their encounter that
morning? …Although she’d rather find that last bit out for herself.
Ellie started
to set the table when her cell phone beeped, signaling a text message. With a
small frown, she picked it up, and then almost dropped the phone. A text
message from Alex blinked at her.
“Hi,” the message said.
“Hi, yourself. Chickening out on our
run?” she messaged back.
“Lol. No. Still on for that.”
“Okay… what’s up?”
There was a
pause long enough for Ellie to get nervous.
“Just wondering how your day was,” he eventually answered.
Ellie blinked.
And a small ray of hope lit up inside her chest.
“Typical day in the life of a high
school student. You? “
“Typical day in the life of a law
office intern.” Another pause and then , “ I’ll see you tomorrow at the crack of dawn.”
Ellie sent
back a smiley face. “See you
tomorrow.”
Chapter 10
Dinner was
fairly quiet, with both Ellie and Griffin preoccupied with their own private
thoughts. When she was done eating, Ellie gathered up the dishes and took them to
the kitchen.
“Hey,” she
called to Griffin, who merely grunted. “I’ve got to get out of the house. I’m
going to go fly for a bit. Okay?”
Her favorite
and strongest morph was that of a Peregrine Falcon, inherited through her grandfather.
It wasn’t unusual for Ellie to spend some time each night in this form, she so
loved the feeling of freedom and the power of soaring through the open sky.
Usually when
she went flying, Griffin couldn’t care less. This time, however, he looked up
at her with slightly narrowed eyes.
“You’re not
going to go watch them, are you?” he demanded, moving around the bar and into
the kitchen.
“As a matter
of fact, I’m not.” Tempting as it was, she had no intention of going anywhere
near the Jenners and Pierces tonight.
“…Because we
agreed that I would do most of the watching right now since they don’t know
anything about me, remember?” Griffin continued.
“I remember
what we agreed to,” Ellie put her hands on her hips, her voice ringing with irritation.
It drove her nuts when Griffin got on his superior soap box—like he was so much
older than her, when really he was younger by ten whole minutes.
“Okay,” he
finally relented. “Just so you keep to the plan.”
Ellie didn’t
bother to reply. She headed out of the back of the house and trudged up the
snow-covered hill and into the woods. As soon as she was camouflaged by the
thick trees, she transitioned into her falcon form.
To any
onlooker she would’ve appeared to blur before their eyes, shimmering like a
mirage in a desert. There was no sound to accompany her transformation, and in
mere moments a falcon appeared where Ellie had just been. In all of her morphs,
Ellie’s exotic coloring showed through as a midnight black body and violet-blue
eyes. As a falcon, this was quite striking up close, but from a distance, no
one would notice anything unusual about her appearance. She spread her long
wings, and with a mighty whoosh , she took flight.
Ellie quickly
gained altitude. She worked off her frustration and impatience with the
situation in a series of incredible dives. She would flap her strong wings to
get high up in the air…spread out her feathers hovering a moment, enjoying the
view, and then rocket back toward the earth. Sometimes she would level out well
above the ground, other times she waited until the very last second before
pulling out of the stoop. Her maneuvering left her both exhilarated and in a
much-improved mood.
Ellie kept her
word and didn’t go near the Jenner and Pierce properties, although she couldn’t
resist occasionally turning her powerful sight in their direction, hoping to
catch a glimpse of any of them. She had no luck, however. Cold and tired, she
eventually turned back for home. Once she reached the clearing where she’d
started, Ellie quickly morphed back into her human form, fully clothed. The
control
morning? …Although she’d rather find that last bit out for herself.
Ellie started
to set the table when her cell phone beeped, signaling a text message. With a
small frown, she picked it up, and then almost dropped the phone. A text
message from Alex blinked at her.
“Hi,” the message said.
“Hi, yourself. Chickening out on our
run?” she messaged back.
“Lol. No. Still on for that.”
“Okay… what’s up?”
There was a
pause long enough for Ellie to get nervous.
“Just wondering how your day was,” he eventually answered.
Ellie blinked.
And a small ray of hope lit up inside her chest.
“Typical day in the life of a high
school student. You? “
“Typical day in the life of a law
office intern.” Another pause and then , “ I’ll see you tomorrow at the crack of dawn.”
Ellie sent
back a smiley face. “See you
tomorrow.”
Chapter 10
Dinner was
fairly quiet, with both Ellie and Griffin preoccupied with their own private
thoughts. When she was done eating, Ellie gathered up the dishes and took them to
the kitchen.
“Hey,” she
called to Griffin, who merely grunted. “I’ve got to get out of the house. I’m
going to go fly for a bit. Okay?”
Her favorite
and strongest morph was that of a Peregrine Falcon, inherited through her grandfather.
It wasn’t unusual for Ellie to spend some time each night in this form, she so
loved the feeling of freedom and the power of soaring through the open sky.
Usually when
she went flying, Griffin couldn’t care less. This time, however, he looked up
at her with slightly narrowed eyes.
“You’re not
going to go watch them, are you?” he demanded, moving around the bar and into
the kitchen.
“As a matter
of fact, I’m not.” Tempting as it was, she had no intention of going anywhere
near the Jenners and Pierces tonight.
“…Because we
agreed that I would do most of the watching right now since they don’t know
anything about me, remember?” Griffin continued.
“I remember
what we agreed to,” Ellie put her hands on her hips, her voice ringing with irritation.
It drove her nuts when Griffin got on his superior soap box—like he was so much
older than her, when really he was younger by ten whole minutes.
“Okay,” he
finally relented. “Just so you keep to the plan.”
Ellie didn’t
bother to reply. She headed out of the back of the house and trudged up the
snow-covered hill and into the woods. As soon as she was camouflaged by the
thick trees, she transitioned into her falcon form.
To any
onlooker she would’ve appeared to blur before their eyes, shimmering like a
mirage in a desert. There was no sound to accompany her transformation, and in
mere moments a falcon appeared where Ellie had just been. In all of her morphs,
Ellie’s exotic coloring showed through as a midnight black body and violet-blue
eyes. As a falcon, this was quite striking up close, but from a distance, no
one would notice anything unusual about her appearance. She spread her long
wings, and with a mighty whoosh , she took flight.
Ellie quickly
gained altitude. She worked off her frustration and impatience with the
situation in a series of incredible dives. She would flap her strong wings to
get high up in the air…spread out her feathers hovering a moment, enjoying the
view, and then rocket back toward the earth. Sometimes she would level out well
above the ground, other times she waited until the very last second before
pulling out of the stoop. Her maneuvering left her both exhilarated and in a
much-improved mood.
Ellie kept her
word and didn’t go near the Jenner and Pierce properties, although she couldn’t
resist occasionally turning her powerful sight in their direction, hoping to
catch a glimpse of any of them. She had no luck, however. Cold and tired, she
eventually turned back for home. Once she reached the clearing where she’d
started, Ellie quickly morphed back into her human form, fully clothed. The
control
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