by Tami Lund
Ah, yes, that made sense.
***
When they finally headed downstairs, the living area was packed, mostly with dragons although there were a few witches and gargoyles in the mix, too.
Becca was learning how to tell the difference based on their various auras.
“Hey there,” a beautiful blonde said as she hurried over and enveloped Rahu in a hug. Becca frowned and lifted her hand like she was about to zap the woman or something; Rahu grabbed Becca’s fingers and squeezed.
“Talia, I’d like you to meet my mate, Becca,” he said quickly. “Becca, this is my reeve’s mate.”
Becca was pretty sure her grin spread ear to ear while Talia clapped her hands. “So it’s true?” she said on a near shout.
Her mate, Gabe, stepped up behind her, an elementary-aged child balanced on his forearm. “Rahu found his mate, huh?” He smiled at Becca.
“And she’s a god,” Talia pronounced. “Can you believe it?” She gave Becca an appraising look, like she expected to see some sort of sign indicating she was anything other than…herself.
Becca just kept on smiling.
“Seriously?” Petra moved out of the crowd and embraced Becca. “That’s really cool. By the way, hi, Becca. Nice to see you again.”
Becca laughed. “Thanks. You too.”
“What are you all doing here?” Rahu asked.
Besides Antoinette and Ketu and their son, Henri, it seemed half Rahu’s colony was standing around in the living area of Antoinette’s mansion. Noah, Petra’s mate, was across the room, holding their young daughter, Sadie. An older, redheaded woman named Ginger, who was introduced as Gabe’s grandmother, was there, too. It was a practically a Zilarra family reunion.
Talia spoke up. “Ketu called and let us know that you’d been in a battle with warlocks and demigods, and of course we all had to come see for ourselves.”
The crowd rustled, and Becca tensed. Rahu wrapped his arm around her shoulders as Argyle edged through the small space between two dragons, with Pacey by his side. He walked slower than he normally did—wounds caused by magical knives could do that to a man—his gaze locked onto Becca.
Argyle paused while he was still a good twenty feet away. “I will leave, if you wish it,” he said quietly, still watching her.
The entire room had gone quiet. Did they all know about Argyle and Becca’s relationship?
“Ohh, this is good,” Delilah said as she shoveled popcorn from the bowl she was holding into her mouth.
Yeah, looked like they knew. Great. Not exactly how she would have liked this little reunion to play out.
“Do you want to go outside?” Rahu asked Becca.
She shook her head. “It’s fine. Hello, Argyle.”
She didn’t call him Dad.
“You have a great deal of questions,” Argyle said.
Becca nodded.
Argyle glanced around the room. “Should we go somewhere more private?”
“Quit trying to cut us out of the conversation,” Delilah called out.
Becca rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. They’ll all find out eventually anyway. Or did they all already know?”
Argyle shook his head. “Only Pacey and I knew.”
Becca’s gaze slid to her aunt. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you let me believe my father was dead? For that matter, why did you let me believe that man was my father in the first place? Why couldn’t I know that I’m—oh my God, I forgot that I’m part gargoyle.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Ohmigod, I was planning to dress you up in baby clothes!”
Argyle winced. Someone else snickered. Probably Delilah.
Becca swung around to Rahu. He shrugged. She knew it didn’t matter to him. He loved her no matter what.
“Can I shift?” She moved her gaze to Argyle. “Can I turn into a gargoyle? Not a stone statue—God, I’m so sick of those things—but an actual, flying gargoyle?”
“Yes,” Argyle said.
Becca swung back around to Rahu. “We can fly together!”
He laughed. “That’s cool, although you riding on my back certainly wasn’t a hardship.”
He grinned while she felt her face heat.
“Okay, so you’re going to have to teach me how to shift. But first, let’s get back to the whys.” She focused her attention on Pacey, who glanced at Argyle.
“It was all my doing,” Argyle said.
“But you knew,” Becca said to her aunt.
