Rise of the Lycans: Shadows And Secrets

Chapter 32 – Gargoyles

Rex

“Maeve?”

My heart was pumping furiously in my chest at the mere sight of her.

She was here.

In the shower.

We stood in stunned silence for a long moment. She looked just as surprised to see me. I’d seen Maeve in my dreams several times but never while awake.

My mind had to be playing tricks on me.

The steam from all the shower heads I turned on could have been causing an optical illusion. It could have also been caused by a lack of blood circulating in my head because it was rushing to my dick. Blinking, I looked down to see my hand still firmly gripped around it and released it. It bobbed against my abdomen, desperate for her touch.

A soft giggle slipped from her, and that was all I needed.

I took three long strides and pinned her against the wall. Dipping my head down, I caught her lips and kissed her how I longed to. I kissed her deeply, passionately, and hungrily. The sweet taste of her mouth was warm and welcoming. I felt her arms wrap around me as she lifted up on her toes to return my kiss, and it was perfection.

“Rex,” she started, and I pulled back to look at her beautiful face.

I tenderly kissed the bridge of her nose, then kissed it again, and again. I peppered kisses all over her cheeks. Another sweet giggle left her when she realized I was kissing her freckles. I tasted her tears and felt her smile.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I groaned, hardly able to believe that she was really here. My hands caressed down her sides, loving the way the softness of her curves felt. I had craved this female with every fiber of my being, and it wasn’t just me—she owned the beast inside, too.

She mumbled something that sounded like she had missed me too, but let out a soft gasp when my hand cupped her rounded ass cheek. The one I suddenly remembered biting as I bent her over the ledge of the hot spring. My beast had lost control, wanting to claim her, and sunk his canines in her tender flesh. The thought of her full luscious ass nearly made me finish what I had started moments ago.

“Rex,” she started again. Her voice sounded serious, and my beast was fully alert.

I pulled back with a frown, realizing there was something different about her. She was concealing something from me… something she feared would upset me.

“Why did you run away from me?” I asked, fearing she would tell me something I didn’t want to hear. That she had fallen in love with a human, or worse, the man with the dark eyes. The one that had kept her away from me.

“I-I’m.. I’m scared,” she said in a low whisper.

“I’ll kill him,” I suppressed a snarl. “I’ll fucking kill anyone who scares or hurts you. I know he’s been hiding you from me.”

“Rex, you don’t understand…”

The door to the locker room was pushed open. “It’s just me,” Storm called out from the other room. “You brought all the new clothes in here, and Lukas needs a change of clothes.”

“He’s not in here,” I called over my shoulder.

“I know. He’s taking a shower in the other locker room with Selena and asked me to bring him some clothes.”

I returned my attention to Maeve, who had suddenly disappeared.

“Fuck!” I growled, punching a hole in the tile just above the place where her head would have been.

“You okay?” My sister asked from the other side of the partition to the communal showers.

I licked my lips and tasted Maeve’s sweet caramel scent. It wasn’t an illusion. She was here… but how?

“Rex?” Storm called out again.

I used my lycan eyes and looked around the massive shower. There was no sign of Maeve. The man with the dark eyes in Edinburgh… I was sure he had evaporated in the shadows with her. Was he a mage? He had to have some kind of power to teleport, dream walk, or maybe shadow jump.

Did he teach Maeve how to do it?

When I get my hands on him, I’m going to rip his throat out. I don’t give a damn if she’s fallen in love with him, married him, or had his baby. He was going to die for taking her away from me.

“Earth to Rex, come in Rex?” Storm’s voice came through the mind link.

“I’m just finishing up,” I replied, turning off the shower heads.

“I asked if you wanted me to throw away your old smoky clothing,” she said.

“Yes, but my cell phone and money clip are in the pockets.”

“These new dress slacks have shallow pockets,” she told me. “I don’t think your phone will fit.”

“I’m sure Grandma Dori has room in her purse for my phone,” I replied, reaching for a towel.

“I’ve got empty deep pockets in my cargo pants. I’ll hang on to them for you.”

“Storm, the necklace—”

“I’m looking at it right now,” she said. “Did Maeve ever say where she got it from?” Storm asked curiously.

“No, but she’s had it since she arrived at our pack, and I’ve seen baby photos of her with it.”

“I’ve had visions of a golden oak tree similar to this one.”

“You have?”

“It’s the Celtic tree of life,” she told me.

“What do you know about it?”

“Not much, but I’m sure Grandma Dori will.”

I quickly got dressed and walked through the dungeon playroom of club Ouh là là. We had taken a detour to the kink club owned by Alpha Orléans because the French police were at the hotel investigating the motorcycle thefts from earlier today.

