Tamian

by Faith Gibson

  His features weren’t extraordinary, but he was the most perfect male she’d ever seen. His brown hair was interspersed with random strands of red, and his eyes... Lucy had never seen that particular shade of green before – jade surrounded with a hint of blue. He had a strong jaw, and his chin was squared off but not overly so. His voice was deep but on the soft side, and when he called her sweetheart, it filled her with a warmth she never wanted to be away from.

  When he hung up, he said, “We’re all set. The car will be here in less than an hour.”

  “What shall we do with all that time?” Lucy asked. She didn’t recognize her own voice. Never had she felt as brazen as she did around Tamian.

  “It’s nice outside. How about a walk?”

  That wasn’t exactly what Lucy had in mind, but they did need to talk before they had sex. She had no doubt once he got her in bed she wouldn’t be able to refuse his mate bond. She was pretty sure it’s what she wanted, but if there was something about him and his family she found to be contradictory to what little she knew, it would be better to find out before she was tethered to him for life.

  “A walk sounds nice.” Lucy held her hand out, and Tamian slotted their fingers together.

  Once outside, they turned toward the shriveled-up rows of grapevines. “So,” they said at the same time, laughing and smiling at the other. “You first,” Lucy offered.

  “I feel like I know the basics, so why don’t you tell me what you think I should know about you. Tell me all your dark secrets.”

  “Ha! What makes you think I have dark secrets?” Lucy nudged his shoulder with hers. She liked that he wasn’t too much taller than she was.

  “Doesn’t everyone have secrets?”

  “Do you?” she asked. Tamian tensed beside her. “Tamian? Is there something I should know?”

  He stopped walking and turned her to face him. “As a matter of fact, yes. It’s probably one of the biggest secrets in the world, and if we’re going to be together, it’s something you need to know. I’m not going to ask you not to tell, because if you’re the kind of female I believe you to be, I already know you’ll keep it to yourself.”

  “You can tell me anything,” Lucy promised.

  Tamian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, his smile was sad. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Dr. Jonas Montague and how he cloned the world’s first baby.”

  “Of course. You’d have to live under a rock not to have heard that story.”

  “Jonas is my uncle. Great uncle, actually.”

  “Is? He’s still alive? I thought he was killed when his building was destroyed.”

  “He’s very much alive. As a matter of fact, he’s the one who constructs the prosthetics I wear. Anyway, that’s not the part you need to know. The cloned baby was my sister, Tessa. I’m... I’m the clone. It’s my fault the world fell apart.”

  “You’re a clone?” Lucy cocked her head to the side while studying his features intently. He let her look her fill while he waited for her to tell him he was a freak. Instead, she muttered, “Amazing,” and continued tracing his jaw with her fingers. If Lucy was shocked or repulsed, she didn’t show it. Instead of focusing on the bomb he dropped or treating him like the science experiment he was, she latched onto the part about him being to blame. “Your fault? You didn’t ask to be born.”

  Tamian shook his head. “But I wasn’t born; I was created.”

  “Same difference, in my opinion. Someone wanted you to be here. Was your sister sick?”

  “No. Jonas is a genius, and he figured out how to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Does that not bother you? That I’m not... that I’m made up of someone else’s parts?” he whispered.

  “We’re all products of someone else. And no, it doesn’t bother me; it’s just surprising. Wow.” Lucy grinned, running her fingers along his jaw. “I knew you were special, but damn. I didn’t know just how special you are.” Tamian relaxed at her words, and Lucy pulled him down for a sweet kiss.

  Fuck! What had he done? Ramey gripped his hair with both hands and pulled, cursing God, Jesus, Buddha, and any other deity he could think of. “Okay, calm the fuck down. Nobody knows where the lab is. Nobody except that bitch. Fuck, why did I think she’d take after her old man?” Talking to himself wasn’t going to accomplish anything. He couldn’t do anything about the bodies, but he sure as fuck could get the computer files swept. He needed to get into the lab, grab the computers and journals, and then he’d burn the place to the ground.

