Rowan
With my head tilted back against the worn leather seats of my truck, I let a drawn-out, suffering groan escape my chest. If I hadn’t been so damn exhausted, I would have continued through the sleepy small towns that littered the road to my destination—I didn’t have long to go. But my vision had started to blur a few miles back. Once my eyelids started to droop, and I drifted a little too close to the center line, I knew I had to stop.
I veered off the road, pulling into the first rest stop I could find. It wasn’t exactly clean or well lit, but it would have to do. I had been driving for days, and while I was a seasoned traveler, all I wanted was a hot shower and some sleep in a real bed, rather than in my battered SUV.
Once parked, I triple checked the doors were locked before pulling out my phone, finding an old friend’s number, and pressing call.
“Ro!” Griffin’s deep voice shouted my name happily, answering on the first ring.
“Hey, idiot.” Ismiled softly. “I’m about two hours out. I had to stop and get some sleep, though, or I would be wrapping this car around a tree. I’m going to sleep in here and come in the morning, okay? I know you were expecting me tonight.”
“Whereabouts are you?”
Pulling my phone away from my ear, I checked my GPS, struggling because I was so tired. “At a rest stop somewhere called West Point. Do you know where that is?”
“Yeah, it’s not far at all. I could come grab you if you want? Drive you the rest of the way here,” Griffin offered.
I looked around at the desolate truck stop. My otherwise roomy SUV was starting to feel rather cramped after several days of sleeping in it. The cargo area and back seat were packed with supplies and my meager possessions, so the passenger seat had been my bed.
“Are you sure? I just parked. I only need a few hours’ sleep, and I can be back on the road.”
Griffin laughed; a sound so familiar it relaxed the nagging tension in my drained muscles. “I’m already on my way. I’ll be there in under an hour. It’ll be good to see you; plus, you’re needed here as soon as possible. So don’t worry about it. You’re already in our territory, I can keep myself hidden.”
I straightened in my seat. “Is Rory getting worse?”
“Not better. Not worse. But the sooner you get here, the better.” Griffin’s voice was pinched with stress.
Nodding to myself, I sighed. “I guess I’ll see you soon, then.”
When I flipped down the visor and looked in the small mirror, I took stock of my appearance. I was looking a little grimy, but four days on the road did that to a girl. My dirty-blonde hair was thrown into a messy bun, and the jeans and oversized T-shirt I was wearing were in need of a wash as well. Still, at Griffin’s place, I could shower and eat something that didn’t come from a roadside diner or gas station.
After clicking the radio off, I checked the lock once more before reclining my seat and closing my eyes. If I were lucky, I could geta few minutes of shut-eye before Griff turned up. Sleeping in weird positions was a skill I’d honed to perfection over the years. I wasn’t afraid of thieves—human ones, anyway. My handgun lived under my seat, a great deterrent against pesky humans.
My eyes had only closed for what felt like a few minutes before loud knocking on my window jerked me awake. Standing at my window, beaming from ear to ear, was a very naked Griffin. He stood there, completely unabashed, his junk flapping in the breeze.
Smiling as I rolled my eyes, I reached back and grabbed the men’s T-shirt and sweatpants I kept on hand for situations like this. Griffin yanked the door open as soon as I disengaged the locks, pulling me into a big hug, not giving a damn about his utter lack of clothing.
“Rowan! It’s so good to see you!” He shoved his face into my hair before pulling back, his face scrunched up. “You stink.”
“Gee, thanks. I’ve only been on the road for almost a week to come and help you! And you’re talking crap about how I smell.” I laughed, gently punching him in the chest.
Griffin was one of my oldest friends. He had been in my life for almost as long as I could remember… but that wasn’t much, considering I only had six years of memories. Towering over me at six feet tall, with a mop of curly brown hair and matching eyes, he was like a German shepherd puppy, with ears and feet he still needed to grow into. It was hard to believe he’d held an official position of power another lifetime ago.
He also happened to be a scaled, shifting monster who could take down any mammal on earth—but that wasn’t important. To me, he was simply Griff.
“Come on, stinky. Let's get you back to the den.” He took the clothes from me with a smile, quickly throwing them on and holding his hands out for my car keys.
“Are we staying at the den? Not your place?”
“Yup. I’ve been living there for the last two years, ever since Iwas made an enforcer.” He smiled, sliding into the driver’s side as I clambered into the passenger seat.
“Enforcer?! That’s awesome!” I bumped my fist into his shoulder, grinning at him. “It’s about time you got recognized.”
He grinned back. “I love it. I get to really help the horde. We’ve had a peaceful time. At least, until this…”
His face twisted in pain. Griffin often bore the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I knew that having one of his own sick was killing him inside. Even before, when he was merely a nobody, traveling and still learning how various hordes ran, he cared deeply for the horde he had left back home.
“The kid will be okay. Can you tell me more about him?” As much as I wanted to spend the drive catching up, or maybe sneaking in a snooze, I needed to know what was waiting for me when I arrived in the heart of his horde lands.
