The Point of No Return

by Devyn Sinclair

Any more forceful and my growl would echo through my bound stone form. I felt the building beneath my feet crack, my power trying to rip itself loose in defiance of the fucking sun and the magic that was binding me here. That was my mate and I needed to get to her. Now.

The statues on the roof would undergo restoration after the run of the show ended, along with the rest of the exterior.

“You don’t have to justify it,” Meg said. “Everyone is a bit of a monster fucker at heart. Get your freak on and all that. Christine would sell her soul to fuck a monster. She even has dreams about them.”

They’d finally rebuilt enough to perform. I knew that. I wasn’t happy about it, but we knew. They were going to recreate the show that killed us—that killed hundreds. Getting free of this place would be ten times as hard with a crowd traipsing in and out. But now we had a mate. One who was in the opera below us.

Erik was tall, black hair shining like raven feathers under the lights of the hallway. The rolled-up sleeves of his shirt showed corded forearms that led to what looked like an incredibly toned body.

Marius was blonde and had an easy smile that I could see charming himself out of any trouble that he could get into. If I didn’t know that he was French, I could have pegged him as a cowboy.

Christine Daniels had no idea how important she was to us. Had no idea that she was now the only thing that mattered.

“If you’re going to walk away,” he said, accent making everything in my body light up, “do it now.” “What happens if I stay?” His hands found my wrists, locking his fingers around them. “We show you what we want. We will make you come. Right here. Right now.”

“You felt it right?” Erik asked, quiet and awed. “She’s our mate.” “She is.” The words were practically a snarl from Alex. “And she belongs to us.”

That they couldn’t let us have anything that they couldn’t have. Not when they were busy trying to usurp our place.

His mouth curled into a cruel smirk. “There’s nothing neutral in Paris and you know it. It all belongs to me. Besides, who’s going to do anything about it?” Unfortunately, he was right. No one would say anything, especially with the power that they held outside this building. I couldn’t wait to feel that power flow in my veins again, so I could protect Christine. Give her the life that she deserved.

I guess for the time being I fell somewhere in between. I certainly wasn’t a citizen, and yet I felt a deep belonging in this city. It wasn’t something I usually felt when I traveled. Just standing on that corner waiting for Raphael, I felt comfortable, even after walking away from them. While you remain in Paris, you belong to us. Why the fuck did those words send good chills down my spine?

Slowly, I pushed myself away from the cool stone and attempted to blink away sleep.

“What do you do on the crew?” I asked. “Didn’t see you all day.” Marius shrugged. “We’re not exactly with the show. Came with the opera house.”

“We’re not monsters. We are gargoyles though.” I stared at him. “Gargoyles.” “Yes,” Marius said. “Like the statue that just cracked? And almost killed me?” “Yes.” “Like the children’s TV show?” There was silence at that. “There’s a television show about Gargoyles?”

“Why you? Because we need you. We waited for you. Felt you the moment you stepped out of your car here. Knew that your voice lit us up like lightning. But I also knew the second you fell into my arms that you were mine.”

My stomach swooped, and I swallowed. The whisper I managed was barely audible. “I’m your mate?” The growls from all three of them rippled through me, causing my knees to give out. Their arms and claws and tails were the only thing keeping me upright. “That’s right,” Alex said, the transformation completing. Somehow he still moved as stone, slow and steady, lifting me and carrying me to the bed. “You’re our fucking mate.”

We were a long way from what we’d been. The power to command and shape stone. For other gargoyles to bow simply because of who and what we were? That disappeared that night. I’d inked it on my skin so I’d never forget. As if every day that we lived wasn’t a constant reminder of what had happened. “For the knowledge that he would never have to worry about us breaking away from here and that he wouldn’t be challenged? Yes, I think that he would. And all he has to do is take her one step beyond our circle, and we won’t be able to get to her.”

“A pink diamond? It is.” “It’s beautiful.” And more than that, I nearly felt drawn to the stone. A magnetic feeling. I wanted to touch it.

Désirée and the others were already sitting, getting made up. She had a blonde man standing near her that seemed vaguely familiar.

the necklace pulled at me. The diamond almost seemed to hum when it touched my skin. Probably simply the awareness that I was wearing one of the more famous diamonds in the world. Still, I liked the feel of it and the way it was alive. The rest of me was tired.

The doctor crouched. “Hello Christine. My name is Laurent.” His accent was thicker than my mates.’ My mates. Warmth flooded me. There must have been a change in my scent because all three of them turned towards me with wide eyes. I kept my eyes on the doctor. “Hello.”

