For a moment, he found himself imagining an armful of the fiery feathers, turned into a cloak for his mate. How beautiful Chiara would look—a true Lady of the Light, wearing the blazing amulet and the radiant feathers that would never dim, never lose their fire...
He gritted his teeth, shaking off the sudden vision. With shaking hands, he pulled off his shirt and wrapped the feather in it.
A moment later, he found himself relaxing at last.
What a strange experience that had been. He’d been right when he thought that the firebird was powerful. No wonder she tried to avoid company, if that was the effect her feathers had. Was she used to being hunted for them?
Still, the chimera might want a look at the feather. Whoever she was, she was powerful—and they still didn’t know whether she was an ally or an enemy.
“Dad!” Chiara gasped, wrapping her arms tightly around the man who still looked dazed as he stared at her. “Dad! What are you doing here? We were just getting ready to come and get you!”
“Chiara?” There was awe in his voice. His hand trembled as he reached out to touch Chiara’s mermaid hair.
A heartbeat later, his arms were around her.
He held her so tightly as if he never wanted to let go of her again. Jared, who’d only got to hug his parents for the first time a few days ago, knew exactly how he felt.
“What happened?” Chiara demanded when she finally pulled back, laughing and crying at the same time.
“I don’t know.” Her father looked stunned. His hand trembled slightly as he raised it to his head.
“I... I was trying to follow your trail. I made it to a small town in France—they said you’d planned to hike up into the mountains. So I got ready to follow you there as well. And then—then there was a strange darkness, creeping up on me. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I thought I was going to die. And then something grabbed me. Like a bird made from fire. I remember flying... A terrible nightmare, only it all seemed so real! And now here you are!”
“Oh, Dad.” Chiara wrapped her arms around him again, pressing a kiss to his cheeks. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into all of this.”
“It’s all right. I’m sorry we stopped talking. I never meant to hurt you; I just didn’t know anymore what to do to keep you—”
“It’s okay.” Chiara smiled through her tears, then at last let go of him to step back. “I don’t know how to tell you, Dad... But it was all true. Well, not the aliens and the vampires, but...”
She trailed off, obviously uncertain of how to explain.
Jared stepped forward and gently nudged her arm. “May I?” he said, then nodded towards the sky. “What do you see?”
Squinting into the direction he was pointing, Chiara’s father frowned. “Blue sky... Mountains? That one cloud looks a bit like a dragon...”
Chiara’s face fell. “I forgot! He can’t see mythological shifters...”
“He can’t... Unless we want to be seen by him.” Jared laughed softly. “I apologize in advance, this isn’t how I thought our first meeting would go. But your daughter isn’t crazy. She’s right—about the werewolves, at least. And there are more shifters. Shifters like me.”
With her dad’s eyes still on him, he took a few steps back.
And then he shifted. The power of the light streamed through him, and he spread his wings, showing off for Chiara’s father, who’d suddenly gone very pale.
“That’s Jared, Dad,” Chiara was saying. “He’s my mate. And he’s a griffin shifter.”
“Holy shit,” her dad mumbled, shaking his head. “Either someone found me in those mountains and drugged me, or I’ve just gone completely crazy.”
“Not crazy,” Chiara said tenderly. “It’s a lot to take in. But we’ve got all the time in the world to explain now.”
Jared shifted back, and her father’s eyes widened again.
“How do you do that?” he demanded, then passed his hand over his eyes. “I’m getting a headache from all of this.”
Jared reached out to clasp his shoulder. “How about we get you inside and let you sit down? If she brought you all the way from France, you must be ravenous.”
Her father gave him a wary smile. “I could do with a bite,” he admitted. “And then... Then you can explain again. From the beginnin
g. And maybe this time it’ll all start to make sense.”