The Greystone Bundle (Books 1-4)

by Taylor Longford

  I locked eyes with her. "Maybe," I allowed. "But that's not the point. The point is that Romeo's too much horse for you, Anders."

  "I had everything under control," she insisted, obviously offended. Her chin lifted proudly.

  "Like hell," I muttered.

  "What did you say?" she snapped back at me.

  "You're welcome," I growled and stalked away. Because she should have thanked me. That horse was deliberately leaning into the sideboards in an attempt to get rid of his rider.

  On my way back to my can of paint, my gaze snagged on Alexa's face. She looked so surprised by everything that had gone down that it made me wonder if maybe Whitney was right and I had overreacted. But it didn't make any difference. I didn't trust Romeo. When Whitney was on his back, it scared the crap out of me. So I decided to keep my eye on him whenever she was riding him. And made a plan to be in the arena, exercising one of the other horses, whenever she saddled up.

  Chapter Six

  I worked again on Thursday. The temperature had dropped and it had started snowing about noon so I used Peggy's phone in the office to call home and arrange for a ride at the end of the day. Then dragged my feet when MacKenzie's Jeep pulled into the parking area, checking the county highway for a splash of bright green on the road, perversely hoping for a glimpse of Whitney before I left. But it looked like she'd stayed late at school; she probably had basketball practice.

  As usual, Tara had hung around to flirt right up to the last minute. She wanted to get together on Friday night. So far, I'd managed to avoid her invitations to meet outside of work, with one excuse or another. This time, I didn't have to lie since the pack was going to that basketball game in Boulder. But Tara wasn't the sort to give up easily, and she walked me out to the Jeep, suggesting alternate dates with every step we took.

  "I don't think so," I kept saying, moving as quickly as I could in the falling snow. I was in a crap mood, anyhow. Maybe because I hadn't seen Whitney since Tuesday. But escape was just a few feet away, Dare sitting in the driver's seat, Havoc riding shotgun. I was glad MacKenzie wasn't driving. I knew she wouldn't approve of the friendship I'd struck up with Tara. And I knew she'd give me a hard time about it.

  I pulled the back door open and threw myself into the seat while Havoc rolled down his window and prolonged my agony a little longer by starting up a conversation with Tara. She seemed quite content to flirt with him instead of me and it was a few minutes before she finally backed away from the car. As the Jeep pulled away, she caught my eye and waved. Then called out, "See ya later, Devon."

  I grimaced, hoping my cousins hadn't heard her. But I wasn't that lucky. Even though the windows were rolled up and the engine was running, they'd heard. They were gargoyles.

  Dare eyed me in the rear view mirror. "Devon?"

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "It's just easier than Defiance," I muttered.

  "Yeah, but—"

  "Just leave it," I told him flatly.

  "Yeah, leave it," Havoc snickered. "Don't give Defiance a hard time. He just wants to be a real boy."

  "A real boy?" Dare echoed on a soft snort. "What are you talking about?"

  "Don't you remember that story Grandfather Joyce read to the kids during the Great War?" Havoc drawled. "Defiance just wants to be a real boy. Like Pinocchio."

  My hand whipped forward to swat the back of his head, but Havoc ducked and my fingers barely grazed his thick mass of dreadlocks. He spent the next few miles rearranging his hair and snickering to himself. I spent the same miles silently fuming behind my sunglasses. There was nothing wrong with picking a more common, modern name and going with it. He didn't have to make a big deal about it.

  But Havoc wouldn't let it go. He leaned back in his seat and locked his hands behind his head. "I'm actually considering changing my name to Harvey."

  "Harvey?" Dare barked.

  "Aye—Harvey—instead of Havoc. What do you think? Does it suit?"

  Dare gave him an askance look and said dryly, "Not as well as Havoc."

  "And you could be Danny," Havoc continued while my blood pressure climbed and a vein started pulsing in my temple.

  "Danny!" Dare exclaimed on a burst of laughter. He shook his head. "There's no way I'm changing my name."

  "Why not?" Havoc challenged him as we turned onto the gravel road that would carry us home.