“That’s the reason mates are so rare. Their energies are an exact match.” Oh. “So I sound like the opera house? Energy wise?” “Actually,” Erik said, startling me with how close he was, “you’re a match for the gargoyles we were. Before we were struck.”

“We were made from the same stone. At the same time. Our energies matched from the start. In case you were worried. You were always meant to be ours.”

“I just thought if you could like…ground it to something else. Channel it like a lightning rod. But I guess stone isn’t a great conductor.” Marius murmured. “Unfortunately. Maybe if we had something that matched us exactly, but finding something that matched our current energy exactly would be impossible.”

We can make the mating thing almost physical by you guys going vampy and biting me,

“We’re afraid that they’ll use you to get to us. Speaking of mortality. If you die, even before we amplify our bond, it will be…unbearable for us. Could break us.” I knew when he said break, he didn’t mean emotionally. He meant that their physical stone form could break. So when they told me not to worry about me getting old… “Even if I die of old age?” “Yes.” “That sucks.” Alex smiled at that. “I would rather have a life with you, and follow you into the afterlife, than to be immortal alone. The others feel the same.” They confirmed it.

“Of course, I’ll make sure that she doesn’t get grabbed by the evil gargoyles. That does not sound like a good time. But, if you happen to have any gargoyle friends that would like to have some fun with an American, by all means let them know.” Marius leaned against the bar. “I’m sure we could think of someone.”

“So there will be no more hiding things that you think are embarrassing, or worry that we’re going to think something other than the fact that you’re our mate, you’re the most beautiful fucking thing we’ve ever seen, and that every second we’re not touching you is driving us to madness. Do you understand?” It was the same tone as last night. No room for argument. “I understand,” I said. “But I can’t promise. It’ll take me time to…unlearn it.” Alex smirked, grip tightening ever so slightly in my hair. “If you need to have it spanked, sucked, or fucked out of you, I promise you none of us will care about giving you the reminder.”

“Do you have any idea how wide you were smiling when that man picked you up? Off the floor?” I smiled as she said it, but I honestly hadn’t realized. At the time, I’d been too wrapped up in Alex to notice, and that was exactly her point.

Sitting on a chair, waiting in front of the pedestal where Désirée was being fitted for a gown, was Callum.

Alex placed his hand on the wall and grinned. “Her friend is more excited than she showed.” “Think Laurent would be interested?” “Maybe.”

“What are the chances that the three of you would find a mate?

Your mate will be mine, one way or another. And I will make sure that you watch her die.”

My last costume was the shift in which Joan of Arc was burned.

I was at the door when she called after me. “I’m your understudy. You know that, right?”

Marius sat in one of the armchairs, reading my werewolf romance.

And the necklace made me feel better. It was that strange, near-singing sensation that I felt whenever I wore it. I had the vague impression that it liked me. Weirder things had happened. I was mated with living stone. Why couldn’t a diamond like me?

“We’re going to skip the interviews,” Anne said, touching my shoulder. “Why?” “Don’t worry about it.” Her lips were pressed together in an expression that I knew meant she was unhappy, but this wasn’t the place to ask. Ahead of me on the carpet, Désirée was getting ready to enter the architectural museum where the gala was being held. “She said something?” “We’ll talk about it later,” Anne said.

Of course I was next to Désirée. The smugness was practically radiating off her. “Nice work,” I told her. “I only told the truth.”

They didn’t have to hear me speak to feel what I was feeling now, and their amusement quickly turned to possessive arousal from knowing that I loved their marks on me. In turn, my own arousal crashed over me like a wave. “You guys can’t do that,” I whispered. “If I’m in the middle of rehearsal and suddenly horny it will be a disaster.” I felt absolutely no remorse from any of them.

“I know, but it’s good for me. We get to hang out instead of you having sex that I’m jealous of. Did they ever find a gargoyle for me?” The reaction startled me. “Based on the laughter in my chest, maybe.” “I’m going to need a firm answer on that.” “Noted.” I sat beside her and leaned my head on her shoulder. “Thanks for having my back.”

“You were just struck by lightning, Christine. You don’t have a fucking pulse. I don’t think you’re fine.”

“Laurent thinks that I’m immortal now. Human, but immortal. Because my energy shifted with yours.” All three of us looked at the doctor, and he shrugged. “I don’t have an explanation, but she’s alive, and you’re right. Her heart is still.” “I guess we’ll see in a few years.”