A Hippogriff for Christmas Read online

  Just as well. I don’t want to be the kind of person who –

  Perfectly timed with her resolution not to pry any further, no matter how curious she was, came another vibration of Beau’s phone, and another photo.

  If this was Photoshop, Annie thought, whoever was making them was really good.

  This time the animal in the photo was flying in the air, wings spread, joyfully kicking out its back legs, while its eagle-like head was tossed back, a spray of white snow swirling beneath it, as if it had just taken off from the ground below.

  Annie leaned over the table, frowning, squinting down at the picture.

  I – what – how can – is this – huh??!!

  “Annie?”

  Annie sat bolt upright, eyes wide, her mouth open in shock. Beau stood on the other side of the table, plastic bowls of soup in his hands, looking first at her and then down at his phone.

  “I wasn’t looking at it!” Annie blurted, and then grimaced, shaking her head. “No – sorry, I was looking at it. But I really didn’t mean to pry into your business. It just kind of popped up. I promise I didn’t see anything personal.”

  Just a way-too-good-to-be-Photoshop Photoshop of some weird creature! But that’s not personal, right?!

  Beau set the soup down, glancing across at the phone. “Ah. Right.” He shot her a smile. “It was probably just my family checking up on me.”

  “Mm-hmm,” Annie said.

  Though really, I am kind of curious as to whether he’ll say anything about it. she thought as Beau lifted the phone and activated the screen. I guess it’s just a family joke, but….

  She watched his face closely as he looked at the messages. His expression didn’t change much, though she did think she could see the faintest twitch in his eyebrow.

  “Ah,” he said.

  Annie swallowed.

  Hoo boy, this is awkward, she thought, though she couldn’t really put her finger on why.

  Okay, well, he knows I saw it. Nothing to do but admit it and make light of it.

  “I guess someone in your family is pretty good with graphic design,” Annie said, hoping her smile looked convincing.

  Beau looked up at her, blinking, his expression confused.

  “Graphic design?”

  “Yeah.” Annie nodded. “Sorry – I got a quick look at the photos they sent. But it looked great – almost real.” By which I mean completely real. “So I just assumed someone’s been making some stuff in Photoshop. They’re really good – are they a professional? Because they definitely could be.”

  Beau was still staring at her as if he couldn’t quite understand what she was saying.

  “Photoshop?” he said, after a mildly painful silence.

  “Well – that’s what it was, wasn’t it?” Annie could feel her ears turning red, and she looked down at her hands, suddenly having regretted saying anything at all – and, in fact, her entire life and every decision she’d ever made that had led up to this point.

  Was Beau really kind of angry that she’d accidentally peeped at his phone? When she glanced up at him he didn’t look angry – just kind of perplexed and perhaps even slightly alarmed.

  Maybe he sensed what she was thinking, because in the next moment, he lifted his hand and began to reach out for hers as if to reassure her, before opening his mouth and clearing his throat.

  “Annie – I, uh. Well, this is a little awkward. I really didn’t mean for things to turn out quite like this.”

  What is he talking about? Annie wondered, staring at him as he looked more and more uncomfortable.

  “I could just explain this away by saying it’s all Photoshop or something,” Beau went on after a moment. “But… that wouldn’t be the truth. And I won’t lie to you, Annie. I would never, ever do that. Even if it makes things a little difficult. But maybe it just means I should have told you right from the beginning.”

  Annie shook her head. “Beau, look – I won’t lie to you either. I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”

  Beau grimaced. “No. I guess not.” He lifted his phone, holding it out to her. “Take another look.”

  Frowning, Annie took the phone from him. She tapped the screen. The same message and photos popped up immediately: the same joyfully flying creature, seeming to be dancing in the air amidst the delicate flakes of snow. It really was a very well-done bit of art.

  What’s the name for an animal like this? Annie wondered, cocking her head. It was some kind of mythical creature – that much was clear. But what did Beau want her to see in it?

