“Then a griffin rescued you.”
Chiara gasped. “You saw it, too?”
Slowly, Jared shook his head. He reached out again to rest his hands on Chiara’s. “I’m the griffin, Chiara.”
She stared at him for a shocked moment, then laughed nervously. “You’re kidding, right?”
Jared shook his head. “You saw a werewolf once. It was a man who could turn into a wolf. In my world, we call ourselves shifters.”
“In your world...” Chiara breathed. “No. That’s impossible.”
A small smile tugged on Jared’s lips. “Oh, so you’ll believe in wolves and aliens, but griffin shifters have to be crazy fantasy?”
Chiara swallowed, still staring at him from wide, shocked eyes. “No, but—you’re normal,” she said plaintively. “Unfairly hot—but a normal human being. You’re not like Lou with his shadow eyes, or the werewolf who tried to eat me, or the dragon who kidnapped me. You’re not—”
“I’m not evil,” he finished. “That’s right. I’m a griffin shifter, but I’m neither a criminal nor a monster. You’ve only seen the dark side of our world, and I’m really sorry for that. We work very hard to make sure that none of our own harm humans—but it doesn’t always work. Still, there is so much more, Chiara. I wish I could show it to you.”
“I don’t believe you.” She shook her head as she stared at him. “You’re making fun of me. You’re just like the others—you think I’m crazy.”
“Hey,” he said softly, entwining their fingers. “I believe you’re a strong and courageous woman. It takes so much strength to leave your life behind, to fight for something you know is right, even if people laugh at you for it. I would never make fun of you. I know you speak the truth.” He felt a smile tug on his lips. “Well, except for the vampires and aliens. Those are mostly human invention.”
She looked down at their hands. Her skin was warm against his own, and even now, despite her shock, she hadn’t let go of him.
They fit so well together. Everything inside him knew that this was what they were meant to be.
But she had to make that choice on her own. He couldn’t make it for her. He could only pray that she’d give him a chance to show her that there was a lot more to the paranormal world than what she’d been exposed to so far.
“If you’re really a griffin,” she said at last, her voice trembling, “then show me. Turn into a griffin. Right now.”
He laughed. “It’s a bit small in here. I’ll destroy the furniture. Come outside to the patio, and I’ll shift for you.”
“Shift...” she murmured. She shook her head, then gave him a sharp, suspicious nod. “All right. But no tricks.”
“No tricks,” he agreed.
She shook off his hand, getting up on her own. She still seemed a little shaky but had clearly begun to recover.
Which was good. Now all he’d have to do was to fix this and prove that not every shifter was a monster...
“Go on,” she demanded once they’d stepped onto the patio.
Jared looked around, but the little resort was still deserted. And here, behind their cabin, they were out of view from most of the tiny houses anyway.
He took a deep breath, then opened himself up to his griffin.
Energy flowed through him. Little pinpricks of heat exploded all over his skin—and then, a heartbeat later, his griffin triumphantly spread his wings.
The wind ruffled his feathers. The cool, clear mountain air sang to him of lonely mountaintops and glaciers, of ice-cold streams and hidden valleys with brilliant flowers.
He didn’t listen to the wind’s seductive message. All he had eyes for was Chiara—who was currently staring at him with an expression of utter shock.
Chapter Eleven: Chiara
A griffin was standing in front of her.
For a long moment, Chiara struggled to make sense of it.
After everything she’d seen—the werewolf, the shadow-eyed men, the freaking dragon—it shouldn’t have made a difference.