by A C Warneke
Stepping up to the microphone, he tapped it a few times until he had everyone’s attention. With a smile that had all of the females swooning, even the ones whose hearts he had broken, he said, “We have a very special gift for you tonight. With plenty of arm twisting, an epic dose of blackmail, and a few tears, I’ve finally gotten my sister to agree to sing a song for all of your pleasure.”
Daisy was sure her brother had chosen his words deliberately and she had to grit her teeth to keep from puking. She was friends with all of these people and what she was about to do was unthinkable except she was going to do it anyways. Hopefully they were as unaffected as her brother because now that she was on stage, she inexplicably discovered she really wanted to sing. Clearing her throat, she stepped up to the mike, “Um, hi.”
“Hi, Daisy!” half of the crowd called out, making her feel excited and at the same time even worse. Her parents were going to kill her. It didn’t matter that she was twenty years old, they were going to lock her up in a convent and never let her see the light of day again. Roman would never find her and she’d die a virgin.
Yet something was egging her on, this overwhelming desire to push some limits and spread her wings. With a nervous chuckle, she said, “Fair warning, you might want to cover your ears.”
“Do you need any music?” Dominic asked softly. When she shook her head no, he sat down on the stool that was next to her and got comfortable, unaware of the chaos that was about to be unleashed.
Silently praying for forgiveness, she opened her mouth and sang the song that Roman had sung, the slowed down version of the popular rock ballad. Losing herself in the music, she closed her eyes and thought about Roman, feeling the love swell in her breast. The song filled the room, pushing out all of the air as her voice enchanted all of the wolves save one, her brother.
Her body was on fire as lust seeped from all of her pores. The world disappeared until it was just her and her song, her voice crashing over everyone in the room and pulling them under. A vision of Roman swam in her imagination and her heartbeat accelerated as her body grew heavy with desire. The naked gargoyle stood before her as she beckoned him into her body….
“Daisy, stop,” Dominic whispered, grabbing her arm and bringing her back to the present. Blinking her eyes open, she looked at his hand on her arm and then the horror in his face. “Daisy.”
Licking her lips, she turned her head and looked out across the bar. Clothing was in shreds as mated wolves fucked one another with primitive abandon and the unmated male wolves watched her with glittering eyes. Slowly, she looked at her brother who was already unbuttoning his shirt. “You’re an unmated wolf, Daise, no matter that you can’t shift, and you just made every unmated male take notice. I’ll hold them off as long as possible but you have to get the fuck out of here.”
Pulling his shirt off, he pushed her behind him and growled, “Run.”
With shaky hands, she nodded, taking off without looking over her shoulder again. As soon as she cleared the doorway, a massive beast scooped her up into his arms and flew into the night sky. Somehow, she knew Roman would keep her safe. All at once, exhaustion swept over her and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a hundred years. It was the song; it had drained her completely.
Wrapping her arms around Roman’s thick neck, she buried her face against his throat and breathed in his cool earth scent. A smile curved her lips because she had sung for him and he had been there to hear.
The moment he landed in front of her door, Roman had his hands on her, checking to make sure she was okay. Her body trembled and rage boiled up and out his throat. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“I promised Dominic,” she said softly, her pulse fluttering madly along her throat. She put her hands over his to stop his mindless groping and made him look at her, “Roman, I’m okay.”
“You had a bar full of wolves slobbering after you,” he growled, remembering the terror that had seized him when the wolves had shifted all at once. The sound of fabric ripping and bones popping had filled the room, echoing off the walls and had Daisy not been lost in the music she would have gotten out of there a hell of a lot sooner. Thank god Dominic had kept his head. Grabbing her shoulders, Roman gave her a none-too-gentle shake, “What the fuck were you thinking?”
He knew he was repeating himself but the foolish girl just stood there looking at him with that soft look in her silver eyes and his brain was going to explode. “Daisy!”
