A Griffin for Christmas

by Zoe Chant

  Thank you, she thought, before getting down to business.

  “I’m sorry, I’m not Rowan,” she said quickly. “I just have his phone.”

  There was a cold silence on the other end of the line. For a moment, Emilia was worried the call had dropped, but then Hardwicke said, “Who is this?”

  His voice was stone cold, and it sent a chill straight down her spine. Clearly, this Hardwicke was no one to mess with.

  “My name is Emilia Lopez,” she said. “I’m a – a friend of Rowan’s. I found his phone. I’m worried he’s in trouble.”

  Again, Hardwicke was silent for a long moment. “Trouble how? And how do you know Rowan?”

  “I – I don’t know how to explain,” Emilia said. “I met Rowan yesterday. He – well, we bumped into each other.” She could almost sense Hardwicke’s distrust from the other end of the phone line. She realized how shady this must seem; and to be honest, if she’d been a bad guy trying to lure the good guys into a trap, this is exactly what she would have done. Hardwicke was right to be cautious.

  Desperately, Emilia wondered how she might convince him she was for real. There didn’t seem to be any way to do it but to be totally truthful.

  “I’m his mate.”

  There was a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line.

  “His mate?”

  “Yes.” Emilia began speaking quickly, while she had given Hardwicke a moment’s pause. “When Rowan woke up this morning, there was a wolf – a werewolf – outside in my yard. He went out to talk to it, and he hasn’t come back. I’m worried he might be in trouble.”

  Hardwicke was silent again, but at least he seemed to be listening to her now.

  “This wouldn’t be the first time Rowan has charged off on his own,” he said eventually. “I need to know your location. And any ideas you might have about where Rowan has gone.”

  Emilia happily gave Hardwicke her address, and told him about the man tied up in her shed. She said she couldn’t tell him anything useful about where Rowan might have gone, but that the woods were dark and deep, and contained plenty of places to hide.

  “All right,” Hardwicke said at last. “I’m sending some agents your way. The most important thing you can do right now is to stay put, and stay safe.”

  Without another word, he ended the call. Emilia was left staring down at the cell phone, feeling tension churn in her stomach.

  Hardwicke had told her to stay in the house, just like Rowan had.

  But what if there’s another werewolf out there? What if he comes looking for his friend? I can’t just keep hitting them with the skillet.

  And besides that, she knew she couldn’t just sit here doing nothing. Not when there was a chance that Rowan needed her.

  “Come on, Max,” she said, going to the door and shoving her feet into her boots. Lacing them, she glanced over her shoulder at the other dogs. “And you guys all stay here, all right? We’ll be back soon, I promise.”

  Standing, gripping the iron skillet in her hand, Emilia opened the door and marched out into the snow, Max on her heels.

  I’m coming, Rowan, she thought, as she headed toward the woods. She felt ridiculous thinking it – Rowan was a huge guy, and obviously ten times stronger than she was – but all the same, if he needed her help, she would be there for him.

  No matter what.

  Chapter Nine

  Rowan

  “Well, well, well. Rowan Stanton. Long time no see.”

  In the low light, Merritt Watts’s eyes glittered dangerously.

  Rowan didn’t bother with a response. Watts looked just the same as he remembered him: a huge, heavy-set man, but with a speed of movement that belied his massive size. His thick brown hair was beginning to gray, but he looked just as strong as ever. And most of all, his eyes still glowed with the same vicious light that Rowan recalled from when he’d arrested him all those years ago.

  Back then, Watts had sworn he’d have his revenge. Rowan wondered if now, he was about to make good on his word.

  Rowan tensed.

  Not without a fight, though.

  Besides which, Watts had to know that killing an agent of the Shifter Patrol wouldn’t be taken lightly. If word got back that he’d been killed or even harmed, Hardwicke and every other agent under his command would descend on Watts and his gang like a ton of bricks.

  There weren’t many agents, and while they worked alone, they always had each other’s backs. Hardwicke, for all the times he’d climbed up Rowan’s ass, had a good reason for doing so.

