by Faith Gibson
“Poor Isabelle. First, she finds out her mom has been around all those years, then she finds out she’s a half-blood,” Desi said.
“But the worst part had to have been when Connor was kidnapped. I can’t imagine if something were to happen to you,” Rae told their son.
“Don’t worry, Pretty Momma. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
Sixx prayed his son was correct. He continued with the bad things that had happened recently, concluding with Jasper taking Theron’s head and the Clan sending his body home to Greece. He’d waited to share those details until after they were finished eating. Rae had never had a weak stomach before, but a lot of time had passed since they were together.
“Sinclair is working on getting extra security for Cyanide Sweetness. Our own kind of security. I don’t want to take jobs away from the men who currently watch out for you, but there’s no way I’m going to let you travel around without a Goyle watching your back at all times. All of the mates and children are being guarded around the clock until we know for certain Alistair will stand by his truce.”
“Do you honestly believe someone who’s had a vendetta against Jonas for over two hundred years will just throw up the white flag? Especially when his son was slain?” Desi stood from the floor and came to stand by Sixx.
“Not really, no. But we couldn’t let the Greek continue on as he had been with no recourse. At least now he knows Rafael won’t sit idly by while he continues to cause chaos for our family.”
“What are you doing to prepare? Other than keep the women and children guarded?”
“We are training. As I told you earlier, we can only be taken out with certain poisons or a blade to the neck. Urijah is our resident swordsmith. He has forged new weapons that include a special coating Julian concocted. It uses those poisons we are susceptible to. If an opponent is cut using these swords, the poison seeps into his bloodstream, slowing him down considerably. Urijah is here in California updating the armory with new equipment so he can begin working on swords for the Clan members on this side of the country.”
“Can I train with you?” Desi asked.
“Absolutely not! You aren’t a fighter, Dez. You’re my baby,” Rae demanded.
“And I’m half Gargoyle, Pretty Momma. If we’re going to war, I want to be prepared.”
“What about touring? Are you going to give up music?” Rae’s eyes were filled with tears.
Sixx interrupted their argument. “No, he’s not. Desi, I will be more than happy to work with you. I will even have Urijah forge a weapon for you. But you cannot give up your music. You will continue on with your tour, and someone will be with you, watching your back. Whenever you have a break and come home, I will teach you how to defend yourself. You will never be as strong as a full-blooded Gargoyle, but with your shifter half, you are already stronger than before. Rae, I’m asking you again to consider moving in with me. Not as mates, but so I can keep you safe. If you prefer to stay in the guesthouse, then so be it. We may be worrying over nothing. Alistair could be telling the truth.”
Rae didn’t give him an answer. She looked between her two men, and tears started falling down her face. Sixx was on his knees in front of her before she could blink. He placed his hands on her legs, but kept them from roaming. This was about offering assurances. “Doll, I promise I will take care of you. Both.”
She shook her head and wiped her tears. “Why did you have to come back now? If you’d have left us alone, we wouldn’t be in danger. You should have stayed in New Atlanta, and this Alistair wouldn’t have been the wiser. You’ve brought this war to our door.”
“Rae, it was only a matter of time until someone else saw Desi and put it all together. He and I look too much alike to not be related. To the human world, we can be brothers. But in the Gargoyle world, where I’ve been around over five hundred years, the truth of who he is wouldn’t be hard to figure out.”
“For Desi’s sake, I’m glad you came back when you did. At least now he knows what was wrong with him. And I know the reason for not aging all these years. I appreciate you putting extra security on our son, but I won’t go with you. I spent twenty-four years getting over you, Michael. I can’t allow you back into my life only to lose you again. I barely survived you leaving the first time. If something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t survive it again. The best thing for me now is to go back to living my life without you. I know why you left, and I forgive you. Whatever happens between you and Desi is up to the two of you. Now, I’m going to bed; it’s been a long day. Desi, I’ll see you in the morning. Michael...” She didn’t finish her thought. Without another word, Rae walked out of the living room, not sparing him a glance. This time, Rae walked out of his life.
