A Hippogriff for Christmas - Zoe Chant Page 0,50
before letting Beau throw his heavy winter jacket across her shoulders.
“You’ll need it – it’s cold out there, and it gets colder higher up.”
Still not trusting herself enough to speak, Annie let Beau lead her out into the cold of the evening, and she mechanically locked the door and dropped her key into her purse.
“Now what?”
“Now, we go up to the roof,” Beau said, turning toward the maintenance ladder on the side of the building. “My boss would kill me for shifting so close to humans, in the middle of a human town,” he continued as they climbed. “But right now, it’s dark enough and cold enough that I think we’re in the clear.”
He reached down to take her hand again when he reached the top, helping her up onto the flat roof of the building.
“Okay. You ready?”
Beau’s eyes were warm even in the darkness. Annie nodded firmly.
“Ready.”
Beau searched her eyes for a moment, but he must have seen her steady resolve in them because he stepped back a few paces from her, taking a deep breath.
“Okay. Let’s go then.”
Annie held her breath, blinking as the cold wind whipped past her face. For a moment, nothing happened – and then, she saw the same flickering shimmer as before run over Beau’s body from head to foot, like the ripple of a wave.
A moment later, and he began to change.
The transformation was so smooth and fluid that Annie almost didn’t notice it happening at first. One moment Beau was standing there before her – the next, two massive, white wings had filled the air above him, his skin becoming the feathers and fur of the hippogriff. A horse’s tail swished behind him, while his head became the proud, if slightly scary, visage of an eagle.
Not that Annie was scared of Beau herself, however. It was just that looking at him, she couldn’t help but feel a small thrill of pride.
A hippogriff. A fearsome mythical creature. And he’s my mate.
She knew she still had to get used to the idea of shifters and mates. But right now, she didn’t feel anything other than utter elation.
I can’t believe this is my actual life!
Beau let out a low, reassuring croon, the same kind as he’d made when he’d first shown her his shifted form by the ice skating lake. It seemed like years ago – Annie found it hard to believe it had only been earlier today!
“It’s okay, I’m not scared of you,” she said, walking toward him. “But I’ve never really, uh, ridden anything before, not even a horse. How do I –?”
Beau immediately lowered himself to the ground, tossing his head to indicate she should hop on his back.
Taking a deep breath, Annie put her hand out, steadying herself against Beau’s shoulder, before pulling herself up.
He was warm – so much so that she immediately forgot about the coldness of the night air around them. It was incredibly tempting to just lean forward and snuggle herself into the soft feathers of his neck, but she managed to restrain herself, settling herself firmly on his back, just behind his wings.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Beau apparently didn’t need to be told twice. Annie felt a powerful beat of his wings, and then, suddenly, they were airborne.
Annie gasped as the wind whipped past her face, the thought I’m going to have to re-do my hair flitting inanely through her head.
But mostly, she felt… light.
And secure. The heat of Beau’s body kept her warm in the cold air as they rose higher. Despite the fact Annie knew they were moving quickly, the beat of Beau’s wings sure and steady, and she wasn’t frightened of falling.
Annie cast a glance down, seeing the town of Bell’s Hollow spread out beneath them. It was in darkness, of course, except for the golden lines of street lamps – and, of course, the Christmas trees that were still lit up at various points of the town, such as at the edge of the lake and outside the small town hall.
Annie had never suspected that her heart would be warmed at the sight of a Christmas tree.
But if I can’t think of Christmas as a special time after everything that’s happened over this one, well… I may as well give up and declare myself the Grinch.
She felt oddly calm about the fact they were flying into the middle of an illegal gambling den full of criminal and probably dangerous shifters. If she’d had more time to think about it, Annie realized