  Rowan never thought he’d be thankful for the way Hardwicke enforced check-in times with an iron fist. But now...

  “Nothing to say, then?” Watts smirked at him. The rest of his gang were standing behind Rowan, blocking the exit to the mountainside cave they were using as their hideout. Rowan had counted them as he came in – besides the three wolves, the boar and the lynx he’d arrived with, there was another man here, though Rowan wouldn’t know what he shifted into until he actually did it.

  Not good odds for a standing fight. But he might be able to break through them, and fly away.

  Not until you’ve taken Watts down! his griffin said, snapping its beak. It’s our duty! Besides which, he represents a threat to our mate. He must be dealt with.

  Rowan managed to prevent himself from grimacing. Sure, he’d take out Watts if he could. But right now, the odds weren’t exactly in his favor.

  The griffin puffed its feathers, fury racing through it.

  Look, I’m not going to go out there and do something stupid for the sake of your pride. If sitting back and waiting for Hardwicke is the option most likely to get us out of here alive, then that’s what I’ll do, he told it. True, it grated on him too that he might have to look for an escape rather than make the arrest, but right now, he had other things to worry about.

  Like Emilia.

  For the first time in his life, he had a reason to be cautious when dealing with criminals. He wanted more than anything to return safely to his mate. He couldn’t stand the thought of not returning to her, after they had only just found each other and sealed their bond.

  I will come back to you, he promised her in his mind. He thought of the way her black hair ringleted around her face when it got damp, and the way her cheeks turned red when she blushed. There was no two ways about it: he had to see her again.

  And if that meant running away when his griffin wanted to stand and fight, then so be it. He’d be back for Watts, and the rest of his gang.

  Now, he simply stared at Watts, not trusting himself to speak.

  “I’m hurt,” Watts said, sneering a little. “We haven’t seen each other in years, and you can’t even ask me how I’m doing? But then I suppose you know – I’ve been in fucking prison.”

  Rowan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Watts never changed. He seemed to think that his imprisonment was something that was entirely unjust, instead of the well-deserved result of his life of crime.

  “I honestly can’t think of a better place for you,” Rowan said, at last unable to hold his tongue any longer. “Pity you’re not still there.”

  An expression of pure fury crossed Watts’s face, and he raised his huge fists as if he was about to hit Rowan – but then, he smirked, backing off.

  “I forgot how funny you are,” he said, voice low and menacing, despite his smirk. “But we’ll see how long your sense of humor lasts.” Watts looked past Rowan’s shoulder, beckoning to one of his men. “Tie his arms.”

  Rowan bristled as he heard the clank of a metal chain, and sensed men closing in behind him.

  Fight!! his griffin bellowed. If you allow yourself to be caught here, how will you take down Watts? How will you protect our mate??

  “Now, don’t struggle,” Watts said, voice oily. “I already got the lowdown on that hot piece of ass you’ve been wandering around town with. It’d be terrible if we had to involve her in this, wouldn’t it?”

  Immediately, Rowan
knew he had to back down. No matter what, he couldn’t risk Emilia being dragged into this – not that he trusted Merritt Watts, but for now, he didn’t have much choice. The best thing he could do for the moment was try to play along, and hope that Emilia had figured out something was wrong and headed into the relative safety of the town. Hopefully, not even Watts would be brazen enough to attempt to hurt or kidnap her in front of other humans.

  “That’s it, nice and easy.” Eliot Curtis’s rough voice sounded in Rowan’s ear as Watts’s men grabbed his arms, chaining them behind him. They were thick chains – he didn’t think he could break them even with his superhuman shifter strength.

  Perhaps they’d had this planned all along, Rowan thought, anger suddenly knifing through him. Maybe Watts had deliberately left a trail of clues that would lead Shifter Patrol out to Fairhill, knowing that Hardwicke would most likely send Rowan, the agent who had taken him down last time, to recapture him.

  He might even have gone so far as to set up a false trail in North Carolina, knowing it’d sow confusion and take Rowan off his guard.

