Shea: The Last Hope (7 page)

Lev nodded and slid into the booth. They were so different, Lev had never been attracted to someone so opposite of himself before. The man in front of him screamed hippy, and he was a more black-and-white type of guy. He wondered how this was going to work.

"So, how is your day going?” Griff asked, and Lev felt the shiver of appreciation as his smooth, deep voice ran down his spine. He had a sexy voice; he remembered how his cock had gotten so hard the first time they met and Griff had talked to him. Now he had it under control a little more but not much. His voice affected him like no other; he found it a little disconcerting.

"Great,” he said feeling a little self-conscious now that they were face to face again. “Oh, thanks for all the gifts, I keep them on my desk at work where I can see them."

Griff blushed and nodded. He gave him small pewter figurines; Lev had been touched with each of the notes that he sent with them.

"No problem, I figured since you were new in town and all, that it would be nice to see the different shifters in the area," Griff said.

He gave him a wolf, a tiger, a cougar, and an eagle. But the first one is the one that he loved the most. It was a Gryphon. Lev figured it was because of his name, it was by far the best out of them all.

"Tell me about yourself," Lev said and raised his hand to the waitress and indicated he would have a glass of whatever Griff was drinking.

"Well, I’m from Ireland," Griff said and let his accent play heavily in his voice. Lev chuckled because it sounded a little strange coming from the man. He had a little Irish lilt to his voice to begin with, and mixed with the Texan drawl, made his voice very unique. "I moved to Texas when I was young, my parents had heard about a Pride that accepted all kinds of shifters and moved to join them. I’m a little different than most."

Lev narrowed his eyes. Should he tell the man that he had a problem with shifters when he was growing up? It didn’t matter now; he was attracted to the man, but he was leery about becoming involved with a shifter. Deciding to wait until Griff told him his past and got a gauge on what the man was like, Lev nodded.

Griff looked at him curiously and said, "Is that a problem?" Griff was perceptive enough to notice the air in the booth changed when he mentioned shifters.

Lev paused and looked at Griff in the eyes. "I’ll tell you that I didn’t have the best upbringing with shifters. It will take a while to explain that, needless to say, I haven’t been treated the best by the shifters in this town. Kids can be cruel with their teasing, etc., and it wasn’t easy being one of the few non-shifters in town. You think I’m new here when actually; I’ve lived in this town all my life. Because of the shit I went through from grammar school, up until I graduated High School, I didn’t really want to stick around. However, this is my pack just as much as it is the shifters, so I still called Milliken my home. Until recently though, I’ve just used my place to crash and spent my waking hours elsewhere. I guess you could say I went lone wolf for a while."

Griff grimaced and then said, "And I sent you figurines of them."

"No, those were great, I didn't mean that. Listen, it was a long time ago, and I’ve tried to put it behind me. That’s why I accepted the post as Sheriff, my dad left my mom before I was born, and so she came here to live with her folks, when I was about two, she married this great guy Gregori, he’s a wolf shifter. They travel a lot so I live in the apartment over the garage and keep an eye on the house when they're away. Anyway, I was raised in the pack and there was a group of shifter children who seemed to think it was funny to pick on the human.”

Griff's eyes turned hard and he said, “Who was it?"

Lev laughed and smiled. "I don't think they all still live here; I saw one today. That isn’t the point. I have struggled for years about coming home, or maybe I should say making my presence known. It’s just that it’s time, and the request from my Alpha to take over as Sheriff showed that I’m valued. My parents usually head back to Alaska this time of year but for now they’ve decided to stick around, it’s nice spending time with them again."

"I would never say anything that implied a shifter is better than a full human, because it’s flat out not true.” Griff said and made a strange noise. If he had to explain it later, he’d be unable to. "I had similar problems when I was growing up but not for being a non-shifter, for being different. So I would never judge you."

"It's cool I’m over it or mostly. Let’s change the subject to something more pleasant, back to you. You moved to Texas?” Lev said and thanked the waitress who brought him an iced tea.