Images of Maeve bound and gagged, bending to my will, shot through me, and I was tempted to return to the shower and find that damn release I desperately needed. Her inexperience was a turn-on, and I could hardly wait to get my hands on her again. Maeve would be mine, and I would show her a world of both pleasure and pain. A world I knew she had imagined in her darkest fantasies and through the pages of the books she read.

I knew Maeve was out there, longing to be with me as much as I wanted her. I felt it in her kiss. Brianna had told me that Maeve didn’t want to stand in the way of me finding my mate. She didn’t want to be forced to live in a pack and watch me live happily ever after with my fated mate. A savage feeling was rising in me. There was no way in hell I could see myself with anyone else but Maeve. The lycan within me was drawn to her like a bonded mate.

I reached the top of the steps to the other part of the kink club. Grandma Dori was examining the bird cages in the corner while Alpha Orléans and his men were pushing tables together for a meal. After visiting the Louvre and Obelisk, we came to the club and found two things. First, it was closed for business, so we had Grandma Dori pick the lock. Second, Alpha Orléans was hiding inside, hoping one of us would come looking for him.

Alpha Orléans had confirmed that Alpha Darc was behind the heat stimulants and attempted abduction plans of female lycans. He also believed something sinister was happening in Paris and that dark magic and demons might be involved.

“This is going to sound crazy, but everything keeps pointing back to the Moon Goddess,” my sister told me.

“It could be her sister, Eos,” Grandma said, suddenly appearing behind us.

“What do you mean?”

“Her sister has always been jealous,” Grandma shrugged. “Selene is still held in high regard and worshipped by her children. She’s still worshipped today throughout many human religions, too, which keeps her power strong.”

“She seems to have forgotten about her shifters,” I reminded Grandma. “There’s something wrong with the mate bonds.”

“I’m not sure that was done intentionally,” Grandma said. “I think Eos is behind it.”

“Grandma, what do you know about the Celtic Tree of Life?”

“There are many different cultures with a tree of life belief similar to the Celtics,” she told us.

“What about one with the golden oak?” Storm pressed.

“The oak tree is the region's strongest and longest-living tree and is highly regarded. It represents a connection between the physical and spiritual world,” Grandma explained. “Some believe the tree symbolizes the cycles of life, longevity, wisdom, and strength. Others believe the trees are ancestors that provided a gateway to the spirit world or doorways to other realms.”

“Other realms?” I questioned. I knew my ancestors were in the Realm of The Moon, and some of my family members had occasionally seen the realm, but I wasn’t sure about other realms.

“This is the best boeuf bourguignon in Paris,” Alpha Orléans announced. “Come, please join us. The bread is still warm.”

“Now we’re talking,” Grandma said, shoving something into her purse. “I’m ready to eat a horse!” She trotted over to the table of food.

“Did she just take a whip?” Storm whispered.

“Hope she’s not planning on using it,” I smirked.

Lukas finally emerged with Selena from their long shower. The bite mark on his neck broadcasted exactly what they were doing and why it took so long. I instantly regretted not biting Maeve on the neck when I had the chance in the shower.

I refused to believe it had been a fantasy. You can’t taste a fantasy or feel a bite mark on her flesh. Something was happening here, and I knew it was tied to the Moon Goddess.

“Did you see the hanging swings downstairs?” Grandma whistled. “I bet that’s quality Italian leather… not that cheap Chinese stuff.” She tore a baguette in half and dipped a chunk in her bowl.

After dinner, we returned to Notre-Dame Cathedral to look for my cousin Zane, who had suddenly gone missing with his mate, Cynder. They were newly mated, and I suspected they could have just run off to be alone together, but Lukas had a bad feeling. The sudden appearance of the demon in Paris and the idea that the Moon Goddess was in distress made me feel uneasy, too.

Lukas and Storm conjured up a hell of a storm with winds, thunder, and lightning to chase off all the lingering people walking around in the city tonight. Trees were uprooted, café seats and awnings were sent whirling down the street as people ducked for cover. After knocking the power out to the Cathedral, we slipped inside.

Grandma Dori, Selena, and Sol disappeared through a portal. Once Aunt Hazel and Uncle Zeus arrived, we discovered the entrance to the portal. It was hidden beneath the confessional. I knew Grandma had probably triggered the portal to open, and Selena and Sol had most likely followed after her.

Lukas could barely control his anger, and Ranger was ready to dig his way through the underground portal to retrieve his mate.

“The star of Ishtar,” Storm leaned in for a closer look at the mark over the portal.

“It’s the star of chaos,” Flaym told her.

“Ishtar is the one who brings chaos,” Storm said.

