4. Griffin

FOUR

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He could hear the sound of his own heart beating furiously in his chest, so loud that all other sounds seemed to vanish. The world narrowed to a point. It was as if he were on a pier, staring out at the stormy sea before him but deaf to the waves crashing around him.

Could he keep her safe?

Of course, he could. There was no question.

"Can you do it?" Adeline repeated, breaking through the silence.

Griffin stared for a moment, not trusting himself to speak. The wolf inside him was howling at him to protect her, to keep this fragile human woman safe from harm. The moment their eyes locked, his wolf knew the intrinsic truth … this was his true mate.

You know this is our mate. We need to do everything and anything we can to keep our mate safe. Adeline needs to know she can trust us.

He cleared his throat. "I can keep you and your girls safe, yes."

"Great."

"With a few caveats," he added.

Adeline's head tilted, and she pursed her lips. "What caveats?"

"I just want to make sure you've put security measures in place. What have you done to keep Tobias off your tail?" Griffin raised one brow.

There was no way she knew that the two of them were fated mates. Humans didn't have the same senses; shifters did. They were ignorant of how biology inexplicably and irrevocably intertwined two souls that were meant to be.

Griffin had no intention of revealing the truth to this woman, this literal stranger. No matter how much his wolf insisted they were mates, he refused to give in just yet.

"I left all our devices at home. We brought nothing but the clothes on our backs and suitcases with clothes and toiletries. I deactivated my old phone and saved the old messages, but it can no longer be used or traced. I have a burner phone, paid for in cash, and the girls have new tablets, also paid for in cash."

Just as Griffin opened his mouth, Adeline cut him off. "And the tablets don't have Wi-Fi or cellular," she added. "I don't have anything that can link me or them to the outside world."

Griffin's wolf was practically preening. Our mate is a genius. She's smart and resourceful and a great mother to the pups. She's clearly meant for us as we're the strongest wolf in our pack, and we deserve the best mate.

Griffin didn't exactly agree with his wolf's sentiments.

It doesn't matter, he told his wolf sternly. I'm not interested in having a fated mate.Besides, even if I wanted to be with someone like her, it's way too soon to tell her about the fated mate shit. We just met, he added.

Adeline continued to explain how she hid her computer's hard drive under the floorboards of her house before they left. "If they go to my house, I don't want them to find anything on my computer to trace me."

Her scent was tantalizing on his tongue, sweet like rain and soft like a field of wildflowers with sharp notes like cinnamon. It was mesmerizing, and it was taking all his effort to pay attention to her words.

"I didn't tell the girls anything about the danger we're all in," Adeline added, making Griffin realize he was subtly inching closer to get a better whiff. He pulled back and dropped his hands onto his lap.

"I told them we're going on a little vacation. School is out for the summer, so this is the perfect cover to keep them from freaking out. I took a leave of absence from work. Everything is set up so we can disappear for a while until the danger blows over."

Griffin didn't know if the danger would blow over so easily. Knowing Tobias Bower, it was going to take all of his training and experience to keep that scumbag off their trail and keep his charges safe from danger.

But he was the best person for the job, evident by the fact that Gerri called on him to take on this case. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing, too," he said. "I know men like Tobias. They're going to wait for you to slip up and that's when they make their move. But we're not going to give him the opportunity."

Adeline's shoulders seemed to drop down a few inches at his words. The tension bleeding out of her, however minuscule the amount, was obvious to his wolf.

"Let's get these bags into my truck," he said, grabbing one of the suitcases next to the front door. "The sooner we get out of here, the better. I don't know if you've ever gone on the run before, but it's imperative we keep moving as quickly as possible."

"Right." Adeline nodded. "I'll help you. Where do you want them?"

Griffin led her to his truck parked outside the quaint cottage home acting as a safe house. "Toss them in the back," he said, pointing to the bed covered by a hard shell. "No one will see them there."

Adeline hefted the first suitcase in, pushing it past the tailgate and into the bed. "I can't believe this is happening. It still feels so surreal."

Griffin nodded. "I get it. You've been pushed out of your comfort zone and into this dangerous situation. But I'm here now, and you're going to have to trust that I can protect you."

Adeline blew out a breath as she pushed in the next suitcase he handed to her. "I do trust you. I don't know why, but I … I trust you."

It's because there's some primal part of her that knows deep down she's our mate, his wolf said to him. She may not recognize it, but her subconscious knows.

Even if that were true, it doesn't change anything, Griffin protested. We're not here to find a mate. We're here to do a job. He slammed the tailgate shut once they finished loading the suitcases.

Griffin followed Adeline back to the house, pausing to scan for danger before crossing the threshold.

Inside, the two small girls came tumbling down the stairs and into Adeline's arms. "Mom, we're all clean!" the older one bragged. "Auntie Gerri gave us a bath."

