by Zoe Chant
Lainie slid off his back, keeping one hand on him even once her own feet were safely sinking into the damp sand. The feathers under her palm rippled, and then disappeared, replaced with soft skin. Lainie smoothed her hand over Harrison’s human shoulder, then passed him the pants.
I’m never going to get used to seeing him transform like that, she thought with a pang. But oh, I really want to try. I want the chance. I don’t want to lose all of this, all of him, when I’ve only just found him.
She stepped forward, ready to speak, with Harrison at her side.
Harrison squeezed her hand “No more secrets,” he announced, staring coolly at Mrs. Sweets. “I’ve heard some things these last few days that have shaken my faith in the people of Hideaway Cove. Decisions made about our home that we had no part in making—that we weren’t even told had been made. It can’t continue.”
“You naïve fool!” Mrs. Sweets hissed. “Our rules have kept Hideaway Cove safe for decades. Security is even more important these days, when one phone video could reveal us to the world. And this woman has just threatened to sell off half the town to outsiders!”
“As a last resort,” Lainie cried out. “And that was before I knew about shifters!”
She bit her lip, acutely aware of all the eyes focused on her.
Which idiot said to envision your audience in their undies if you have trouble with public speaking? she thought, gathering her courage. Half these people are completely nude, and it is not helping.
She stepped forward, planting her feet with a confidence she didn’t feel.
“I didn’t come here planning to sell off Lighthouse Hill, but I knew it was an option,” she admitted in front of everyone. “I don’t know how many of you knew my grandmother, but she was very ill in her last years. Payment for her care had to come from somewhere, and the land is the only part of her estate that was worth anything.”
“Then what do you call that?” one of the lavender-rinsed women asked, her mouth pinched into a unpleasant knot. She pointed an accusing finger at the jewels lying in piles at Lainie’s feet.
Lainie stared at her. “I’m getting to that, ma’am,” she said as politely as she could. “You’re right. Selling the land is clearly no longer my only option.”
“So you’re choosing blackmail?” Mrs. Sweets sniffed. “What next—‘Play nice, or I’ll sell to a consortium of big-game hunters?’”
Mrs. Sweets’ eyes were acid with disgust as she accused Lainie. Lainie stared back. Understanding dawned inside her, and with it, a strange sort of peace.
Mrs. Sweets and her friends might never change their mind about her. Regardless of what she said, they would twist it, putting it in the worst light possible.
But that didn’t mean Lainie needed to match her blow for blow. If she played Mrs. Sweets at her own game, the only people that would be hurt were the innocent citizens of Hideaway Cove.
“No,” she said quietly. “No, I’ve made my decision. If those jewels will cover the debts, then that’s what I’ll use them for. If they don’t quite make it—well, I hope your very generous offer still stands. I have no intention of selling off the estate to anyone who would destroy this place. You have Harrison to thank for that.”
She stepped closer to Harrison and wrapped her arm around his waist. He put his arm around her shoulders in return, smiling down at her.
And he wasn’t the only one. All around her, people were smiling and nodding at her. Except for the Sweets.
“Well,” Mrs. Sweets snarled. “That’s all very well, but—”
“That’s not all,” Harrison interrupted her. “Lainie is my mate. I knew it the moment I met her. And it horrifies me, what you’ve done to her. Taken away her family. Left her wondering for all these years why her grandparents abandoned her.” He turned on Mrs. Sweets and her husband, furious. “How many years ago would we have met if you hadn’t done that to her? How many years could we have already been together? And how many other families have you done this to, and kept it a secret from the rest of us?”
In the crowd, someone choked back a gasp. Lainie looked across to see Caro from the restaurant, her face pale.
Harrison followed her gaze, and his eyes widened as he looked at Caro. He looked around, pausing to look into the eyes of every shifter in the crowd.
“A lot of you have been teasing me about running for mayor this year, well, if I was running, this would be my platform. If Hideaway is meant to be a sanctuary for shifter families, we need to accept all members of those families. No one should live here in fear that they’re going to be thrown out of town for falling in love with the wrong person or, God forbid, having a child who can’t shift.
“What’s been done here is shameful. We can keep ourselves safe without tearing apart innocent families, families built on the mate bond, the most powerful force in any shifter’s life.” He took both of Lainie’s hands in his own and looked deep into her eyes. “Lainie isn’t some gold-digging monster. Even after everything that’s been done to her, she doesn’t want to put Hideaway Cove at risk.
“If you all want her to leave, then I’m going with her. But it’s up to you—Caro, Guts, Jools, everyone here. Not just Mrs. Sweets and her friends. Do you want us both to stay?”