Chapter Fifteen
Achilles hated waiting. Waiting for Alistair to give him his next missive. Waiting for Novik to do as instructed. Waiting for the full moon to disappear so he could take to a darkened sky. Waiting for his mate to figure out the truth and take his head. Or try to. The male was a strong one. Older than most and more adept at wielding a sword than anyone he’d met in a long time. Eventually, they would meet on the battlefield, and it would leave one of them headless. Why had the godsdamn fates thought the two of them would be good together? Maybe they hadn’t. Maybe this was his punishment for being a bastard most of his life.
Staring at the full moon shining across the water was doing nothing to help his mood. If he didn’t need to monitor his computer so closely, he’d go get laid. He’d find some willing man to bend over for him. Women were too soft and fragile. He’d been there, done that. Never again.
His computer sounded, indicating that at least one wait was over. He touched his mouse to bring the monitor to life and smiled at the results of his latest program. Take that, Julian. Competition was a good thing. Especially when you were smarter than your opponent.
“Why are you still working for the Greek?” he asked himself aloud. Achilles had more money than most of the Gargoyles combined. His computer skills allowed him to amass a fortune he’d never be able to spend. Maybe he should tell Alistair to go fuck himself. The King didn’t know who he was, and without someone who had Achilles’ computer skills, he never would.
“Because you’d get bored if you quit.” Fuck, he was already bored. Achilles was tired of doing someone else’s bidding. Tired of the old Goyle calling the shots all because he hated the humans. Achilles wasn’t a fan of humans either, but he’d never set out to destroy them because they were born less than, even though that was the impression he’d given the Greek King. He could continue sparring virtually with his nemesis in New Atlanta while distancing himself from Alistair. It didn’t matter whether or not he cut ties with the old male; Achilles had already dug his grave as far as his mate was concerned. He’d never be able to redeem himself for all the bad he’d done over the years. Not that he really wanted to.
Desirae couldn’t stop shaking. Her body burned with need from being close to Michael. She attributed the ache to the mate pull. She didn’t want him for any other reason. Didn’t want to run back into the living room and climb his large frame, wrapping her legs around him like she used to. She would continue lying to herself that she didn’t really want him in her life.
She grabbed a pillow from her bed and closed herself off inside her closet. With both Michael and Desi having special shifter hearing, they would no doubt know she was crying. She pushed a pile of shoes to the side so she could sit on the floor and lean back against the wall. Pulling her knees to her chest, Desirae used the pillow to muffle her sobs. Why did he have to come back now? She had almost gotten used to him being a distant memory. And bringing danger to Desi? What the fuck was he thinking?
If you’d like, I can take you back to New Atlanta where you can meet the other mates. You’ll be welcomed with open arms, and you’ll have a group of strong females like yourself to talk to. Spend time with. We don’t have to move there. We can visit long enough for you to see what it’s like having a l
arge family. Because Rae, whether you want it or not, you and Desi are part of a Clan who has already welcomed you both. As soon as we figured out you are my mate, it was a given.
Rae wanted that so badly. Wanted to fit in with other women who didn’t accuse her of having surgery to keep herself looking young. Wanted to ask questions about the mate pull. Wanted to belong. God, she wanted that almost as much as she wanted Michael. But she couldn’t leave Desi. What if Alistair sent someone after her son? And you’d be able to stop them how? Michael was going to have someone watch Desi at all times. Not someone. Something. She hated to think of her mate and son as things. Just because Michael was non-human didn’t make him less. No, he was so much more than any man she’d ever met before or since they were together.
