Mated to the Gargoyle (Mated to the Monster)

by Lisa Carlisle

Leaving would mean Anya would be alone here after hours. I didn’t like that, even if the library was empty, but had to do my duty.

When I reopened them, I blinked hard. A dark shadow moved above me. The gargoyle perched near my desk moved. It freaking moved.

“Let her go,” the gargoyle said in a deep, seething voice iced with fury. “Now.”

“Anya, stop,” a deep baritone voice commanded.

“Don’t be afraid of me,” it said in a gentler tone.

“Please stop running. I won’t hurt you. I’m here to protect you.”

While my heartbeat slowed, my breath continued to come in rough pants. When I finally could use my voice, I said, “He shot you.” The gargoyle grimaced. “Yes.” After a deep breath, he added, “But I’m fine.” “How?” I began to ask before a more pressing question took over. “Are you here to-to kill me?” “Kill you?” he repeated in a surprised tone. His expression softened. “No, of course not.” “Then—then wh-why are you chasing me?” The beast brought his wings closer to his body, as if trying not to look so imposing. “To make sure you’re safe.”

His nostrils flared. “Hybrids, I believe. A human mixed with a lesser demon.” My heart galloped into my throat. I blinked hard and glanced behind me to ensure I wasn’t being chased by any other creatures before turning back to the gargoyle. “Did you say—” I gulped. “Demon?” “Yes.” The gargoyle replied.

“I’ve always been alive.” He took a cautious step toward me. Then his hard expression softened once more, and his gray lips spread into a half-smile. “By the way, my name’s Hugo, not Pierre.”

“I’ll tell you everything in time, I swear.” Although I yearned to step closer to her, I didn’t dare risk a repeat of the last time I’d approached. “For now, I must tell my commander what happened.” “Oh.” She straightened. “I need to call the police.” “No, Anya.” I stopped her. “The reason gargoyles are on guard at the library is that what’s within its walls is beyond what humans can understand. Human police would just be a hindrance.”

I’ll send Luc and Marc back over. Which librarian did they attack? My throat tightened and I swallowed. Anya. Ah, the one. Yes. He meant the one who we were entrusted to protect. He didn’t know that for me, she was also the one.

“I can see while in stone, Anya. And I can hear. Better than humans, in fact.” She studied me with a wary gaze. “Are you telecommunicating with someone?” “Yes. My commander.” “For the love of stars,” she exclaimed with an awed expression.

Returning my full attention to Anya, I asked her, “Why are you looking at me like that?” “He shot you. I saw you recoil. He must have hit you, but I don’t see any wounds in your body. Your wings… They’re still—” Her expression turned wondrous. “Beautiful.”

“Does it hurt?” “It stings,” I admitted with a one-shouldered shrug. Her gaze raked over me with gratitude. “You were shot while protecting me.” Her tone was so low that it was almost a whisper. “Thank you. Is there something I can do to help you?” The need to get her to a safe place was the first thing that came to mind. “Yes. Don’t fear me.”

Focus. Duty, I reminded myself. “Good, because my orders are that I stay with you.”

“Because we weren’t just hired to protect the library, Little One. But to protect you.”

She searched my eyes. “And you watch over me?” I took a deep breath and admitted, “Yes.” She gasped. “Always?” “No.” I shook my head. “I’m not inside your apartment or anything like that. But I stay nearby to ensure you’re safe.” Her lips parted and her breath came quicker. “But why? Are you like a guardian angel?” “Not quite. I’m a gargoyle.”

I searched in a circle and demanded, “Who’s there?” After several seconds without a reply, I added, “I know you’re watching me.” Although the idea sounded foolish even in my head, I voiced it. “Is it you, Hugo?”

Horned and winged with a long, curving tail and gray skin, the gargoyle I’d met last night gazed at me from silvery eyes. Hugo straightened and brought his enthralling wings in. “Yes, it’s me.”

