Page 5 of The Griffin, the Tiger, and Their House Cat Omega

Humans were easy. They couldn’t look through my facade and see the rest of me, accepting only what I chose to reveal. It was restful, and all was good in my new little corner of the world. Nice job, good yard to shift in, the occasional mouse to chase around the flower beds, and endless books to lose myself in. What was not to love about that?

I let my guard down enough to almost forget there were others out there who had the ability to make me feel awful. Until one morning sales meeting when I was assigned a new potential client.

“You are just the man for this one,” Bob the sales manager said. “We’ve tried to get in before but have been rebuffed. Wehave the best products and can offer the best prices. But we’ve never sent in our best salesman.”

“All right.” My cat, who loved compliments, set up a low purr inside me. “Who is our next client? A hotel chain? Fast food franchiser? Coffee house conglomerate?”

“Better.” He smiled at me, his smile so white and with such sharp canines that if he wasn’t always around in the daytime, I might have suspected him of being a vampire. “Animals.”

“The club?”No. No. No. No. No.

“That’s right. It’s one of several under the same ownership, and if you can bring the San Diego location in, it should open the door to the rest. I’m counting on you.”

Maybe it was time to quit and find another job. Did he even know what kind of a business this was? While he’d never indicated he knew about shifters, even those who didn’t believe gossiped about the place. Some thought it was a place where furries went. Others called it cosplay. And yet others, like Sandia in reception, wondered if we were real. Considering Animals allowed humans and others in, they could have gone and found out for themselves, But they chose not to, instead talking about it in hushed or wondering or scandalized tones.

Which was fine with me.

Unlike the fact I’d been assigned to go there and try to convince their purchasing person, who was probably a wolf or something, to buy our products. For a second, I considered quitting my job to avoid it, but leaving without notice wouldn’t look good on my resume, and I really liked Manny’s Supply.

So, I would have to do this once. When I secured the account, I’d pass it along to someone else.

“Matthew?” Bob chuckled. “Look at him already lost in planning his strategy.”

Chapter Four

Allen

So many things on my agenda:

Spend more time with Dad.

Get my work done on time and in a timely manner.

Take a vacation.

Find a mate and give my poor suffering dad the grandkids he so longs for.

Nothing difficult, right? Just the everyday stuff a griffin shifter has to deal with. Or anyone, for that matter.

But the last item on my list, find a mate, was made more difficult for me because of the secrecy of my heritage and the fact that even if I dreamed of a fated mate, the prospect of that happening was not good.

I assured Dad I would seriously consider the mate thing, get out and meet more people, and let it be known I was available. If nothing happened, well, Christopher would still be around. I felt sad having that thought. Christopher deserved more. Not just an alpha who was settling.

I also told Dad that none of this would happen until after my vacation. I wanted to go away first and get my mind together. I didn’t want to have to think about all that stuff right now. I deserved some time off to relax and have some fun. Dad agreed.

Now, I needed to figure out where I wanted to go and book my trip.

I settled before a warm fire and scrolled on the shifter web for the best vacation places in the US.

Up popped the usual expensive all-shifter resorts and lodges. Some were so pricey, they would have taken my entire salary for six months. While I was sure Dad would have helpedme pay for the trip, I didn’t want to ask him. I wanted to do this myself on my own salary.

As I scrolled, I kept seeing links to private comments on various boards on the theme of the best, safest places to go for shifters. Over and over again I kept seeing references to a place called Animals. At first I scrolled past that stuff. But when the word Animals kept popping up, I decided to check it out. If it was so popular, there had to be something good there.

The comments I found appeared to be reviews for a simple nightclub. But as I read on, I realized it was more than that. People said it was a place where they met like-minded souls. Some even said they’d met their fated mates there.

One comment said:This place has a sort of magical feel about it. I can’t quite describe it. I can’t wait to go back.

Another said:Best place in the world to work. They take care of their people. They have on-site apartment lodging for employees. Always treated with respect.

---