Fated to the Gargoyle (Mated to the Monster: Season 2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

ELOISE

M y long-lost sister gaped at me with a bewildered expression from behind her reference desk in the library. She searched my face as if assessing if I was telling the truth. It would have been easier for her to believe it if we were identical, but she was shorter than me and had auburn hair while mine was blonde.

Anya blinked slowly. Her almond-shaped eyes reminded me of my own, although they, too, were a different color—hers were blue and mine green. She tilted her head and scrunched her face, revealing a dimple on her cheek that mirrored mine.

“ Twins ?”

“ Yes .” Tears pricked my eyes as I nodded, and I squeezed them back, breaking eye contact to scan the library in Montreal where Anya worked. I’d only found out about her a few weeks ago. Revealing this monumental news to her struck me with more emotions than I expected. I had a sister in the world. Family . I wasn’t completely alone the way I thought I’d been for the past twenty-five years.

“ How —how do you know we’re sisters?” she stammered.

A lump welled in my throat, and I glanced away to keep from bursting into tears. People milled about in the library, one that our grandmother had filled with books and art. I wasn’t sure how Anya would react to the news, but my greatest fear was that she’d reject me. After all, we were strangers. I attempted to swallow the lump before I brought my gaze back to her strangely familiar one.

“ Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

She ran a hand through her hair and her gaze wandered to the gargoyle statue near her desk. Was it one that my grandmother had mentioned? Trust the gargoyles. I had discovered all sorts of new revelations since I’d found the family’s grimoire and learned there was more than I ever expected in the world—including that mind-boggling discovery that supernatural gargoyles were real.

“ Yes .” Anya took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “ Come with me.”

I followed her as she strode past massive bookshelves in her sensible black flats, her gray slacks swishing as she walked. The only splash of color was her light-blue shirt. She took quick steps toward a giant staircase and led us down them, then turned to a door with a sign noting it was restricted and for staff only.

She hmphed. “ Remember this room?” She glanced over her shoulder at me.

I flashed her a sheepish smile. “ Yes .”

A few weeks ago, Anya had found me trying to access the room. I’d been frantic. I had to hide the family spell book and feared I was being followed. When she’d confronted me, I’d begged her to hide it and ran.

Ran . That’s what I’d been doing for so long. Whenever I was afraid, I fled, which was why I’d never stayed anywhere for long. But I was tired of running. Tired of starting over in new cities.

Maybe that could be different now. Now that I’d found out I had a sister, it meant I had family. Since she was here in Montreal where we were born, could I finally settle down somewhere and plant roots?

Anya blocked the view of the key code with her hand as she punched in numbers with her other hand. Of course she didn’t trust me. She might not even believe me. And if so, then coming here to find her only to be rejected would be crushing.

The door clicked and she pushed it open. “ We can talk in here.”

She gestured for me to precede her into a room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, an attached ladder that traveled along them, and additional books protected under glass cases. The room smelled of old books. Once she stepped in after me, she closed the door and it shut with a click. The din of patrons in the library gave way to sudden silence.

I turned and faced Anya . Her brows drew together in a worried expression, and she bit her bottom lip.

“ Don’t worry,” I assured her. “ I’m not here to ask you for anything—or put you in danger.”

She searched my eyes. “ Like with that book?”

I shifted my stance. “ Yes , I’m sorry about that. I was desperate and didn’t know where else to turn.”

She narrowed her gaze and her lips parted slightly. “ But you didn’t explain anything. You ran. Why ?”

The terror of being chased that day returned, and I held in a shudder. “ I wasn’t sure what else to do. I didn’t know much about our family or of anything—well, magical— until just before that night. And I was afraid.”

Anya’s expression softened. “ Why ?”

I took a deep breath and revealed, “ I didn’t know anything about you or my family until I found that book.”

The door to the special collections room clicked open. “ Anya , can I talk to you for a moment?”

I turned toward the man’s deep voice and gasped. A massive being well over six feet tall with horns, gray skin, wings, and a tail walked in. The door closed behind him with a solid thud.

“ Oh my god!” My voice came out strangled. “ Wh -what are you?”

