Chapter Twenty-Two

The griffin landed between Ayden and me, his large wings pushing air out from beneath him and nearly knocking us all off our feet.

I stared up in horror as its large eagle head turned its gaze to me with narrowed eyes. The creature paid no mind to the others, his large body turning slowly in my direction as he marked me as his target.

I could hear the others screaming for me to move, their voices sounding as if they came from a large distance away rather than just on the other side of the beast.

"Sasha!" I could hear Rory's voice call out. "Come back this way! Stop!"

I hadn't even realized I'd been moving, my feet stepping back with each step forward the Griffin took. I couldn't find a break in his defenses to dive out of his path. Every move I made, the eagle eyes seemed to follow intently.

Why was it so intent on me? I couldn't register what it was that the griffin wanted with me. Weren't they supposed to be guardians of some kind? Creatures of the sun and all that were light and good.

This mythical creature was nothing like the others we had encountered here. The others were creatures of the darker side of myths and legends. They were known for targeting the innocent and causing trouble to those who crossed their paths. But Griffins, they were the opposite.

In every legend I've ever heard, griffins were always sentinels, protecting everything. And while in some stories they had attacked the hero, it was only ever because he took the item they had been protecting.

But that wasn't the case here with me now. I had touched nothing but food, and I doubted that was what the creature was so angry about. Baer and Rory each took food as well. Far more than what I had. And Ayden held a book from the building he had explored. Yet the creature's gaze never once touched on any of them.

‘You know how to stop it,'a distant voice whispered.

I could barely recognize the voice that had haunted me so much before. The whisper was barely audible in my mind, but still, he was there.

‘Do what you did with the kelpie,'the voice urged.

I shook my head, my heel catching on a loose stone as I continued to step back. I stumbled several paces more, the griffin's feathers ruffling, as my jagged movements to correct my balance.

‘If you don't do something, he will kill you,'the voice whispered.

My wolf let out a low growl at the words.

‘Don't do it, Sasha,'she warned. ‘You barely managed to come back last time you used that magic. It is too dangerous.'

‘The griffin is dangerous,'the voice argued with her. ‘If you don't stop it, it will kill you. Its light will destroy you.'

I flinched at the words, my throat drying as I tried to swallow. "Its light will destroy me?"

"Sasha!" Ayden's voice called over the sounds in my mind. "Don't give up! Fight!"

I barely comprehended his words before the large talons of the creature swiped out quickly, the claws cutting into my skin as I flew back across the stone ground, knocking the breath out of me.

A scream ripped through the air, my throat dry and hoarse as I tried to understand if the scream had come from me or Rory. My head was spinning, my vision blurred as I felt a pulse at the back of my skull.

I squinted up at the monster as he charged at me once again, my eyes widening at the speed of his enormous body. My mind raced with thoughts and ideas of what I should do, none of them quite processing as I remained frozen in place, just as I had been with the wisps before.

My body ached to react the way the voice in my mind urged me to do. I could feel that strong magic sizzling beneath my skin. The sparks of darkness aching in my fingertips to be released. But I couldn't allow myself to let it out.

Images of Ayden's eyes as he questioned if I was the evil my prophecy had spoken of. His fear and uncertainty over my use of dark magic before making me fear ever thinking about that magic again.

I knew it could save my life in this moment, but I questioned if the cost was worth it at all.

The griffin leaped in the air, his body so close now that I could make out each individual feather along his neck and chest. I squeezed my eyes closed as I waited for the impact of those talons to come. I could hear the screams of my cousin as she urged me to run, but I couldn't bring the strength to my limbs. Too busy fighting within myself on how to save myself from the oncoming threat.

The griffin let out a loud screech and my eyes flew open just in time to see a large brown wolf clawing and biting at the gigantic creature's neck. The clawed front limbs swiped at the wolf's body, his hind legs flexing with the leap to safety just before shifting his weight back at the creature.

I stared on in awe and fear as I realized who the wolf was. I hadn't seen Ayden's wolf form before. We don't get our wolves until eighteen, the same age that we are able to find our mates. My prophecy had come before then, and we both shifted for the first time in the comfort of our own packs.

He was large, a true sign of an alpha king. If not for the clear canine build of his body, he could easily be mistaken for a large grizzly bear, though he was slightly smaller than Baer's wolf form. Not by much, not even noticeable to most, but I had seen Baer shift many times through the years. It was hard for me to not notice that subtle difference.

