just things. I’ll make sure to thank the ladies when I see them as well. Please, have them get rid of it all. I have enough clothes here to make it through another week, so I have time to replenish.”

“Great attitude. I like it; I like it a lot. Hildy was certain you wouldn’t be returning. So, the Dragofin Clan contacted your property management company and paid for damages. We donated for a community activity on your behalf.”

“Wow—that was thoughtful of you.”

“Not really. Can’t have bad blood that has folks looking for you and us. This weekend you’ll be the sponsor of a community barbecue and fish fry, complete with games for the kids and some prizes for your neighbors.”

Zia eyed Lucien. “Like, how much are we talking that I owe you for all this?”

“Like nothing.”

Her eyes blinked in surprise.

Lucien kept talking. “Plus, your mate is obscenely rich compared to, well every galaxy’s standards. Filthy, stinking, however, you want to call it, this one has more than enough to live up to the reputation.”

“Lucien,” Greg warned.

“What? The Gryphon never buys much of anything. You could spend like crazy every day and never exhaust his horde,” Lucien said, unleashing a boom of a laugh. “To be honest, we’re all the same. With no need to spend money for so long, we saved up for if and when our mates ever showed up. I say this in fun, but you’ll never have anything to worry about when it comes to being provided for and protected—by any of us. You’re his mate and our sister.”

Greg remained quiet, watching his mate take in what Lucien said. He knew the other man meant every word too. He’d thank him later for what Lucien did for Zia while he was out of it.

Lucien’s mood returned to a more serious one as he diverted his attention back to Greg. “As for the man in the suit, no one seems to know anything about him, bro. Until you two have had your bonding time, we’ll put that order of business on the back burner. Zia’s neighborhood is free of supernaturals for the time being. Boogie is getting placed in a home. You’ve survived a deadly drug that would have killed armies of humans, and your mate loves you. I’d say you’re Goddess-blessed for sure. For now, my orders are for both of you to go back to your mating moon as my mate has insisted I call it.”

“A mating moon?” Zia asked. The way her voice did a little dance was Greg’s sign that she was interested in whatever this idea was.

“Yes, Quinn and Wren insist that you two be able to spend some quality alone time together. I’m to make sure I let you know that I will not interfere with any Clan business until you’ve had proper time to bond as a new family.”

“Well, I see mating has knocked a lot of rough edges off you, Lucien,” Miss Connie said. “Never thought I’d see the day when you’d be so… socially aware of the needs of others.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m not trying; I’m saying that you’ve been a surly Dragon for so long I didn’t think I’d live to see the day when someone would soften your heart. Our Quinn is truly sent from the Goddess.”

Lucien smiled despite Miss Connie’s insult. “That she is. It took her calling me Mr. Grumble Butt to see that what you say wasn’t so far-fetched.”

“Oh, it took her saying it?” Miss Connie, mumbled. “I’ve been saying as much for centuries, but no, it's only known that your mate says it that it’s true.”

Zia stepped in. “Miss Connie, you’re like a parental figure. You know how boys will be. They don’t shape up until some girl comes around. You loosened up the ground and planted the seed. Quinn came around to water and harvested the bloom, that’s all.”

Miss Connie smiled at Zia’s analogy, but Greg caught what might be the slight hint of a jab at Quinn. He hoped the two women had made peace with each other and would find common ground. Things had changed, and he needed everyone to get along truly.

Miss Connie gave Lucien a look. The leader of the Dragofin Clan nodded and folded his arms.

The older woman took the floor. “Zia, remember last night when I said I had some news to share with you two?”

Zia nodded and sat up, grabbing Greg’s hand in hers. Her mood was cheery. That was a good sign.

“By the looks of it, Greg already knows what I want to talk with you about. Lucien knew as soon as he came near you, so it would be pointless to have him leave.”

Zia’s eyes grew large with concern.

“Oh, stop it, child. Nothing bad. I just wanted to make sure Greg was with you when I told you that the Goddess had blessed you with a babe. From the results of your blood test, it appears that you conceived during your initial mating.” Miss Connie’s eyes grew moist. “You’re going to have a mating-bond babe. A Gryphon babe, no doubt.”

All eyes locked on Zia as she continued to wear a smile that sat at a precarious perch on her face. Greg waited. His bodily functions might as well be in a suspension as he waited for his mate’s reaction to the news.

Zia continued to smile but nothing more. He felt Lucien’s eyes move to watch his reaction. The anticipation of what would happen next ate away at the life-sustaining quality of the air. Greg batted down the instinct to tap his connection to her.

This was a pivotal moment for Zia. There would only be one moment for her to experience the initial reaction to finding out she was with child. He had to allow his mate the privacy to process the information for herself.

Zia’s hands went to her temples as her eyes grew large. Everyone in the room continued to wait. She blinked a few times as the smile continued to hang onto her face for dear life. Slowly, one of her hands fell away to land delicately on her lower abdomen. She looked down at her hand, shook her head, and became still.

Greg didn’t know if it were one minute or a million before she looked up, locked eyes on him and pronounced, “She is real. The Goddess answered my prayer. Greg,” her voice beamed with joy, “she found me worthy. I got another chance. Oh, baby, we’re pregnant!”

