WingSpan (Taken on the Wing Book 1) by Elizabeth Munro

shrugs like he does. It is what it is. She blows the old man a kiss and he holds his hand over his heart before he waves. The door closes and he pulls away, purposefully this time.
    Mark holds the rolled up paper. It’s frozen and the snow slides off and falls to the ground.
    “You went to all these addresses?” He sees them there, sorted by city. Every one is crossed off the list except his and Winnipeg. “You could have tried the phone.”
    Mark leads her to the house and brushes the snowflakes from her shoulders before they stomp their boots clean. The echoes fall flat in the snowy air. Her coat disappears into the closet with his and their boots sit together on a rubber mat. Jenn stands uselessly by the front door rubbing at her eyes. The deep itch is all her exhausted numb body feels.
    “I just got in,” Mark explains as she tries not to yawn loudly. When her eyes unblur the list of addresses is gone.
    Behind him the hallway stretches down to a pair of doors, another to his left. To his right the hall opens up into his living room lit only by a fireplace and a flat screen TV. Mark’s Xbox is on. Through the far end is a kitchen, a couple of red lights on the stove. Jenn isn’t surprised the place is as clean as he keeps his truck and himself. The whole house isn’t much bigger than the apartment.
    “I don’t want to put you out,” Jenn mumbles but her forehead is suddenly so heavy she might pass out and block his front door.
    “Shower and sleep?” he offers and points down the hall. “It’s the door on the right.”
    When she doesn’t move he picks up her bag and walks her there. Clean towels are on the counter and it’s still a little steamy. Mark pulls open a small closet behind the bathroom door revealing the stacking washer and dryer.
    “Toss anything you want washed in here,” he offers.
    “Can I borrow something to sleep in? Everything is dirty.” It has to be; she’s wearing her last clean pair of panties.
    When she gets out there’s a clean t-shirt on the counter. Jenn pulls it on, amused that the sleeves hang down past her elbows.
    She finds Mark on his sofa; two plates in front of him. His is empty. Hers has a baked potato and some salad, generous since he wasn’t expecting a vegetarian. A glass of wine. He barely looks away from the mayhem on the screen as the headset comes off.
    “It’s game night,” he explains. “I only miss if I’m on the road.”
    Jenn yawns and sips at the wine, simply relieved to have found him. Her plate is almost empty when she curls up against the arm of the couch. Mark tosses a blanket over and grabs her ankles, stretching her legs out over his.

Chapter Nine

    Mark signs off the Xbox when most of his friends decide to call it a night. Tomorrow is a work day it seems for everyone but him. His exhausted mate murmurs his gryphon name and sighs.
    Impossibly, her small frame sinks further into his sturdy couch and he scents a little more peace in her. The pain she carries nearly overwhelmed him when she arrived and it’s still strong.
    Reluctant to leave her side, Mark slips out from under her legs and turns down the TV before kneeling near her head.
    “ Arlette ,” he whispers. “I’m ashamed.”
    You can be a selfish asshole, Talon, he curses himself. Running out on her when she needed you so much. The wound you opened must have been brutal.
    It’s easy to put his feelings into words when he’s been human so long. His eyes close and he rests his head near her stomach, startling when she cups his rough cheek in her palm.
    “It was a really good day,” she whispers. “We were headed across the Island to Tofino for a swim in the big waves. Terry loved the heat of summer and the wind on his skin. We turned twenty-eight that day.”
    Mark’s eyes close as she shares her feelings: their joy and closeness. He knows that bond since he shares the same with Feather.
    “I was riding behind him when a truck came out of nowhere, out of control and Terry