Chapter 2 – Celaeno
CELAENO
Instantly, I sense my birds. Their wings flutter in my mind, and their angry thoughts come from a thousand minds at once. I can’t even get through to them enough to give a command. They’re too busy feeling my emotions… which makes them even more dangerous.
I feel the hot breath of the man who holds me on my ear. In a low voice, he whispers. “Call your monster off, and tell her to surrender herself, or we’ll kill an innocent human.”
It’s hard not to laugh. He thinks I’m human?
Oh, you stupid, stupid fool.
My birds descend on the pack of men like creatures of death and destruction.
In an instant, the man behind me releases my throat with a scream of terror.
I back away from them and watch as thousands of birds converge from every direction of the city, descending on the four men.
They claw, bite, and tear at the bastards.
Two of our attackers go flying over the railing of the pier. Keto’s monster instantly devours them.
The two remaining men are covered by my birds. The men scream and scream, and then, everything grows silent. I turn away from the sight of the birds feeding on the dead men and touch my belly. That sight would make anyone nauseous.
Keto’s swells die down, and her sea creature disappears into the waves. The storm above us clears, and the sky returns to blue as the grey clouds retreat. I hurry to the edge of the pier, and she wraps me in her arms. I don’t even care that I’m instantly soaked.
“Are you alright?”
I nod, aware of the blood leaking down my neck. “Just another day in the life of a monster.”
She laughs, but there’s no joy in her voice. “At least we have our men now… speaking of which, I better get back. The baby will be awake, and they’ll be missing me.”
I pull back from her; already sure her guys are as insanely protective as my own. “Give your baby a kiss for me.”
“Always.”
“I’ll come back to see the baby,” she promises.
“You'd better,” I tell her.
With a wave she sinks into the water and vanishes beneath its surface.
Okay, now I really need to get home.
Turning, I watch as my gargoyles land on the other side of the pier. Between us, the birds still feed on their victims.
Uh oh. This is going to be bad!
“Where the hell have you been?” Grey shouts, looking from me to the crazed birds.
“Are you hurt?” Journey asks, his usual gentle voice replaced by one of shock.
Grey’s gaze snaps to my neck, and I swear the air warms with his anger.
“And wet… apparently.” His voice is dangerously low.
“You are in so much trouble,” Ender says, but his attempt at being light-hearted falls flat.
Grey steps around the men, and my birds, and grabs my arm. “We wake up to find you gone, and then see a magical storm and flocks of birds rushing to the shore! Do you have any idea how terrified we were?”
For a second I think about shifting and escaping his anger.
His brows lower. “Don’t even think about it!”
Fucking hell.
I sigh as he picks me up and cradles me in his arms. “You’re going back home to take a warm bath, eat, and lay down.”
Rolling my eyes, I mutter, “Yes, sir.”
But just as he begins to flap his wings, I see my bag thrown on the pier. “Wait!” I point at it.
Journey is quick to swoop it up, and then we all lift into the air. They use their glamours to ensure no unlucky humans spot three gargoyles flying over their city. It takes no time at all to land on our balcony, and my guys immediately shift back into their human forms.
Grey undresses me with angry movements as Journey runs a bath.
Ender’s already in the kitchen, whistling and making breakfast. I know they’re trying to help, but I feel annoyed.
Yes, they treated me like I was something fragile and precious when we met.
Probably because I’m a tiny woman, and they’re massive line-backer sized gargoyles, but they’ve been even worse since I’ve been pregnant.
It sucks sometimes.
I know gargoyle babies are super rare, and that the pregnancies usually end badly. I get it. But I’m starting to feel like a prisoner… a well-fed one with a lot of conjugal visits, but a prisoner all the same.
Grey lays me in the warm bubble bath as if I’m made of glass when he finally notices me staring.
“What?” And his tone is laced with rage.
“Nothing!”
His dark eyes narrow. “Just say it.”
“Fine!” I shout. “I’m sick of being treated like a prisoner!”
“A prisoner!” he shouts back. “Clearly you’ve never been a prisoner!”
Journey stands by the doorway of the large bathroom, leaning against the doorframe like some massive blond titan. “Guys, do we really need to fight?”
Grey and I shout, “Yes!” at the same time.
“You can’t treat me like I’m constantly in danger,” I tell him.
“Really?” the word is laced with sarcasm. “Want to tell us what happened at the pier?”
My mouth snaps shut.
“Because, in my experience, you don’t normally send your birds to eat people. Keto looked pissed for a reason.”
I cross my arms over my chest, annoyed at the bubbles tickling my skin. “I may or may not have gotten mixed up with some mermaid-hunters. But I was fine.”
“Mermaid-hunters,” he says dryly.
I nod. ”Yeah, no biggie.”
“No biggie,” he repeats, then begins to rub his short beard the way he does when he’s trying not to lose his shit on me.
“No biggie that our pregnant woman was attacked by mermaid-hunters. No biggie. Nothing to worry about. The love of our life was almost hurt. Our only chance at having a child, almost gone. But not a big deal.”
“I’m a fucking shifter who can control birds! I think I can go out for a walk every now and then without my big old bodyguards bumping everyone out of the way on the street like I’m some fucking celebrity!”
Grey points his angry finger at me, and I swear if he gets any closer, I’m going to bite the damn thing. “We’re being careful! You’re the one throwing caution to the wind!”
Now Ender has come to stand by the bathroom door too. His normally messy hair is even more wild than usual, and his green eyes are twinkling with amusement. He looks between us, grinning like an idiot.
“I cannot believe you guys are freaking out just because I went out to get a Valentine’s gift for you three dummies!”
Ender laughs. “Maybe next time just get us the gift of not disappearing in the morning.”
“Asshole!” I shout.
Grey folds his arms over his chest. “Pretty sure you’re in the wrong. This sounds like a case of pregnancy-hormones.”
I freeze.
“Oh shit,” Ender whispers.
“He didn’t mean that like it—“
I cut Journey off. “Pregnancy hormones?” And even I hear the threat in my voice.
Grey looks at me, and for an instant I think he’s going to back down, but then his mouth draws into a thin line. “Yeah, pregnancy hormones. I said it.”
I throw a bottle of conditioner at him. It smacks him in the middle of his forehead before it hits the bathroom floor.
He doesn’t react.
None of them do.
I pick up the shampoo bottle and throw that too, right into his stupid chest.
He raises a brow. “Ouch.”
“Get out!” I scream.
And now I know I’m getting too worked up.
“Celaeno…” Journey whispers.
“Get out now!”
Journey grabs Grey’s shoulder and hauls him towards the door. None of them look like they want to leave, but they do, the door closing behind them.
When I’m sure they’re gone, I start to cry. It’s stupid. I just wanted to go for a little walk and get them a nice gift. I didn’t mean to get into a dangerous situation. All I want is to keep our baby safe and have a little bit of freedom.
Is that really so much to ask for?
I pull my knees to my chest and cry harder. And I thought today would be so wonderful.