To ensure I wasn’t hallucinating, I lifted my hand, hesitant, and asked, “Can I touch you?” He straightened his massive body. “You can see me?” I jerked backward. “Yes.” What a weird question. “Oh.” His tail curled around his lower body. “Interesting.” “Well, you are standing right before me,” I pointed out. “But I’m—” He broke off. “But you’re what?” I prodded. “I’m cloaked.” “You’re what?” I heard what he’d said, but he wasn’t wearing any sort of cape. What did he mean by that? “My magic. To shield me from humans when I’m in this form.” He motioned to his body. “And yet, it doesn’t work on you.” Curiosity tinged his tone.

“Oh my god,” I uttered. “You’re real, aren’t you?” “Yes, Little One. Very much so.” He cocked his head. The next question nagged at me. “Have you been following me?” “Yes, of course.” “Of course,” I repeated with wide eyes. “Why would you say that?” “I’m doing my duty to watch over you, Anya. Especially now.”

I nudged my chin up before I asked, “Are they—dead?” “One is,” he declared. A statement without emotion. I crossed my arms over my chest, my breath coming quicker. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “You killed someone to save me.” “Yes. They attacked you.” My stomach churned, and I placed a shaky hand on it. “Are you okay, Little One?”

“I don’t know how to feel about that.” I raised my gaze to meet Hugo’s. “Grateful, yes. Guilty?” I winced. “Perhaps a shard. Someone is dead. Could I have prevented it?” I shrugged.

“He attacked you. He could have killed you. Don’t give him a single thought. They both deserve the fate they brought on themselves.”

“The Stone Sentries,” I admitted, holding my chin up a notch higher. She blinked slowly before giving me a deadpan gaze. “I’m guessing it’s exactly as it sounds,” she stated in a light tone. “Yes.” I chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation.

“I’ll check in with my commander and remain on watch while you prepare to open the library.”

His stony expression turned dour. “You fear me still.” Pain flashed in his gray eyes. “I wasn’t expecting it,” I explained. Would I ever? “It’s not my intent to scare you.” “I know.”

“My commander assured me that other sentries are out front and will stay there to guard against intruders. I can accompany you back to your apartment to ensure you get back safely.”

“Where did they go?” I asked. “My wings and tail?” “Yes, of course.” What else would I mean? “I retracted them so I can go out with you, looking human.” I turned to him and narrowed my gaze. “You’re joking, right?” “No,” he replied slowly. “Are you really going to go out there looking like that? His heavy brows pulled closer. “Like what?” I gestured toward him in a semicircle. “All gargoyle-y.” He stared at me for several seconds before his lips twitched up. “I’ve already cloaked myself to look human.” With a curious expression, he asked, “How do I look to you?”

“You look more human than when you were perched in stone, but the horns.” I motioned up to them. “The color of your eyes. Your body.” He assessed me with a steady gaze that turned wondrous. “It’s astonishing that you see me like this.” He pulled open the heavy front door. “Don’t worry, to everyone else out there, I’ll look as human as you.”

“If you need anything, call out to me.” I jerked back. “Where will you be?” “Outside. On watch nearby.” My eyes widened. “How would I find you?” “Just open your window and call out for me.” Then he gave me a lingering glance before he said, “Sweet dreams.”

"Hugo?" I repeated a little bit louder. A shape moving in the distance caught my attention. Slate-gray wings cut against the pitch of the night sky, barely visible, camouflaged by darkness. As they came toward me, they grew larger.

“Are you okay, Little One?” His brows furrowed in a concerned expression. “Ye-yes,” I stammered, my voice sounding strangled. I cleared my throat. “I was just—wondering…” My cheeks warmed. I cleared my throat and tilted my head. “Are you hungry?”

“You don’t fear me being here?” I furrowed my brows. The way she’d looked at me before… “No, of course not. You’ve been so gentle to me. So kind.” She motioned for me to sit at the round wooden table. “Please.” “Can I do something to help first?” I asked.