Pacey nodded. “I did, but I was in no position to make decisions regarding your protection. I was mourning my sister’s death and terrified that they were coming for you. When Argyle blocked your memories and created the wards around my house and taught me how to do that concealment spell—”
“Good work on that, by the way,” Delilah piped up.
“—it was a relief to let someone else be in charge of everything,” Pacey finished.
“So who was that guy I thought was my dad? Is he still alive? Did he know he wasn’t my dad?”
“Yes, he’s still alive,” Argyle said. “We erased his memory so he would not recognize you if the two of you crossed paths. He is human and is living a comfortable life out in Washington State. He is happy. Married a widow with two children he is raising as his own.”
Rahu hated that the man had no idea that he’d already been a father once in his life.
“I could go out there and replace his memories, couldn’t I?” Becca asked.
Argyle hesitated and then nodded. “Though I’d advise against it. He is human, Rebecca. His mind may not be able to handle the trauma.”
Becca’s shoulders slumped. “I suppose I have to be content knowing he’s happy.”
“That would be best,” Argyle said.
“Did my mom know? That you’re my dad? Wait, of course she did.”
Argyle and Pacey exchanged a look, and then Argyle said, “Yes, she was aware. She was a Daughter of Light as well and aware of her own status, so if I had tried to alter her memories, I doubt it would have worked. It only worked on you because you weren’t aware of who—what you were, at the time.”
“Yeah, speaking of, if my mom knew how important we are to safeguarding our species, why did she agree to let me believe I was human?”
Argyle’s stone façade slipped, and for a moment, he was no more than a weary old man. And then he straightened, his cool demeanor returned, and he said, “Because I demanded it be so.”
“Why?”
“Because of my status. Because of who I am. Because of what I do.” He paused and looked around at his audience. They were all hanging on every word. Even the kids appeared fascinated.
“I too am descended from the gods.”
“Whoa,” Rahu blurted. “Didn’t see that one coming.”
Becca grabbed his hand and laced her fingers with his. “This changes nothing.”
He grinned but it was replaced by a frown when Argyle noticed.
“I am not allowed to sire offspring. If my leader finds out, I would likely be excommunicated. That is why I did not tell him about you when you were born. Not only that, but because I am a demigod, there is a chance they will decide I should be eliminated, for they will fear I may seek revenge for their decision.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Becca pronounced.
“It is the way of the gargoyles.”
“If you aren’t allowed to sire offspring, how do you maintain your population?” Becca asked.
“Not all are disallowed, only those who are assigned to my line of work. Additionally, we are immortal, so procreating is not necessarily a priority.”
“Wait,” Becca said, her heart rate kicking into overdrive, “I’m going to live forever?”
“Forever?” Rahu said, frowning.
“Before you let your self-doubt rear up again,” Argyle said, speaking to him. “If you are truly her mate, she has the ability to make you immortal so that you will be together forever.”
“Coo
l,” Becca said, squeezing Rahu’s hand.
“Unfortunately, this tale does not necessarily have a happy ending,” Argyle said.
“Uh-oh,” Delilah muttered around a mouthful of popcorn.
“If my employer becomes aware of you, they will insist you join us and become a protector, as I am.”
Becca shrugged. “That’s not so bad. Is it?”
“It is if you are the only remaining Daughter of Light in this world. Your destiny is not to protect those who need it most. Your destiny is to protect your own people. Witches.”
“Isn’t that what gargoyles do?” Gabe asked.
“Gargoyles don’t hunt down and kill warlocks, though,” Becca said before Argyle could answer. She looked up at Rahu again. “I think he’s saying I have to leave New Orleans.”
“Well, that’s okay,” Talia said. “You can move to Detroit and join our colony.”
But Becca shook her head. “No. I have to hunt warlocks. I can’t live anywhere, not permanently. I have to spend the rest of eternity chasing down the bad guys.” She stared into Rahu’s eyes, hoping against hope.
