by Price,E A
Annis bridled at his self-deprecating tone. “It is not your place to protect me. I should protect myself. If I had a mate, it would be his place.”
“You don’t have a mate.”
“Not yet, no,” she agreed weakly thinking of Castor. Would he worry about her when she did not return? He might worry that he would miss his chance to have younglings, but he would not particularly miss her.
Chris’ eyes hooded. “You said that before. You saying you got one lined up?”
“I, ah…”
“You do,” he rumbled angrily.
“I have not accepted the mate-claim.”
“From who?” he demanded.
“Castor.”
Chris’ face was a picture of badly controlled rage. “Castor? The asshole who tried to hurt Bob?”
“He thought I was being attacked. He did not understand. Our clan was fairly sheltered, he may never have seen a creature like Bob before.”
“So you’re what, with that guy, and you slept with me?”
Annis stopped and drew herself away from him. “No, it is not like that at all. He has just made a mate-claim for me. He can still choose to withdraw it, and I can choose to reject it. Unless I accept it, I am free. He has no say over… over the males I lay with.”
Unfortunately, that did not appease him either. “So you’re going to run off and lay with other males?”
Her formerly shallow well of rage started to run over. “I do not understand why you are angry with me yet again. When you find you have taken my innocence, you are angry with me. When you wonder if I will lay with other men, you are angry with me. You are angry with me for another male mate-claiming me. How am I to take your behavior?”
Chris didn’t say anything, just stared at her, breathing deeply, so she continued.
“You said before we were together, that you could not offer me anything, and I accepted that. You do not want me to want anything from you, and yet you seem to want something from me, but do not seem to want to tell me what that is.”
Laughter blossomed out of the darkness. Annis yelped and scuttled over to Chris. She wasn’t so annoyed or so brave that she didn’t want his reassuring presence next to her.
Chris pushed her behind him and glared at the newcomer.
“Lovers’ tiff?” sneered the male.
It was one of the males who had accompanied Carlton earlier. The less nice looking male, and considering that they both looked like they had been beaten with ugly sticks, that was saying something.
Chris’ eyes flickered to their rifle, laying on the ground two feet away. The male raised his gun. “Don’t bother trying.” He looked them over. “Looks like you’ve been having fun.”
“You have come to kill us,” said Annis.
“No, freak, just him.”
Annis tried to push past Chris, and he grasped her arm. “Why not just get rid of me while I slept?” Chris asked. “Why bother dumping me in here at all?”
The male’s cheek twitched. “That was Carlton. Thought she’d be more manageable with you around.” He scoffed. “What a waste – she’s no less manageable than an otter. Wild animal, my ass. What a waste of money she is. Still, she’ll look good stuffed and mounted in some rich guy’s study.”
Annis vibrated against Chris, but he remained remarkably calm.
“Why kill me now? Why not wait? Even if I make it to daybreak, Carlton won’t let me live. A few more hours and you’ll get your chance anyway.”
“Had to make sure it was mine.”
Chris frowned. “Have we met before or something? I cut in line in front of you at a coffee shop? Take the last scone?”
“Zeke probably won’t make it through the night. You nicked his artery. It’s a miracle he’s still hanging on.”
“Perhaps he shouldn’t run around kidnapping gargoyles.”
The man’s eyes bulged. “Zeke’s my brother, and you’re going to die for what you’ve done.”
Annis, quick as a flash stepped in front of Chris. “Then I will die, too.”
“Out of the way!” snapped the irate male.
“You will have to kill me!”
“Annis! Ugh!” Chris tried to move her and got a face full of wing for his troubles.
“Move, bitch!” snarled the man striding towards them.
Big mistake. Annis’ tail whipped out and knocked the gun from his hands. Startled, he allowed Annis to tackle him to the ground. He was a big guy, strong too, but even he struggled with the snapping and snarling female. Annis clawed at him, battering with her wings and scrabbling with her feet.
It seemed like ages but was really only moments before he finally managed to take control of her. He seized her wrists and held her away from his body. He scowled and tossed her aside. Annis thudded heavily on the ground, and Chris knocked the man out with the butt of his rifle.
Chris scrambled over to Annis and pulled her into a sitting position. He ran his hands up and down her body, just a little too thoroughly, checking her for injuries. He sat back on his haunches and sighed.
“Maybe you’re right.”
Annis looked up from inspecting a bruise on her elbow. “About what?”
“You said I didn’t have to protect you.”
“Oh,” she deflated slightly. “And you do not.”
Chris pinned her with his dark gaze. “I want to, though.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Luc snarled, and his wings flared as Castor burst into Kylie’s bedroom. Seconds before, he had been running his claws over his naked mate’s breasts and pressing soft kisses to her neck as she prattled about her day. It had been a blissful after sex moment that he looked forward to every night. Now it was ruined.
“How dare you?!” Luc howled. He looked over his shoulder to see Kylie hastily wrapping a bed sheet around herself.
Gracchus followed and tried to drag Castor away, but the belligerent male shook away Gracchus’ grip.
“I am sorry, Chief, Kylie,” said Gracchus.
