by K. F. Breene
“Why is that making yis so jumpy?” Niamh stopped flicking pages. “Ye knew she was going to settle on him. It’s the best thing she could’ve done, really. Ivy House agrees that he’s the best bet for her protection, or didn’t ye notice that he was given the number one spot?” She turned a page. “Ye can see the number one spot, can’t ye? From all the way over at number nine?”
“Big words from someone who keeps sliding down in the order of importance,” he replied.
“Don’t ye worry.” She flicked a page, not looking down at it. “Ye’ll act as a doorstop.”
“What’s happening doesn’t really translate to modern times,” Ulric said, clasping his fingers.
Kace walked out of the archway leading to the rooms. Everyone else was holed up in their little cells, taking a break after their impromptu battle and the flash burning party that had followed it. Cyra had tried to make the massacre look like an accident, only her pyrotechnics had made it look like arson. They’d decided to give up and flee, especially since they weren’t sure they’d found all the pieces of Chambers after Broken Sue was done with him. It hadn’t been a pretty scene.
“You all talking about them mating?” Kace asked, heading straight for the fridge. The shifters all ate like they had holes in their stomachs. “This isn’t a great place to do it—not that they had much choice.”
“This is the perfect place to do it,” Nathanial said as another pulse of power made them all squirm again.
“When ye explained all this a month ago, it seemed pretty simple.” Niamh closed her magazine. “Like a shifter mating.”
“On the surface, yes, it is like a shifter mating.” Ulric nodded. “But there are some fundamental differences that I, myself, didn’t realize until it started happening.”
“Like what, then?” Niamh asked.
“She’s sending out pulses of power every so often. Calling us to her. Or sending us to the skies. Or urging us to join with our brethren and unite around her. Every ten minutes, it seems like, I’m getting a different directive, more and more intense, probably because I’m not doing any of it.”
“I don’t think she understands what she’s doing,” Nathanial said, “but she’s bringing her cairn together. She’s organizing her protection while she delights in her mating dance, which is more or less like a shifter, only much more violent.”
“She’s like a praying mantis?” Kace asked as Edgar sighed in satisfaction. He held the lopsided doily up to examine it.
“Not so much sexually violent,” Ulric said, “though I’d bet there would be a bit of that.”
“The shaking of the walls and light fixtures proves that, I should think,” Niamh said dryly. “That bit wasn’t the basajaun.”
The basajaun had called upon the mountain earlier to claim its vengeance, whatever that meant. It was a mountain, for heaven’s sake. What could it possibly do, besides collapse and kill them all?
Turned out, it could shake and roll and drop a few pebbles. Basically, theatrics. Mr. Tom hadn’t understood the point, other than to freak out their captors, and the basajaun could have just roared to achieve that much. Mages these days seemed a very fragile sort. Quite different from the ones he’d battled back before flushable toilets.
It was probably for the best, since mages currently dominated the magical world and kept bothering Ivy House and the miss. All the better if they were cowards.
“The violence portion was why she waited so long for him to prove himself,” Ulric said. “Gargoyles have always been on the front lines. They are strong and sure and powerful, and she must be their alpha. Which means she must be capable of handling violence. And, if necessary, thwarting it. Her beast wanted proof that her mate would do the same.”
“You don’t think an alpha shifter knows about being on the front lines and handling and thwarting violence?” Kace laughed and shook his head. “No gargoyle is going up against Austin Steele and winning, I’ll tell you that much.”
“Well, clearly one gargoyle is, ye donkey.” Niamh went back to her magazine. “She’s in there right now, going up against him. Surely enjoying herself while she does.”
“I wondered if she was hesitating because she worried about repeating the pattern of the past heirs,” Edgar said, standing and backing farther into the corner. It was very creepy in an endearing sort of way.
“I wondered that meself,” Niamh murmured. “Did she give him that protector’s magic yet? Do we know?”
“He couldn’t harness her magic.” Ulric leaned forward again as another pulse of magic moved through the air. “He’s not a mage.”
