Chapter 17
Somewhere in the back of the house a door opened, then, slammed closed.
“I know you didn’t just slam my door,” Rowan called out.
“Sorry,” a deep velvety voice called back.
Heavy footsteps moved toward them until finally they saw the owner of the voice.
He was tall, with long, dark hair as thick and wavy as Rowan’s.
His eyes were golden but his skin had a dark-grey hue, like Destroy’s.
He was tall and muscular like his father, and a very attractive male.
“Oh, I didn’t know you had company. Sorry. ”
“It’s fine,” Rowan said. “Ladies, this is my son, Marauder. Marauder, this is Mrs. Avaleigh, and her daughter, Angelle.”
“I am charmed, ladies,” he said, quickly moving toward them.
He took the time to briefly hug Felicity, then Carolena.
“Hello, Mrs. Carolena,” he said as he kissed her cheek.
Then he took Avaleigh’s hand in his and kissed it, “Welcome, Mrs. Avaleigh.” He released Avaleigh’s hand, and reached for Angelle's.
He held it reverently in his hands as he slowly brushed his thumb across the top of her hand, before bowing dramatically over her hand and remaining there a moment longer than necessary, looking into her eyes before he finally kissed it and allowed his lips to linger.
“What a divine pleasure, Ms. Angelle,” he said, wrapping her name in a French flair.
“Before you even start, Angelle is Boon’s mate.”
“Oh, come on!” Marauder cried dramatically, dropping Angelle’s hand and turning his face toward the ceiling. “Is anyone ever going to come here that’s not already taken?! It’s not like I can just go out and find somebody!”
“Marauder. You know exactly who your mate is. You’re just dragging your feet.”
“She doesn’t want me!”
“Yes, she does. She’s just away at school at the moment!”
“Bliss told me that I had to earn her respect while she’s gone. How do I do that when she’s so far away I can’t even speak to her until she returns?” Marauder demanded.
Rowan rolled her eyes. “What do you want? Why are you in here?”
“I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving.”
“Can I please have some food? And I’m out of the wood glue I favor. Did you happen to store any away the last time I got some?”
“Yes, I did. I set aside two bottles of it because I knew you’d run out before you ordered any more. Check in the back of my pantry. And make yourself a plate and either sit quietly, or take it with you.”
“You know I’m not a little child anymore, right?” Marauder asked.
“Yes. But do you know it?” Rowan asked.
Marauder grinned like a mischievous little boy rather than the man he is.
“On occasion,” he admitted. He dug around in the pantry for a few moments, then loaded up his plate before he turned and headed in the direction he came from.
He paused before he left the room and looked back at them.
“It has been a pleasure, Angelle,” he said, once again throwing the French pronunciation around her name.
“If Boon blows this with you, I’m only a short walk away. And I am a delight.”
“That is not how you earn Bliss’s respect,” Rowan said.
Marauder winked at Angelle, then quickly left the room.
“That boy is going to die alone if he doesn’t stop flirting with everyone other than his mate,” Rowan said.
“Either that or Murder will end him,” Felicity said.
“Yes, there is that as well,” Rowan admitted as she focused on Avaleigh and Angelle.
“My son is a wonderfully talented male. He makes beautiful wooden statues and figurines, some are life-sized and very realistic. He makes game boards and pieces, just about anything you can imagine — he can create. In the last few years he’s begun to sell some of them and makes a nice profit.
But he’s got his father’s personality. He’s very dramatic, and a huge flirt.
If he didn’t have horns that identified him as other than human, he would be famous world-wide, I have no doubt. ”
“Or an academy award winning actor,” Felicity said.
“I can just as easily see that, as I can the world renowned artist,” Rowan said.
“But he’s a good male. And he’s got a kind heart,” Felicity said. “We love our Marauder.”
“Wait… Marauder? Like the Marauder that Analise loves?” Avaleigh asked.
“Analise?” Rowan asked.