His beautiful mate jumped up and landed on his lap as he wrapped her arms around his neck. He forgot the others were in the room as his Zia kissed him with hunger he never thought she could possess.

When she released his lips, he didn’t want to blink, lest this all be a cruel dream. Gray-green eyes searched him for an answer.

“Are you happy?”

He couldn’t keep himself from cupping her face between his hands and kissing her again.

“Of course I am; probably more than you’ll ever be able to comprehend. It doesn’t seem real, and yet it is.” He allowed her joy to bathe him in love. “You are okay with this? So soon?”

“Greg, I love you. You’ve shown me more than enough evidence to know that you’ll make a great father. I watched how you cared about Boogie and did so much to save him, all because of me. If you can do that for a kid you just met, I have no doubt you’ll be amazing with our baby.”

Zia looked up to see Miss Connie and Lucien watching intently. Unprovoked, Zia said to Lucien, “As Greg’s mate, I submit to your leadership of the Clan. As such, I want you to know that Quinn and I made peace with each other while you were away. I will do whatever I can to pull my weight around the Lair and as a member of the Clan if you accept my baby and me.”

Lucien looked a bit confused until Miss Connie bent over and patted him on his knee. “She wants to make sure you and Quinn are good with her being part of the Clan.”

His voice was loud and booming as he spoke. “Why in the hell wouldn’t she be? Quinn loves Zia. She kept sending me updates while I was gone of how proud she was of Zia for going to find Boogie.” He looked over to Zia and said, “Zia, I need you to know this. Quinn and I are pleased that you and Greg finally joined as mates. Any friction you felt was as my mate said, her frustration with not knowing if you took all this seriously enough to commit. One thing about her, you’ll never wonder or guess where she stands with you. When you joined with Greg, how you held vigil over him as he healed from this vicious attack, and how much joy you bring to him has been a joy to her. I won’t attempt to try to speak for her, as she is quite able to do that herself.

“What I can do is tell you that as the leader of the Dragofin Clan, I welcome you with open arms as a sister and friend to our family. As for the babe, congratulations. I can’t tell you how happy I am for Greg’s and your good fortune. I will leave it to you two to decide how you wish to announce it to the rest of them. But, be forewarned, I can’t keep this from Quinn. As you might already know, once she finds out, there’s no guarantee she won’t make your announcement for you.” Lucien looked upward as if doing mental calculations. “By my estimate, you have until first thing in the morning to figure out how you’ll do it.” He let out a hearty laugh that only solidified that what he said needed to be heeded.

Greg realized he’d placed his hand on his mate’s stomach as she laughed hard at Lucien’s warning.

“Will do. I had front row seats to her Wren baby reveal.” She did a little hop on his lap. “Ooh, Wren. We’re going to have cousins. Wow, guess I need to let my girl know before anyone else.” She looked at Greg and added, “unless you have someone else you’d like to tell first.”

He knew without having to think about it. “Yes, may we please tell my parents? I want to see the look on my mother’s face when she finds out in less than a week that she has another grandbabe on the way. The woman has been lighting the Goddess fertility candles for us for so long; my father says he can’t take a step in the nest without finding candle wax.”

He loved the sound of Zia’s hearty laughter at that.

Oh, my Gryphon, of course, we can tell the parents first.” Then she realized what she’d agreed to. He watched the gulp move down the lovely column of her neck as she said, “That means I must tell my folks too.”

He couldn’t help himself. “And, that would be tonight.” He felt great especially with the confirmation of what he’d suspected of his mate’s scent. To Miss Connie, he asked, “is it possible to go back to the Lair? I’m feeling like new.”

The older woman looked at him, squinted and then said, “Yes, but be ready for a check in first thing tomorrow morning from me and the Triplets. That goes for you as well young lady.”

“The triplets, huh? I thought you all had dropped that.”

“No, they offer valuable information,” Lucien said. “You’d do well to get to know them too. They’re great young ladies. I’m pleased to have them as friends of the Dragofin Clan.”

“Well, okay then,” reluctance tainted her words a little.

Greg’s stomach growled loud enough to get a giggle out of Zia. He looked over to Miss Connie, “one more favor to ask. Is it possible to get something to eat before we go back to the Lair? Once I get over there, I’m taking Zia down to the nest to get settled in and don’t plan to be back up until the morning.”

“Of course, you can. I wouldn’t dare think of sending you home on an empty stomach. Zia, I’ll make sure to send food home with you as well. Got to feed your mate and that babe. His energy is already strong. He must be making his presence already known by now.”

“I guess. That would explain a lot of things that have happened over the last few days.”

“Good, what’ll you have?”

Greg looked at Zia, “After you my love.” He leaned in to enjoy the irresistible scent she exuded. It was delicate and enticing in a way that made his beast purr with joy.

She smiled as he couldn’t stop himself from nuzzling her neck. “No, you haven’t eaten in over a day.” Her laugh was light and sexy. “I insist that you order first.”

Greg smiled at her consideration. “That’s easy. Miss Connie,” he said with a side look at the matriarch. Greg refused to redraw from kissing a particularly pleasing spot on his mate’s neck as he formed his next words. To Miss Connie’s credit, she gave him a big smile and waited for his order. Too enamored with Zia to concentrate on food, he gave up and said, “I’ll just have whatever Zia is having.”

Both Miss Connie and Lucien perked up and said, “No!”