20. Gryphon

Chapter 20

Gryphon

O liver drums his fingers on the table, fretting his little heart out.

His blue eyes flit over to the clock on the wall, and then he bites his lip, nearly drawing blood.

It's six ten now.

Mila is ten minutes late. But he needn't fret.

I'm sure she will arrive.

Though no one could blame her if she wanted to ditch dinner altogether.

Not after what we did to her.

I bet she doesn't have the stomach to sit at the same table as me—the Alpha who has been nothing but an asshole to her from the moment she entered his life.

I have to find a way to make up for all the hurt I have caused.

The problem is, I just don't know how.

I am not a sensitive guy. I don't even know how to relate to people. I am only good with my Omega and my pack because we're bonded.

I peer around the table.

Lachlan gazes forlornly at his food. Barret has his face in his hands.

Oliver keeps staring at the clock, desperation taking over at last, and it looks like I have to step up here.

Maybe this can be my way to extend an olive branch.

However, I have a long way to go before I can expect to receive forgiveness of any kind.

But it can be a start.

"Oliver… it's fine… just give her time…"

He gazes at me. "But it's already gone ten past. This is ridiculous. Who was I kidding? As if she would want to sit at the same table with us again."

The Omega deflates. Lachlan wobbles his lip, and Barret, the broody bastard, scowls down at his food as if it said something to offend him.

It's a beef casserole. Oliver did a pretty good job of it, if I had to be honest, and maybe he did learn some culinary skills while he was at that school.

We sit in miserable silence for another twenty minutes. Once the big hand on the clock hits half past, I rise.

They all perk up at the first sound of movement.

Oliver narrows his eyes suspiciously. "Where are you going?"

A sigh heaves from my lips as I move around the table. "To get Mila."

"No!"

He jumps up, and he's not the only one. Barret and Lachlan have risen to their feet, and now all three of them look at me as if I am about to commit the crime of the century.

"Why?"

Oliver shakes his head. "Because you will mess this up. No offense, but you're not the most sensitive guy."

I would be offended, but he's right. I am not sensitive; I am brusque, blunt, and honest.

Oliver starts to leave. "No. I'll go…"

"It's fine, Oliver. Let me do this. Let her see that I mean no harm. It… may help her warm to us if I…"

My voice trails. But I know they understand.

Out of everyone in this room, I have treated her the worst. This could be my first step to redemption.

The first of many.

Oliver takes a moment to consider. "Maybe you're right."

Barret and Lachlan turn on him, aghast.

"Ollie? You're not serious…" Barret says.

Lachlan is already gripping his knife. "No… not him. He will only make her cry."

Oliver closes his eyes. "He may, but… we should give him a chance. After all, he owes it to her and us to make this right. And this can be the first step. So, Gryphon has to be the one to get her. It's the only way we will move forward and put the past behind us…"

All grows quiet again as I feel the judgmental eyes of my pack. Oliver's especially.

"I swear, Gryphon… if you upset her… Lachlan will be the least of your concerns when I'm through with you…"

Oliver's eyes glow, and a shiver runs down my spine.

Never thought I would be intimidated by my own Omega.

A creepy giggle sounds from Lachlan, and when I turn toward him, he's spinning his knife around his fingers, his eyes aglow too.

Barret is deadpan. But the threat is still there.

If I make her cry, they will kill me.

Pure and simple.

Well, it looks like I have no choice but to be on my best behavior now.

Unless I want my head to end up on a pike.