  Which is exactly what it did, Rowan thought, infuriated with himself. And thanks to his distraction, he’d put Emilia, his mate, in danger.

  He had underestimated Watts. The man might be evil and ruthless, but one thing he wasn’t was stupid.

  I have to try to figure out what his plans are.

  “So,” he said, when Curtis and the others had finished chaining him. “You do know Hardwicke won’t realize I’m missing for at least another few hours.”

  Watts let out a low, sharp bark of laughter. “I don’t care when he finds out, as long as he does. We have some plans for you.”

  Rowan felt his fury growing, but he kept it in check. If Watts had a plan, he was better off knowing what it was. “Plans? I wasn’t aware you were capable of thinking more than five seconds ahead,” Rowan said, deliberately goading him.

  Watts’s eyes glimmered. “You say that, but which one of us is the prisoner here?” He laughed coldly. “No, you walked right into my trap. So don’t pretend to be so superior.”

  Rowan bristled, but Watts was right – he’d known just how to get under Rowan’s skin. Watts had known all he had to do was threaten Emilia, and Rowan would do anything he said.

  “All right then, now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do with me?” There was no point in being coy. Watts would either tell him or not.

  Watts smiled. “Since you’ve played so nicely, I may as well tell you. You Shifter Patrol assholes have put a lot of good men away over the years. Some of them were friends of mine – good friends. I want to get them out. That’s where you come in.”

  Rowan shook his head. Maybe Watts really was stupid after all.

  “You know Hardwicke won’t do prisoner trades, Watts. If that’s what you’re hoping for, you’re going to be disappointed. There’s no way he’ll trade me for even the lowest member of your gang. It’s Shifter Patrol policy. Hardwicke couldn’t do it even if he wanted to.”

  Watts snarled, his fists balling. “We’ll see about that,” he said viciously, suddenly furiously angry. “We’ll see what Hardwicke can do when he starts getting bits and pieces of one of his precious agents in the mail.”

  Rowan didn’t think it was the right time to tell Watts that no one loved agency rules better than Hardwicke did – he might feel the loss of Rowan deeply, but there was no one on earth he’d bend the rules for. The best Watts could hope for if he did any of the things he was threatening was that he’d be on the run from Shifter Patrol for the rest of his life.

  “You know things won’t end the way you want them to, Watts,” Rowan said, looking the huge man in the eye. “I think you know that. You just want revenge, however you can get it.”

  Watts raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps, and I don’t think anyone could blame me if I did. But for now, I’ll take my chances.” He jerked his head, calling Curtis over to him. “Get the phone.”

  Shaking his head, Rowan almost laughed. “Are you going to call Hardwicke?

  He won’t like that. And anyway, I have it on good authority that the signal out here is terrible.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Watts snarled, before grabbing the cell phone out of Curtis’s hand.

  He held it up to his ear, obviously waiting for the call to be connected. While Watts seemed mildly distracted, Rowan took the chance to test the strength of the chains that held him. If he could get them off, he might have a chance to take the men by surprise, and at least take a couple of them down before they realized what was happening...

  “What the hell is this?” Watts yelled suddenly, hurling the phone back at Curtis, who caught it clumsily. “It says the call can’t go through!”

  “We’re a way out, boss,” Curtis said, shaking his head. “This is the middle of nowhere.”

  Watts growled, his expression furious. “Try it again! Make the call go through.”

  Curtis, either because he knew it’d be pointless or out of a sense of self-preservation, didn’t argue with Watts. He merely made the call again, holding the phone up to his ear. Watts turned away, muttering angrily under his breath.

  Rowan tested the chains again, but even against his strength, they wouldn’t budge. Clearly, Watts had known that ordinary bonds wouldn’t cut it. Rowan knew he could shift, but even if he did, he’d still be tangled in the chains for precious seconds while the gang realized what he’d done. They’d all have time to shift, and Rowan wasn’t certain he could take them all. The wolves might not be a problem, but Curtis’s lynx, Watts’s bear and the massive boar he’d met earlier could definitely give him trouble unless he could get airborne.