Griffin was suddenly aware of his wolf again, howling at him.

Don't you see? Those are ours. They're our pups! You have to protect them. We have to keep them out of danger. Don't you see your legacy before you? You can't ignore me forever, Griffin, his wolf scolded him.

He blinked, trying hard to ignore the primal, aching instinct inside that pushed him to scoop those girls up and hold them close. He wanted to run off with them to find somewhere safe to keep them hidden.

Deanne blinked as she studied him for a moment. "You're still here?" she asked bluntly.

Griffin grinned. "I am."

"Who are you, anyway?"

"He's a friend of mine," Adeline said quickly. The younger one was trying to smell his wrist and she stepped in to pull the child away. "He's going with us on our trip. He's going to be our tour guide."

"Really?" Jodi asked. Adeline nodded, and Jodi jumped up and down. "Cool! I can't wait to hang out with my new friend." She slipped her hand into Griffin's. "When do we leave?"

"Is he your boyfriend, Mom?" Deanne asked, drawing the word out in a teasing tone.

"No, he's just a friend, sweetie," Adeline told her. "An old friend who we're going to be staying with."

His wolf made an unhappy whine at those words. Not just a friend. My mate. We're mates. And those are our pups. Tell her.

No. I'm not telling her shit. We'll end up scaring her off, Griffin chided. "Let's get on the road. We've got a long drive."

"Where are we going again?" Jodi asked.

"Burlington. Remember?" Gerri said, poking her in the side.

Jodi giggled. "Oh, yeah. I forgot. But I'm excited now." Jodi tugged on Griffin's hand. "Let's go!"

Griffin let the little pup lead him outside to his truck.

Jodi gasped. "It's huge! I've never seen a car that big before."

"Me neither," Deanne said, walking over to inspect it. "There's like a whole other car inside. Look."

Adeline laughed. "It's perfect for the four of us. Plenty of room for you two to stretch out in the back."

"I call dibs on riding behind Griffin," Deanne said, pushing past her sister.

"I want to sit behind Griffin!" Jodi said, a pout on her lips.

They already know we're their sire. They know we can keep them safe.

Griffin clenched his teeth, trying to keep himself in check. The last thing these people needed was for him to complicate their lives.

"You can take turns sitting behind Griffin," Adeline said, helping Jodi into the back seat. "We've got a long drive from here to Vermont. How about at the next rest stop, you two can switch off?"

The two of them continued debating who would sit where, even while Adeline finished getting Jodi situated in her car seat.

"Ready to go?" Griffin asked, checking the rearview mirror to find both girls seated, belted, and tucked in with blankets, plenty of books, and a bag of snacks to keep them both occupied.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Adeline said, slowly exhaling.

Gerri had accompanied them out and was fussing over the girls in the back, making sure they were situated.

"All right, you two, be good for your mom," she told them. Turning to Adeline, she continued. "I know this is a crazy situation, but Griffin is the best out there. He's going to keep you and the girls safe."

"Thanks for looking out for us," Adeline said, kissing her cheek. "I'll call you when we arrive."

"I know you will," Gerri said. "You and the girls are in good hands with Griffin, so I'm not worried at all. Just remember, you're doing the best you can. Don't let those doubts creep in."

"I'll try," Adeline promised, hugging Gerri once again before getting into the truck. Griffin took one last long look around the property, making sure that no one was lurking about before starting the ignition.

They pulled out of the gravel driveway, heading from the back roads to a rural highway bypass.

"I'm taking a longer route, just to be safe," he said quietly to Adeline while the girls were occupied with their tablets.

"Good. Take as long as you need," Adeline whispered back. "I only care about keeping them safe right now."

So did his wolf, but he wouldn't tell Adeline or the girls about that anytime soon.

"What kind of music do you like?" he asked instead, turning on the radio.

"How about some classic rock?"

"Like Led Zeppelin? Van Halen? That type?" he offered.

"Yeah. I love that stuff."

"Me too." He grinned and cranked the dial, trying to find a station nearby that played the old hits.

"Who's your favorite band?" Adeline asked.

"Gotta be Queen, or maybe Styx," Griffin told her.

"Oh, yeah. Renegade is one of my favorite songs," Adeline said, beaming. "I used to sing that one to the girls when they were younger."

"Hang on, I have it on a playlist somewhere," he said, fumbling for his phone. "Check my Spotify."

Their fingers made brief contact as he handed it over, and a spike of electricity raced down his spine.

"Thanks," Adeline said, scrolling through his classic rock playlist. She pulled up the song, and it played through the truck's speakers, momentarily distracting Griffin from all thoughts of fated mates and his inner wolf.

Right now, he wanted to get this family somewhere safe and focus on that. He didn't need any other distractions.