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed. “I have a job for you, and I’ll pay double your usual fee to make it happen yesterday.” Ramey explained what he needed, and after his contact agreed, he placed another call. “I need you to wipe the feed from both inside the lab and out. Whatever you see stays between us, or you’ll end up like my men, understand? After that’s handled, you need to work your magic on the audio and make it sound like Agent Ball killed those men. Don’t worry about her home. I’ll handle that.”

  Over twenty years of progress went out the fucking window with Agent Ball. He should have vetted her better before letting her into the lab. When his hacker discovered Lucy’s own snooping abilities, Ramey had made sure the higher ups agreed with him on giving her an ultimatum. It didn’t surprise him when she took the offer of a job over jail time. What did surprise him was how she hadn’t known of her father’s part in their secret project.

  Lucius had assured him he was grooming Lucy to take over his research, but then the bastard had gone and had a heart attack. At least that’s what his wife had claimed. Vera Ball had been a wreck at the funeral, but something about her explanation hadn’t set well with Ramey. Lucius had been healthy. Had never missed a day of their research to go to the doctor. Maybe he’d had some underlying illness he hadn’t known about, but that was no longer relevant.

  What mattered was finding Lucy and making her pay. How the fuck had she jumped out the window and escaped into thin air with a bullet wound? The blood had dried up by the time Ramey followed the trail later. He’d spent all night searching the area for clues and had come up with nothing but her bloodstained blouse and jacket. He had a man in New York watching her house. Lucy hadn’t returned, but there were at least two bikers hanging out there around-the-clock. What was Lucy doing with thugs like them? Getting into her home and finding Lucius’s research was going to be harder than he originally planned, but he wouldn’t stop until he had all evidence of what they were working on in his possession. If only his old buddy Gordon Flanagan was still alive.

  Flanagan had created the Unholy, and Ramey had taken that knowledge to Lucius. There had to be a way to create a super soldier that didn’t turn into a freak. Flanagan refused to give up all his information, but what he did hand over had been invaluable. The Unholy didn’t die out with Flanagan. Someone was still creating the monsters, and Ramey intended to find out who.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  At Lucy’s admission, Tamian blew out a deep breath then smiled. A real smile that reached his eyes. “You’re the special one. I thought for sure once you knew my secret you’d run screaming.”

  He took the hand stroking his face and kissed her fingertips. Goosebumps rose on her skin, and she was beginning to think talking was overrated. Fighting back the urge to say “the hell with it,” she focused on Tamian’s fear of rejection. “I’m a little tougher than that. Being a shifter and having known I was different my whole life has allowed me to keep an open mind. For the most part. What Ramey had me working on and the stuff I discovered beneath my home, I’ve found the one thing I can’t abide.”

  “I saw it. When I went back for your things, I couldn’t believe what you’d had to endure. No matter if you are a scientist or geneticist, that was some crazy shit.”

  “You’re telling me. What are we going to do about Ramey?”

  “One of my Clan was able to hack into the security feed and download the evidence of not only your conversation with him,
but your boss killing six humans in cold blood.”

  “He did what?”

  “After you jumped out the window and took off, Ramey had all the other employees from the lab as well as some military types looking for you. When they failed to bring you back, he shot the ones who hadn’t taken off.”

  “I knew he was a monster, but murder? That shouldn’t surprise me, because I’m pretty sure the torsos belonged to people who didn’t sign up to have their bodies dissected.”

  “We’ll make sure to figure out if Ramey was answering to someone higher up, or if this was his idea. Either way, we will find a way to put a stop to it.”

  “I wish I could believe you. Look at the Unholy. That’s been going on for decades, and they’re still being made somehow.”

  “We’re trying to get a handle on that as well. That’s what the Gargoyles do; they fight the Unholy. Tell me about the Gryphons. What is their end game?”

  “Since the Gargoyles tackle the Unholy, the Hounds are trying to get the Ministry under control. They’re the ones responsible for bombing your uncle’s clinic and setting the world on its ear. They’re a religious cult with factions far and wide. The Hounds do their best to infiltrate the cult and take out the leader. The hard part is taking care of those who’ve been brainwashed. That’s what I was doing before Ramey recruited me to the dark side. I used my access to the GIA’s equipment to help find where the Ministry has their base camps.”

