Chapter 10 – Locheran
Oh, shit.
Oh, fuck.
Farrah lies limp in my arms. My cock still hard and knotted inside her.
I’m covered in blood.
Her blood.
She’s covered in my blood.
Our blood.
I can’t explain what came over me. Why couldn’t I stop myself from claiming her completely?
Because she’s my mate.
We just bonded.
Accidentally.
But was it an accident? I should have been able to stop.
I lost control.
Slowly, I inch us out of bed. I grab my phone before heading into the bathroom. It’s going to take a few more minutes before my knot recedes, but I can at least wash all this blood off of us.
With my supernatural healing abilities, my wound from Farrah’s bite will be healed within the hour. But hers? It will need to be bandaged.
I place my phone on the counter and command the virtual assistance to text Evangeline, telling her to come over to Farrah’s ASAP. She’s in Brooklyn at the conference so it’ll take her a while to get here. I add that Farrah’s okay, so she doesn’t worry.
I think she’s okay.
Her heart is beating, so that’s a good sign. I hate that I’m still inside her while she’s unconscious.
It feels as if I’m violating her.
I did violate her. We mated without her consent.
Once we’re clean of blood, my knot is down enough that I’m able to slip out of her. I turn off the water and carefully wrap her up in a towel. I find medicine and a bandage in her bathroom closet and cover my bite wound—thankfully it stopped bleeding—then carry her in my arms back to the bedroom.
Fuck. The bed sheets are covered in blood splatter.
I take her out to the living room and lay her on the couch. Returning to her bedroom, I grab some clothes—a t-shirt and sweatpants. After dressing her, I find a blanket in the closet and tuck her in.
When I stand, my body stills as the scent of an animal hits my nose.
Not just any animal.
A fucking cat.
“Oh, hell no,” I say.
It meows in response, loud and accusing, before a flash of black and white appears. The plump thing jumps onto the couch and sits on Farrah’s stomach, staring at me.
It knows what I’ve done.
It meows at me again.
“What do you want? I don’t understand your language, feline.”
Where the hell has this thing been hiding?
I suppose Farrah and I assaulted each other upon my arrival. The animal likely ran off and hid underneath the couch or something.
Well… now it stares at me as if planning my demise.
I wouldn’t say I’m scared of cats, but I don’t trust them. The one time I tried to pet a feline, it swiped its little claws at me. Not that a cat could kill me.
I don’t think.
The chance is low… but I wouldn’t bank on zero.
I totally forgot Farrah had a cat. Though, now I’m remembering her social media posts about this little dude. His name is Potato, and Potato won’t stop staring at me. Staring and purring loudly. I’m pretty sure purring is a good sign, so maybe he doesn’t want to kill me.
Yet.
Potato meows again. It’s a high-pitched, nails on chalkboard type of meow.
“How have you animals not learned to speak yet is beyond me,” I gripe at the thing. “If you could just tell me what you need, I can help you.”
Of course, it doesn’t answer. The purring seems to get louder, and it lifts a paw. Does it want to fight me?
“Put that murder mitten away!”
Potato drops the paw.
“Oh, so you can understand me?”
It lets out a strange trilling sound then begins kneading its paws into Farrah’s soft stomach.
“Bro! Stop. Your claws are sharp.”
Meow.
“Okay. Do you need food? Are you hungry?”
It jumps to the ground and meows louder than ever.
Guess he’s hungry.
I walk into the kitchen, opening cabinets until finding the cat food. There are wet and dry options, so I mix a little of both in a bowl because I don’t know what the fuck this thing wants to eat.
I spot a mat on the floor against the wall that I gather is for the cat’s food and walk over there to set it down while Potato weaves in and out of my legs.
I curse, nearly tripping over him.
“Seriously, bro?”
He rubs against my leg as if buttering me up for my eventual murder. I’ve heard about cats eating their owners after death. I have no doubt this one would enjoy gargoyle meat.
“Not today, French fry.”
I smile at my joke and step away as the cat devours its meal.
I realize I’m still naked, so I return to Farrah’s room to find my clothes. Once I’m dressed, and I’ve changed the sheets on the bed, I sense Evangeline at the door.
And Xander. Of course he came with her.
Shit. I’m in trouble.
This is not a good look as we’re months away from revealing our world to humans.
I should be relieved of my position for this. Perhaps Evangeline will use her newly acquired sunshine magic to permanently turn me to stone—it’s what I deserve.
Evangeline enters, nearly breaking the door down and not pausing to knock. I should have known she’d have her own key to her best friend’s place.
“Where is she? What happened? You weren’t answering my texts or calls.”
Her words are frantic, and it causes Potato to run out of the room to hide again. Xander is also distressed and as my king, I can feel his heightened emotion. Any stronger and it’ll alert the rest of his soldiers.
“I left my phone in the bathroom.”
“What. Happened,” Evangeline growls. It’s the angriest I’ve ever seen the small woman.
