looked for his clothes.
Allegra already had them in her arms, an ambiguous smile curving her lips. “Very impressive,” she said, her gaze lingering a little too long on the area below his waist. “I’ve never seen one of your kind Change before.”
The wolf was still very close to the surface. Griffin snatched his trousers away before his body could betray him.
“You really don’t like fighting, do you?” she asked quietly.
His fingers fumbled at the buttons. “No.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He ignored her and pulled on his shirt. She placed both hands on his chest before he could fasten the shirt.
“No wounds,” she said.
His breath came faster. “The Change heals them.”
“We heal fast, too. Something you and I actually have in common.”
He pushed her hands aside and buttoned his shirt. “Gemma…”
His sister slunk toward him, her head low. “I’m so sorry, Grif,” she said. “It’s all my fault.”
“I’m glad you recognize that actions have consequences.” He took her face between his hands. “Now you see why we can’t trust the pack. Why we can’t give in to our other side.”
“But you had to do it. Allie’s right. There was nothing wrong with—”
“There is nothing romantic in becoming a beast, Gemma.” He lowered his voice. “You must promise me never to come to Manhattan again.”
“Oh, lay off,” Allegra said. “You can give her the lecture after she’s had a good day’s sleep.”
Griffin let Gemma go and faced Allegra. “Miss Chase, your interference is—” He stopped, clearing his throat. “It seems I owe you another debt of gratitude.”
“I don’t remember doing anything to be grateful for. The least you could have done was let me handle that idiot Ivar.”
“And risk sparking an all-out war between vampires and werewolves? The truce is fragile enough as it is.”
“That’s just an excuse. You really wanted to make sure we helpless females were kept out of harm’s way.”
“If that was my intent,” he said grimly, “I failed.”
“If you’d only teach me how to fight,” Gemma broke in, “I could help you next time. You wouldn’t have to protect me.”
“There won’t be a next time.” Griffin took her firmly by the shoulder, eager to forget what had happened. “Miss Chase, my driver is waiting a few blocks away. The least I can do is take you home…unless you would prefer to return to the club.”
Allie shrugged. “My friends will have cleared out by now.”
“Then we should hurry. It’s nearly dawn.”
Allie glanced at the sky. She had lost track of the time…an easy thing to do when she had no schedules to keep or responsibilities to tie her down. Griffin had provided certain other distractions, as well. He naturally believed that she was as vulnerable to daylight as any other strigoi, and she didn’t see any reason to let him in on the secret. Not yet.
“I’ll take the lift,” she said.
Griffin nodded, firmly gripped Gemma’s hand and set off again. They had gone another couple of blocks when they were accosted once more, this time by a thin young man with earnest features and wavy blond hair.
“Grif!” he said. “Thank God you found her. I’d finished searching the—” He broke off, his gaze settling on Allie. “Allegra?” he said. “Allegra Chase?”
Allie stepped forward. “Mal,” she said. “It’s been a long time.”
Griffin looked from her to Mal and back again. “You know each other?”
“Mal used to frequent some of the same clubs as my friends and I,” Allie said. “Sometimes he and—” She caught herself, remembering that there were some topics it was wiser not to mention. “We saw quite a bit of each other.”
“The good old days,” Mal said with a cheerless smile. “How’ve you been, Allie?”
“Grand, thanks.” She didn’t ask Mal how he was; one look at him told her all she needed to know. “I didn’t realize you knew Mr. Durant.”
“It never occurred to me to mention it. Your world and Griffin’s…they always seemed miles apart.”
That, Allie thought, was an understatement. “Funny how these things happen,” she said. “Mr. Durant and I met by chance a few days ago, and then Gemma showed up at Lulu’s tonight.”
Mal raised a brow. “What was Gemma doing at Lulu’s?”
“Biting off more than she could chew,” Griffin said. “Miss Chase intervened when one of the patrons accosted her.”
“I’m not surprised. Allie likes to pretend she’s a world-weary cynic, but she’s not nearly as hard-boiled as she makes out.”
“You’re going to ruin my reputation,” Allie said, then looked pointedly toward the eastern horizon. “We’d better keep going, don’t you think?” she asked Griffin.
“Of course. You’re welcome to return with us to Oakdene, Mal. Stay for a few days if you like. Gemma’s birthday party is on Saturday—”
“You mean, you’re still going to have the party?” Gemma asked. “Even though…even after what happened tonight?”
“If you give your word not to come to Manhattan alone,” Griffin said, “I’ll consider tonight’s folly to be an isolated lapse of judgment.”
Gemma nodded, but her expression didn’t suggest any particular pleasure at Griffin’s leniency. Allie could imagine what such a party might be like if Griffin had the planning of it.
And no wonder. Griffin’s so afraid of the wolf part of himself that he goes too far in the other direction.
Allie had never heard that werewolves were intrinsically more violent than humans—or vampires, for that matter—but in Griffin’s case, it was as if he would prefer to deny his inhuman nature entirely, as he seemed bent on denying Gemma’s. Being old-fashioned and forcing his sister to associate only with humans lets him convince himself that his “civilized” side is in control. Conservative, safe, hemmed about by rules and traditions.
Still, he’d proven again tonight that he was willing to get rough when the situation demanded it…and Allie couldn’t help but feel that the wolf was much closer to the surface than hewould ever admit.Nowthat she’d seen Griffin in action, she’d begun to grasp what it must feel like to turn into an animal. If it had happened to her, she wouldn’t be afraid. So much power, beauty and strength…