“You’ve gotten smaller,” she said with a slight frown as she studied him, her words disconcerting him like nothing else she could have said. He was freaking out and she was talking nonsense. “I don’t have to tilt my head so far back to see your face. And your face….”
She ran her fingers over his face, murmuring, “Your nose isn’t quite so squashed and your mouth is less… garish.”
“Daisy, we’re discussing your behavior tonight,” he bit out, hating the fact that he sounded like her guardian and not her lover. Well, he was a gargoyle and protecting innocents was part of the job description, even if he hadn’t felt the calling in hundreds of years.
A shudder worked its way through her body as she looked away. “It was a mistake, an awful, stupid, stupid mistake. A Siren’s song isn’t supposed to work on other supernatural creatures, at least that’s what mom says. I don’t know what went wrong.”
“You weren’t just singing the words, Daisy, you were seducing them,” he growled. “You put your heart and soul into them….”
She raised her head and pinned him with her gaze. “I was thinking about you.”
He stumbled back a step at the impassioned statement, said with such conviction he couldn’t breathe. Who was this girl? She placed her hand on his cheek and looked at him with utter devotion, “You’re my mate, Roman. Don’t look so shocked when I tell you I think about you like that.”
Holding her eyes, he turned his head just enough to place a kiss on her palm. “I don’t deserve you, little flower.”
Her lips quirked into a smile, “But you have me none-the-less.”
He chuckled at her sweet irreverence, he couldn’t help himself. “Gods, Daisy, what am I going to do with you?”
“Come inside,” she murmured, tugging his arm as she opened the door to the pool house, her temporary bedroom. Stifling a yawn, she added, “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and then I was too nervous to sleep today.”
“So, what? You want me to take a nap with you?” he asked in disbelief.
She gave him a brilliant smile and nodded her head, her eyelids already closing. “Please? I want to fall asleep in your arms.”
“It isn’t wise,” he grumbled, following her into the room because he couldn’t not follow her in. She looked over her shoulder at him and he realized he would follow her anywhere.
He was so screwed because nothing had changed.
“I promise to take a quick nap and when I wake up we can do whatever you want,” she purred, giving him a look that had him stepping towards her before he could stop himself. The little minx laughed, which had his lips curving up in a smile. Not bothering to take off her clothes, she climbed onto the bed and held her hand out to him, “Join me, Roman.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he slid off the cloak and lay down next to the beguiling beauty that had far more power over him than she would ever know. He tugged at the kilt so it wouldn’t twist around his legs as he whispered, “Sleep, Daisy.”
Instead of staying on her side of the bed, she moved over and put her head on his shoulder, her arm across his chest, and let out a little sigh of contentment. “This is much better.”
He grumbled something but put his arm around her slender body and held her to him as she fell asleep, her breathing even and steady. He should have realized that the fates weren’t going to make his life easy; from the moment he was born until now nothing had gone as planned. Had he been created for Isis’s pleasure, his sole purpose her amusement?
Set ha
d told him a virgin would set him free but the god never mentioned she would bind him to her first. He should extract himself from her life now and just let Isis do what she will to him. Yet the thought of giving up this life, giving up Daisy, no longer held any appeal, if it ever did. Sweet Zeus, he just didn’t want to go on as he had been these past ten years or the two thousand years before that.
Staring up at the ceiling, breathing in Daisy’s sun warmed scent, Roman’s heart thudded in his chest, the stone organ pumping molten blood through his hard body. Despite the heat burning within him, he had been cold for so long he had forgotten what it was like to be warm. What the hell did Daisy see in him?
He thought he had chosen Daisy because she was the one who had woken him up from his eternal prison but it was so much more than that. She was bringing him back to life but he could still feel his soul slipping away and he knew that there was no happy ending for them. Maybe he should have focused on a different virgin, one who didn’t make him feel so much. It didn’t matter that no other touch had ever affected him, he could have kept searching. Or he could have just accepted his fate and left all of the virgins alone, left Daisy alone.
