Griffin

Two weeks had passed since Wulfric offered me immortality, and I still hadn't made a decision. Wulfric seemed like he was genuinely fine with giving me time. His father, John, however...

Well, John was a pushy man. I didn't know much about him, but I had figured out that much. Wulfric tried telling him we needed more time, and Wulfric might as well not have spoken at all. I listened in on their phone call in increasing agitation while John talked Wulfric in circles.

"I must return home soon, and I want to make sure everything is in place before I go. I fail to see how meeting with your witches to discuss the spell in any way puts pressure on Griffin," John said. He sounded stern, like he was almost out of patience for a wayward child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar one times too many.

"Have you always been so lacking in compassion?" Wulfric asked. I wasn't sure whether he meant it rhetorically or not.

"You came to me for help," John replied. "Would you like to rescind your request? Or will you allow me to help you?"

Wulfric looked about ready to pull out his hair at this point. Their conversation had been going on for all of five minutes, and I never knew such a short amount of time could feel so long. "No, I still want your help."

"Good. So, you'll schedule the meeting?"

Wulfric paused, looking at me with pleading eyes. I shrugged. I had no idea how to argue with a brick wall, and I'm pretty sure a wall would have been easier to sway than Wulfric's father.

When Wulfric didn't answer immediately, John added, "I have a flight booked for tomorrow afternoon. If we can't meet today, I will delay my flight, if that is what you need."

It was interesting, how he made him staying in town longer sound like the helpful thing to do when I knew better. It was actually more of a threat. Wulfric was uncomfortable around his father, and there was an old resentment there I didn't completely understand yet. He didn't want the man hanging around any longer than he had to, at least not right now. I pulled out my phone and opened a new text conversation to type out "Just do it," and held out the screen so Wulfric could see.

He sighed, but did as I said. "Let me see if everyone is available this evening. I will text you a time and address."

"Very good," John said, and I despised the satisfaction he didn't bother masking from his tone. "I'll see you later then."

Wulfric ended the call and looked up at me helplessly. If I hadn't overheard the whole thing, I might have been angry with Wulfric for giving in. Instead, I completely understood.

"Your dad is kind of an asshole," I said.

He stared at the device in his hand and I imagined I could hear him wondering what had just happened. "I apologize. I should have held my ground. I don't want these plans to make you feel pressured."

"They won't," I said, though I wasn't totally sure if that was true. I was a real sucker for peer pressure. Always had been.

"You have only to say the word, and I will call the whole thing off," Wulfric promised. I had been hearing similar platitudes for days now, and I didn't understand why he felt the need to keep pushing them on me. It was a nice sentiment, don't get me wrong, but I already knew how Wulfric felt. He wanted me to be immortal, but he was leaving the choice to me. Great. Got it. The amount of reassurance he gave me that it was my choice had crossed the line from sweet and sincere into something murkier. It was almost like he felt like he had to say it to remind himself, or like he was saying it to ease his own guilt. Guilt over what, I wasn't sure, but that was the vibe I was getting.

"We should get moving. We have a lot of phone calls to make," I said. It wasn't very nice to ignore what Wulfric was telling me, but I had already responded to this so many times, I barely felt bad about it.

Wulfric and I divvied up the work, and between the two of us, we called his brother, Glenna, and my father. Yeah, my dads were aware of the situation, and I had no idea how they felt about it. Probably torn, like I was. When I tried to imagine it from their side, I thought they must like the idea that I wouldn't have to die and they probably appreciated that I could more fully be with my mate this way... but it would make me different from them. Separate. Wasn't I separate enough already, being adopted? Yeah, yeah, they never treated me different from their biological kids and I knew they loved me just as fiercely, but knowing that didn't really stop the niggling doubts.

And I already knew that my parents were worried that the spell might not be completely safe to perform. That was a concern I had, too. Sure, John had been successful once before, but that was literally hundreds of years ago. What if he didn't remember everything? What if it worked differently on me because I was a werewolf? And would it change my species? Would I still be able to transform? Would I be some kind of hybrid? Would I have to drink blood and stay out of sunlight, too?