  "Because I've gotten used to Dare. And I like it. And it wouldn't be the same when Mim whispers my name in my ear."

  "How do you know?" Havoc chuckled annoyingly. "Danny might sound better. Maybe you and Mim should try it out before you decide."

  Dare shook his head and laughed. "I don't think that's a good idea. If Mim started calling me something other than Dare, then every guy in Pine Grove who had that name would be in some serious danger. I'd search them out one-by-one and eliminate their asses."

  He wasn't serious and they were both cracking up as we sped up the driveway toward the house a few minutes later. I was less amused as I followed them from the car. Dare opened the front door and stepped inside while Havoc waved me through saying, "After you, Pinocchio."

  Hell. I was already in a crap mood. At that point, I was pissed. I threw my sunglasses at the couch across the room and tackled Havoc in the entry. Together, we crashed onto the living room floor as I tried to wrestle him into submission. But Havoc's no lightweight in a fight, especially when you get him mad. The guy's all fire and brimstone. And he wasn't giving in easy. Panting and cursing, we strained against each other as we rolled across the living room floor.

  His elbow slammed into my nose, making me see red, and I reacted by jamming my knee up into his ribs. But before I could get the upper hand, I felt a firm grip on my collar and Victor separated us with a hard jerk. I flew across the room and landed in a crouch while Havoc scrambled to his knees. Wiping at the blood that trickled from my nose, I was breathing fire as we glared across the room at each other.

  "What's going on?" Victor demanded, his face all stern, his golden tangles falling across his eyes.

  Havoc jacked onto to his feet. He pressed his hand against his ribs and fried me with a look of fury. "Ask Devon," he answered darkly and stalked off down the hall, slamming through the door to the garage.

  Victor's troubled gaze followed Havoc as he disappeared. Then he passed me on his way to the entry closet. As he shrugged into his jacket, he turned to face me and said, "Outside. Now."

  Great. Now Victor was mad at me. Reluctantly, I pushed up to my feet and followed the leader of the pack. Out in the garage, I could hear Havoc banging around on his skateboard.

  Victor didn't say anything until we were over in the park, out of gargoyle hearing range. As he plowed through the snow, he asked, "What was that all about?"

  "Nothing," I muttered.

  But Victor wasn't going to let me off that easily. "I hate to see division within the pack," he stated, his tone curt, his breath forming a white cloud in the cold air. "We need to be able to rely on each other in times of danger."

  "Division's a strong word for what just happened back at the house," I said, and rolled my shoulders in a tight shrug. "I just get tired of Havoc, sometimes. He never takes anything seriously. Everything's just a big joke to him."

  Victor took a few more steps before saying, "It's just his way of dealing."

  "Dealing?" I snorted. "What does Havoc have to deal with?"

  Victor tested his footing before he started up the rocks that led to the cliffs. "He lost his father at a young age, just like you."

  "His mother wasn't murdered," I growled, and followed him up the steep slope.

  "Nay," Victor agreed quietly as he stopped and wheeled around to face me, thick white flakes settling on his eyelashes and hair. "But eight hundred years ago her sons disappeared suddenly one day and never came home. She waited twenty, thirty years for them, wondering what had happened to them. If they were alive. If they were suffering. If they were safe. You don't think that bothers Havoc and his brothers?"
r />   I swallowed hard, feeling bad all of a sudden. Havoc's mother was a lot like her youngest son, all laughter and long bronze curls. She'd taken all of us under her wing when there was no one left. It must have been difficult for her when her entire family disappeared suddenly with no explanation. It must have been torture. Of course, we knew that the other gargoyles in our community would have watched out for her. Panic. Malarkey. Mayhem. And their family. But still…

  "I know you've been wary of humans since your mother's death," Victor murmured. "I know you're trying to make sure you fit in."

  "Can you blame me?" I interrupted him harshly. "After what happened back in York?"

  "Nay," he answered. "And there's nothing wrong with wanting to be accepted by your peers. But don't do it at the expense of everything you are."

  His words sounded disturbingly familiar. Whitney had said almost the same thing that day at the stables, when she overheard me introducing myself as Devon.

