Chapter 37: Griffin

37

GRIFFIN

" K ali?! Kali, can you hear me?!"

Ben's back.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kali ignores my low growl of protest and moves closer to the entrance. Gently pulling her back from the drop, I squint out over the ledge to see him standing among the trees, shielding his eyes as he stares up the cliffside.

"Fuck! How the hell did you get up there?" Ben shouts, hands on his hips as he takes in the sheer cliff in front of him.

My beast isn't exactly happy at the interruption, but at least Ben's in one piece. A few claw marks and bruises, just like me, but nothing too serious.

"Down. We climbed down," she tells him, directing his attention to the easier route from the ledge above.

I growl, not wanting him to know how to get into the cave, but then hating myself at the same time for how I'm reacting to the man who saved our lives. I should be rolling out the red carpet to thank him for helping us.

"Gotcha. I'm coming." Ben's tone is resolute, and I curse, knowing that having him here will be a struggle if the way my beast is raging already is anything to go by.

Kali grips my hand in hers and gives me a small smile before shouting down to her cousin.

"Ben, you should go. Get to safety. Jed could come back any minute and Griffin's… not in his right mind. We'll hunker down here while I rest, and you go get the cavalry." Her voice is calm and steady, despite her knowing I'm teetering close to the edge again, about to lose myself to the wildness inside.

It's like she can sense the dark direction my thoughts have taken, and what the beast wants to do to any male who tries to share this small space.

"Fine. But stay there. I'll be back with help. Griffin, you keep her safe, or I'll kill you." Giving us a salute, Ben turns and melts into the shadows. The forest falls silent as he moves away, the birds paying close attention to the predator in their midst.

My beast rages at the implication that I can't look after my mate.

Concerned, Kali turns away from the entrance and leans forward, kissing me along the jaw, nuzzling me, before gently brushing her lips across mine.

"He's my cousin. That would be gross." Trying to reassure me, she presses her soft body against my coiled tight one. "Stay with me, Griffin. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere without you. We're going to be okay."

As measured as Kali is, as reassuring her words, it's not enough to keep him calm.

Cursing, I pull her back inside, far away from the edge, the sight of her near the sheer drop almost breaking me out in hives. I stumble into the corner and fall to my knees, clutching my head. My beast is screaming at me to mark her, to claim her quickly before Ben comes back and tries to take her from us.

He doesn't think I'm good enough for her. There's no way he'll leave her with me. I kidnapped her and kept her locked away in a dingy cabin in the woods. As soon as we get back, they'll try to separate us.

There is no rational thought, just primal urges too strong for me to resist.

The beast wrestles control from me, and the pain in my head is piercing as I attempt to fight him, but it's no good. My teeth lengthen behind my gums, cutting my top lip, and I fall forward in agony, trying to stop him from stealing my body and my mind from me again.

Kali needs me to comfort her and reassure her, not the roughness of the beast.

"Oh Griffin," Kali's concerned voice reaches my consciousness, and she crouches down in front of me. "Don't fight him. You're just making it worse. Relax and let it happen."

Stroking up and down my back, she sounds tortured, like she can't bear to see me being torn like this. It's like the first night at the cabin. She told me we would never be content if we kept fighting each other. I know that she's right, but she doesn't know what he's planning to do to her, desperate to make sure she forgets about all other men.

"He'll… hurt… you. He wants to bite you."

I can't get any more words out after my jaw locks, stretching painfully, as he tries to force my shift. I've always been able to rein him in before, but being here in danger, the need to act on instinct and the perceived threat Ben represents to his mate, have all boosted his power and his paranoia.

"He won't hurt me," Kali says close to my ear. "Let him out, if that's what he needs to do. Trust him."

"Can't. He's too dangerous." I grit out.

Kali tilts her head at me sympathetically, shaking it softly.

"You know he won't really hurt me." She cups my face and leans forward, brushing her soft lips against mine, decimating my self-control.

Groaning in frustration, I can only watch on, trapped once more, as my beast crowds her back into the depths of the cave.

She's not fast enough to get by me yet, still tired and injured. And even if she did, she's not strong enough to climb up without risking a tumble down the cliffside.

Kali is trapped. I know it, and she knows it.

"You're making it really hard not to be mad at you," she grumbles, lifting her eyes to the cave roof and the rock above us. "It's just rude not letting Ben inside."

Eyes narrowed, she observes me for a second before cursing, finally understanding that even though I'm in my human form, it's not Griffin, the man she's speaking to anymore, it's the beast.

"Mine." The word comes out, quiet but firm, stating a simple fact, but Kali's eyes flash in defiance.

"Not yours." She snaps, challenging me. "Because I want both of you. Together. Not this constant push and pull where one of you is trying to stuff the other one away in a box. You two need to get your shit together."

His confusion, the lack of understanding I can feel, is almost endearing. That is, until a genius idea pops into his head that will solve all our problems instantly.

Dread turns the blood in my veins to ice.

I know what he wants to do, and I have no way of stopping him. Painting her in my scent isn't going to cut it any more.