“He couldn’t harness the bulk of her magic, but the protector’s magic can be used by anyone, including someone non-magical,” Edgar said from his corner, still analyzing his handiwork. “The magic will customize to the recipient.”
“I wonder what that will look like with a shifter,” Ulric said, frowning.
“But he does get that protector’s magic, doesn’t he?” Mr. Tom asked.
“I guess we’ll see soon enough,” Ulric said.
“I wonder if he were to harness that magic,” Edgar said, scratching his head. “Could he use it to kill her?”
“Glass half-full, aren’t ye, boy?” Niamh said.
Ulric and Nathanial exchanged a look.
“He could’ve killed her ten times over by now,” Niamh said into the silence, not concerned. She was correct. “He could kill her with or without that magic. She’s given him ten opportunities since breakfast, and he’s a man that would know how to make it permanent. But he won’t, because he’s loyal to her, and that’s that. More magic will just make him better at his job.”
“He doesn’t know about the magic, does he?” Kace asked. “Not that I am trying to get into the alpha’s business.”
“He wanted to go blindly into the gargoyle mating ritual.” Mr. Tom turned a page, going back a page to read something he’d missed, then realized he’d missed all of it and just closed the book. “He wanted to experience it as it came. It sure made things awkward after he saved the day and then carried her through the halls in that…state.”
“He’s been in that state loads of times,” Niamh drawled. “He’s well aware that if he turns around too fast, with the size of that willy standing on end, he’s liable to take out a building.”
“Saving her was part of the ritual?” Kace’s brows pinched together.
“I’ve always heard that when female gargoyles are locking in a mate, they wait for the male to prove his ability,” Ulric explained. “What better way than to bust into an enemy stronghold and save her, huh? She was right on the cusp—if he’d known more about the dance, he would’ve known that would set her off.”
“Not like it would’ve changed anything.” Kace walked closer and plopped into a cushy sage chair.
“Oh. Here you go.” Edgar bustled forward, his doily outstretched. “Here, this will help.” He took away the malformed doily currently graffitiing the arm of the chair and exchanged it for the newly finished monstrosity, three sizes bigger than a normal one. “This one is better.”
“Than what?” Ulric asked in bewilderment, watching.
Kace somehow ignored the disastrously crocheted item. “She handled things the right way. She stepped back so Broken Sue could confront his demons—”
“Are we all calling him Broken Sue now?” Edgar asked. “I worried that he might take offense and rip my arms off if I called him that without any of the enemy around.”
“It’s a good name.” Niamh nodded. “He wouldn’t rip off your arms because you offended him, though. That would be his reaction to the way ye always lope around like a gobshite.”
“Yes. I can see that,” he replied, retreating to his corner.
“Speaking of Brochan, how’s he doing?” Mr. Tom asked. “Does he need something to eat?”
“He’s got whiskey. He’ll be grand.” Niamh leaned forward and tossed the magazine onto the nearest coffee table. “Hard not to believe fa
te played a role in sending him here, eh? After wandering around the country, he found himself in the one place where he could confront the person that tore down his life.”
“Maybe the basajaun was right about those stars,” Ulric murmured.
“Whatever the reason, he’s a damn good addition to the pack.” Kace leaned back. “He’s fierce, experienced, and smart. He’s got great control.”
“Worried you’ll lose yer job?” Niamh gave him a wicked grin.
“I’m not worried about anything,” Kace answered seriously. He spread his arm over the back of his chair, and Mr. Tom wondered if that was because it was the only place not littered with Edgar’s failed attempts at craftwork. “Whatever is best for the pack.”
Goosebumps spread across Mr. Tom’s skin again as another pulse rolled through the suite, this one more powerful than the last. Ulric and Nathanial both shifted, as if to move to standing, then pushed out a simultaneous breath and leaned back.
“It probably makes it worse that we’re under a mountain,” Jasper said from the back.
