Page 26 of Seduced By Moonlight

“Could be a coincidence,” Ward said, biting into a strip of bacon. “I had already made an appointment with Kayden before the situation with Rihanna ever happened. But I admit the timing bothers me.”

“The wards aren’t supposed to let anybody through who means harm to us,” Tank said. “Yet, they did. Are you thinking maybe one of Kayden’screwcould be involved, but Kayden is not?”

“I don’t know. The witches would’ve had to hurry to get someone on Kayden’s crew to flip or to get someone new on his crew, and as far as I know, Kayden knows nothing about Rihanna. No, that scenario just doesn’t work.”

“But it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

Ward shrugged. “Pretty close.”

“I didn’t notice if there were any magic users when Kayden and his crew were here last time. For that matter, I don’t know we’ve even met them all,” Tank admitted. “But I do feel like we definitely need to monitor them.”

“Agreed. Just to be safe.”

“So the first thing we’re going to do is strengthen the wards when they leave?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Between Rihanna’s strength and Celine’s oversight, you’ll shore up those defenses in no time.”

“I hope so,” Ward murmured into his coffee.

After another sip and a deep breath for fortitude, he set down his mug firmly. Kayden and his crew had passed through the ward closest to the castle. “The construction crew is almost here. I’m going out to meet them.”

“Would you like me to come with?”

“Are you finished eating?”

“I am.”

“Then sure. And pay close attention to his crew but be subtle about it.”

“Subtle is my middle name.”

Ward had to laugh at that. There was nothing subtle about Tank. At all. He was a huge, muscular gargoyle with an intimidating look about him in his natural form.

When Tank transformed into his human form, though, he still kept his large, muscular frame, but he also had a long beard and close-cropped hair.

The intricate tattoos covering both of his arms and back were only visible when he took on that form. He had enlisted the help of a tattoomancer named Willow from Eternal Marks to create them.

Hell, in both forms, Tank looked much more intimidating than Ward, which they both found highly amusing. But looks meant nothing. Ward’s power was unmistakable.

Ward kept pace with Tank as they walked back toward the grand hall, where he would meet Kayden and his crew. But he had questions. Countless questions.

That didn’t sit well with him. The more he poked at that feeling, the more it bothered him, like a splinter that just wouldn’t come out. Thinking in such a way caused a slight discomfort.

However, he couldn’t ignore the possibility that Kayden or one of his crew members might have had a hand in the security breach. He also couldn’t push aside the undeniable chemistry, and he didn’t even know where to start with all the potential problems that could arise fromthat.

For one thing, Ward had never been attracted to anyone who wasn’t a paranormal. Secondly, the elders were on his ass about having sex with a female and producing eggs. Never mind that females didn’t attract him. It didn’t seem to matter to the elders.

Some even wanted him to take a female mate. Granted, he didn’t have to mate in order to lay eggs—even if he could get past the attraction issue—but some of the more traditional elders believed that as Alpha King, it was his duty to have a queen.

No thank you.

And frankly, he always assumed if he ended up in a long-lasting relationship, it would be with another gargoyle. A male gargoyle. Surrogacy was also an option, thanks to human ingenuity.

And why in the world was he even thinking about eggs and mates?

He didn’t know if Kayden found him attractive, and if he did? Well, they could hook up a few times, and Ward could scratch this damn itch. Simple.

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