There were too many questions, and I got a headache trying to even think about them, much less seek out some answers. So it was no wonder if my dads were struggling, too. So far, their only reaction was to make me swear to them that I would let them be a part of it. So, they would come to tonight's meeting, too.

With our meeting set up for this evening, I leered exaggeratedly at my mate and smirked when he noticed. His dark eyes smoldered, and his hands came to wrap around my waist. I loved when he did that. It was a new pleasure, something I had never enjoyed with anyone else. I used to avoid doing anything that might make my sexual encounters feel intimate or personal, as though that might absolve me for failing to wait for my mate. Now, I could indulge in all the touches and looks that were so small, but that added so much to each encounter.

I slid forward on my knees, glad we were starting out on my bed. It was always fun when we needed to move because then, Wulfric would swing me up into his arms and carry me to wherever he had decided he would take me, but right now, I didn't want the delay. That might give me time to remember that I was supposed to be thinking about what I wanted my lifespan to be, when I wanted to think about anything but that.

If I thought about it for too long, I would have to admit to myself that...

That I already knew my answer, and it wasn't going to make my mate happy.

Nope.

Not thinking about that.

Instead, I focused on Wulfric's lips brushing my throat and the tantalizing trace of his teeth on my skin. He had an open invitation to drink from me at this point, which I had given him when I realized how much I loved the suspense of wondering whether he would bite me.

I really, really hoped he did.

But no, I was disappointed as Wulfric lifted my shirt over my head and gently brushed his thumbs over my nipples. Had they always been so sensitive? I wasn't sure, and I was already slipping too deep into lust to try and remember.

I reached for Wulfric's clothes, but he stopped me and gently laid me back against the bed so he could slide my pants and boxers down in one go. His eyes raked over my whole body, and it was obvious he liked what he saw. Too quickly for even my eyes to follow, Wulfric stripped himself and joined me on the bed, hovering over my body and looking it over like it was a feast and he was trying to decide where to start.

I usually prided myself on being an active participant in intimate acts, but just this time, I let myself be selfish. I waited, holding my breath while I wondered what would happen next. When Wulfric moved lower and pressed a kiss to the head of my cock, my eyes fluttered shut in anticipation. So, I had no idea he wasn't going to give me head until his fangs sank into my thigh.

I would have probably jerked myself clean off the bed if Wulfric's hands hadn't held me down like iron bands. The pleasure-pain made my eyes roll up into my head and I whimpered and whined until Wulfric's hand wrapped around my needy cock, sliding up and down with a sticky feeling that I looked down to discover was my own blood smeared all over my member. Wulf's tongue lapped at the sensitive skin of my thigh and I felt the ache lessen, signaling that he'd taken his fangs out and let the wounds heal. I didn't have a chance to catch my breath before he wrapped his lips around me, moaning deeply enough at the taste of blood to send delicious vibrations through my hardened member. I almost shot my load then and there.

It took tightening all my muscles to hold back. I pressed my hands over my eyes until the danger had passed, then propped myself up on my elbows to look down and witness the show Wulfric was putting on for me. His mouth continued to work me over so skillfully and with such attention, I knew I wouldn't last long however hard I tried. Meanwhile, he stroked himself furiously with his right hand, his hips rolling and the purple head of him spurting precum. He was a masterpiece of motion, and when our eyes met, I couldn't take it anymore.

My orgasm felt like it went on forever, and it hit me so hard I lost feeling in my fingertips. My whole body jerked and tingled, and it took all my willpower not to squeeze my eyes shut. I managed, barely, to watch Wulfric as he fell over the edge, as well, shooting his load over my legs and the bedspread.

"That was it," I said hoarsely. "You killed me. There is no possible way anyone could survive that." My fingers were starting to prick with feeling again and my head felt lightheaded and disconnected from my body. I almost didn't feel real until Wulfric laid down on top of me with reassuring weight.

Wulfric chuckled and buried his face against my neck. "I don't believe anyone has ever died by orgasm before."

"Where's my phone? I'm going to look it up," I said, blindly patting the bed around me. I didn't find my phone, and I thought I vaguely remembered leaving it on the kitchen counter. Damn.

Wulfric's hand clasped mine, our fingers entwining comfortably. Everything about him was comfortable, I had come to learn. We laid like that for a while, and I really had no idea how much time passed. I almost might have believed he fell asleep if I didn't know that was impossible for him. We only separated when my stomach started rumbling.