“Amen.” Ulric ran his fingers through his hair. “Tomorrow is the battle, though. She should be able to let off some steam. Maybe it’ll also shift some of her focus off the mating dance.”
“The only problem is, Cyra torched everyone we were supposed to fight tomorrow,” Edgar said. “We can’t even drive sticks through them and prop them up to give the illusion they’re alive.”
The room paused and looked at Edgar. There was that endearing creepiness he did so well.
“Well.” Mr. Tom rose as a shock of hunger pierced him through the link. The miss was coming up for air and needed some sustenance. Time for an early dinner. “Either we will face the winner of today’s battle, or we will face an angry Elliot Graves. Either way, we’ll do battle, and we’ll be one step closer to our goal. Our time in this mountain is almost done.”
Twenty-Three
I emerged from the room in my muumuu and leaned against the wall before breathing a sigh.
“I feel good,” I said to the room at large.
“You look good.” Austin stopped beside me, taking a moment to slide his hand across my back and hook it around my hip. He pulled me nearer and kissed my temple before heading to the kitchen.
I smiled and breathed another sigh of utter relaxation.
Which was odd, because I had gotten virtually no sleep last night (having reveled in Austin), and the Chambers thing had gone down less than twenty-four hours ago. We’d gotten a note from Elliot himself this time, changing our opponent for today’s battle from Chambers to the winner of yesterday, since “a freak cave firestorm seems to have taken out Chambers and his crew—beware those strange phenomena.”
Obviously that meant Elliot was just letting us off the hook. Which was disconcerting in itself—what was his motive? What else did he have planned for me?
And then there was the fact that Kingsley might be in trouble, and we’d obviously join him, heading to his aid.
But man, none of it was sticking in my mind. It was like everything that didn’t directly relate to Austin and mating was not important.
This bubble would pop very soon, I knew. But for this one last moment, I intended to savor it.
“How’s everyone?” I asked, smiling at Ulric as he walked by. He nodded, his eyes bloodshot and sporting dark bags. “Good?”
Jasper paced at the back of the room. He paused for a second, shivered, and continued pacing.
“Morning. Sleep well?” Kace stood to our left with a cup of coffee. He had on gray sweats and nothing else, but then again, I suspected he’d be losing the sweats before the battle.
“Not at all.” My smile burned brighter, and I took a cup of water from Mr. Tom. Smiling down at the contents, I said, “I hardly slept at all and it was wonderful. Mr. Tom, why do I have a glass of water in my hand and not a cup of coffee?”
“Battle is only an hour away. I thought you should hydrate.”
“Huh.” I drank the water and handed the cup back.
“I don’t trust this good mood,” Niamh said from the couch, squinting at me. “Is it the sex or the mating or what?”
“Yes, miss, listen to the Paddy,” Mr. Tom said, heading back to the kitchen area. “It’s wise to be cautious of happiness. You don’t want it to sneak up on you and take you unawares.”
“I don’t, that’s fer sure,” Niamh said. “And I especially don’t want some grinning fool sneaking up on me and doing God knows what.”
“Like telling a joke?” Ulric asked, running his hands down his face. “Or laughing? Making you less grumpy, perhaps?”
“Making you likable?” Mr. Tom asked.
“All of the above, yes,” Niamh said. “Never trust someone high on life. They aren’t in touch with reality.”
Ulric spat out a laugh.
Austin came back from the kitchen, stopping beside Broken Sue. The former alpha sat at the counter, his arms folded, staring at nothing. Austin bent and murmured something to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. Broken Sue blinked and leaned back, his eyes haunted. But he nodded, and when Austin walked away, he straightened up just a little bit more.
My heart swelled. Warm fuzzies tickled me. Purplish-pink magic shed from my skin before drifting into the air.
Austin glanced up, and his gaze stuck to me, his body going tight and fluid all at the same time. He started toward me with a killer’s grace.
Arousal wound through me. The craving for him intensified—sated a moment ago, it now felt like we’d been apart for a solid year.