  Victor locked his aqua gaze on mine. "And sometimes I wonder if what really haunts you isn't what happened to your mother, but what you did after her death. Sometimes, I think maybe that's what you're running from."

  I just stared at him. Victor's perceptive skills never failed to amaze me. But not because he was right about me running from anything. He was wrong on that score. I just hadn't known he was aware of what I'd done. "You knew about that?"

  "Aye," he sighed. "And if I'd known what you were going to do, I'd have helped you, Defiance. So that you wouldn't have to carry the entire weight of your actions."

  "I don't regret what I did," I cut back stubbornly.

  Victor shook his golden head. "I'm not suggesting that you did anything wrong. I'd probably have done the same thing if I were you. But maybe, on a subconscious level, you think you're a lesser person for what you did. And you need to understand that you're not."

  I chewed this over as I stood at the edge of the cliff and looked out over the park toward the Pegasus Stables. I couldn't see the large building with its arched roofline. It was hidden behind a low hill covered with trees. I knew Victor had my best interests at heart. But I didn't think I was carrying any weight or shouldering any guilt. I just didn't want anything like what happened to my family to happen again. Or that's what I told myself.

  "Give it some thought," Victor murmured, grabbing my shoulder in a rough squeeze. "And don't forget that underneath your defiant nature and stubborn streak there's a heart that needs to love and be loved. You can't lock everyone out just to keep safe."

  "Okay," I muttered gruffly, immediately dismissing the idea.

  He slanted a look at me as if he was reading my mind. "You're a lot like your mother," he commented.

  I shook my head. "My father was the stubborn one."

  "I wasn't talking about that. Nor about the way you've picked up your mother's interest in healing. I just mean that you have a lot of her human traits."

  I snorted. "I'm as much a gargoyle as you are."

  "Maybe. But you can't deny that you have a strong human side to your nature."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  His eyes narrowed as he searched for words. "Let me put it this way. When it comes to lasses, Valor and Dare gravitate toward simple goodness. But you want more than that. When girls are involved, you like the challenge and the chase. You like the whole feminine mystique thing."

  "And that makes me more human?" I challenged him sullenly.

  "Aye," he answered.

  "Got anymore insults to lay on me?"

  "It wasn't meant to be an insult," he rebuked me, beginning to lose his patience.

  I knew he was right. I was just being difficult but I was too stubborn to admit it. "Then what was the point of this conversation?"

  He rolled his shoulders as we turned from the rocks and headed back home. "What's going on between you and Whitney?"

  "Nothing," I answered on a rumbling growl. "Same as ever."

  "Really? I could have sworn there was—"

  "You were wrong," I cut him off swiftly.

  "Alright," he answered as we made our way along a path of packed snow that wound through the trees back toward the house. "Just remember what I said about love and locking everyone out."

  I answered with a noncommittal grunt. Even if he was right about my human traits and the whole needing-love thing, I was pretty sure I didn't need it from Whitney. Because what I felt for the regal blond wasn't love. I wasn't an expert or anything, but I didn't think love wasn't supposed to be this damn awkward. Not to mention painful.

  Chapter Seven

  So Friday rolled around and everyone was looking forward to the basketball game up in Boulder, especially since we'd be meeting up with Reason and Elaina at the school. I was less enthused. For me, it meant two hours of torment, watching Whitney without being able to talk to her. Or touch her. Or hold her. Or any of the other things I wanted to do with her. As you can tell, I wasn't doing so great with the banishing-her-from-my-mind project. But I was hoping we'd get lucky and see Torrie at the school. And get a chance to talk to her.

  I followed the pack into the high school lobby and waited for my turn to grasp arms with Reason, then gave Elaina a quick hug. I hadn't been real keen on her at first but she's the kinda girl who grows on you. And she's an official member of the pack now, so I'm sorta required to like her, anyhow. And to protect her as a part of my home and hearth.

  I've gotta admit it's amazing what she's done with Reason. He used to be way negative and cynical before she got to him. Now he's all grins and sunshine. That probably sounds pathetic, but you don't know what a pain in the ass he used to be. Not anymore. Now he's whipped. In fact, he's so whipped, he never lets Elaina get more than two feet away from him. But they look good together, her being so dark and him with his straight blond hair.