It was only a matter of time before Isis found the final piece of Osiris and she returned for him. If he had sex with Daisy and returned to his original state, it would give him the element of surprise. Isis wouldn’t expect him to be living and she sure as hell wouldn’t expect him to be as he was, a man at night, a living gargoyle during the day. Unless having sex with Daisy was the incident that set the final events into motion and his fate was inevitable. Gods, he wanted more time with her but he didn’t know which choice would make that happen. Either way he was going to lose her.
The thoughts twisted and twirled together until he was dizzy with questions and no answers, at least none that ended in a happily ever after for him with Daisy.
Dozing on and off, he was abruptly awakened when the door slammed open and Daisy’s brother crashed into the room, looking worse for the wear. “Where’s Da....”
“Shh,” Roman interrupted, tightening his hold on her to keep her from waking up. “She’s sleeping.”
The boy slumped against the wall, dragging his fingers through his dark hair, his eyes holding a wealth of guilt and fear and relief. “Thank god.”
“What happened?” Roman asked in a tight voice, pushing down the fury that was bubbling up within him at the boy’s foolishness. The boy had obviously suffered and it wasn’t his place to rage at him. No, it was his place because Daisy was his. It just wasn’t the time because she was sleeping.
“She sang and the next thing I knew, the entire bar had shifted.” He shook his head in bewilderment, his eyes a little unfocused as they stared at nothing in the darkened room. A shudder worked its way through his body as he rasped, “Had Daisy remained, she would have been claimed by any number of the unmated males and it would have been…. God, it would have been brutal.”
Roman could imagine all too clearly what could have happened: she was a latent wolf but a male in a frenzy of lust wouldn’t have cared that she hadn’t shifted. Automatically, his arms tightened around Daisy and he pulled her further into his body, as if he could save her from the evils of the world when he was the one who was going to destroy her. When it became apparent that the boy was losing himself in the possibilities of what could have happened, Roman urged, “Go on, what happened after I flew off with her?”
Dominic blinked his eyes, returning to the present and the awareness that Daisy was safe and sound. Licking his lips, he spoke in a broken voice, “As soon as her scent vanished – thank you for that, by the way – the males chased down the unmated females, much the same as any other run under the full moon.” He let out a harsh laugh, “There were some unexpected matings but they all made sense, if that makes any sense? I don’t even know what I’m saying. Geeze, I didn’t know she was so powerful. And here I told her that her song wouldn’t have any effect on wolves.”
Roman considered Dominic’s words, realizing the truth at once, “She’s a wolf, an unmated wolf. Her voice is…modulated to resonate with a wolf’s chemistry. I imagine it’s the same for regular Sirens and the humans they lure to their graves.”
“My mom never lured anyone to his grave,” Dominic bit out defensively. “And neither has my sister.”
“Relax, Dominic, I never implied they did,” Roman murmured. “In fact, it seems your sister, and probably your mother, inspire lust. Just good, old-fashioned lust.”
Dominic let out a hollow chuckle, sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. “Wouldn’t it be just my luck that my sister inspires lust and I can’t take advantage of it?”
“It’s not like you need a lot of help with attracting females,” Roman murmured wryly.
“Oh, god,” Dominic suddenly groaned and Roman was almost certain the boy was going to be sick. With a stricken expression, he gasped, “What if it’s my mom’s song that gets me laid? I mean, she sings beneath the moon as a wolf and everyone…. Oh, god. I feel so dirty now. I don’t think I’ll ever be clean.”
Roman chuckled, almost feeling sorry for the young wolf.
Daisy stirred in his arms and any pity he felt disappeared as he gazed down at a sleep-tousled beauty. Her eyes slowly opened and when she saw his face in the darkness, she gave him a lazy smile, “Roman.”
“Daisy!” Dominic gasped, scrambling off the floor and onto the side of the bed. Grabbing Daisy’s hand, he asked, “Are you okay? I swear if a single wolf laid a paw on you I’ll rip him apart.”