  “So this is, uh, like a griffin or something?” she asked, uncertain.

  “A hippogriff. Half horse, half eagle.”

  “Oh. Right.” Annie looked back down at the photo, still not sure what Beau was hoping she’d say. Finally, she looked up at him. “Am I… supposed to be seeing something in it?”

  Beau swallowed, then nodded. “Annie – take another look.” He paused, then shook his head. “No, that’s just me avoiding having to tell you straight.” Beau took a deep breath. “Annie, I know this’ll sound crazy, but that’s not Photoshop. It’s real.”

  Annie’s first impulse was to laugh.

  But she forced herself to swallow it down, looking back down at the phone.

  True, the picture did look real.

  But it can’t be. It can’t possibly be – griffins, hippogriffs… those things aren’t real. They’re like unicorns and pegasus and whatever else. They’re just fairy stories…

  Then, finally, it hit her.

  She’d thought Beau was too good to be true, and now, she finally realized that she’d been right.

  “Is this a joke?” she asked, putting down his phone and pushing it across the table toward him. “You think this kind of thing is funny?”

  She shuddered at the coldness in her own voice. Something within her rose up, telling her she was wrong, that she was making a huge mistake, but she ruthlessly pushed it back down again.

  “I’m sorry?” Beau asked, looking even more confused. “Annie, I –”

  “Don’t bother,” Annie said, standing up. “I get it now – hope you had a fun afternoon leading me on. More fool me. But I get it now. Thanks for the soup – I’ll take mine with me, so at least I can say I got something out of today – other than entertaining you, I suppose.”

  Honestly, how stupid does he think I am? she thought, swallowing hard. Was this the new game for hot douchebags or something? Leading a girl on, seeing just how much he could make her believe? Did they win points on the internet or something like that?

  Gross, Annie thought. But at least I didn’t fall for it – well, not for too long, anyway.

  “Annie, what’re you – no, I promise, it’s the truth.” Beau had stood up too now, and was looking at her with a kind of wild desperation in his eyes. “I swear, Annie, I’m not lying. This isn’t some kind of game. I promise you.”

  For a moment, Annie was tempted to believe him. He sounded so sincere, and the look in his eyes…

  Again, she felt that same tug in her chest, that same voice in her heart trying to stop her from walking away.

  You’re wrong. He’s telling the truth. Just wait and listen to him. Hear him out.

  Annie closed her eyes, willing herself not to listen to it. But she still somehow couldn’t bring herself to turn away.

  “Annie – look. Please believe me.” Beau’s voice was low and urgent. “Or… you don’t have to believe me. I’ll show you.”

  “Show me what?” Annie asked, her voice sharp.

  Beau hesitated. “It’s hard to explain. But I promise, if you’ll come with me, it’ll explain… well, most things. Or at least it’ll prove I’m not lying. And then you can ask me any questions you like, and I promise I’ll answer them.”

  Annie took a deep breath, glancing away. It was entirely possible she was just setting herself up for more humiliation. But something within her wouldn’t let her walk away.

  Beau had seemed so
… so genuine. And the way he was looking at her now, his dark eyes intense and powerful, as if he was seeing right down to her soul…

  “All right,” she said. “Show me, then.”

  Beau nodded. “Come over to the trees,” he said. “You don’t have to go inside the forest if you don’t want to, but I’m going to go in amongst the trees. It’d be… kind of awkward if anyone else saw this.”

  Pulling in a sigh and wondering why she was letting herself get talked into this, Annie trudged through the snow, following Beau to the dark line of trees next to the lake.

  Probably he’s just going to run off through the forest, she thought. Or hide behind a stump and say he’s become invisible or something.

  She stopped on the edge of the trees, even as Beau carried on to a small clearing by a large fallen fir tree.

  “Okay,” Annie said. “Show me, then. Prove whatever it is you want to prove.”

