There's a moment of silence in the room and then the General smirks. “Have you all had your bloods retested? Am I finally going to get my son back?”
I would like to kill this man.
I clench both of my hands into fists underneath the table where no one can see it except Gryphon, who glances down at them and then sends through our mind connection, We can leave if you need to, Bonded. We don't have to sit through this.
I'm surprised when it's North who loses his temper first, and the way that he does is, I'm sure, the worst way that he could possibly think of.
The small band of smoke that circles his wrist grows until August appears at his side in his largest form, the rows of sharp teeth in his jaws bared as he smiles at Gryphon's family.
I don't want anyone to panic or get into an argument about this, so I hold out my hand and beckon the shadow pup until I get his attention. It's not easy, because he would very much like to eat the General, but I get him over to me and sitting in my lap like the perfect shadow puppy that he is, his tongue lolling out of his head as I scratch him behind his ears. His giant head rests on my shoulders as he snuffles at my hair and just enjoys being out with me again.
“I’ve missed you, sweet boy,” I murmur as he butts at my hands for more scratches, and I giggle as I give him everything that he wants. “I have missed you so much. We need to talk to North about letting us hang out more, because you are so perfect and you shouldn't be cooped up so much. You’re so sweet for the kisses. Thank you, my sweet boy.”
“And that is why I don't need my bloods rerun,” North snaps. I startle and look over at him, taking a little bit more notice of what's happening in the room around me while I was distracted by August. I find the General and both of the women staring at me in absolute horror.
“The creatures tore your mother apart,” the General says in a voice that doesn't quite shake, but I'm sure that has more to do with his control than the level of fear that is pumping through him.
North nods. “They did that because she wasn't really my father's Bonded. The Resistance has been messing with the blood tests for a very long time. You don't have to have them rerun if you don't want to, but I have made the suggestion to all of the Top Tier Gifted, just in case. Do with that information what you will.”
I try to catch North's attention as we leave the meeting room, but he stalks ahead of us all as he hurries off to his office, late already for a council meeting that I'm sure he would rather not attend.
I feel a little sad to have still not been able to see him properly since everything happened with Nox, but I also don't want to interfere with the work that he’s doing. He’s got a permanently full plate being a member of the council, the only currently serving member actually doing anything to help the community, from what I can tell. I’m not about to throw myself a pity party over him doing his job.
Even when I really want to.
August stays behind with me, and that is enough for now.
Nox stalks off in a bad mood, thanks to everything that was said, and I leave him to it, knowing that he’s going to go back to his books. He’s still obsessively researching everything he can find about our bonds to try to find a link that might get us closer to knowing what it is that they’re really here for.
The possibilities seem endless and terrifying.
Gabe and Atlas both follow behind me slowly, ready to bundle me into the ATV to go back to the house, but Gryphon waves them on. “I need to speak to my Bonded. We'll head up to the house once we're done.”
It's such a firm and no argument sort of command that neither of them bother to question it, simply pressing kisses to my cheeks as they stalk past, laughing and joking with each other now that we're out of the suffocation of the meeting room.
I shove my hands into the pocket of the jacket that I’d borrowed from Atlas. It’s three sizes too big on me to even be considered a loose fit, but I enjoy being swallowed by the fabric. It smells like him, and nothing makes my bond more happy and content than being surrounded by them, even when they aren't here physically with me.
“Dad and Serena are going to refuse to meet you, but my mom wants to at least have a conversation with you before they leave.”
I nod and try not to feel awkward about the fact that I don't actually know what his mom's name even is, but once again, he proves that you don't necessarily need to be able to read someone's mind to know what they're thinking.
He smirks at me and murmurs quietly, “Her name is Allison, and she definitely falls in line on what the General says, but me and Kyrie are her exception. We always have been.”
I can respect her a lot for that because children should be the exception to everything, and I glance around the room. “Where is Kyrie, or does she not get the same welcome that you do?”
Gryphon groans a little under his breath. “No, she gets it too, and it’s possibly worse than I do. She got it out of the way first thing this morning, before the meeting. Mom has been harassing her about moving over to the East Coast to the Gifted community there. Mom thinks that's the reason her blood tests have come back without any Bonds so far, but Kyrie has always been happily independent. I think she’d prefer to stay single for another decade or so before she's tied to someone.”
I nod at that just a little too enthusiastically, and he gives me a look, his eyebrows creeping up his forehead. “The single life is not for you, Bonded. You are far too good at running into danger head first. I think you wouldn’t survive if you were left to your own devices. Better off with all of your Bonded covering your ass when you get some idea of running off.”
I roll my eyes and glance around quickly, finding us alone in the foyer before I push forward and wrap myself around my Bonded. “You guys all survived pretty well without me. I'm sure I would have been fine. Besides, you can't miss what you don't know. Kyrie is happy being single because she doesn't know what she's missing out on. When she does eventually find her person, or people, she'll wish she had it sooner.”
Gryphon gets a handful of my ass as he hoists me up into his arms, ignoring my squealing and protests as he presses his lips into mine unrepentantly. “What a terrible thing to miss out on,” he murmurs as I pull away from him, and I smile at him like a lovestruck idiot.
“Good thing you don't have to,” I mumble back, and this time, I swoop in to kiss him until the sound of footsteps stops it from going any further.
Thank God, because Gryphon's tongue is a wicked, wicked thing. I'm sure he could have convinced me to do just about anything in that moment. By the time his mom rounds the corner, I’m back on my own two feet with one hand tucked into Gryphon’s tightly, the only connection between us now, and even then I feel like blushing when her eyes drop down to them.
She's holding a large box, and Gryphon's mouth sets into a firm line at the sight of it.
“Thank you for picking them up,” he says, and his mom nods before she sets it down at our feet.
“It was no problem, baby,” she says, smiling at him with such pride in her eyes.
I will not make faces at Gryphon's mother and her fussing over him, though it's difficult not to and incredibly adorable to see.
He lets go of my hand a little reluctantly as he steps forward to give his mom a hug. She's a tall woman, but he still has a good five inches on her, and she almost disappears in the hulk of him.