  But love had been good to Valor and Dare, too. Especially Dare. More than anyone else in the pack, he needed a stable forever with someone he could count on. I watched him whisper something against Mim's ear. She turned her face as he smiled down at her, the white ends of his hair feathering into her longer waves.

  Havoc was behind me, waiting for his chance to greet Elaina. She had to push him away when he tried to make his hug last longer than was strictly customary for a friendly embrace. But he was just winding Reason up. And if Reason's face was anything to go by, it was working.

  Elaina's wide grin filled her face as she beamed at us. She was obviously excited and brimming with some sort of news as she gathered us together in a huddle. For a minute I thought she was gonna start handing out wedding invitations. "What's up?" I asked.

  "She's here!" Elaina exclaimed in a quiet whisper as her gaze swept around the rest of the pack.

  "Torrie?" MacKenzie asked breathlessly.

  Elaina's dark ponytail bobbed as she nodded. "Torrie Evans. She's here!"

  "Where?" Victor quizzed her in a low voice.

  "Follow me," she commanded, leading us into the gym where the stands were starting to fill up and the murmur of conversation echoed in the high ceiling. "Don't everyone turn and stare at once," she whispered and lifted a finger to cautiously point out a girl with cropped blond hair sitting in the stands.

  Trying not to look obvious, we all took turns checking her out. She was sitting halfway up the bleachers with another girl who seemed a little old for high school. Her long hair was brown instead of blond, but she looked enough like Torrie to be her sister.

  "What should we do?" Elaina demanded in a quiet squeal.

  "Talk to her," I grunted. It seemed pretty straightforward to me.

  "But she might not be happy to see us," Elaina countered right away.

  I frowned down at the bossy little bundle of energy. "Why not?"

  "Because of everything she's been through. Getting mixed up with gargoyles hasn't exactly worked out real great for her. We need a plan."

  So they started planning…although it sounded more like arguing to me. Elaina thought Havoc should be the one
to approach Torrie because he was the youngest and looked the least threatening. MacKenzie thought Dare should talk to her because the ends of his hair are white. To modern-day humans, it probably looks fairly unusual. But it also looks exactly like Chaos's hair. I haven't seen him since we were trapped between those walls in York eight hundred years ago, but Elaina and Reason saw him a month ago when he helped them kill Motschka. And they reported that the ends of his hair have turned white. Not a good thing since the color variation is caused by stress. Anyhow, Mac thought Torrie would be more likely to believe in Dare's connection to Chaos.

  "You're assuming she'd even want to see Chaos again," Elaina argued stubbornly. "That might not be the case."

  I rolled my eyes. And while they were planning away, I decided to act before all the seats were taken around the two girls. Shoving my hands in the pockets of my jacket, I climbed into the stands.

  Elaina caught up to me on the bleachers and tugged on my sleeve. "What are you doing? You can't just go up there and start talking to her. You've gotta have a plan."

  "I have a plan," I told her, continuing my climb without slowing down.

  Elaina was indignant. "What are you gonna say? Seen any harpies lately?"

  "Elaina, I have a plan," I gritted, stopping and towering over her while Reason came up behind her. He pulled Elaina against his front and gave me a warning look as if to say, "Don't get too aggressive with my girl."

  Her bright blue gaze flicked behind me, into the stands. "But she might just blow you off. She looks kinda tough."

  I turned my gaze on the short girl with the roughly cropped hair and the abandoned piercings, one in her eyebrow and the other in her lower lip. By now, I was close enough to sense what sort of person she was. "She's not," I told Elaina.

  "Not what?" she demanded.

  "Not as tough as she looks," I said. "Now stay here and quit making a scene."

  Glancing into the seats above me, I caught Torrie's eye and made sure she noticed me. Most girls do. But I don't look anything like Chaos so I figured my presence wouldn't raise any alarms or make her run for the exits even if her experience with Chaos had left a bad taste in her mouth. As far as she knew, I was just a teenager who'd come to watch his high school's team play basketball.