  Beau nodded, looking at her. “I will,” he said, then hesitated. “But Annie – just… be prepared, okay? And don’t be frightened. No matter what you see, remember that it’s still me, okay? And remember that I would never hurt you.”

  Annie frowned.

  What is he talking about?

  Annie honestly couldn’t say what she was expecting to happen next – for Beau to run for the hills, or for some of Beau’s douchey friends to jump out from behind some trees and start laughing at her – but nothing could have prepared her for what she did see.

  She could feel her eyes widening in shock as she stared at Beau as he began to – began to –

  Change.

  It was the only word Annie could think of to describe it.

  At first, it was only subtle – a shimmer seemed to pass over his skin, like the shadow of a cloud passing overhead. At first, Annie thought that it was a shadow, or some other trick of the light.

  But she quickly realized that this was much more than a simple shadow. After the initial shimmer, the changes in Beau became much, much more noticeable.

  To say the least, Annie thought in a kind of dazed way as she stared in stunned silence.

  Instead of skin, Beau’s body now seemed to be covered in short, dark hair. Well, some of him was, anyway – the rest of him was covered in white feathers, while from his back sprouted a huge, elegant pair of wings, extending up into the trees.

  Annie was so busy staring in wonder at them that she almost missed how much the rest of Beau had changed. But when she finally did manage to drag her eyes down from the beautiful wings, she gasped.

  Beau’s legs had become the hindquarters of a horse, strong and well-muscled. His arms and hands had become feathered legs and strong talons, while his face –

  – His face had become the proud, gallant visage of an eagle, white-feathered and golden-eyed, with a strong, curved beak.

  He – he looks just like the creature in the photo, Annie thought, too stunned to move, let alone think a decently coherent thought.

  But it was true. Beau had transformed in front of her very eyes into the same mythical creature she’d seen on his phone – the one he’d insisted wasn’t Photoshopped, and was in fact very real.

  Annie was pretty sure there was no Photoshop for real life, though. She might not be any kind of graphic designer or even know much about computers beyond checking her email, but she was almost certain she would have heard about that.

  Which can only mean that this is really happening, Annie thought as she stared at the creature – what had Beau called it? A hippogriff? – as it stood amongst the shadows of the trees.

  But it’s not really just a creature. Annie swallowed. Hard. It’s Beau. He said so just before this happened. He told me that no matter what I saw, it was still him.

  “Beau?” she said, her voice so quiet even she could barely hear it. “Is it really you?”

  In response, the hippogriff let out a low, crooning sound, swishing its horse’s tail and tossing its eagle’s head, spreading its magnificent wings wide. It was almost as if it was showing itself off to her. But then, it slowly folded its wings against its back, lowering its head.

  It’s trying to show me it doesn’t mean me any harm, Annie realized in a flash of insight – and it was then that she remembered Beau’s other words: I would never hurt you.

  Remembering them now, Annie seemed to feel them in her chest – in her heart.

  He wasn’t lying after all. The thought struck her with a sudden clarity. He really was telling the truth. It wasn’t a trick. It was real.

  But then – did that mean –

  “Hippogriffs are real, then?” she suddenly blurted out, not sure what else to say. “You – you actually exist in the world?”

  And not only do you exist, you transform into ridiculously attractive men?

  Because really, Beau was the best-looking man Annie had ever seen – not to mention kind, considerate, strong, protective…

  And now he’s a hippogriff.

  Annie honestly wasn’t sure whether this went onto her list of Beau’s positive traits or not.

  She’d thought before that Beau wasn’t like other men she’d known, but this wasn’t what she’d meant!

  The hippogriff made another low, soft sound, as if trying to reassure her. Annie shivered as she felt it ripple through her, almost as if the sound itself was soothing her jangled nerves. She swallowed.

  “Would it – would it be all right to touch you?” she asked softly. She wasn’t sure if that was appropriate, but then again she doubted this situation featured in literally any dating handbook ever written.