“Ah crap, no.” Niamh stood up in a hurry. “If I want to be happy and relaxed, I’ll drink a cider and take the piss out of Mr. Tom, thank ye very much,” she said, rolling her shoulders.
“Fantastic,” Mr. Tom said dryly.
“Jessie’s affecting everyone’s mood now, not just the gargoyles,” Ulric said, heaving a sigh. “This is a nice one.”
“Speak for yerself. I don’t need some purple-shedding past Jane to force her feelings on me,” Niamh said.
“Watch what you say about my mate,” Austin growled, his power pulsing in the room, most everyone snapping to attention, including Niamh (before she scowled and swore). A shiver arrested me.
“Do not play with fire right now, Niamh,” Kace said out of the side of his mouth.
I laughed, of all things. I was as Froot Loops as Edgar, high on this feeling. Sore and languid and coiled and desperate.
As soon as Austin was within reach, I grabbed him and forced him back into the room, no embarrassment at this (pretty extreme) display of hunger. I slammed the door and ripped down his sweats before grabbing his neck. His kiss was aggressive and bruising and sexy as hell. He pushed up my muumuu and hiked my leg onto his hip, bent, and thrust upward, stealing my breath.
“Yes,” I groaned, throwing my other leg over his hip and wrapping around him. “Hard. Really, really hard.”
He spun me and rammed my back into the wall before hammering into me, his body crashing into mine, his tongue in my mouth, his hands on my breasts. I gyrated to his rhythm, felt the wall quiver around us, the light fixture shake in its casing.
I yanked his hair, straining against him, already so high but wanting more. Wanting his body harder. More aggressively.
He tore me away from the wall, not bothering with the short trip to the bed, and sank onto the floor. Hands on my shoulders, he pulled me down on top of him as he thrust upward, filling me completely, erasing my thoughts. Control spun away.
I yanked his hair again as I fell on top of him, claiming his lips. He growled into my mouth, still thrusting like a demon, deliciously bruising. Hitting all the right spots, as hard as I could handle.
I slammed my body repeatedly on top of him as he thrust upward, then arched back and cried out my orgasm, almost inhuman, all-encompassing, the best high I’d ever had—and that was saying something, because I’d had a lot of bests last night. He shook beneath me, growling out his release.
&n
bsp; Breathing heavily, I laughed like a madwoman.
“I’m losing my mind, I think,” I said afterward, lying on top of him, not at all caring that we were on the floor.
He wrapped his arms around my back and heaved a sigh of contentment. “Mating. Best just to go with it. This is why we’d usually head out into the woods for the week and just…be together.”
“Yes, but if you’re in the woods away from people, you can’t fight. I feel like kicking some ass and then screwing you into oblivion as the victory lap.”
A smile spread across his face. “Quite the change from when we first got here. The battling, I mean.”
“I know. I’m sure it’ll wear off, but…you said to go with it.”
“Yes, I did.” He squeezed me a little tighter. “Damn it, I’m turned on again. You are a literal dream come true. Yes. Let’s battle. First a quickie against each other until one of us submits, and then against the enemy with our pack.”
Take two.
“Okay.” I gave a thumbs-up to nobody as I again walked out and leaned against the wall.
“Feel any surlier?” Niamh asked, now back by the kitchen.
“A little happy magic might do you good, ye olde crone,” Mr. Tom said.
“Is that supposed to be my accent?” Niamh turned to him as he filled another glass of water.
“Mine was less shrill, I know. I’ll work on it.” He sniffed.
“No, Mr. Tom, coffee this time. Time to get my game face on.” I held out my finger as Austin exited the room, silently telling him to get away. His proximity got me every time.
“Ah, good, she’s seeing some sense.” Niamh wandered my way, in her sweats like everyone else. They were all ready and waiting, eyes on me, faces blank.
“So.” I took a deep breath and noticed all the younger gargoyles shivered. “What?”
“Time for battle,” Nathanial said gruffly.
Excitement rolled through me. A smile blossomed on my face and anticipation flowered in my middle.