“My niece, Analise. Her mother, Everly, is a sculptor. Both are very artistic people and love the wooden pieces made by some infamously reclusive artist named Marauder. Analise loves the mystery as much as the wooden carvings, themselves. She scours every art market, every art show looking for anything by him. She’s got a huge wooden pelican created by him that is sitting on the corner post of her porch, and a squirrel mounted on the trunk of one of the old pine trees in her back yard.
Last I heard her father, Bam, was trying to find a couple of pieces he could afford for both Analise and Everly for Christmas this year. ”
Rowan smiled. “My son is one and the same. He does allow some of his pieces to be slipped into shows here and there, but never with any advance warning.”
“How does he get his art to the right people to be sold, and still manage to remain unknown?” Avaleigh asked.
“Enthrall delivers them in the middle of the night. It’s most usually a different gallery, and with no warning, so it’s not like the galleries can advertise that they’ll have one of his works to auction off.
At first it was a little iffy to even consider, but after the first few pieces sold so well it’s not anymore.
His carvings have become so sought after, each time a gallery finds one left for them to market, they’re thrilled.
There’s a private bank account that the proceeds of the sales are transferred to, less the gallery’s cut, of course. That’s how he gets paid.”
“Analise would lose her mind if she found out that we met Marauder,” Angelle said.
“Everly, too. You know, if he might happen to have a few smaller pieces available, I’d love to buy some for Bam to give his mate and daughter,” Avaleigh said.
“I'm not really sure what he’s got that he’s interested in parting with, but we can ask. His shop is out back. If you’d like, I’ll find out if he minds us taking a look around,” Rowan said with a chuckle.
Felicity chuckled along with her, as Angelle and Avaleigh shared a wondering look.
“Sorry,” Felicity said. “It’s such a mess out there. I know each artist has their own process, and he’s no different, but his shop is an awful mess.”
“It really is. He refuses to clean it. He says that the mess is tiny remnants of pieces long sold and they inspire him,” Rowan explained.
“I love that,” Angelle said.
“He’s got a true artist’s soul,” Avaleigh said.
“He really does. He’s always had a flare for the dramatic.
And Marauder’s always been very, very sensitive.
He and Boon grew up together, along with the other kids of their generation.
They’re all fairly close. But Marauder and Boon especially have been friends all their lives despite their totally opposite personalities.
They are both Gargoyles so they tended to gravitate toward one another, in youth anyway.
Since they’ve grown into adulthood, they’ve remained friends, though they’ve got very different interests,” Rowan said.
“I’m looking forward to hearing some of their childhood stories,” Angelle said.
“You’ll be fully entertained. There are so many different people here, Angelle, and we all have so many different interests, and personalities.
Oh! Remember to ask about the story of Lucitari calling down a lightning bolt to strike her mate, Murder, in the butt,” Felicity said as she started laughing.
“It’s hilarious,” Rowan said, laughing whole-heartedly.
“You won’t be bored here. You’ll have the best of friends.
And we’d be so proud to count you among our own.
Take your time, think about it. Don’t do anything until you’re ready.
But if you choose to live here, you’ll be a part of something very special as a part of our community and mate to Boon,” Felicity said.
“She’s right. But you’re right to take your time. Being a mate doesn’t mean you have to accept it,” Rowan said.
“Thank you for understanding,” Angelle said.
“I’ve never been anywhere without my family.
I’m awkward in crowds and with strangers.
I’m a mess socially, and to consider leaving my home is really doing a number on me.
But I’m here, and I’m making every effort to allow myself to step out of my comfort zone and give it a chance. ”
“Can I ask you a question?” Rowan asked.
Angelle nodded.
“If you’re that out of your comfort zone, why consider leaving home at all? Why put yourself though it?”
Angelle smiled softly. “Boon. This is where he lives. And I really don’t want to be where he’s not.”
“I am probably not the right person to weigh in on this conversation, because Boon is my child. But if you would indulge me a little bit of my own opinion…” Carolena said.
“Of course,” Angelle said