6. Griffin

SIX

"I'll have a hamburger, rare," Griffin said, closing the menu with a snap and handing it to their waitress. He stared down at the table, mouth in a thin line. So far, his wolf didn't sense any danger, but he still felt restless.

The girls and Adeline put in their orders and Griffin sat back, folding his hands together on the table, eyes subtly scanning the room for anything he might have missed the first time around.

Gerri was good at her job, so the likelihood of sending them into direct danger was slim to none. They were probably fine, but he needed to check anyway.

His wolf wouldn't settle, not yet. Not until he knew that his mate and pups were safe in his home. Even if Griffin was trying to ignore that part of himself, the mate bond was already too deeply ingrained to completely tune it out.

"What did you see in the candy shop?" Adeline asked the girls as they waited for their food, breaking the silence.

"I saw a huge gummy bear the size of my head!" Jodi exclaimed, bouncing in her seat.

"There was a huge box of candy in the shape of a heart," Deanne added. Her brown eyes sparkled as she held out her hands a foot apart to describe the size of the box. "There must be a million chocolates inside it. I can't wait to go there."

"We can't buy everything in there," Adeline warned, a smile on her lips. "You'll each be allowed to pick out two things, and they have to be under ten dollars each."

Griffin glanced at the door once more, watching two teen boys walk in, laughing and bumping into each other. He gave a small sniff to the air and caught the scent of unwashed bodies and too much Axe body spray, but nothing that made his wolf senses tingle.

"Here's your food." The waitress came back carrying their plates, dropping Griffin's in front of him. Turning his attention to his charges, he noticed Deanne staring at him as she took a bite out of her burger.

"Why is your face always like that?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Your face is so serious, like you're mad or something. Aren't you having fun with us?"

Griffin gave her a small smile. "I am having fun," he said. "Some wolves just look more serious than others."

Deanne's eyes widened. "You're a wolf shifter?" she asked, glancing at Adeline, who nodded in confirmation.

"Yep." Griffin nodded as well. "I'm a wolf, just like you and your sister."

"That's so cool," Deanne exclaimed, wriggling in her seat to sit up taller. "Can you shift? Do you have super senses? Aunt Gerri said that when we shift, we'll be able to hear our wolves. Does yours talk to you?"

Griffin reached out and patted her hand. "Shh," he whispered. "I'll answer anything you want to know, but not in public. Shifters are supposed to be a secret from humans."

"Yeah, Aunt Gerri said that if humans knew we were shifters, they would be mad," Jodi said in a loud whisper, tapping her hand repeatedly on Deanne's other arm.

"I want to know more too," she added, turning to Griffin. "I only know a little because I'm only five. Mom said I can know more when I'm bigger, but I'm older now than when she said it, so maybe I'm old enough to know more now?"

Griffin's lips twitched into a half-grin as he listened to Jodi ramble.

"Let's finish our lunch and leave Griffin alone," Adeline said to the girls. "There will be plenty of time for questions later. Eat."

The four of them continued to enjoy the meal. Jodi snuck a few of Griffin's fries when he pretended not to look. It was strange how easy it was to be around the three of them, as though he fit right in. The thought was both troubling and comforting.

No sooner had the girls finished the last of their meals than the waitress came over to whisk their dirty plates away. "Room for dessert?" she asked.

"We're going to the candy store next door," Jodi announced.

She chuckled and handed the bill to Griffin. "I guess Dad's paying," she said, winking at Adeline.

Griffin froze, her words setting off his wolf.

See? Even the waitress can tell that's your family, he said.

"Oh, he's not our dad," Deanne corrected the woman. "He's our new friend, but he's cool. Maybe we could get a dad like him. Right, Mom?"

Adeline let out an embarrassed chuckle and reached for the check. "I've got it," she said. Griffin recovered his wits and pulled it out from her grasp.

"Let me," he said. "You take the girls to the candy store while I pay."

Adeline's fingers dropped away from the paper receipt, and she nodded, her green eyes affixed to his for a lingering moment.

"Let's go!" Jodi said, pushing Deanne toward the edge of the booth. "I'm ready to get candy!"

Deanne slid out, and Jodi followed, Adeline breaking her gaze from his to catch up to the girls. "We'll see you soon," she said. Griffin nodded, unable to speak.

Her green eyes were mesmerizing, like the green of the forests where he shifted into his primal form. It reminded him of cool fall nights, slipping into his wolf form and running through the underbrush, the moon hanging low in the sky overhead.

He shook his head and reached for his wallet, forcing himself to forget those mesmerizing irises of hers. He paid the check before ambling next door to meet up with them.

The girls were bounding around the shop, pointing out all the options on display when he walked in. Jodi was moving a little slower than Deanne and was already yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Looks like someone is tired," he said, leaning in to speak to Adeline in a low tone.

"Yep, she's had a long morning. Probably needs a nap soon."

"She can stay with me while you and Deanne take a look around," Griffin offered. Adeline beamed at him.

"Thank you so much. We won't take too long. We'll just hit up a couple of places, then we can take Jodi back for her nap."