“Sounds like fun,” he said. “When do we leave?”
She was certain her smile was so bright it could light up an entire city. “You want to come with me?”
“Of course. You’re my mate. I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, if that’s what it took to be with you.”
“Ohmigod, I love you!” She leaped into his arms, and oblivious to their audience, peppered kisses all over his face.
“When is she going to drop the ‘god’ bit?” Delilah said. “It’s gods. Hell, she’s one of ’em.”
The room erupted into laughter, followed by chatter as everyone began talking at once. But Becca hardly noticed.
She was too busy kissing her mate.
THE END
If you liked Tami Lund’s dragons, you should give her Lightbearers a try. Turn the page to read the first chapter of Into the Light…
Into the Light
Shifters dominate the human world, while Lightbearers stay hidden away in their magically-protected coterie. That is, until Olivia Bennett, princess of the Lightbearers, is captured by the most powerful shifter of them all—Quentin Lyons, who believes that to kill a Lightbearer is to inherit her magic.
His son, Tanner, doesn’t believe his father’s theory. In the ultimate betrayal, Tanner rescues Olivia and vows to return her to her home. Along the way, he discovers two other Lightbearers who have left the safety of the coterie, not to mention an attraction to the Lightbearer princess that becomes increasingly more difficult to ignore with each hour he spends in her company.
The attraction makes no sense. Lightbearers and shifters have been mortal enemies since the dawn of time. He’s supposed to feel the urge to kill her, not … well, you know.
Lightbearer Series:
First Light (prequel #1)
Broken Light (prequel #2)
Into the Light
Dawning of Light
Light Beyond the Darkness
Change in the Light
Cupid’s Light
Chapter 1
They found him in a no-name bar in a no-name town, playing pool and getting hustled by a human. Tanner spared a moment to determine he would rather continue to be hustled out of his hard earned cash than to talk with the two shifters who stood at the other end of the pool table.
He bent at the waist to take his shot, brushing an errant lock of hair out of his face as he did so. The redheaded woman in the pink shirt and blue jean mini that barely covered her ass noticed the gesture. He wondered how fast he could get rid of the two reminders of a life he’d left behind ten years ago, so he could make a move on the human.
Tanner took his time taking his shot, partially as an excuse to size up the intruders on his shifter-less life. Finnegan Hennigan, coppery hair, pale blue eyes, same age as Tanner, arguably the best tracker in Tanner’s former pack—if not the country. Not surprising they’d found him, with Finn assigned to the task.
The other one was Mickey Rollins, dark hair, dark eyes, a young punk who couldn’t be more than twenty, was probably more like seventeen or eighteen. Tanner remembered him as one of the many in the pack who idolized the pack leader and everything he stood for.
“Your father sent us,” Mickey said when Tanner made no move to acknowledge their presence.
Tanner did not take his gaze off the pool table. “There’s a shadow on the table,” he commented in a gravelly voice that was rough as sandpaper from lack of use. Tanner didn’t talk much. He didn’t have anyone in his life worth talking to.
Mickey scowled, but obligingly shuffled to the side. Finn smirked. Tanner took his shot, a sloppy one that nonetheless landed in the corner pocket. His human opponent nodded his approval and offered a word of advice for the next time he had the same opportunity. Mickey looked enraged that the human was even speaking to Tanner, let alone offering him advice on playing pool.
“He wants to see you, Tanner.” Mickey tried again to pull Tanner’s attention.
“I don’t give a fuck what that bastard wants.” He took another shot and succeeded in pocketing the cue ball.
“He captured a Lightbearer.”
Tanner didn’t even lift an eyebrow. “Again? You know, Wyoming doesn’t have a very large human population to begin with. At the rate my father is going, he’s going to wipe them out.”
“It’s for real this time,” Mickey assured him. He glanced at the human pool player, who appeared oblivious to their conversation as he proceeded to run the table.
It’s always “for real this time.”