Would agreeing to go to New Atlanta be so bad? Desi would be touring the States. Desirae couldn’t get to him quickly if something happened anyway. If she were with Michael, he could whisk her away on his private jet. Desirae sobbed harder at the thought of someone getting to her son. He was all she had. No, you have Michael. Yes, but for how long? He would live practically forever. According to him, so would she. Maybe not forever, but longer than a normal human’s lifespan. What if he got tired of her after fifty years? Then what? She couldn’t give her heart to him only to have it ripped away again.
“Mom?” Desi called from her bedroom. Desirae did her best to quiet the sounds coming from inside, but her heart wouldn’t listen. The closet door opened, and Desi knelt down in front of her. “Oh, Pretty Momma. Come here.” He sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap. “Shhh, it’s going to be okay. I promise,” he assured her. She wanted to tell him that it would never be okay, but she couldn’t form the words. Instead, she allowed her son to rock her like a small child while she continued to fall apart in his arms.
“You still love him, don’t you? I don’t understand the whole mate bond, because I don’t know who my mate is. I think it’s weird having someone else decide who you’re supposed to spend your life with. I look at the picture you drew and try to remember where I ran into her. Her face is familiar; then again, I dream about her most every night. What’s going to happen when I find out who she is? What if she doesn’t like me?”
Rae’s tears subsided, and she looked up at her son. “What’s not to like? You’re handsome, funny, talented, you care about others. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“But Michael’s all those things too, and you told him goodbye. I understand you don’t want to get hurt again. What if my mate doesn’t want to be tied to me, either? As Michael explained it, there’s only one mate for each of us. If she doesn’t want me, I’m left with a hole in my soul where she should be. I’ll never be able to fill that hole, because she’s my perfect circle, and all other women will be triangles or squares.”
“Are you ready to settle down? You’re only twenty-three, and you have a huge career ahead of you.”
“I don’t think of it as settling. I think of it as having the perfect partner join me on my journey. If Julian isn’t able to locate her, it’s all moot anyway. Besides, you were twenty-four when you had me. If Michael had been human and not left because he thought he lost control, you would have settled down with him. Wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, but that’s different.”
“How? You loved him. Think back to how you felt at the time. Even if you hadn’t turned up pregnant, wouldn’t you have wanted a life with him?”
Rae knew she would have. “Yes. It’s why I was devastated that he never came back. He took my heart, Desi. He’s always had my heart.”
“If he still has it, why not let him prove to you he still deserves it? Let him show you the life you should have had, even if it’s a few years later.”
“Boy, you’re really on the Michael bandwagon. What about you? He didn’t abandon only me. He left you, too. Are you so ready to forgive him and let him be your father?”
“Now that I’ve had the opportunity to hear him out, yeah. I think I am. Sure, one part of me wants to punch him again for the hurt he caused you. But he didn’t know, Pretty Momma. I have to believe if he had known about me, he’d have come back.”
“What about the rest of it? About you being half Gargoyle? Are you okay with that? I know you’ve had a year to deal with it, but are you really okay knowing you aren’t fully human?”
Desi laughed. “What little boy doesn’t dream of being a superhero when he grows up? Do you have any idea how many nights I stayed awake trying to come to terms with what was happening to me? When I transitioned the first time, I was so scared I was becoming one of the Unholy. I’d never studied them or how they came to be. I just knew I was going to turn into this hideously ugly creature and start hunting humans. It never happened, though. It actually took longer to get my emotions under control than it did my body. By the time I got my brain in check, I was able to phase easily. Now, I’m more in tune with what others are feeling. It’s not a bad thing, really. Except when my mom is unhappy. Then it’s nothing but torture. I can’t begin to imagine what this is doing to Michael. Well, yeah I can. When he felt you crying, he had to go outside.”
“You mean when he heard me,” Desirae corrected him.
“No. He felt your heartache before he heard your sobs. Before you had your bedroom door closed, he grabbed his chest. He explained that mates are so in sync with each other, the Gargoyle feels what their mate feels.”
“Huh.” Desirae didn’t want to hurt Michael, but she couldn’t help the way she felt inside. She couldn’t turn off her feelings to spare his.