“We accidentally completed a mating bond,” I mumble and step aside revealing Farrah passed out on the couch.
Evangeline rushes to her side. “You what? How? What did you do, Loch?”
“I didn’t—”
Except, I did.
“We were having… sex and suddenly she’s asking me to bite her, and I did but then she bit me too, and I knotted—”
“You knotted?” Xander asks, his typical deep voice an octave higher. He stands from kneeling next to Farrah after inspecting her condition and crosses his arms. “Shit.”
He knows I’ve never knotted for anyone. Ever. Over my thousand years of existence, I’ve never wanted to knot with a partner. It’s typically done for breeding purposes, but some gargoyles do it for pleasure.
Not me.
Knotting always seemed too intimate, and I’m not known for relationships and commitment.
Yet knotting with Farrah felt right.
“I didn’t intend to… I… it’s like I had no control over it. I swear.”
I’m shaking. My entire body is in shock.
Or it could be the energy of the newly activated fated mate bond.
It doesn’t like that my mate is passed out.
I don’t like that she’s still hasn’t woken up.
“I felt the bond click into place and seconds later Farrah passed out.”
Evangeline takes her best friend’s hand. “Her body couldn’t handle it.”
Xander shakes his head. “It’s not supposed to happen like this.” He sighs and runs his four-fingered hand down his face.
“Exactly. She didn’t consent to this,” I say to Xander then turn my attention to Evangeline. “You should punish me. Turn me to stone.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic, Locheran. You’re her mate. Your death would likely be the cause of her own. You know that.”
She stands and takes her phone out of her jeans pocket.
“I need to call my mom. She might have a better explanation.”
While Evangeline makes the call, I kneel next to the couch by Farrah’s side. I take her hand in mine, and the mating bond lights up with excitement. I bring her knuckles to my mouth and press a soft kiss.
My mate.
I never thought it would happen.
Hell, I wish it hadn’t happened this way.
There’s always a chance that Farrah will reject the bond. It’s rare, but it can happen. She may not have given verbal consent for the bond to lock in place, but she’ll have free will once she wakes. If her heart doesn’t truly want this… want me… the connection will break.
Typically, mates spend anywhere from a few days to weeks together to intensify the bond with pleasure and nearness. It’s the monster version of a human honeymoon. A time when we’re the most vulnerable because we have to hope it’s what our partner truly wants.
I am more scared now than I’ve ever been. Never in the aftermath and losses of battle has my heart ached the way it does now.
What if she rejects me?
I’m used to being on my own. I’ve lived most of my life surrounded by those I love and care for, but it’s not the same as experiencing the love of a mate. And while the only family I have left in this world is Xander and my fellow gargoyle soldiers, I yearn for little spawn of my own.
If Farrah doesn’t want that with me, if she doesn’t want my love, I will never force it upon her. But I know she’ll be my only chance to experience it as most gargoyles go through life never having this fated connection.
A low groan sounds from my little mouse and she stirs.
“Farrah,” I whisper, pushing her hair out of her face.
Her eyes flutter open, and my stomach flips at the blue pools staring back.
Then she narrows her stare and sits up, swatting at me when I try to help her.
“You bit me!”
I open my mouth, words struggling to come out. “You asked me to.”
More like begged, but I won’t say that.
Her eyes widen. “I bit you too.”
I nod, cautiously, because it’s all coming back to her.
She closes her eyes, and I palm her cheek. She leans into my touch and hums.
Then her eyes pop open, and she pushes me away.
“Why do I feel like this?”
I vaguely register Xander and Evangeline at my back. They’re not getting involved unless absolutely necessary. Farrah doesn’t even glance their way. She’s waiting for me to explain.
“How… how do you f-feel?”
I’ve never struggled with words but here I am tripping over my speech.
Because I’m scared as fuck.
“Like I want to jump your bones.”
I can’t help smirking.
“Don’t fucking get all charming now, Locheran Perrier.”
Oh fuck. She pulled out my last name. I didn’t tell her my last name. How did she know?
“I asked Evangeline at lunch today, and she told me.”
Her eyes widen again, as big as saucers.
“How the fuck did I hear your voice in my head?” she growls her words, and my cock twitches. I shouldn’t find her anger sexy, but I do.
I can’t help it. It’s the fated mate bond begging us to fuel it. To feed it.
“The fated mates what?”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Farrah was possessed by a demon with the way her head tilts, and her eyes blaze with fury.
“Just tell her, Loch,” Xander says, exasperated.
Farrah still doesn’t glance their way. She hasn’t looked away from me since waking up.
Fine.
Here it goes.
“We, uh… accidentally mated. We’re mates. Fated mates. We’re bonded.”
I don’t see it coming so the moment Farrah’s fist meets my eye, I’m thrown back onto her coffee table, breaking the thing to pieces.
Damn, she’s strong.
And fucking pissed.