Page 43 of Hearts of Stone

“For me, Wulf,” he would say, right before he’d ask me to do something despicable. “For me.”

As if I’d had any choice in the matter. His command over me had been absolute, a collar around my neck, a whip struck against my flanks to make me move faster to do his bidding. And so, the moment I came back to flesh this time was akin to torture. It meant that he was back. My claws lashed out without thought, but raked only across empty air. My fangssnapped together hard, the impact rattling all the way through me because my bite had failed to tear out the bastard’s throat. But once I came back to myself completely, I found that I stood alone in a damnable cell, my chest heaving.

This had to be another of Luther’s torments. I was like a caged bird, my great wings flapping, carrying me up the metal grid that allowed the moonlight in, but the moment I touched the bars, my skin sizzled. I jerked them back with a silent cry, staring beyond the grate at the moon.

“Who has dared awaken me!” I shouted, my voice echoing all the way across the damnable estate. “Who has dragged me from my sleep?”

But just as before, no one answered. The rest of my brothers trapped in this building remained perfectly still, frozen in their moment of terror. Their bodies stayed as they had been, shrinking back from a cruel master and an even crueller fate. But it was one that I would have preferred to this: I was trapped within these walls, every damn brick of it reminding me of the horrors that had taken place here, over and over, until I was forced to my knees.

“Let me rest…” I whispered. “Please… Let me rest…”

But the walls of Z Ward had never listened to the pleas of its inmates in the past, and they didn’t listen to me now.

Chapter 24

Jade

“Well, I’m for bed,” Harry said, picking up his plate and taking it over to the kitchen.

“A man who picks up after himself?” Daniel said, raising his eyebrows as he got to his feet. “I’m impressed. Want to show me how to use that fancy arse dishwasher?” He paused to look down at me, as though he had something important to impart. “Then I’m going to sleep, too.”

“Already?” That came out way squeakier than I’d intended. “I meant, um, we could watch another movie—”

“I’m tired.” Daniel yawned so loud and long I instantly regretted my suggestion. “I’m gonna be asleep ten seconds after my head hits the pillow.”

“OK.” I jumped to my feet way too quickly. “I’ll give you a hand with the dishes.”

“No, sit down.” Daniel waved a hand at me, then yawned again. “We’ve got this.”

Right.

I sat down with a sense of trepidation. Although Daniel and Harry were still in earshot as they moved around the kitchen, Iwas basically on my own facing the three gargoyles across the table. My hesitancy wasn’t only because I was still adjusting to the fact they existed. It was more that their eyes had been following me every time I moved. They seemed transfixed. Even when I took a bite of my food, they continued to watch me eat, until I started to blush. Unfortunately, it was something I was used to. Some people seemed to have a radar for noticing a fat person eating. Such people appeared to feel like they needed to visually supervise the whole event, complete with frowns, whispers and grimaces, as though your body shape dictated whether or not you should be allowed to determine what or how much you ate.

Before too long, however, I found out that that wasn’t what was happening.

As they watched me take another bite, each set of obsidian eyes glittered with an unholy light before their eyelids grew heavier, and my level of discomfort grew proportionately.

“What?” I asked, in irritation.

“Try this, mistress,” Graven said, spiking a mini spring roll on the end of what looked like a comically small fork in his hands. I looked at it, questioningly.

“They are very good,” Seneca said, before picking one up between his claws and crunching it in one big bite, then nodding. “Crispy, with a good meat to vegetable ratio.”

“Ah,” I said, displaying the powers of my intellect. On the periphery of my vision, I noticed Daniel pause from what he was doing and peer over the counter to watch what was going on, looking away when I turned to look at him. I turned back to the gargoyle still holding the fork out to me and smiled tightly. “Well. Thank you, Graven…”

I was about to say ‘thanks, but no thanks’, but my blue-haired Cupid was having none of that.

“Jade loves a good spring roll. Don’t you, Jade?”

When I shot him a look that made it clear I would murder him in his sleep, Daniel just smirked in response. But he’d manoeuvred me well, making it so I’d just come off looking like a rude bitch if I didn't take Graven up on his offer.

“Of course. Thanks.” I plucked the fork from his hand, then made a show of enjoying the bite I took, wondering why on earth I was going to so much effort to please three monsters I barely knew. Setting the fork down again, I wiped my mouth with a serviette. “It’s amazing, but I’m completely stuffed.”

“Not completely…”

While Carrick had similar silvery looking hair and angular features to the others, his physique appeared leaner, and his face was definitely more mobile than Graven’s. As I looked at him, a devilish smile danced across his lips, and I noticed Seneca frown in confusion.

What did he…? Ohhh. Memories of last night came flooding back, making this ten times more awkward. His skin, so much cooler than mine to the touch. His hands, sliding over my entire body, like he wanted to memorise every curve. His cock— My cheeks burned bright red as I remembered how I’d behaved. I’d thought it was all a dream, that was my defence, but… I gripped the edge of the table, taking in one shuddering breath, then another, before I sat straighter.

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