“Is it something on the ground?” I ask, and Pidge adjusts our angle so we can scan below us. We’re so high up I doubt anyone would know what to make of us even if they could pick us out. We both stay vigilant, but when a couple more minutes go by and nothing appears around us, we start to relax again.
The sun dips further down, and a chill in the air starts to nip at us as the sunset paints purple, red, and orange streaks across the sky. We start to slowly glide back in the direction of the shop to fly around the cloud-crusted mountain that’s just behind the town.
I get lost in my thoughts again, making plans to try and train more, to tow Teo’s cars if it snows tonight, to order fried rice and wontons for dinner, when a shadow falls over us and there’s a sudden shift in the air above us. I barely have time to think what the fuck before something slams into us. Pigeon screeches and twists to try to get a chunk of whatever the fuck this is, but as we maneuver ourselves around in midair, our gaze settles on honey-colored eyes, and a vicious roar blasts past us.
Zeph?
Elation and confusion war for the forefront of my thoughts. Is he here? But how is he here? Did Pigeon and I get struck by lightning, and this is all just some hallucination while we fall out of the sky, a half-roasted gryphon?
Pigeon shouts a surprised screech back, which is answered by a call behind us. I tear my eyes away from the sky shadow and see a gray and white gryphon charging right for us. Exhilaration streaks through Pigeon, and the next thing I know, she drops into a dive, excitement racing through her.
“Pigeon, what are you doing?” I scream at her, panicking that she’ll lose Ryn and Zeph and we’ll once again never find them.
I’m still not even sure that I’m not just imagining this. Pigeon shrieks a challenge and dives with all her might. I scream at her to stop, beg her to go back, explain that this isn’t the time for games, but she won’t listen. I spot the clearing behind our shop and the two males standing in it, and my heart once again lurches.
Treno.
Wekun’s beside him, looking up at my missile-like advancement with a smile on his face.
He found us.
Pigeon lands with a skid that leaves tracks in the dirt and turns to look up at the sky.
“Pigeon, don’t you fucking dare! You are not going to have gryphon sex before I’m allowed to find out what the hell is going on,” and have my own sex, I tell her, leaving the last part out.
She flashes me the seagulls from Finding Nemo as they squawk “mine” over and over again, and incredulity shoots through me.
“They are my mates too, Pidge, you can’t just do that. I thought we were a team?”
Satisfaction blooms through her, and I feel her recede. I look at her, confused, and she flashes me a GIF of Drake clapping at a basketball game, and the caption reads, “That’s what I’m talking about.” She pulls all the way back inside us, and I immediately take a running leap and wrap Wekun up in a massive hug.
“I fucking knew you would find me. Thank you! Thank you so fucking much.”
I feel Zeph and Ryn land, and I pull out of Wekun’s hold and leap at Treno.
“Are you real?” I ask, still not believing what my eyes can see and my hands can touch. “Are you here, please tell me you’re here.”
Tears stream down my face. And I push out of his hold and reach for Ryn when he steps up next to us. I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze with everything in me.
“I’m so sorry. I got hungry, and I didn’t want to wake you up. Cree was there… I didn’t know she was going to send me back. I didn’t leave you. I would never leave you,” I hurriedly tell them, pushing out of Ryn’s hold and leaping for Zeph.
No one is answering me, or maybe my heart and my mind are racing too fast to hear them if they are. Zeph looks pissed, but he always looks pissed. I jump for him anyway. I know he’ll catch me. That he’ll listen when I explain what happened, and vow to rip Cree’s head off when we get back.
Zeph wraps me up in a hug as fierce as mine and buries his head where my neck meets my shoulder, inhaling deeply.
“I was terrified I’d never see you again,” I confess against his neck, my emotions a complete wreck. I’m smiling and overflowing with joy as tears drip down my cheeks and sobs sit in my chest, waiting for their time.
Zeph pulls back, but he doesn’t say anything; instead, his lips crash to mine and his kiss tells me everything I need to know.
He was scared too.
He missed me.
He’s happy I’m in his arms again.
And now he’s going to fuck me until neither one of us can move.
Finally!
26
I pull back, reluctantly ending my kiss with Zeph, and he growls irritably, not a big fan of the move either. But I’m not about to have the hottest sex ever in the cold backyard, so it had to be done. I push out of his arms, but grab his hand, while turning to reach for Ryn and Treno. I pull them all toward the shop at once.
Wekun chuckles and shakes his head. “Don’t you even want