The griffin let out an angry screech at Ayden as he sprang towards its hind legs. The feline limbs quickly caught in his jaws as he fought to knock the bird off its balance. The larger creature reared at the bite, his claws reaching down and finally making contact with the furry back of my mate.

I felt that pain flash through my body. My fresh scream mixed with the angry howl of my wolf as she tried to force a shift.

Ayden let out a chilling howl at the feel of the claws down his back, his body falling over as he was forced to release his hold on the Griffin.

I ran towards him without a second thought. It was pure luck that the griffin decided to abandon its pursuit of me, letting out another angry screech and vanished into the blinding sunlight.

My body fell to its knees beside Ayden as I reached him. Gingerly, my fingers ran over his shredded back as tears flooded my gaze.

"No, no, no," I heard myself cry out.

Rory and Baer ran to our side. The alpha king's body partially transformed into a wolf as he collapsed to his knees next to us.

"It's okay," Rory assured me with a gentle voice. "He's going to be okay. But you have to let Baer take him."

I blinked back at her with confusion. I couldn't understand what she was saying. How was I preventing him from taking my mate? Why was she telling me that I had to let Baer take him?

Her hand gently touched mine, my gaze trailing down to see what she was trying to peel free from my grip. Tufts of brown fur tangled in my fingers, my body arched over him protectively.

I hadn't realized I'd done it. Hadn't realized that instinct to protect what was mine had taken over. The thought hadn't even come to my mind until that moment.

Slowly, I eased off of Ayden, his body slowly shifting back to human form as I released him from my grip. His back appeared worse than before, when it was concealed beneath the fur. The sight of it sent a sob up my throat as I stared.

Our wounds healed faster during the shifts. One way or the other, a shift always helped to rebuild the tissue of an injury. But his back still looked terrible. The sight causing me to question just how badly he had been before the shift when the fur had hidden the worst of the wound.

"Come on," Rory said, her voice still soft and gentle, as if she were talking to a young child. "Let's get out of the open. Just in case that griffin comes back again."

I felt my head bob up and down in a nod as she cradled my arm. We followed her mate as he carried mine, my heart stuttering at the sight of the limp hand that dangled over Baer's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Sash," Rory whispered to me. "He's going to be okay. It would take a lot more than that to kill him."

Her words did little to ease my worries as we followed behind Baer as he moved towards one of the empty buildings away from the town square.

"Did the griffin hurt you anywhere?" Rory asked, as we reached the threshold of the building.

I shook my head slowly, my gaze following Baer with my mate as he gently sat him on a bed in the nearest room.

"Good," she continued. "Then we can focus on Ayden. His wolf should be healing him, but that creature did a real number on him. It will take a while even with magical interventions."

I shuddered at the words, slowly following her into the room to look after my mate.

"It wanted to kill me," I choked out. "It didn't even have any interest in Ayden at all."

Rory paused her movement and looked back at me with concern. She spun around and enveloped me in a tight embrace, holding me close.

"He did what any mate would have done," she said softly. "The griffin is known to protect items in legends, right? You could have been close to something he was guarding that we were unaware of. It could have been any of us."

I tried to believe that. I knew she could tell what I was thinking. It had been what I'd been struggling with this entire mission.

Griffins didn't only protect special items in legends. They also fought away evil.

Between the two, I could feel the likelihood of the creature's aim for pushing back darkness much higher than the thought that he was guarding some hidden object close to me.

"Come on," she urged again. "He's going to want to see you when he comes to. His wolf will want to make sure that you are safe."

I nodded, forcing myself to move forward. As much as I was struggling with my own inner turmoil, I knew my cousin was right.

My mate needed me. He had thrown himself in harm's way and gotten hurt for my sake. The very least I could do was be there when he opened his eyes.

As we walked through the door, I scowled at the sight of the wound on Ayden's back. I could see some signs of fresh healing, but the gash was still deep.

"He'll probably be asleep for a few hours still," Baer said. "This wound isn't like anything I've ever seen. I'm not sure why it's taking so long to heal with his wolf, but I think it's safe to say we'll be here for a few days."

I nodded and took a seat near the bed. I brushed his hand gently with my thumb and stared down at his closed eyes.

"I'll stay here until he does."