Daisy chuckled as she tugged her hand out of his. Brushing her hair out of her face, she shook her head, “I’m fine, Dominic, but now you know why I don’t sing.”
Dominic reached for the light on the nightstand and Roman growled, “Leave the light off.”
Even though there was some ambient light that allowed them to see, especially the wolf, it wasn’t enough to make out Roman’s features. If Dominic turned the light on, then the boy would see Roman’s face and he’d know that something was wrong with him. At least, if the boy knew anything about gargoyles. Wolves had little reason to deal with gargoyles since they were more capable of protecting themselves from humans and other supernatural creatures. But it didn’t mean they were completely ignorant of gargoyles. It didn’t hurt that wolves were able to blend into both worlds with relative ease while keeping their dual nature secret.
It was strange that a wolf fell in love with a Siren all of those years ago but then the world was growing increasingly strange.
“Are the wolves okay?” Daisy asked, bringing Roman back to the present.
“Yeah, of course,” Dominic answered, shaking his head and dismissing the wolves. “I’m so sorry, Daisy.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she murmured. Glancing at Roman, she looked back at her brother and admitted softly, “I probably would have sung sooner or later. At least this time Roman was there.”
Dominic swallowed, his throat working as emotion emanated off him in waves. “You need to mark him so this doesn’t happen again.”
Roman felt Daisy’s body heat as she managed to say, “I can’t shift, Dominic, and he’s made of stone. It’s impossible.”
“He’s your mate,” he said in such a matter-of-fact tone that Roman was momentarily stunned.
“Of course he’s my mate,” Daisy grumbled as if there was any question. “But we’ll have to be happy with a Siren’s imprint rather than a wolf’s mark. It’s just as strong… except when it comes to wolves.”
“Wolves are definitely a different breed,” Dominic agreed sagely, the pride apparent in his voice despite his earlier fears.
Roman could feel the devotion between brother and sister as they discussed him and he almost felt like a part of their circle, which bothered him in a way he couldn’t explain. It made him uneasy, like acid was burning in his gut and there was no way to neutralize it. Sliding out of the bed, away from Daisy, he pressed his hand against his sternum while grab
bing the material of his cloak. He was too exposed and if he had his cloak on he might be able to think.
“Maybe he could bite you,” Dominic suggested, tightening the band around Roman’s chest.
Daisy huffed out a laugh at that, “Roman is going to think we’re a blood thirsty lot, Dominic.”
“I don’t,” Roman said roughly, sliding his arms into his cloak and backing away from the duo on the bed. If he didn’t get out of there he was fairly certain he was going to have a heart attack. And gargoyles didn’t have heart attacks. “It’s almost dawn. I should get going.”
He could feel two sets of eyes on him but he didn’t care. What he said had been the truth, though he probably had another thirty minutes before he absolutely had to leave. No, he had to get out of there. He’d spend the day in the hovel he called home and when he saw Daisy the next night he’d have his shit together and he’d be able to ignore the acid in his stomach.
Daisy stumbled out of bed and he almost went to her but he couldn’t get his legs to move. He could only stare at her as she closed the distance between them, as she put her hands on his shoulders and lifted herself up onto her toes. “Goodbye, Roman. I’ll see you later?”
At his awkward nod, she smiled and then pressed a soft kiss against the corner of his mouth. “I promise to stay awake tomorrow night.”
“Good,” he muttered absently. The feel of her in his arms was soothing the fire in his stomach and he released the breath that had gotten stuck in his throat. Closing his eyes, he breathed in her tempting scent as he rested his hands on her hips. As suddenly as the need to escape hit, it disappeared and he wanted to stay and the back and forth of his emotions was making him dizzy. His fingers tightened as he pulled Daisy against his body, making her squeak. Bending down, he rested his forehead against hers. “That’s good.”