“Yes!”
Lainie looked across the sand to see Jools, the gull shifter, standing with her arms crossed defiantly across her chest. “Of course we want you to stay!” the teenager yelled.
Mrs. Sweets hissed. “Bird shifters! You’re all the same—”
“I want you both to stay, too!” another voice cried out from the crowd. “And that’s from a stumpy old land-based predator, Mrs. S!”
“Harrison’s worked through the night more times than I can count to help the people of this town,” a woman called out. “What have you done? Worked through the night to take people’s children away from them?”
More voices joined in. Lainie strained her ears, but she couldn’t hear anyone calling out No, no, make them leave! Even Mrs. Sweets’ backup band were keeping quiet in the face of so much support for Harrison and Lainie.
Lainie looked around in amazement. In exactly none of her wildest dreams had she imagined being welcomed back to Hideaway Cove by a cheering crowd of mostly naked men and women.
Harrison stepped in close to her, cupping her cheek in one hand. “What do you say, Lainie?” he asked, his voice low. “Will you give us a chance? Will you give me a chance?”
There was only one thing left to say. “Yes, Harrison. Yes, of course I will.”
EPILOGUE
LAINIE
Lainie pulled up at the end of the drive. The evening sun lit up the new house like a spotlight, turning its painted walls gold.
Today was the day. After six months of planning, and getting permits, let alone actual construction work, the new Eaves house was complete.
Six months since she’d set foot in Hideaway for the first time in fifteen years. Six months since she’d met Harrison, discovered the secret existence of shifters, and felt the knot of unhappiness that had plagued her for so many years finally start to unravel.
She’d sold the jewels through one of Pol’s contacts, for a price that made all her financial problems disappear. After paying off her grandmother’s debts and setting aside enough for taxes, there had still been enough left for a new project. The house.
Lainie still owned the land her grandparents’ house had stood on, after all, even if the old house was gone. The property she’d inherited made up most of the hill, from the coast up to the lighthouse. With Harrison’s help, she’d selected a new site to build on, a little further down from the lighthouse. After that storm, she didn’t want the new house to be right on the edge of the cliff like her grandparents’ had been.
Bit by bit, the house had transformed from an idea into something real. Lainie kept her job in the city, driving out on weekends to see Harrison and check on the build. And something else had happened. Instead of living at home during the week,
and visiting on weekends, Lainie had started to feel like she was coming home on the weekends. Home to Harrison, and Hideaway Cove.
And this was it. The last weekend.
Lainie knew the guys had been around earlier in the day, helping Harrison with the finishing touches. For some reason, he’d asked her to stay away. Lainie wouldn’t have minded lending a hand, but she had been more than happy to spend the sunny day down in the town.
She’d caught up with Tessa at the ice cream parlor, and they’d bonded over raspberry sorbet and the knowledge that their new friendship was probably giving old Mrs. Sweets an ulcer. After that, she’d gone to the store to pick up things for an easy dinner—plus a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the new house. And after that, the squirrel shifter from the post office had sent her a message to say that her latest shipment of homewares had arrived and was filling up his back room. Everywhere Lainie went, people seemed to go out of their way to make sure she knew she was welcome here now.
By the time Lainie had packed her mail Tetris-style into her trunk, the day was almost over. Now, looking at the house bathed in the golden evening light, a sense of peace washed over her.
She’d watched this building transform from lines on paper, to a skeleton frame surrounded by building materials, to what it was today: a finished house, ready for someone to move in. And each step of the way Harrison had been there, poring over the plans, overseeing deliveries, building the structure with his own two hands. There wasn’t a room in the house that wasn’t his handiwork.
Maybe that was why Lainie was already starting to think of it as a home, not just a house.
Just as she was thinking about that, Harrison appeared around the corner of the house. A smile blossomed on his face, and he waved at her.
“Lainie!”
Lainie got out of the car, dragging the groceries behind her. “Every time I see this place, I can’t believe how amazing it looks,” she said as Harrison strode up to her. “I—”
Before she could say another word, Harrison took her in his arms and kissed her. Lainie let herself melt into his embrace. He smelled of wood-shavings and sweat, and the musky scent she’d come to recognize as his griffin.
He took his time with the kiss, nibbling and nuzzling at her lips until Lainie thought her whole body was going to dissolve from happiness. She sighed as he pulled away.
“What was that you were saying?” he murmured, his hazel eyes hooded and dark.
“I… have completely forgotten,” Lainie admitted happily. She tugged the top button of his work shirt open and pressed her face into the triangle of hair underneath. “Mmm.”