“Annis is not home yet,” snapped Castor.
“Chris told us he did not know what time they would be back,” said Kylie from over his shoulder.
“Have you heard from them tonight?” demanded Castor.
Luc rose to his full height, wings, and tail twitching furiously. “No.”
Castor muttered some things under his breath about useless leaders that Luc chose to ignore.
“There is no reason to suggest…” started Gracchus.
Castor scoffed. “You trust that human male to protect Annis?”
Luc tightened. “There is no reason to suggest Chris or Annis are in danger.”
“Lief was right; you should never have allowed Annis to go. You are a fool!”
Luc growled and clasped Castor by the throat.
“Enough!” shouted Kylie, stepping between them. She appeared to have fashioned the sheet into a toga style robe. “I will call Chris and find out what’s happening.”
She pulled out her cell phone and tapped her foot as it rang and rang and rang. Kylie tried calling again, but there was no answer. “They might be busy with the new gargoyle.”
Luc peeled his claws away from Castor’s throat. “Gracchus.”
The male straightened. “Chief?”
“Tell Andrew I will require his services. You will stay here with Kylie and the clan. Castor.” He eyed the male distastefully. “You will come with me.”
*
Chris took more pleasure than he should while trying to slap their attacker awake. He was now tied to a tree, and Annis was all for leaving him and hauling their butts away, but Chris was formulating a plan, and he needed all the information he could get.
“Wake up, asshole,” Chris groused.
The man groaned as he stirred. His eyes suddenly snapped open, and he pulled against his bindings. He let out a stream of curses, and Chris growled at him to watch his language, conveniently ignoring the fact that they were words he had used in front of Annis numerous t
imes.
“How do we get out of here?” Chris demanded.
“You don’t.”
“You got in, so you must know how to get out.”
The man pursed his lips but did not say anything.
“What is your name?” asked Annis, appearing at Chris’ shoulder.
The man took a leisurely look up and down Annis’ body. “Zach, sweetheart.”
“Don’t get too close to him,” warned Chris, not liking the way the male was looking at her. “And don’t call her sweetheart.”
“Looks like your boyfriend’s getting jealous, sweetheart.”
“He is not…”
“Watch your mouth.” Chris flexed his knuckles. “How do we get out of here?”
“You won’t. One of Carlton’s rich asshole hunters will get you before you make it to the fence. Even if you did, and you somehow managed to stop the electric current, her chip would kill her trying to get through it.”
“Can’t say I’ve been particularly impressed with the hunters so far.”
“They’re not real hunters. If they were, they’d be out in the wild hunting for real. You think if they were any good they’d need bear traps and electrified fences? Carlton usually has to shoot the prey with tranq darts before one of them gets close.”
“How many are there out here?”
Zach scowled.
“How many?”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
Chris rubbed his forehead. “I’ve been hit over the head, kidnapped, hunted and worst of all some asshole keeps calling my girlfriend sweetheart, I really don’t have the patience for this – and I live with a teenage girl so I know how to be patient. You start talking, or I let my girl and her claws loose.”
Annis opened her mouth for a moment before grinning and flexing her talons.
Zach squinted at him, trying to decide if he should be worried. Annis flicked her tail, and he sighed. “Whatever. I don’t get paid enough for this, and that asshole Carlton doesn’t give a shit about Zeke. There're five hunters out there.”
Four thought Chris. One of them wasn’t getting up again anytime soon.
“And they won’t have any trouble finding you.”
Annis folded her arms. “Gargoyles can be quite stealthy and if they are not competent hunters…”
“Doesn’t matter. You got a tracking device in you. That chip he put in you doesn’t just keep you grounded.”
Annis’ hands pressed against her stomach. “You mean these men are already tracking me?”
“No, Carlton is. If he doesn’t think the hunters are making enough progress, he’ll give them a little nudge in the right direction to your location.”
“So five hunters, Carlton, you – and who else is out there?”
“Just Haddock – guy you met earlier.” Chris rubbed the back of his head, and Zach snorted. “When Carlton met you. That bump on your head was me - should have hit you harder.”
Chris rolled his eyes and took hold of Annis’ elbow, leading her away. “Jeez, it’s like a hunting trip for kindergarteners.” He stared at Annis’ stomach. “I don’t think he was lying about the tracking device.”
“You called me your girlfriend.”
“Focus, Annis,” he grumbled, pretending he hadn’t enjoyed that as much as the gleam in her eyes told him she had.
The wound on her stomach was still dark red, and starting to scab. Annis ran her claws over it, dislodging the scab. Blood oozed out of her.
“It is not healing as quickly as I would expect. That must be because of the thing they have put inside me. He called it a chip – what is that?”
Chris wiped the blood away with his thumb. “Electronic device.”
“Ah, it seemed unlikely it would be the kind that goes so well with dips.”
He smiled at her weak joke, but the worry did not leave his eyes. “We need to get it out of there.”
“But how… oh. You mean to cut me open.”
“I don’t want to.”
She could tell that he really didn’t. He looked like he would rather be doing anything at that moment in time – including having another argument with his niece over her mating with Ric.