“I have to leave in the morning to catch up with the band. Nothing that happened tonight is going to change that. I know you’re worried about this Alistair, but now that I know what’s going on, I’ll be on the lookout. I will have one of the Clan with me all the time watching my back. I’m glad Michael was honest with us about the possibility of war. Instead of being sitting ducks, we can prepare ourselves and be aware of our surroundings. Speaking of which, I hope you’ll consider going with him to New Atlanta. I think it’d do you some good to meet the other mates. Get their perspective and see how they deal with things. I’m not saying you have to decide what to do about Michael just yet, but whether you like it or not, you’re part of their world now. We both are.
“Please don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way, Pretty Momma. I love you. You have been the best mother a son could ask for. But I sat back and watched my friends with their families and always felt like I was missing something. It wasn’t anything you could avoid. It was just the way our lives were. I think that’s part of why I’m so accepting of Michael. I’ve missed having a father. Having more family. What you and I had was wonderful, but now we have the chance to have more wonderful in our lives. I want that, and deep down, I think you want it too.”
“How’d you get so smart?” she asked. Desirae was beyond lucky to have Desi, but it broke her heart even more to hear him put his feelings of the past into words. She had been unable to give him what he wanted and needed. A father. A family. Now, that was being offered to them both on a silver platter.
“Because I have you for a mother. I have a feeling Michael’s pretty smart, but we won’t give him any of the credit.” Desi winked at her, his eyes shining.
“I can’t believe your fangs are real. I’ve watched clips of your show on the internet and always thought you were faking it. Can I see them?”
Desi bared his fangs to her, still grinning. Desirae couldn’t believe her baby had fangs. And claws. “Oh my god, you have wings, too!”
He laughed full out. “Sure do, but the closet isn’t quite big enough for me to show you those bad boys.”
“Have you ever flown?” Michael had told her about the pull of the moon. He explained how his home in New Atlanta was secluded, and he could fly pretty much whenever he wanted to.
He shook his head. “Not because I haven’t wanted to, but how would I explain it?”
“Come with me tonight,
and we will take to the skies,” Michael said from just outside the closet door. “Sorry, but I could only stay away for so long. Tamping down the beast when my mate is hurting is like trying to stop a freight train.”
Rae kissed Desi on the cheek and held her hand out to Michael. He gently helped her to her feet before pulling her close. He wrapped her in his arms, kissing her hair. She snaked her arms around Michael’s back and held on tight. She had a decision to make – let him in and take a chance on getting her heart totally decimated if he ever left again, or take a chance that what they had would last forever and give Desi the family he deserved at the same time. It really was a no-brainer. She’d do anything for her son.
Taking a deep breath, Desirae leaned back so she could look up at her non-human. “Can I go with you and watch you fly?”
Michael started to answer, but his breath caught in his throat. His eyes shone from tears he was holding back. He nodded and hugged her closer, almost to the point of pain. He released one arm, and said, “Come here.” Within seconds, she was being enveloped in both her men’s arms. They stood like that for several long minutes. At half past midnight, Desirae received the best birthday present ever – a family.
Michael somehow convinced Desirae to go home with him, and Desi was coming, too. Even though it was late, Desi wanted the chance to open his wings and soar with his father. Michael had loaded Desirae’s surfboard on top of the Jeep while she packed several bags. Desirae was certain Michael intended for her to move in with him immediately, since he mentioned coming back for the rest of her things in the next week. She didn’t need to see his house to know it would be more than she needed. Knowing Michael, it would suit him and in turn, it would suit her as well.
Rae had never had a fancy home or car. She’d always had enough money to get by on, and she was okay with that. She felt that home was where the heart was, and now, her heart was sitting next to her driving the bad-ass jacked-up Jeep of her dreams. “How long have you had this Jeep?” she asked, the wind blowing through her short hair.