“How about I grab these before our dinner goes flying back down the hill?” Harrison nibbled her ear briefly, slipping the bags of groceries out of her hand.
“Oh, I see. All this romance business is just a cover for you to get some food, is it?” Lainie teased. She grabbed his free hand and started walking up the path to the house. “Why so hush-hush today? Is everything okay with the build?”
“Everything’s perfect.” Harrison looked sideways at her, his eyes gleaming. “It’s almost finished, in fact.”
“Almost?” Lainie pretended to look shocked. “Frankly, Mr. Galway, that’s not good enough. I didn’t sell the family jewels to almost have a house.”
Harrison glanced over his shoulder at the sun. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’d say I’ve got at least three hours before the job is officially behind schedule,” he drawled.
They approached the front door and Harrison grabbed Lainie by the waist, squeezing her. “Notice anything missing?”
Lainie looked. “Let’s see. There’s a hole in the door instead of a handle… I’ll have to dock your wages for that one.” She giggled as Harrison carefully set down the groceries on the step, and produced a door handle from his pocket. “Oh, no. You know I’m not handy, I can’t…”
“All you need to do is screw it in,” Harrison said. “I’ll show you how. And then your house will be one-hundred-percent finished.”
With a massive gouge out of the faceplate where I slip and jam the screwdriver, I bet, Lainie thought. Harrison held the handle out to her, his eyes beseeching.
“Oh, all right. I’ll probably just stuff it up, though.” She relented, only half grudgingly, and took the heavy brass handle off him.
Harrison knelt down, and Lainie crouched beside him. “Here, see—I’ve already put the latch in. All you need to do is attach the handle.” He put his hands over Lainie’s and lifted them, directing her where to hold the handle in place. His hands almost completely engulfed hers. He showed her where to put the screws in, and waited patiently while she laboriously screwed them in.
At last Lainie pushed down on the handle, and heard the latch open with a click.
“It works!” Lainie couldn’t help squealing with glee. For all her experience with architectural planning, she had always had a black thumb when it came to home maintenance. Or whatever you called a black thumb when it applied to window latches and lightbulbs instead of plants.
She pushed the door open. It swung smoothly, of course—perfectly hung by Harrison. The late-afternoon light poured in, illuminating warm polished floors and cream-painted walls.
Behind her, Harrison cleared his throat. Lainie looked around, and then down. He was still kneeling on his knees on the front step, but this time, he was holding something else up to her.
Harrison cleared his throat again. For the first time in months, Lainie saw he looked nervous. “Lainie,” he began, and stopped, choking up. “Lainie. My love. The last six months, since I met you, have been the happiest of my life. Building this house for you has been the best thing I’ve ever done. Will you take this ring, and together we can turn this house into a home?”
Lainie fell to her knees. The box Harrison was holding out to her was black velvet, and there was a glittering ring nestled inside it. A cushion-cut diamond, ridiculously large, was set in warm rose-gold in the middle of the ring, surrounded by smaller yellow stones. Her grandmother’s ring.
“But I sold this,” she breathed. “How did you…?”
The laughter lines at the edges of Harrison’s eyes crinkled. “You sold it to me,” he said. “Well, through one of Pol’s contacts, at least. He’s going to use it as an excuse to turn up late to work for the next ten years, but that’s worth it, if…”
He trailed off expectantly. Lainie reached forward and grabbed, not the ring, but the hand holding it.
“Of course I do,” she said. “I mean, yes. I do. Of course,” she cried, laughing with joy.
Harrison slipped the ring out of the box and onto her finger, where it fit perfectly. The sight of it filled Lainie’s heart. She had lost the chance at a relationship with her grandmother, but this ring was a connection between the generations. A promise that things would be different for her own children, when she had them.
Harrison covered her small hand with his own, and then pulled her into a kiss that made her heart sing.
“My love,” Harrison murmured against her lips. “My Lainie. My mate. My darling, sweetest, most beautiful…”
His kisses began to drift down her neck, and Lainie giggled. “Do we want to take this inside?” she said. “Into the nest?”
She didn’t know what made her call the house a nest¸ but whatever instinct it was, it was a good one. Harrison’s eyes burned into hers, gold flaring around pupils as black as coals.
“There isn’t any furniture in there yet,” he said, his hands slipping under Lainie’s shirt. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the workshop?”
“We can improvise,” Lainie said, waving away his half-hearted argument. “Come on. Let’s make this place our home.”
***
A note from Zoe Chant
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The cover of The Griffin’s Mate was designed by Olivia Grey.
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