"How rude of me," Wulfric said, sitting up and smirking down at me. His hair was sticking up funny in the front, and it was even more amusing to me because he was usually so fastidious with his appearance. I smoothed it down, earning a soft look of affection.

"What's rude?"

"I fed in front of you without offering you anything," Wulfric replied, licking his lips suggestively.

I blushed at the reminder that I was so turned on by having him drink my blood. "Why don't you make it up to me?" I asked.

Wulfric's eyes heated, and I realized he hadn't been referring to the blood he took from me, but something else entirely. "A tempting offer, but we should get you something to eat."

Phew. Because as much as I loved sucking him off, I really was hungry, and it was already... I checked the analog wall clock someone had left in this place and felt my eyes go wide at the revelation that it was already almost six PM. "Yeah, we've got to get moving for sure."

Thankfully, the kitchen was always bustling and full of delicious food to eat this time of day. The packmates who worked there usually served dinner between four and seven PM. Everyone had gotten used to seeing Wulfric with me, but he wasn't old news yet. He still earned a lot of stares whenever people thought he wasn't looking, and had been gracious enough not to call anyone on it.

The one person who wasn't used to seeing Wulfric around yet was my cousin and best friend, Kitana. We still texted all the time, but I hadn't actually seen her much in the past couple of weeks, and I had no idea why. Whenever I asked, she claimed she was busy and changed the subject. I looked for her now as we entered the dining hall, but she was nowhere to be seen. Again.

Wulfric's hand rubbed small, soothing circles on my lower back and I was grateful for the comfort, and for the lack of comment.

I tried to eat quickly, but it still took too long. Between people coming over to say hi or chat, needing a second serving of roast because one just didn't fill me up, and getting caught up washing extra dishes when I went into the kitchen after I was done, we were running late.

And maybe I had been, just a little bit, stalling.

"Where did the afternoon go?" I complained as we hurried to my car. Wulfric and I could probably actually arrive on time if we ran there, but it was still too early in the day for that. Too much light, too much risk of exposure. Not to mention that Wulfric would get a bad sunburn.

"Should I have woken you?" he asked.

"What? I didn't fall asleep," I argued. Though I wasn't completely confident in that. He had been really cozy, and that orgasm had been especially – forgive me for this – draining.

Wulfric snatched my keys from my hand and gently nudged me toward the passenger door. I gave him a questioning look, and he simply smirked and said, "If you're that unaware of when you're sleeping, we had best leave the driving to me."

"Very funny," I grumbled, but I didn't actually mind. It was kind of nice not to have to do the driving, myself. It gave me the opportunity to micromanage the music we listened to on the way, or as I liked to call it, I got to educate Wulfric on modern music. The guy was seriously stuck decades ago. Think gramophones.

We were the last to arrive at Glenna and Safiya's house, but I didn't even get the chance to apologize when we walked in before Roderick launched himself at Wulfric, hands and eyes glowing with magic. My instincts kicked in and I threw myself in front of my mate, but Wulfric quickly spun me out of the way of Roderick's attack. Good thing, too, because where Roderick fell against the wall, it burned to black and smoked.

"What the hell?" I yelled.

Hands yanked me away from my mate and it took a few seconds to realize that the arms wrapped around me like a straightjacket were my father's and not another threat. Wulfric dodged Roderick's relentless attacks one after the other, and I could barely rip my eyes away from him to take in the scene.

Edmund and Arlo were trapped behind some kind of glowing white force field. John was in another, but his glowed red. Glenna was curled into the couch, softly crying, while Safiya had an arm wrapped around her shoulders while she watched Roderick apparently trying to kill my mate.

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked.

My words were drowned out by Roderick's. "Did you know?" he demanded furiously.

Wulfric dodged a beam of bright, sizzling light. "Did I know what?" he asked, sounding remarkably calm.

Roderick sent another blast of magic, and this one blasted a hole in the edge of Wulfric's sleeve. I desperately tried to get out of Pop's iron hold on me, but it was futile. "Did you know your spell was going to kill us?" Roderick demanded, and I froze.