Page 22 of Hearts of Stone

“She was not raised a Whiteley,”he said, as he lay old and feeble in his bed.“She does not understand how this all works.”He patted my arm then.“But you’ll show her, Graven. You’ll show her.”

I would, I felt that now, throbbing in my chest. I stared at the door, heard her footsteps, felt her presence and for some reason, that had me moving towards the balcony.

“Graven,” Carrick hissed, shooting me a panicked look.

It was always a nerve-wracking thing, to answer a new master’s call. Would they be a gentle master or would they…? I pushed those darker, chaotic memories to one side, because I needed to drive them deep every day if I was to be able to continue to serve, but… This was different. She was ours as much as we were hers.

If she accepted us.

I remembered Master Ashley’s words.

“You’ll need to tread carefully, Graven. Most humans remain blithely unaware of the world of the gifted and the gargoyle. It will be a terrible shock…”He’d smiled weakly then.“But you’ll manage the situation. Tell her about the house. Tell her about me.”

His brows had creased then and he’d started to cough, forcing me to rush forward. I scooped him up in his bed, holding him at just the right angle to ease his pain, and he coughed and he coughed until finally he pulled the handkerchief away. I saw the spots of bright red blood like it was yesterday.

“Our mistress does not know about us, about our service,” I whispered back tersely. “We must proceed cautiously. Away!”

I swept out onto the balcony, hoping that he followed, but when I leapt out and into the air, I was relieved to hear the whoosh of his own wings as well as mine.

“So how the hell do we convince her that she’s our fated mate from here?” Carrick asked, once we landed on the roof. “She’s our mistress. We belong to her!”

“And she has no idea what the hell we are, nor the nature of our bond with the house. You heard them before.”

During the day, we slept, but we still caught snippets of the conversations had around us. Nothing she said made me think she knew our true nature.

“So? Then we’ll educate her,” Carrick snapped.

“Not yet. We take things slowly.”

“Why on earth would I do that?” Carrick stepped backwards, listening to my frantically whispered instructions and doing what he wanted anyway. “I’ve waited thousands of years to find her. I’m not waiting another night to be in her presence.”

My mouth fell open as he dropped off the side of the house, his wings opening with a flap.

“Carrick!” I rasped hoarsely. “Carrick!”

I caught sight of the male’s tail as it disappeared through an open window and then he was gone.

Chapter 14

Carrick

Graven liked to think of himself as the leader of our flock, but I knew better. He ruled because we allowed him that privilege, and I was content to go along with his orders.

Most of the time.

We had so little choice about what we did when the moon rose, what matter were a few more orders? Graven did the hard work, interpreting whatever our masters wanted and how to deliver this, which was fine by me. But now… That scent was in my nose, my fangs aching along with my cock. Every muscle was locked down tight, ready to… I slipped through the window, dark as a shadow and blending in with them as I re-entered the house.

If I’d listened to Graven, I wouldn’t have heard her pleased little gasp. If I hadn’t crept up the hall I wouldn’t have caught a glimpse of her.

Mother moon…

I shoved my fist into my mouth when I saw her, my fangs sinking into my hard skin, the pin pricks of pain helping centre me.

Did she know how beautiful she was? She had to, such a woman. She was built like the goddess herself, with wide hips ready for my claws to sink into, flesh as soft and sweetly rounded as I was angular and hard. I slunk closer, lured by the sight of her removing her clothes. Breasts, gods, I’d almost forgotten what a wonder they were, it being so long since we’d served a mistress rather than a master. I watched them sway, hypnotising me like pendulums, as she removed the rest of her clothes. I was glad she did, my claws had become fists as I forced myself not to stride in and tear the rest of those flimsy garments away for the sin of covering such perfection. Then she turned to face that bath.

Goddess…

That beautiful curve of a stomach, soft and full now, but it would grow when she accepted the bond. I’d pump my seed into her over and over, until it took. Our sons would take after me, become gargoyles as soon as they reached puberty, our daughters would be witches like their mother. Strong, powerful. I could feel it rolling off her in waves as she took a step forward. One dainty foot pierced the water’s surface, followed by the other and then she sank down into the swirling heat.

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