  In any case, Beau certainly didn’t seem to take offense – quite the opposite in fact. He made another crooning sound, lowering his massive shoulder as if inviting her to touch him.

  Swallowing, Annie made her way between the trees, holding out her hand when she reached Beau’s side.

  Warm, was her first impression when her fingers brushed over the feathers on his shoulder. And soft.

  She couldn’t help it – before she could think, she’d buried her fingers in the soft feathers of his shoulder, stroking.

  Beau made a sound that was almost a purr, shifting his wings a little.

  “Is that… good?” Annie asked uncertainly, and got her answer in an even louder purr, while Beau’s golden eyes half-closed.

  This is so weird.

  And it was weird. But to be honest… Annie couldn’t say she minded, now that the initial shock had worn off.

  But she did have a lot of questions for Beau.

  Is this what he was trying to tell me about his family? she wondered. Are they all like this? Was the hippogriff in the picture a relative of his?!

  “Okay, I – I think I get it now,” she said, withdrawing her fingers regretfully from the warmth of his shoulder. “Do you… uh, do you change back?”

  God, I hope so, Annie thought. As magnificent and impressive as Beau’s current form was, she kind of missed his human form.

  She wondered if having the body and face of a particularly handsome god was all part and parcel of the amazing abilities Beau seemed to have?

  The hippogriff let out another croon – and then it was changing again, shifting back into the human form Annie had spent so much of her time today admiring.

  She couldn’t hold back a shiver as she looked up into his face, his eyes dark instead of golden once more. How was it possible that he somehow seemed to look even better than she remembered?

  Hippogriff or not, Annie couldn’t remember ever wanting anyone the way she wanted Beau – had been wanting him, since the very first moment she’d laid eyes on him.

  “You all right there?”

  Annie hadn’t even realized her knees had given out a little until Beau’s hands were on her arms, huge and warm, holding her upright easily.

  “I, uh, yeah.” She nodded, righting herself. “I guess it’s just a little bit of a delayed reaction.”

  Beau looked down at her, concern in his eyes. “I realize this must be… kind of
a shock.”

  Annie nodded. “That’s one way of putting it.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t think of a way to tell you sooner – or before you saw the photo,” Beau said. “I had hoped I’d be able to prepare you a little better first. Or at least win your trust.”

  Annie looked down, biting her lip.

  “I don’t really know where that kind of thing would come up naturally in a conversation,” she said. “So maybe it was better this way. Kind of like ripping the Band-Aid off all in one go.”

  Beau laughed, a rich, deep sound that sent a shiver down Annie’s spine. “That’s definitely one way of looking at it.”

  “But I do have a lot of questions for you,” Annie said quickly. Okay, so he turned into a half-horse, half-eagle creature. But had he always been that way? Was his whole family like this, or just some of them? How had they gotten this way? Was it a curse – or should that be a blessing, since Beau didn’t seem to be too upset about his other form? Why was it that –

  As if sensing the questions that were swirling through her mind at a mile a minute, Beau held up his hands, nodding.

  “I’ll answer anything you ask,” he said. “And there’s some things I think I need to tell you about too. But first…”

  Annie blinked up at him. “What?”

  “I think we should go get our soup. It’ll be getting cold where we left it on the table – hopefully someone hasn’t cleared it away.”

  “Oh my God, the soup!” Annie yelped, turning. “I really wanted that!”

  “Then let’s go get it – and if it’s gone, I’ll get you some more,” Beau said. He smiled, taking a few steps through the snow before turning back to her, holding out his hand toward her.

  It seemed like it had been a purely instinctive gesture on his part to help her over the snowy, uneven ground.

  But Annie only needed a second before she reached out her own hand to take it.

  Chapter 8

  The next little while was a blur in Annie’s memory.

  The soup was still sitting on their bench, thankfully, but it had gotten pretty cold. She could vaguely remember saying something about how they could get some lids for it and go heat it up at her place if Beau liked, and thinking to herself that the conversation they were about to have was one she’d much rather have in private.