Once the girls were done and Adeline had paid for their treats, they headed back out. "Do you mind staying with Griffin for a little while?" Adeline asked her youngest. "I want to take Deanne to get an extra pair of sneakers."

Jodi let out a big yawn and nodded, leaning against Griffin immediately. Deanne and Adeline left, and Griffin picked her up, her head snuggling into the crook of his neck immediately.

"You tired?" he asked, a hand on her back. His heart skipped a beat, charmed at how quickly she trusted him.

"Yeah. I'm sleepy," she said, another yawn punctuating her statement.

"What if we sat on that bench over there together?" Griffin asked, rubbing a hand over her back slowly.

"Yeah," Jodi said, her voice softer. Griffin walked the two of them to the outdoor bench and sat, Jodi, hugging his neck as she drifted off.

The sun was high in the sky, and the day was warm, but there was a light breeze. Griffin figured Jodi would be out until the other two came back, so he settled in, checking his phone for any new information from his contacts. There were no new emails or texts, and no one had gotten back to him about his inquiries into Tobias's whereabouts yet.

Satisfied things were calm for now, he put his phone away and watched people pass by for a while before he spotted Deanne and Adeline heading toward them. Deanne was skipping next to her mom when suddenly, someone ran up and pushed her out of the way. Deanne was shoved to the side before the man grabbed Adeline's purse from her shoulder and yanked it off.

The thief sprinted off as Adeline and Deanne yelled after him. Deanne was in tears.

Griffin immediately sprang into action, rushing forward to thrust Jodi into Adeline's arms. He took off in the opposite direction, heading straight for the purse-snatcher.

His wolf was practically feral at the fact that someone had dared hurt his pup and stolen from his mate. He tore after the thief, using a little extra wolf speed to catch up. Even though his instincts screamed at him to shift and to take down the asshole piece by piece, he couldn't risk it. There were too many people around.

Griffin had to handle this the human way, catching up to the assailant and shoving him hard against the brick wall of one of the shops. The man went flying, knocked off his feet.

He towered over the thief, baring his teeth before speaking in a low growl. "Give me the purse back. Now!"

When the man tried to wiggle away, Griffin reached out and blocked his airway with one arm. "Give it back," he repeated, voice dangerously low.

The purse-snatcher stared up at him, amber eyes wide. "What the hell, man?" he demanded, voice hoarse. "Here, take it! I don't want any trouble."

It was a rich statement, considering. The man held out the bag between long fingers, his entire body shaking. He averted his eyes and pulled his leather jacket tighter around himself. He scrambled backward as he got to his feet and ran away.

Griffin panted, trying to calm himself and keep his wolf from going after the weasel of a man.

No one hurts our mate or our pups, his wolf said. The words echoed in his head.

He shook himself out, realizing that he had left Adeline and the girls all alone, and turned, jogging back to catch up to them. His nerves were raw at the thought of leaving them unattended.

The moment he saw them safe and sound, he felt better.

"Here," he said, holding Adeline's bag out for her to take. "I don't think that jackass will be stealing from anyone anytime soon."

"Thank you," Adeline said, trembling like a leaf. Deanne clung to Adeline's arm, and Jodi was crying, having been woken from her nap quite abruptly.

"Let's go back to the truck," Griffin said. "It's time to head to my place."

Adeline nodded, and Griffin plucked Jodi from her arms and carried her, holding her close. He grabbed Deanne's hand as well, intent on checking her over as soon as they were all safe.

"Thank you," Adeline repeated as they made their way back to his truck. "Seriously. You moved so fast. I can't believe that guy tried to steal my bag."

"Let's just get out of here," Griffin said, one hand holding Jodi to him. The truck was thankfully a short walk away, and from here, it would only be a brief drive to his home.

As they drove off, his body was still coming down from its adrenaline high. He was so close to losing it on the thief back there. He could have killed the man for what he did, which he knew was a complete overreaction to stealing someone's purse.

His protective instincts were in overdrive now. He could hardly keep from checking on the girls in the rearview mirror every five seconds, and his hand itched to reach out and grab Adeline's, to hold onto it to make sure she was still there, still safe.

This was absurd. He couldn't be getting attached like this. Adeline and the girls were just his clients. No matter what his wolf thought, he wasn't prepared to take on a ready-made family like this.

"He just ran up out of nowhere!" Deanne said. She and Jodi were talking about the incident animatedly in the back seat.

"Too bad he didn't grab my purse before I bought all those clothes at the boutique," Adeline joked, trying to diffuse the tension for her daughters.

"I promise not every day will be as exciting as this one," Griffin added.

"Only every other day," Adeline said, glancing at him. They shared a quick look, and Griffin turned his eyes back to the road, forcing himself to focus on driving.

Whatever happened next, it seemed that his wolf wasn't going to be easily contained when it came to Adeline and the girls.

He hoped he could get a tighter rein on it by the time they arrived at his house. He didn't need his wolf looking over his shoulder while he tried to do his job for this family.