"Yeah, well, I had this desire for sparkly things. I loved making jewelry, so I went to school, and now that’s what I do. I work with different metals and made the figures I gave you myself out of molds I made for pendants and necklaces. I’m doing real well now that our Pride moved up here with me. My parents are building a home by the one I built. It’s just east of town." Griff smiled. He relaxed once again now that they had changed subjects.

"What are you going to have for lunch?” Lev said and then they talked about the town and various light topics. Lev found himself liking the other man’s sense of humor and general laid-back attitude. He was very easy to talk to, and Lev found himself wishing the lunch date wouldn’t end. By the end of the meal, they had discovered a lot of things about each other, and Lev felt comfortable enough to think that this might be good relationship.

They stood, and Griff insisted on paying the bill. As they walked outside, Griff put a hand on his back, and Lev felt the heat through his shirt.
Wow, this guy was sexy
.

When they stepped out into the sunlight, Griff gently touched his back and said, “So, we are still on for dinner?"

Lev smiled and nodded. "Absolutely, what time should I be there?"

"Uh, is 6:00pm too soon?" Griff grinned, and Lev chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, six would be perfect."

"Great, I'll meet you after work at my store," Griff said and then hesitated. “I know we didn’t have a chance to talk about this, but uh, you do realize that we're mates?"

Lev felt his eyes widen; he may not be a shifter, but he knew what a mate was. This gorgeous and handsome man was his mate, like they were to be together for the rest of his life? Had he really just dropped that bomb on him standing on the sidewalk outside of the Diner?

"Wh...What?" Lev stammered.

Griff tried to smile, but the sadness reached his eyes. Lev hated the fact he knew so little about this. When his father explained mating to him when he was young, he hadn’t really understood it. I mean, how do you look at someone, smell them, and know without talking to them that they are the one you are fated for? It really didn’t make sense. What if they were wrong, what if Griff was supposed to have a shifter mate, not a human? What if his scent was only enticing to him because he was a human? All of these questions ran through his mind as he stood there trying to grasp the situation.

"Sorry, I thought maybe because your step-father was a wolf he would have explained it to you. I, uh, felt the pull to you when we met. I thought you felt it too and gave you time to get used to the whole mating thing since you were a human. I really put my foot into it this time," he groaned and ran a hand down his face.

Lev thought it was endearing how the man seemed to be worried about his reaction. He was a shifter, Lev didn’t know what kind, but knowing that he had fought the urge to mate him right when he saw him spoke to the kind of man Griff was. He wasn’t like the others he knew. "Let's talk about this later. I mean, tonight, we can go through this whole thing and sort it out."

Griff nodded and paused. "If it makes any difference what so ever, I know we are supposed to have another mate."

Lev opened his mouth and closed it gain. Wait, two mates? "How do you know?"

Griff laughed and said, "Let's just say that my beast is a little unusual. I’ll explain later."

***

Lev went back to work, but he called his step-father and left a message asking him to call him when he had a chance. Lev wanted to talk to his father before he went to dinner with Griff. It wasn’t that he didn't want to be his mate. It was that he didn’t understand what it entailed. And what about having a second mate! How would that work? Who was it?

He had so many questions rattling around in his head; it was a wonder that he got any work done that afternoon. Luckily, it was a light day for crime. They were still working on the missing dispatcher and needed to track down a few leads about that. He read over all the interviews and reports looking for clues and seeing if he got that tingle that told him he was on to something. Even so, he was still stumped. At the same time, it wasn’t in him to give up; he would figure this out. He didn’t like cold cases. He looked at the clock and smiled, fifteen minutes, and he would be able to go.

His cell phone rang, and he breathed a sigh of relief that it was his step-father calling.

"Son, what is so urgent that I had to call before you stopped work?” his step-father's deep tone said. His step-father was his only support when he was in training to be a cop. Gregori had been crushed when the other children had driven his only child away from his home. Lev had never said anything, and he didn’t like to pry into the growing pains of a young adult. Being a wolf, he wasn’t up on human parenting and worried that he didn’t do the right things. So when the old Sheriff started making retirement noises, he made the calls to make sure that Lev got the job as Sheriff. And Quin promised not to ever tell Lev of his interference. Quin was happy to have his wayward pack member back in the fold too.