“Quentin Lyons rules the most powerful shifter pack in the country. He has everything a shifter would want. Why the fuck does he keep wasting his time chasing myths?”
He even had women, any and all the women he could possibly want, Tanner thought ruefully as he eyed the redhead again. Unlike Quentin, Tanner sometimes had to work to attract a warm, willing body into his bed. At a young age, Tanner had become aware that Quentin made a habit of sleeping around, despite having been mated to Tanner’s mother for nearly forty years. Shifters may mate for life, but in Quentin’s world, that didn’t mean they had to stay faithful for life.
Another reason to despise the man.
“It’s not a myth,” Mickey insisted. His gaze darted to Tanner’s human opponent. Discussing business associated with the magical world was strictly off-limits in front of humans, and Tanner knew it was making Mickey nervous that he didn’t seem concerned that the human had overheard any part of their conversation.
“No one can inherit magic from anyone,” Tanner replied, deliberately speaking at a normal level. The human could hear their conversation, Tanner well knew. The thing about humans, he’d learned, was that they only heard what they wanted to hear.
“Quentin says it’s true,” Mickey stubbornly pressed on.
“So that makes it true?” Tanner said with sour amusement in his voice.
“Yes.” Mickey insisted, absolutely convinced.
Finn stood with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, observing the interaction but offering no opinion. Tanner wondered if he even had an opinion on the subject, or if he followed blindly like all the rest in Quentin’s pack.
“Tell him I’m not interested in his stupid obsession,” Tanner suggested without looking at the messengers. He didn’t want them to see the guilt in his eyes. All three knew that if Tanner didn’t go back to the pack with Mickey and Finn, Quentin would take out his wrath on the other two. It had happened plenty of times over the course of the last ten years. Every time they found him.
Time to move again.
Mickey shoved his hand into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a scrap of material, white with silver and gold thread woven into the fabric. He thrust it at Tanner. “It’s true,” he insisted. “Touch this. You can still feel her magic.”
The human won the game and Tanner pulled two twenties out of
his wallet. “Why don’t you go get us all a round?” he suggested. He wasn’t surprised when the human nodded his head and did Tanner’s bidding. Whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not, he was a natural born leader. Future pack master.
No. I made my choice. I chose to live by my own rules, not his.
He noticed the redhead had lost interest and moved away from the pool table, probably because none of the men in the vicinity were paying her any attention. Not all my choices are my own, he thought with disappointment, as her swinging ass disappeared around the corner.
Tanner pulled his gaze away from the sight and studied the scrap of material. In truth, he could feel ... something without even touching the stuff. But it had to be a trick of some sort. There were plenty of other magical beings in the universe. Not many that lived in the human world, though. Only the shifters claimed that right. Everybody else had their own worlds in which to live.
“Descendants of the fae,” Mickey said in an excited voice, reciting what they’d all learned as younglings, crouched around Quentin’s knee as he expounded about his obsession. “They moved to our world to get away from the fae, who were so obsessed with them that they wanted to enslave the entire race.”
“I sense a theme here,” Tanner drawled.
Mickey flushed and angrily pressed on. “Their magic is renewable. Everybody knows it.”
“Yeah, I get that they got their magic from the sun,” Tanner acknowledged. He eyed the scrap of material in Mickey’s hand. “But no one has seen a trace of Lightbearers in over five hundred years. Somebody wiped them out. Probably our kind, trying to inherit their magic.”
“Probably our kind eating them for dinner,” Finn contributed to the conversation for the first time. “Back then we were slightly more primal.”
“Slightly,” Tanner remarked tongue-in-cheek. Finn smirked. Tanner recalled how they used to hang out when they were kids. They’d shifted for the first time together. Now, Finn was Quentin’s best tracker and Tanner was doing his damnest to avoid getting sucked back into the pack. Time and change and all that.
“If a shifter kills a Lightbearer, he’ll inherit its magic.” Mickey refused to give up on Quentin’s obsession.