Annis stroked his bicep. “It will be okay. I will heal quickly. You need not worry about me.”
“I always worry about you.”
Their eyes met, and she felt a flush of emotion for him. Why could Castor not look at her that way? Why could Chris not want to mate-claim her? For the first time, she had two males in her life. One she desperately wanted to be with but did not want her, and one she felt apathy toward but who did want to mate her.
The sound of Zach grunting broke the spell. They looked over at him struggling.
“He does not have any weapons, does he?”
“No, I searched him more thoroughly than I care to admit. But I’m going to tighten up the ropes a little and gag him; then we better get that thing out of you.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Carlton stared at the screen. The creature wasn’t moving. He didn’t know a lot about gargoyles. In fact, he barely knew anything. They were weird, demon looking creatures that turned to stone during the day. That was about it.
Belatedly, he thought that maybe he should have asked his mystery caller for a little more information. Tigers and lions and bears were just animals – they had the same instincts as all other mindless predators. But this gargoyle was virtually human. She could plan and create traps – probably almost as good as any human could.
He was starting to grow concerned at how little progress any of the hunters were making, and one of them was already down for the count. The idiot managed to get caught in a bear trap – Haddock had gone to fetch him. Carlton knew the clients he selected were pretty incompetent, but given how frustrated they sounded when they checked in, he feared that he had five requests for refunds coming his way.
No way was that happening. He had lawyers’ bills and a wife who spent money like it was going out of fashion. They were not getting refunds.
Time to give them a little nudge in the right direction.
*
“You better bite down on something,” said Chris. “In case you need to scream.”
Cradling Annis’ head, he laid her down on the ground.
“On what should I bite?” she asked gently.
He could see the apprehension in her eyes, but she was being brave. She was a heck of a lot braver than he had ever given her credit for. When he first met her, he admitted he thought she was weak, in need of protection – in need of him. But there was a steeliness in Annis he hadn’t guessed at. Maybe the years of abuse she suffered from her former clan had made her stubborn, rather than breaking her down. With every passing moment, he admired her even more, loved her even… That thought broke off abruptly. No, that isn’t… no.
“What is wrong? You look startled?”
Annis gazed up at him with her enormous purple eyes.
“Ah, nothing. I’m fine. We better hurry.”
“What should I bite on? I fear my fangs would crush a stick.”
Chris almost volunteered his neck again. He couldn’t say he’d ever been bitten before by any of his previous girlfriends. They may have nibbled on his ear, but a full on bite was new to him. Vaguely, he suspected that his reaction to it wasn’t quite normal, but he had certainly enjoyed it. But no, now was not the time.
He hobbled back over to Zach and removed the man’s leather belt. That would do nicely.
She took it and bit down, nodding at him to start. She clenched her small fists, and Chris desperately didn’t want to have to do this. Annis assured him she would be fine, and she would endure the pain and heal. But could he endure causing her pain?
Chris shook his head and grasped the knife in his sweating hand. Slowly, he pierced her pink skin. The ugly wound marred her perfect skin, and he resolved to get the damn chip out of her as quickly as possible to allow her to heal.
Annis flinched and squir
med a little, but she held herself remarkably still. The knife burrowed inside her as blood bubbled out. Chris almost felt queasy, not enjoying seeing this much of her blood. After what felt like an age, he touched something with the tip of his knife – hopefully, the chip and not something vital. He pulled the knife out and plunged his fingers inside. Muted moans came from Annis, but he could not stop now. His fingers squelched inside her until finally, he found it and pulled it out.
Chris panted as if he had run a marathon and displayed the tiny device for Annis to see. Also panting and sweating, she spat the belt out and frowned at it.
“It is so tiny; I find it hard to believe it is capable of so much damage.”
Chris pressed his palm to her wound. “You did wonderfully, sweetheart. Well done.”
Gingerly, she pulled herself into a sitting position. “It is you who did all the work. Thank you.” She brushed a kiss over his lips and then licked her own, savoring the flavor.
His heart, which was already banging like a drum started thundering, almost trying to get out of his chest. “You are more than welcome.”
Carefully, she pushed his hand away and fingered her gaping cut. “I believe I will use Zach’s shirt to staunch this wound while it heals. It seems only fair that he donate it to my cause.”
“That seems more than fair.”
“I take it you have an idea of what to do with that?” She nodded at the chip, still lying in his palm.
“Yeah, I think this is just what we need.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Andrew hurried back to the van where an increasingly irritated Luc and an increasingly impatient Castor waited. He got in the driver’s seat and winced as he looked into the faces of the huge gargoyles.
“I spoke to the guy on the front desk. Chris booked in for two nights, hasn’t checked out yet. Doesn’t know where he is. Says he hasn’t heard or seen anything suspicious, but I kind of get the feeling he’s the type of guy who would go out of his way to avoid trouble.”
Andrew had driven at breakneck speed to look for Annis and Chris. They were planning on heading straight to the location of the gargoyle, but they noticed the van parked in the lot of the motel where Chris told them he was staying.