"Dad, I need to ask you a few questions," Lev said quickly and then looked around to make sure no one was listening to him. Some of the Sheriffs were shifters, and he still didn’t trust them.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, remember when I talked to you about Griff?” Lev said hesitantly. He had told his step-father a long time ago, that he was attracted to both men and women. His step-father, being a shifter, hadn’t cared one way or another. He said whatever made him happy, he was okay with.

"Of course the jeweler, I bought a necklace from him for your mother, nice guy."

"Yeah, well we met for lunch today, and he said that we were mates, and he also said that we had another mate. When I asked him how he knew, he said because of the type of shifter he was," Lev said.

There was a long pause and the Gregori said, "Congratulations. First of all, I can't tell you how happy I am to know that you have found your mate. As for the rest, I don't know what kind of shifter he is. Many of the people in town have wondered the same thing. They all thought he was some kind of cat since he belonged to a Pride, but his scent is unusual. No one has wanted to ask him either, it’s rude."

Lev frowned and looked down at the paper that was in front of him. He ran a background check on the man. He was squeaky clean. Lev thought it was funny that he had received a speeding ticket when he was moving up to Colorado. That was all that was on his record. "How do you deal with two mates?"

Gregori laughed and said, "Son, you are gonna have to play this one by ear. I have only had one mate, and I’m still trying to deal with just her. My advice would be to sit and talk with Griff, and bring him out to dinner. Your mom and I will want to meet him."

Lev laughed, and they made plans to get together the next weekend. He wanted some more time with Griff to himself. He hoped that Griff would agree to come with him. He wanted Griff to meet the two people who meant the most to him.

Time to go, he thought, and looked up at the clock again. He put the papers away and then shredded the forms he pulled on Griff. He didn’t want people to know he had done a background check on the man. With all the investigations going on right now, he didn’t want to get the man in trouble.

He walked into the changing room and took off his uniform. Thank goodness he had made sure that he kept clean clothes in his locker, in case he went somewhere after work. It saved time from running back over to the west side where his apartment was and then back to Griff.

Griff stood in front of his storefront waiting for Lev. He smiled when Lev approached and then said, "I thought I would cook dinner at my place. That way, we can talk freely."

Lev nodded and followed the tall man to his truck and watched his muscular ass as he walked. My gods the man was built. He was tall, probably a shade taller than Lev, and his hair made him want to grab a hold and run his fingers through it. His eyes were amber colored, which were so large and sexy he could drown in them. Lev felt almost boring with his military flat top and boring brown hair and brown eyes. And Griff's features were rugged and masculine where Lev's were more angular and unremarkable, and he had a beard to hide a scar he received when he was young. The kids who bullied him had thrown him down a well and Lev hit the rocks as he fell and cut his cheek badly.

He hated even looking at the mark, and so he had grown a short beard to hide it. But looking at themselves in the windows as they walked by, Lev thought they made a handsome couple.

Griff held the door open for him, and he hesitated. He must have felt his unsure feelings, and Griff said, "I can bring you back to your truck whenever you want."

Lev nodded and slid into the passenger seat then watched as Griff walked around to the other side of the truck and hop in the driver's seat. When he started the car, an oldie's station was playing, and Lev laughed out loud. He loved to listen to the oldies too, although his truck was set to the popular country station from a nearby town.

They drove in silence for a few miles out of town, and then Griff turned into a large gated subdivision that had seemed to pop up overnight. He knew from the other sheriffs that it was the Pride from Texas that owned this land. It turned out they had bought this land several years ago and had been building houses all along. The high brick and stone fence and the gate were actually the newest item along with a row of new mailboxes outside the gate. As they drove down the streets, Lev admired the homes that littered the land, many of them familiar. Griff wound his way through the street and finally came to a house built on the back part of the land. His house and yard butted up to the tall wall that surrounded the property.