Anya gaped at me and then turned to the winged man. “ Hugo , are you?—”

“ Yes . I just walked through the library and would have caused an uproar otherwise.” His mouth tightened into a grim line. “ But apparently it’s not working in this case.”

Anya pursed her lips and stared at me with amazement. “ Or perhaps she can see you this way because we share the same blood.”

What on earth were they talking about? My mouth opened and closed before I tripped over words.

“ Anya , what—why aren’t you freaking out? Don’t you see him?” I pointed at the monster-man. He looked like a gargoyle come to life. Since I’d recently learned they existed, this wasn’t as farfetched as it sounded.

They exchanged a look and then both glanced at me. Anya said, “ Hugo , meet Eloise , my twin sister. Eloise , this is Hugo —my—uh—um—mate.”

I blinked hard. “ Your what? ”

Hugo , the monster-man, nodded at me, then turned to my sister. “ Anya , please come with me for a moment. It’s important.”

“ Okay .” She tipped her head. “ Wait here a second,” she told me.

As she walked to the other end of the massive room and spoke in hushed whispers to her mate , I stared at him. Parts of my grandmother’s letter came to me. Trust the gargoyles. They will protect you. Was that what the intimidating monster-man was? It had to be. He resembled a living gargoyle that walked and talked and— mated with my twin sister?

What the ever-loving fu?—

Anya walked over to me, her face contorted with worry. “ Eloise , something urgent just came up. Can we talk later?”

Ouch . That stung. Whatever this monster-man had to say was more important than me revealing we were related? So much for family and blood being thicker and all that.

I forced a tight smile, casting a wary glance at monster-man. “ Sure .”

“ Please don’t freak out about Hugo . I’ll explain everything later.” She rubbed her temples. “ I’m closing the library tonight. Can you come back then? I know we have a lot to talk about.”

After I left the building tucked in a semi-private part of a university campus at the edge of the city, I shuffled around the area, replaying what had happened. It was a midsummer day, partly cloudy with the morning showers accentuating the scent of the grass and soil. In all the scenarios of reuniting with my sister that I’d envisioned, my worst fear was that Anya might push me away. I never, ever contemplated that a gargoyle would be involved and interrupt with some pressing news. What in the holy rigatoni could that be about?

Over the next several hours, I killed time in the city, wandering past stores and meandering along the St . Lawrence River . When my stomach growled, I got a gyro with fries from a sandwich shop and ate it on a bench in a park.

As the sky darkened, I turned to walk back toward the library. I approached the gothic building with two gargoyles mounted out front, eyeing them with suspicion after I’d seen a walking, talking one earlier. Once I entered, I climbed the stairs and admired the gorgeous interior. Not only did it have books, but works of art, paintings, and sculptures.

Anya was still busy with patrons at the reference desk, but she excused herself to address me. “ I’m so glad you came back. I don’t have your number or any way of contacting you.”

I smiled. “ You’re busy. I’ll wait outside.”

“ Thanks . I’ll be out soon.” Then she added, “ Don’t leave!”

“ I won’t.”

I wandered around out front, but it felt too odd to do so with those gargoyle statues above—almost as if they were watching. Finding a relatively concealed nook beneath the cover of trees, I sat down on the grass and scrolled through my phone while I waited for Anya .

About twenty minutes later, she stepped outside with her monster-man.

I jumped to my feet. “ Are you a?—”

“ Gargoyle ?” He nodded. “ Yes .”

I gulped. “ Oh .” I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“ Eloise , don’t be afraid of him. He’s a protector,” Anya said. “ They’re able to mask themselves to appear human to everyone else.”

I gaped with skepticism at the massive, horned, gray-skinned creature. “ Human ?”

“ Yes , but for some reason, the magic that conceals their true nature doesn’t work on us.” She slanted her gaze. “ I’m guessing because of our blood.”

Movement in my peripheral vision turned my attention to the dark sky. My mouth fell open. A winged creature soared past the moon, appearing to grow larger as it flew in our direction.

“ Ahh !” I raised a shaky finger to point up.

My heart pounded in my rib cage while goose bumps flared over my body. My skin turned icy-cold with clammy fear. I froze like a statue.

I’d seen beings fly like this before. They’d chased me, trying to get the book. And I’d fled here to this very library to hide it.

Survival instinct kicked in and I ran.