  “So, not only are you a skilled geneticist, you’re a hacker as well?” Tamian asked with what sounded like pride in his voice.

  “I wouldn’t go that far. My skills are novice, at best. When I found out Lucius and Vera weren’t my real parents, I paid a fellow student to teach me some more extensive computer skills to find my birth father. That led me to my grandparents and the Hounds. I knew I was a Gryphon, but I didn’t realize there were those out in the world doing good deeds. Vera was human, so she didn’t have anything to aid in raising me as a shifter. Lucius was more worried about how I could help in the lab. His focus was on the differences in the Gryphons and the Gargoyles. At least, that’s what he always told me. Now, I’m not sure that was the case.”

  “I can help with the differences. You don’t need a lab for that.” Tamian turned toward the restaurant. “I think that’s our ride,” he said. “Let’s go see.” Lucy hadn’t heard anything, but she didn’t have enhanced hearing, only eyesight and strength.

  Before they’d walked too far, Tamian paused, his head turning toward the woods behind the restaurant. “Stay here,” he instructed and strode toward the trees. “Godsdamnit,” he muttered before taking off at a run. Lucy wasn’t about to stay where she was if there was going to be trouble. He might be a Gargoyle and her protector, but Lucy wasn’t without her own strengths, and if they were going to be together, he’d have to get over that.

  When she caught up with Tamian, she couldn’t believe what was happening. Tamian’s wings were spread behind him, and his claws and fangs were bared. That would be sexy if he wasn’t facing down a ten-foot Gryphon. But Tamian wasn’t alone. A car slid to a stop, and a male larger than Tamian exited the passenger door, shifting as he came to a stop next to Tamian. Like Tamian’s, his shirt shredded and fell to the ground at his feet.

  A stunning, redheaded woman, dressed like she belonged on the back of a Hound’s bike, ran to his other side. She didn’t have wings, but her claws and fangs were bared. Was that the type of woman Tamian preferred? When Monk moved toward Tamian, Lucy yelled, “No!” and shifted into her Gryphon. She wasn’t as tall as Monk, but she needed him to know where she stood, and that was with her Gargoyle.

  “Get back!” Tamian yelled, but she ignored him – assuming he was talking to her – and rushed to put herself between Tamian and Monk. The woman stepped in front of Tamian as if to protect him.

  “Stay away from him!” Lucy yelled. Her attention was torn between Monk and the three Gargoyles, but her loyalty was true. When Monk rose on his hind legs, Lucy did the same before charging the Hound while Tamian used his shifter speed to get between them.

  Before she could stop him, Tamian dove head-first at Monk, catching his eagle half in the ribs. Monk’s claws came down on Tamian’s back, scratching for purchase around his leathery wings. The two of them rolled on the ground with Tamian landing on his stomach. Monk took advantage of Tamian’s position and dove on top of him, digging his talons into the meat of Tamian’s thighs. Instead of shredding his skin, it just managed to piss the Gargoyle off. His wings retracted, and Tamian rolled away from Monk, before flipping up onto his feet.

  When the other male Gargoyle rounded on Lucy, she shifted into her human. “I’m on your side,” she yelled, before he could strike.

  The male asked, “Lucy?”

  “Yes. I need to get Monk to stop this craziness.” With that, she once again called forth her Gryphon and studied how best to get Monk away from Tamian.

  While her back was turned, Tamian had put space between him and the Hound. Lucy took the opportunity to charge Monk. While she was in mid-flight, Tamian yelled, “Monk, shift to your human.”

  Surprisingly, Monk did as Tamian commanded, holding his hands up in front of him. Lucy barely had time to skid to a halt before bowling over the male. She changed into her lion just as she reached Monk and knocked him on his ass. Placing her front paws on his naked chest, she bared her teeth and nipped at his shoulder. She wouldn’t harm him since he’d submitted, but she also wouldn’t give him the opportunity to go after Tamian again. Lucy called on the earth, and dirt swirled in a cyclone around the two of them. Monk’s eyes widened. Gryphons rarely used the elements against one another, but she needed him to see how serious she was.

