Page 321 of The Protective Gryphen

“But I’m still punishing you for sneaking out of bed and making me think I lost you.”

He nuzzled him.

“You’re a tough man to evade.”

“Well, apparently, I need to up my game. Why didn’t you just wake me and tell me you wanted to see the sun rise?” he asked.

Ian stood and helped Gryphen up.

He was honest.

“She woke me up.”

He stared at him.

Then, it registered.

“Oh, no. Not she as in Ceit, the dead lady. She was in our bedroom?”

He nodded.

“Oh, God, what did she want. Did she see us naked? Do they watch when we do it?”

He laughed.

“Uh, do you hear yourself, Bess? Do you hear how crazy you sound?”

Gryphen snorted.

“Sorry, I lost my head. What did she want from you?” he asked.

Holding out his hand, he waited for Gryphen to take it.

“Let me show you,” he said, linking his fingers with his, and leading him into the trees.

They didn’t have to go far.

From the looks of it, Ian had been rooting around in the brush, and he’d cleared it.

That’s when he saw it.

There was a grave.

“I guess she got tired of waiting for us to figure it out, because she whispered in my ear that she would show me and to hurry. That’s why I didn’t wake you. I had to come fast, and then I knew you’d find me. You always find me.”

They stood there staring at the stone.

“Is it hers?” Gryphen asked.

With his fingers, Ian brushed away the moss, and the words were legible.

‘Ceit Creagh’

Under her name, there was an inscription.

‘Here lies the mother of the only Granndach child born to her and Duncan Granndach. She was Callum’s beloved mother. Where love disappeared, a legacy was left behind. She took her life, and forever will she be carried in those who came after her.’

He was surprised.

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