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My face heated when I looked at his face. He wore the same expression as earlier when I thought he might kiss me.
“Like what you see?” He asked, his voice deep.
I cleared my throat and clasped my hands in front of me. “Are you always so full of yourself?”
He laughed and it traveled over my skin, raising goosebumps. “You’re going to have to help me. Lock the door from the outside. I usually do it on the inside, but I’d feel better if you had the key.”
Sweat gleamed on his skin despite how cold it was down here. I walked to him and held out my hand for the key. He dropped it in my hand and moved them until he held my face in his hands. They were warm and calloused.
“This isn’t pretty, Princess. If you change your mind, throw the key into the cell and go upstairs. I don’t want you to be scared of me,” he said gently. His breath tickled my face and the smell of pine and fresh air after rain filled my nose. I couldn’t concentrate. I felt slightly dizzy and put my hands on his chest.
His skin was hot, and the angry scars were surprisingly soft under my touch. Griffin looked down at my hands and back to me. Something in his eyes changed, and I felt like crying all over again. Everything disappeared from my mind, and all I could think of was Griffin leaving and the possibility that he wouldn’t come back.
“Don’t go. Stay,” I whispered, my voice not sounding like mine.
He smiled, and my toes curled. “I have to do my part to save the world, Princess.”
“What if they find you? What if you don’t come back?”
Griffin leaned closer. “Then I won’t have to worry about hurting you.” His breath was on my lips. “You make me feel…”
He dropped his forehead to mine, and all I could see were his lips. “Feel what?” I whispered.
His lips parted, an answer on them, but then he groaned, and the muscles beneath my fingers strained. Griffin stroked my cheek with his thumb, his eyes squeezed shut as he leaned back. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead and walked into the cell. The steel door clanged shut behind him. My feet were rooted to the spot, and my heart beat like crazy at what just happened. What did just happen? I could still feel his lips on my skin. His groan pulled me back to reality, and I ran to the door.
“Lock it.” He was kneeling on the ground, his fingers digging into the crumbling concrete. “Now, Emily!”
I jumped at the urgency, slid the deadbolt in place and turned the key, locking Griffin into the cell. I watched through the little opening. Griffin was breathing heavily, dust spreading with every exhale. The change started slowly, the muscles in his shoulders bunched and released. He was on his knees and his fingers kept pressing into the concrete. It started with his nails, they pushed out from the nail beds, and blood mixed with the dust on the floor. They were replaced with claws, long and sharp. Pain pulled at Griffin’s face. He groaned, and I knew he was holding back from screaming for my sake. I clung to the steel window as his spine and limbs started to stretch. I shrank back at the sound of his bones snapping, I could see them break under his skin.
It was horrific! When Cassian had explained it to me, I never pictured this, he’d left out the details for obvious reasons. I wanted to rush in and somehow take the pain away. His skin went taut and started tearing, revealing bloodied fur underneath. I clasped my hand over my mouth. He screamed then, a pain-filled, guttural scream that sounded more like a growl. White fur pushed through his skin, replacing it inch by inch.
“Griffin…” I whispered, tears flowing down my cheeks.
He looked at me, those gray eyes pierced through me. “Emily!” He screamed.
I closed my eyes at the pain in his voice. A second later, his jaw cracked and grew, his teeth replaced by sharp canines. He growled as his last human part gave way and I gasped. On all fours before me stood a werewolf, fur as white and soft looking as snow, flecked with blood. His eyes were locked on me and I took a step back as he stood on his hind legs. Griffin was already tall, but as a werewolf he had to bend slightly to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling. He was terrifying on all fours but on two legs… Oh god… The only thing that held a semblance of familiarity were his eyes—they were the same hypnotizing gray, but now they were cold, devoid of any human feeling.
He growled and never broke the animalistic stare; he was a predator, and I was the prey. I took a few more steps backward, and Griffin stalked toward the door, banged a paw against the door, and scraped his claws slowly down the steel. I had no doubt that if the cell wasn’t there, he would tear me apart. We stared at each other calmly and then Griffin banged, scratched, and ran against the door. The deadbolt ratted in the wall, and the concrete on the ceiling crumbled under his power. He snapped his jaw in my direction, paced the cell and tried to run into the door again and again.
Tears ran down my face, my heart felt like it would beat right out of my chest. I took a few steadying breaths and walked over to his phone. “Please don’t have a password…” The screen lit up and relief washed over me, it opened without needing a code. Ironically, he had a wallpaper of a full moon. Despite what I’d just witnessed, I giggled.
I found the location tracker and switched it on to run in the background. Once that was done, I put his clothes on the floor and pulled the bench close to the door. Making sure to not be within his reach, I settled against the cold steel. Griffin kept up with his assault on the door, and the rhythmic thumping became soothing after a few hours. Knowing I’d fall asleep soon, I slipped the key through the opening while Griffin turned his back. Exhaustion and sadness crashed into me and my eyes grew heavy. My last thought repeated itself over and over as I drifted into darkness; I will kill Samara, I will end this curse. No matter what it costs.
