Page 12 of Griffen's Mate

Griffen got up too and followed her.

She stopped at the entrance to the room. “I am telling you all this so you know how important it is that you stop and kill as many demons as you can. You have to win. It’s not just your world that rests in the balance of you winning the fight.”

With that, Pet walked out of the room. Griffen followed her. She had spent the day giving them vital information. He didn’t know if he felt better knowing how bad everything really was, or worse. One thing he did know was that he was slowly falling for Pet. The more she came out of her shell and he learnt about her, the more he liked.

* * * *

Pet

Hope. That’s what she wanted to be called. She was sick of being thought of as destructive. She wasn’t that anymore. She had done good things. She’d told the shifters everything she knew. She’d made sure she kept information from the demons as best as she could. She’d strived to be a better person, someone her mate would want and be proud to claim.

She had done bad things, but she’d learned that nobody was perfect. She’d done the best she could with what little she was given. Now she was free, and she deserved a life. She deserved dreams. She deserved to be who she wanted to be.

Pet wasn’t going to be called her slave name anymore. Hope...she would be called Hope. She wanted to be known for good, not bad. She wanted people to think positive and have hope when they heard her name. No more pity, and no more people thinking of her as the Destroyer of Worlds.

Running out of her bedroom—she and Griffen had been getting along so well, but still hadn’t moved to the same room yet—she found him in the kitchen cooking. She loved food. The demons hadn’t given her much food, and what they did give her wasn’t very good. She loved Griffen’s cooking. She liked her new friends’—Faith, Sara, and Sandra’s—cooking too, but Griffen’s was the best.

“I have a name.” She jumped up and down, filled with excitement. “Hope. My name is Hope.”

“So, no more Pet?” Griffen raised a brow.

She shook her head. “Nope. No more of the slave name,” she growled.

She’d been reading. It was one of her favorite things to do. At first she didn’t really know how to read. She’d only had visions of words here and there, knowing what they meant. Griffen had been so patient with teaching her. She was lucky she was a fast learner.

But there was something though she just couldn’t get the hang of…the internet. It never looked up what she wanted, or it seemed to short-circuit and stop working. Even Griffen didn’t understand why it never worked right for her.

Griffen came to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, gathering her into his embrace. “Hope.” He gazed down at her face, and his eyes shone with happiness, which told her that she’d chosen the right name. “It suits you. You are my hope.”

Beaming up at him, she felt her heart pitter-patter. Love—this was new to her, and she loved being in love. Ha, she laughed. That wasn’t something she did before meeting Griffen...laughing. The two L words—love and laughter.

“Thank you,” she said. “You are more than just hope for me. You’ve given me things I never even dreamed of.”

* * * *

Hope

She was going to the movies and a restaurant. Hope was so excited. She was going on a date with Griffen. It was not only her first date, but her first time to the cinemas and a restaurant. She’d watched movies on the huge TV Griffen had at his...their house, but she’d been told it wasn’t the same feeling as going to the movies.

Hope didn’t get in the car very often. She and Griffen walk everywhere and stayed close to their home. She online shopped for most things, or more accurately, Ava and Remy bought what she needed as the internet stopped working when she was around. This was her first real ride in a car, since she didn’t count the time when they found her.

It was a nice car—slick, black, and what she was told was a sporty look. The drive to the waterfront restaurant wasn’t a long one, and they listened to Lifehouse, which was one of Griffen’s favorite bands. Hope liked the music, and they didn’t talk while he drove, but she didn’t mind, her gaze was focused on their surroundings. She had only ‘seen’ most of the world through her visions, it was different seeing it in the here and now as it passed her by.

When they made it to the city, Hope was glad he reduced his speed so she could get a better look. Everything was so close together, and as they slowed toward the beach she noticed the hive of activity. Street vendors, lots of people strolling along in different states of dress, lines starting for cafés, restaurants, and bars.

Griffen parked on a side street and came around and opened her door and helped her out of the car. He kept a hold of her hand as they walked along the busy streets. Hope gripped his hand tightly and took deep, calming breaths. She’d never been around this many people without knowing any of them.

She’d been to Remy’s wedding, but she’d been surrounded by Griffen’s family and people she knew. They might be people who weren’t that fond of her, but she still had ‘seen’ them or actually seen them in person at Griffen’s house. This was new though; she hadn’t ‘seen’ these people. This was also the furthest they’d been from her new home since she had been saved from the demons.

She put all her concentration on staying human and not letting herself change. She focused on her mate and the knowledge that he was taking her out and treating her like a real mate.

“Thank you,” she murmured, not loud enough for the passersby to hear, but enough for his wolf hearing.

He squeezed her hand. “There is no need to thank me. You’re my mate. I need to woo you, and…” He winked. “I was going stir-crazy not leaving our little town.”

“I like the idea of wooing. So, what else is involved in wooing me?” Hope raised her brow as she darted a look at him. He guided them around the people, making sure she didn’t knock into or touch anyone.

“Lots of walks and talking. Movies, dinners, and even watching some chick flixs that I normally wouldn’t go near but suffer through to make you happy. Cooking you dinner, and formally introducing you to all my family and bragging to them about you.”

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