  “Lucy, stop.” Tamian’s voice was calm yet firm. She released her element, and the dust settled. Removing her paws from Monk’s chest, she circled his body, huffing in his face. Monk didn’t move as she padded over to Tamian, sitting back on her haunches and leaning against his leg. Her mate stroked her head, digging his fingers into the fur behind her ear. She didn’t try to keep from purring. In all her years, Lucy never thought about finding a male who would so readily accept her shifter, but here one was, not even blinking when she changed forms.

  “I think we need to have a discussion,” Tamian said to Monk. The Hound rose to his feet, not trying to cover his naked body. It never bothered Lucy to see him or any of the other Hounds without their clothes after shifting. It was part of who they were. She knew her mate didn’t understand that aspect of the Gryphons, and she had already met with his possessiveness. Lucy remained as her lion so neither Monk or the other male would see her naked. When Tamian shifted so he was no longer bearing fangs and claws, the man and woman with him did the same, but their bodies remained rigid and alert. Lucy couldn’t smell fear on either of them.

  Tamian kept his fingers in Lucy’s fur as he spoke. “I realize you have feelings for Lucy. I can’t fault you for that. As far as I know, you aren’t aware of the ways of the Gargoyles. When we find our mate, that’s it for us. There is no other. Lucy is mine, if she’ll have me.” Lucy grunted and nudged Tamian’s leg, letting Monk know she’d already made her choice.

  When she glanced up at the Hound, his eyes were wet. He used his hands to sign one of the few phrases she recognized. “I’m sorry.” With that, Monk shifted into his eagle and flew away.

  “Well, I’m jealous,” the female said, stepping toward Tamian. Lucy growled, moving between the female and Tamian. The redhead laughed, holding up her hands. “Nice kitty. Damn, Tam. It seems your mate’s got a jealous streak. I like her already. I’m Tessa, his sister,” she said to Lucy. Thumbing over her shoulder, she added, “This here’s our Uncle Vitto. I’d shake your hand, but...” Tessa’s grin was infectious. Yeah, Lucy liked her too.

  Tamian’s beast was confused. It was urging him to take off after the Gryphon and to drag Lucy inside the building and make her theirs, but he had to take care of her in a different way. “Vitto, if you would, tur
n your back so Lucy can get dressed?” When Vitto complied, Tamian picked up Lucy’s clothes where they’d fallen as she shifted. When she was standing naked before him, he said, “If I wasn’t so impressed with you right now, I’d be pissed at you for putting yourself between Monk and me.” He leaned closer, dragging her against his body and searing their mouths together. “That was so fucking hot,” he mumbled against her lips.

  “Can you two wait until the kids are out of the room before you get busy?” Tessa teased over her shoulder.

  Lucy took her clothes one article at a time. While she was dressing, she said, “Do you mind telling me how you got Monk to stand down? I mean, your voice commanded obedience, but I’ve never known a Hound to back down from a fight so willingly.”

  Tamian wasn’t ready to admit his ability to coerce others. He would tell her his secret when they were alone. After they mated. Instead, he skirted the truth. “He was probably thinking about your safety. And speaking of, we need to get out of here. Monk has no doubt gone to tell the others where we are. I’d like to avoid another confrontation, if at all possible.”

  “The others have already gone back to New York. When Rafael offered up his jet, Ryker accepted. Since his texts to Monk have gone unanswered, Ryker decided to leave the male here to deal with his issues on his own,” Tessa explained. “Ryker wasn’t happy about you going off with Tamian, but he did concede it was your choice.”

  “Then let’s go. First, I need to get my bag out of the restaurant,” Lucy said.

  “I’ll go grab it for you,” Tessa offered. Tamian’s sister jogged into the building before Lucy could argue, leaving her with the two shirtless males. She averted her eyes from Tamian’s uncle’s chest as he approached.