“I hope this is okay.” She picked up her glass of red wine and gave me a sheepish look as she peered over the glass. “I don’t know what you eat.” I chuckled. “Don’t worry, this looks wonderful. I don’t eat pebbles to fill me with more stone,” I teased. “Oh. Um, I didn’t mean…” She put the wineglass down and clutched the stem. “I’m just joking.” I reached over and touched her hand, that slight brush over her skin filling me with delicious heat. And she didn’t pull her hand away. “When I’m in stone, I’m resting in more of a dormant state—one in which I can still see and hear and observe. But when I’m flesh, as I am now, I eat and drink and function much like a human.”

She tilted her head as she studied me. Then she turned pink and glanced away. Yes, and fuck, I added silently, wondering if that was what she was thinking.

“Everything okay?” she asked, her brows furrowing. “Everything is absolutely wonderful,” I declared, leaning back in the chair. “What else can I do to help?” “We’re good,” she replied. “Sorry, I don’t have any salad. I’d planned on going to the market for some things after work tonight as I was getting low on staples, but…”

“I eat when I’m stressed.” Then she laughed without humor. “Not a good thing.” When she didn’t elaborate, I prompted, “Why?” She blinked at me. “My body.” Then she took a healthy sip of wine. I cocked my head. “What about it?” She laughed without mirth and motioned to herself. “Weight goes right to my hips, and I’m a little too short to pull it off.” My brows drew closer, and I shook my head. Her curves were so luscious, and I ached to touch them. “I think you’re beautiful.” Her eyes widened as she gaped at me. Then she scoffed with a light wave. “You don’t have to say that, Hugo. I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.” “I know,” I replied. “But from the first moment I saw you in the library, I thought you were stunning.” “Stunning?” she repeated as if she were, in fact, stunned right then. “Yes.”

“Does me thinking you’re beautiful make you nervous?” “Not nervous exactly, but…” She adjusted in her seat and took a sip of wine. “But what?” “The last man I dated—he said some mean things about my appearance.” She shrugged. “And I guess I believed him.” I straightened, my spine as stiff as a rod, and took a deep breath. “He was a fool,” I spat. “You’re sweet.” She met my gaze and smiled.

“Your family moved a lot?” “No.” She chewed her bottom lip. “My parents died when I was young. I grew up in foster care.” “Oh.” A pang of sympathy hit me. Although I’d been watching Anya for many months, I didn’t know much about her background. “I’m sorry.” She gave me a weak smile. “Thank you. I was too young to remember.”

“And becoming a guard?” I tipped my head. “A sentry.”

She couldn’t know what I suspected about our true connection—not

“You prepared this wonderful dinner for us. Why don’t you go and relax and let me clean up?” “No,” she said. “You’re my guest.” “I insist.” I gestured again to the sofa. “Please.” Once she did so, I washed the dishes and put the leftovers away.

“Hugo?” “Yes?” “Can you sit with me for a minute?” Or a lifetime. “Sure.”

She turned to me. “You fascinate me,” she said with a hint of curiosity in her voice. “Can I—” she hesitated. “Touch you?” Every sense heightened with awareness. “Of course.”

When she touched it with an open palm, I instinctively leaned into her touch. My body rumbled in response. This felt so right.

“You’re as hard as stone,” she noted with awe. “Yet the texture of your skin is soft.”

“Not as soft as yours,” I said. Then I lifted my hand to touch her check, mirroring the motion she’d done with mine, and waited. When she didn’t turn away, I caressed her cheek, which was like touching satin. My heart thundered. I couldn’t believe this moment was real. I wasn’t watching her from afar but touching her…

“What are you thinking?” she asked, drawing my attention back to her hooded eyes. I took one deep breath, then another, hoping to steady my racing emotions. I couldn’t think of anything but the truth, which pounded in my veins with a rising urgency. “How much I want to kiss you.” The corners of her lips twitched upward, and her eyes gleamed with delight. “Then kiss me.”

Because now I knew for certain what I’d suspected for quite some time. She wasn’t just a woman I longed for—she was my mate.