  Which, in a cave, was going to be a problem.

  “Fucking useless,” Watts swore, snatching the cell phone back from Curtis. Rowan guessed that the henchman hadn’t magically been able to make the call to Hardwicke connect.

  Watts turned to him, eyes practically glowing with rage. For a moment, Rowan felt certain that he was about to shift into his bear form – his shoulders hunched, and in the low light of the cave, he seemed to grow even bigger.

  But in the end, he merely growled, before hurling the phone down to the ground.

  “Fuck this. I’m just gonna kill this piece of shit,” Watts said, pointing at Rowan.

  Rowan tensed, readying himself to shift.

  This is what I get for opening my big mouth, he thought, as Watts’s men crowded around – but in the end, it was Eliot Curtis who put a stop to things.

  “Boss. Not like this. Remember the plan.”

  Watts growled, the deep rumble of the bear in his voice. Then, he shook himself, apparently coming back down to earth.

  “Fine,” he snapped, leaning down to pick up the phone. He shook his head as he shoved it back into his pocket. “Clearly this is getting us fucking nowhere. We’ll have to head into town and see if we can get the call to go through there.”

  Despite the direness of the situation, Rowan couldn’t help but suppress a laugh at the idea of Watts and his men rolling up to Anthony and Jonathan’s Snack House and asking to use their phone.

  “Curtis. You stay here and keep an eye on this prick,” Watts said, jerking his head in Rowan’s direction. “Jar, Floyd, Ken – you’re with me. The rest of you are on guard duty. Don’t fuck up. I want this asshole exactly where I left him when I come back.”

  “And if you can’t get the phone working in town?” Curtis asked, as the men trooped out of the cave.

  Watts’s expression was half-smile, half-snarl. “Then we raise holy hell until every Shifter Patrol agent in five hundred miles knows where we are.”

  With one last threatening glare in Rowan’s direction, Watts turned and stalked from the cave, his men in tow. The boar – Ken, it seemed – was with him. Between him and Watts, it meant that two of Rowan’s most dangerous opponents were out of the picture.

  For now.

  Rowan tensed, keeping a careful eye on Watts’s back until he was out
of sight. At the very least, this had bought him some time – not much, but he had a better chance of taking on Curtis’s lynx and the two remaining wolves than he did a bear and a boar.

  Anything that gave him even a slight advantage was good.

  Unfortunately, he now had an additional concern: Watts’s warning of raising hell if things didn’t go his way.

  It might have been a simple empty threat, but Rowan didn’t think he could take that chance.

  I have to get out of here.

  His attention was drawn back to Curtis as the man exhaled, shaking his head. Rowan thought for a moment that he caught a glimpse of frustration in his eyes, before Curtis glared at him.

  “You’d be better off keeping your smart mouth shut,” he warned, lip curling into a snarl. “You won’t like Watts when he gets riled.”

  In fact, Curtis didn’t look like he was too fond of Watts when he got riled, but Rowan decided he was better off keeping that thought to himself. For now, he had to figure out just how he was going to get out of here.

  “You two – get out the front. Last thing we need is someone sneaking up. Who knows if this guy has any friends out there,” Curtis yelled, pointing the remaining men to the mouth of the cave. “You keep your eyes peeled and your ears up. If someone comes, I want to know about it yesterday. Is that clear?”

  The wolves nodded, mumbling their assent before heading out into the lightly falling snow. Even so, Rowan could see the looks they shot each other.

  This was hardly a harmonious gang, Rowan realized. Perhaps in the years Watts had been away, the hierarchy had re-arranged itself, and now that he was back, resentment was brewing.

  He wasn’t sure if it was something he could use, but anything that meant they might hesitate even a second in following Watts’s orders was something that would benefit him. Shifter gangs tended to enforce the rules strictly, and any failure to obey was harshly punished.

  Again, Rowan tested the strength of the chains, and again he found them impossible to break.

  “I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Curtis said, a low note of warning in his voice. “You want to make this as easy as possible on yourself. And on that hot girlfriend of yours.”