Chapter 17

ALEXIS

While Patsy continued rummaging through her things, I leaned closer to Hudson so she couldn't overhear us, "Is she always this....creepy?"

He pursed his lips and nodded, whispering, "Last time, she tried pulling my cheeks because she thought I was adorable."

I pursed my lips, but for an entirely different reason. I couldn't imagine this witch, who was half the size of Hudson, trying to pull his cheeks and cooing over him.

"Ah yes, here it is!" She slammed a book on the coffee table in front of us, causing everyone but Hudson to flinch.

"Sorry, I forgot. Werewolf hearing," she said sheepishly, "Now let's see. There is something about your blood in here."

She flipped through the pages quickly, letting dust particles fly into the air and tickle my nose. I covered my nose and ignored the urge to sneeze.

"Your blood is special, darling. It's a gift from the four Elders themselves," she started, sitting on the recliner in front of us.

"When you say four Elders, you mean...." I trailed off.

"The Elders are what we witches call the gods and goddesses of the magical world. There are four of them, one for each of the species that exist on Earth, the first being the Moon Goddess, of course. Then, there is Lady Vasilia, Elder of the vampires, Lord Aidan, Elder of the dragons, and lastly, Lord Silvius, Elder of the griffins. Does that make sense?"

We nodded and she hummed in approval, "Good. Now, hundreds of years ago, before the great war even happened, the Moon Goddess called the Elders together to discuss how to give back to their species. The ones living during that time were very devotional and performed several ceremonies in their Elder's name so the Moon Goddess wanted to give back to them. And that was how the Moon Goddess's blessing came about."

She paused to show us a picture of the four Elders gathered around a cauldron, "The Moon Goddess wanted to create a new kind of blood, one that would benefit all species. Each Elder dropped a pint of blood into the cauldron to create this new blood

I nodded slowly, "So what can my blood do other than heal?"

"Well, as you said just now, your blood can heal werewolves. It can also make a dragon's fire a thousand times stronger, meaning a dragon could burn a whole country to ashes within seconds if they drank a pint of your blood. For a vampire, a pint of your blood is able to quench their need for blood for years, making them almost unstoppable, but not immortal."

"And for a griffin?" Hudson asked, stiffening once more.

Her pale green eyes bore into mine as she spoke almost ominously,

"Your blood makes griffins immortal."

I gaped at her in shock. Was that why these griffins were after me? They wanted to be immortal?

"Immortal," Hudson said slowly as if to make sure he was hearing things right.

"Yes, immortal, which is the reason why they are after you. You and the newborn baby are the only living beings with the blessing. After the great war, the griffins became endangered. My guess is that they want to be immortal to make sure that never happens again."

"Um, how much blood does it take for the whole griffins species to become immortal?" I asked worriedly.

The look on her face scared me. It was so nonchalant as if she could care less about me.

"They would have to drain you of every drop of blood in your body."

Hudson growled, and I squeezed his hand to calm him down.

Hello, did you miss me?

I nearly sighed in relief. Finally, she was back after her hibernation.

I did. How was your rest?

Good. I'm back to normal now, but I really want to run.

I looked over at Hudson, and he was already staring at me curiously.

"My wolf wants to go for a run," I said.

He frowned, "It's not safe though."

"I can take some pack warriors with me. That way I'm not alone."

He looked at his pack warriors and his frown deepened, "You know what? I'll just go with you."

I was taken aback, but I nodded anyway. I just wanted to run.

A few minutes later, I had stripped and shifted in my wolf happily. She stretched herself out and let out a quiet purr. There was a quiet whimper from nearby, and she turned around to see Hudson's wolf standing there.

He walked over hesitantly as if worried that she would bark at him or something. When he was close enough, my wolf did something completely stupid.

She fucking licked his face.

He seemed just as surprised as I was but happily licked her face in return. She barked and started running in the direction of the stream. I heard him bark back and start chasing us around the trees. My wolf had a blast, hiding behind trees, licking his face when he wasn't looking, and barking at his behind.

Of course, Hudson couldn't go without pulling my wolf's tail, which annoyed my wolf.

Finally, we somehow ended up next to the camp, where my wolf fell to the ground happily, laying on her stomach. Hudson walked over and laid down beside her, placing his head on top of her's and licking her ear.

I sighed and decided to let them have their moment.

After all, I wasn't quite sure when they would get to have a moment like this again if Hudson and I didn't get along.

***

After we had shifted back and got dressed, we headed back to the camp, where everyone was pretty much asleep or standing guard. I collapsed on my blanket and sighed happily. The feeling after a run was always amazing.

I closed my eyes and cuddled into the thin blanket. I didn't think Hudson would welcome me under his blanket again, so I was just curled up into a little ball in the hopes that that would keep me warm for the night.

The only problem was that I couldn't sleep. My thought circled around the griffins and my blood. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw terrifying images of griffins taking the baby or getting ready to drain me of my blood.

I sighed and tugged at a loose string in the blanket.

So much for sleeping. It was probably a better idea for me to switch with one of the warriors so they could actually get some sleep.

However, before I could move, warm breath tickled my neck.

"Didn't feel like cuddling tonight?" A husky voice whispered in my ear. A wave of warmth rushed over me as the bearskin blanket covered my body and a familiar hard chest pressed against my back. I turned onto my other side to face Hudson and sighed.

"I can't sleep," I mumbled, staring into his gray eyes.

"Thinking about griffins?"

I nodded and tried closing my eyes again, hoping to feel a little sleepy in a few moments. We were silent for a few moments before Hudson spoke up again, "How about we get to know each other?"

I opened my eyes slowly and smiled faintly, "How do you want to do that?"

He shrugged, "I can ask you a question and you can ask me a question. Simple shit."

I chuckled and nodded, "You go first."

"Who's that little piece of shit Montgomery?"

"Going straight to the point huh?" I laughed quietly, ignoring his pointed look, "He's just a stupid ex-boyfriend that cheated on me and dated me for a bet."

"He cheated on you?"

I yawned and nodded, "Yep."

"I'll beat the shit out of him the next time I see him," he muttered.

"No need, Neville took care of that a long time ago."

"How long did you guys date?"

"It's my turn to ask a question remember?"

"Fine, ask."

"How many girls have you dated?" I asked since we were on the topic of exes.

He snorted, "I never had time to date anyone, which was a good thing too. I would have been so distracted. What about you? How many guys have you dated?"

"Just Monty. I was fifteen at the time and realized how stupid dating other guys was so I decided to wait until I found my mate," I said quietly.

"Funny, you're more experienced than I am. I haven't even had my first kiss yet unless you count those stupid Spin the Bottle pecks."

I smiled, "Not at all. Those only last a second anyway unless the two of you decided to make out in the middle of the circle."

He snorted, "The girl who had to kiss me was lesbian, so there was no making out at all."

My smile widened a little. I couldn't help but feel happy that we would both be experiencing several firsts together, even if it wasn't our first kiss.

I yawned again, and Hudson chuckled, "Go to sleep. You look exhausted."

"I am," I whispered, letting my eyes flutter close.

The last thing I remembered was a muscular arm wrapping around my midriff and pulling me closer to my source of warmth.