“You’re both right,” Hazel told them softly before she started signing with her hands. “The mark of Ishtar dates back thousands of years before Christ. It’s been adopted and used to mean many things. Some believe Ishtar may have had offspring with the Demon Lord, which is why it has become synonymous with chaos.”

“We’ve seen this symbol before outside the church,” Lukas announced.

“This church?” Uncle Zeus asked.

“Yes,” Storm replied. “I’ll show you.”

We followed my sister outside in the courtyard at the front of Notre-Dame. She pointed at a large manhole-looking plaque in the ground.

“It’s just over here,” Storm said.

“I know what that is!” Hazel told us in disbelief.

“A sewer drain?” Uncle Zeus asked.

“No,” Alpha Orléans replied. “That’s the marker for Point Zero. It marks the very center of Paris.”

Aunt Hazel shook her head, and her eyes went wide. “It’s a portal to the dark realm,” she spoke faintly.

“The dark realm?” Storm repeated.

“You mean a demon hole!” Flaym interjected. “I was right!”

“Yes,” Aunt Hazel said. “It’s sealed from the other side by a different kind of magic.”

“What do you mean, different kind of magic?” Lukas asked.

“It’s a protection enchantment,” she said, then started moving her hands again to sign. This time, Flaym read it aloud so Alpha Orléans could understand. “It’s a one-way portal. Something from the other side can get through, but nothing from this side is allowed to enter.”

“Can you open it?” I asked.

She nodded yes and continued signing. “I wouldn’t want to. Whatever is on the other side could bring chaos with it since it’s marked with the eight point star. I once read in an ancient scroll that demons who were kicked out of the dark realm were sent to this world to live as stone statues.”

I thought about my dreams when I visited Maeve as she slept in the big bed beside the fire. The corridor outside her door was topped with stone dragon-looking gargoyles. I was sure it was just a coincidence until one of the gargoyles on top of the bell tower attacked us.

“Do they all come to life or just the ones on Notre-Dame?” Flaym asked, pointing to the cathedral.

A shrieking gargoyle that looked like an ugly winged monkey took flight. Another gargoyle with horns resembling a possessed tiger with wings also took flight and swooped low. It tried to take a swipe at Flaym, but Storm had jumped up to and hooked her arm around it. She quickly tore off its horn and shoved it down its mouth. The gargoyle fell and smashed into small pieces of cement.

We used our elements and brute strength to fight off all the flying gargoyles that had somehow come to life. A devil-looking creature wielding a stone sword took aim at my sister and was met with a double strike of lightning before it exploded into dust. Another one that looked like a flying fish diving for Storm was met with a swinging tree branch complements of Lukas’ earth element.

“Whose flying monkeys are these?” Flaym asked.

A human skeletal gargoyle with bird talons soared above us before it was also smashed into dust.

“They look possessed or something,” Ranger shouted, tearing the head off a flying lizard with wings.

Aunt Hazel used her special fire to take out a flying, emaciated-looking dragon, Alpha Orléans smashed an owl, and I sent a serpent crashing into the church wall.

“I think the gargoyles are after me,” Storm told me through the mind link just as a big flying dragon creature dove for her.

“It’s after Storm!” Lukas yelled.

Storm was fast. She blinded the dragon with good old dirt in the eyes, then used her lycan claws to tear it apart.

When we were done, the courtyard was covered in shattered pieces of cement that resembled a construction site disaster. Thankfully, the unexpected storm had chased witnesses away because the church looked like vandals had attacked it.

Ranger walked around, looking at the smashed and shattered pieces of the flying creatures. “Those must be the malevolent demons Grandma was talking about.”

“These are minor demons,” Aunt Hazel told us.

Ranger crouched down for a closer look. “And they were kicked out of hell?”

“Yes and no,” Aunt Hazel replied. “Hell is believed to be a subsection of the Dark Realm, like Tartarus.

“So, why not just send them to Tartarus?” I asked. “Why send them here?”

“I wish I knew,” she shrugged.

“Rex, do you feel that?” Storm asked me through the mind link.

It was the same feeling I had at the Louvre as if we were being watched. My eyes swirled, and I scanned our surroundings for moving shadows. Some part of me wanted to see Maeve in the shadows, but the other part didn’t want her out tonight with the demon gargoyles attacking.

“I don’t see anything,” I linked back to my sister and caught sight of something peculiar. The pocket on the outer thigh of her cargo pants was glowing.

Storm followed my gaze and looked down at her pants. She reached into her pocket and removed my cell phone. It was turned off, and the glow remained at the bottom.

“Is that…” She dug deeper in her pocket and extracted the glowing object.

“Maeve’s necklace.”

It emanated strength and power, and it suddenly made sense. The gargoyles were not after my sister. They were after Maeve’s necklace.