"I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself, love, far from it. I know you are a warrior of your people, and I respect that. But you were wounded and infected by basilisk venom and nearlydied. Now, you carry our child. I will admit that, with that, my dragon is pushing hard to lock you away in our lair. Please humor me with the additional protection," Krispin said.
I just smiled and grumbled, "Okay."
There was no way I could dispute his logic, and I didn't want to be taken to his lair; did he actually have a lair? He must have heard my thoughts because he sniggered.
"What is going on here?" an angry voice snarled.
I turned at the sound of the voice to see who was interrupting our breakfast. It was a gargoyle I had never met before. He was big, and he looked like someone just killed his kitten. He was flanked by two other gargoyles–equally large and unknown.
"You're supposed to be dead!" he exclaimed.
He seemed very unhappy that I was alive and breathing, and I found that odd. Who was this guy? Did he know the gargoyle who attacked me? Why did he want me dead? All these questions swirled in my mind, and I almost missed what Master Stephen was saying.
"Elder Atticus, isn't it great news? My enforcer has fully recovered and is alive and well. Now you will have eyewitness testimony that it was in fact a rogue gargoyle who attacked my man inside my territory," he said with a smirk. I didn't know why, but the whole situation was making me uneasy.
"Yes, it is wonderful he’s alive and healed," the elder forced out, sounding like it was the last thing he wanted to say. "But how? Don't tell me the dogs and the human actually figured something out," he said snidely.
Growls erupted from the wolves at the table and from Master Stephen. Even Kris let loose a snarl.
"Excuse me, I meant wolves," he smirked. "Come now, tell me what this cure was and why does he reek of that human?"
"Elder Atticus, you will do well to remember you are a guest in my territory, and I’ll not allow disrespectful comments; myBeloved is a wolf. Enforcer Morgan was healed by the blood of his Beloved, who is that human, as you put it," Master Stephen said.
"I apologize for my comments," he said as he bowed his head to Master Stephen. Then he turned to me and asked, "When will you be available to give me an account of the rogue?"
I was about to answer, but Kris beat me to it. "My mate and I will meet you later this afternoon for his account," he said firmly, daring the elder to dispute him.
"I don't believe it would be necessary for you to accompany your mate. I’ll meet with him in about an hour," he replied, answering the dare.
Before Kris or I could reply, Master Stephen cut in. "Enforcer Morgan will be in my office with his mate and myself at two this afternoon. You can get your account then." Effectively ending the conversation with his order. The elder nodded and left the room.
"I don't trust him. He seemed too eager for Ben to be dead," Devin said.
"Yes, he did,” Kris agreed. “I don’t trust him either.”
"Why do I have to give my account to him anyway?" I asked, confused.
"Before you passed out, you claimed it was a gargoyle attack. Elder Atticus was sent by the Circle of Elders to investigate the claim. When he saw your wound, he determined it wasn’t a gargoyle and claimed we were making it up to accuse his race," Master Stephen explained. "I don't trust him. I don't know if he was involved with your attack. We’ll need to keep an eye on him."
Kris wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.Don't worry, sweetheart. I will ensure you and our son are safe, he swore though our link. I sighed and rested against him.
Elder Atticus
Outrageous,impossible.Howishe still alive?I thought as the elevator stopped at the rooftop garden. I needed air and a chance to spread my wings. They were holding back; no way a mate's blood could have stopped the basilisk venom.
Unless Harper had lied to me. She had told me nothing could cure basilisk venom. Paranormals and humans all died from it, and there was no stopping it. I should have known better than to trust a witch. I’d always been a sucker for a pair of nice legs and big tits. She was a good fuck, that was for sure, but that was all she was good for. She’d better have an answer, or she would die, no matter how good a fuck.
The doors opened, and I walked out. No one was on the rooftop, which was surprising. I had heard the coven master's mutt loved the gardens. Damn bloodsuckers and dogs! I spread my wings and took to the sky. I was an elder of my kind and had the power to keep my form during the daylight hours, while most were relegated to stone. Only those mated to their true mate or elders had the ability to be free during the daylight hours.
As I flew, I thought of my people; for far too long they had allowed the other species to pollute them. Our men continued to pair with men.Fucking fags. They needed to mate with our females, so our race could stay strong. Our females weren't any better; they mated with vampires, dogs, and any other type of shifters.Whores. Damn Annel. I’d given my heart to that bitch and had been with her for a hundred years! I’d had threehatchlings with her! And what the fuck had she done? She’d claimed to have met her true mate in a bloodsucker and spread her legs for the bastard!
I shook my head. No need to think of that bitch. I had to find Bazer before any of the leeches did. I couldn’t have this attack linked to me. Bazer was the former chieftain of a nearby clutch that believed that all these fucking creatures should be slaves. The idiot had gone and gotten challenged—and fucking lost. That was when we had to come up with the plan of starting strife among the bastards.
The tension could help us sway the other elders of the Circle. The majority of the elders still believed in peace between the species and inclusion.Fucking idiots. They needed to understand that these kinds had no place in the world—except maybe as our slaves. They needed to understand we had to cleanse our race from the dregs and become pure and strong once again.
A sound caught my attention and I turned to look. It was Cobox, my guard. He was mated to a nice female.
"Elder, forgive the intrusion," he said. "We have a report that Chieftain Tomlin from the Chadwick Clutch is coming to lend aid in searching for the 'rogue' that attacked the vampire."
