Ann couldn't believe Elric left her. The impossible gargoyle had pushed himself into her life, insinuating himself into everything and forcing her to love him, just to disappear like smoke. Kieran and Jurian had shown her the letter, which only served to make her angrier. How dare he make a choice like that for her. How dare he think he could just walk out like that. How was it possible he thought he was going to just go back to sleep and dream of her?
That was the most heartbreaking part of all she read. He would get to go to sleep and forget about how he felt, while she would be stuck with this love for a lifetime. Even if he came back now, groveling, she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him. If he never came into her life, she would have been fine. She wouldn't have to remember how good he was in bed or how much he made her laugh. How his touch set her on fire or how he was in a fight. Or the way his eyes twinkled like the night sky when he looked at her.
Tears burned the backs of her eyes and blurred her vision. She blinked furiously as she glared at the ring he had left her on the nightstand. So she would remember him, presumably. She slid it on, surprised when it fit perfectly. She couldn't bear looking at it on her finger, so she attempted tugging it off, but it wouldn't budge. She wondered if maybe she were swollen from crying, or something.
She looked up as someone knocked on the door, "Come in."
Michelle came in. "Are you okay?" the other woman, the Enforcers' mate, asked softly.
"No," Ann admitted with a heavy sigh of defeat. "How could he leave me like that?"
Michelle swallowed, "Have you thought, maybe, this could be really overwhelming for him? A new world and seeing all of this with the new gargoyles? Have you considered he genuinely believed he's doing the right thing?"
"How is it the right thing to waste all the good things about him by just going back to sleep?"
"If that's what's worrying you, don't. Kieran and Jurian are certain the Oracle isn't going to let him just go back to sleep. She needs him."
Ann touched the crumpled letter, "He doesn't believe he's needed."
"It's hard. Coming to a new place and feeling like you don't belong. I know because I had to come into the shifter world, not even knowing it existed."
"But your mates never abandoned you," Ann retorted.
"My mates were always aware of how deserving they were," she said, a small smile quirking her lips. "Maybe a little too aware. But they did leave the door open for me to leave if I wanted to. Yet, as I let myself get used to it, I found I wanted to stay."
"And Elric didn't," Ann said bitterly.
Michelle put a hand on her shoulder, "He needs time, give that to him. He may have just reacted. Jurian said he read his mind and he was disturbed about something that happened during the fight. He felt his gargoyle had wanted bloodshed, or something like that."
"He did seem a little out of it," Ann said thinking back. "He almost scared me. He was so intense. But never, at any point, did I feel he was out of control."
"Maybe he just has to go work that out on his own," Michelle suggested. "Anyway, I'm going to enjoy having you stay with us, and you'll be safe. I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. Shifters need their mates. Elric will come around, and the Oracle is not going to put a valuable shifter back in cryo. Not when he's proven he will put a human before himself." She shook her head, "From what I've read about shifter history, gargoyles in particular, that's unheard of for his generation."
"He really was special," Ann said swiping at her cheeks as tears fell. "I still hate him," she laughed bitterly.
Michelle put an arm around her, "So, do you want to go get anything in order to be more comfortable here?"
"No," Ann said, then remembered. "Wait, yes! My kitten. Elric and I, we just adopted her. I want to see her."
"A kitten? Cute!" Michelle said. "I'll have Kieran drive us and we'll go get her. Just keep her away from Draven. I'm not sure I trust him with small animals."
Ann smiled, "Sounds good to me. Just give me a minute to get myself together."
"Okay. I'll see you downstairs," Michelle called over her shoulder as she left.
Ann walked to the bathroom and cleaned up the best she could. She sighed at her reflection--puffy face, red eyes, hair a mess--and told herself it would be okay. She needed to buck up, crying wouldn't fix anything. She looked down at the ring on her hand. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to keep it on. To keep her thoughts of him, at least the good ones, just a little while longer. She pulled her hair back, put on jeans and a sweater, and headed downstairs to go pick up Peony.
***
"What do you mean she's not here?" Ann asked Jen, fear flooding through her.
Jen looked at her with slightly glazed eyes. She looked like she'd been drinking all night, yet Ann knew Jen wasn't like that at all. She was always dependable. That's why she left Peony with her. "I don't…" Jen rubbed her head blearily, her short blonde hair sticking up in all directions. "I don't know if I remember. I feel like I've been asleep so long."
"Try to remember," Ann said reaching forward and taking her by the arms. Kieran and Michelle were standing down at the bottom step, watching curiously.
"I guess… there was a guy. Yeah… a handsome one, now that I think about it. He said he was looking for something. Someone. He asked to come in."
"And you let him?"
Jen blinked, eyes clearing, slowly looking more awake. "I did. I did?" She shook her head. "That isn't like me, letting a stranger in the house. I know this is crazy, but it didn't feel like I had a choice."
Ann cocked her head, "What do you mean?"
"He just, sort of… froze me. I don't know. I couldn't say no to him. I just… let him in and then…" She racked her brain. "He saw Peony and said he was borrowing her."
"And you said yes?" Ann asked ready to scream at how stupid that was.
"I… did." Jen's eyes filled with tears, "I'm so sorry. I know how stupid it sounds. I just… couldn't do anything."
"Can we come in?" Kieran asked. "I'd like to see if he left anything."
"Yeah, sure," Jen said stepping back from the door to let them inside.
"What happened after he took Peony?"
"He just sort of looked back at me, lifted his hand, and blew something. I just dropped. Honestly, when you rang the doorbell, I was lying here, right in front of the door," Jen explained looking horrified by the thought.
Ann guessed that made sense as to why Jen looked so out of it, but everything about the situation was wrong. Plus, she was scared to death for Peony. Why would someone just take her like that? Kieran stepped inside and began looking around while Ann helped Jen over to the couch. When she was sure the other woman wasn't hurt, just stunned, she walked over to where Kieran and Michelle were talking, looking down at a piece of rumpled paper. She grabbed it from her and Kieran looked at her seriously.
Dear Nyrelric,
Long time no see. I have taken your little creature in the hope you'll come pay me a visit. It's not even big enough for a snack, so I'm not sure why your scent is all over it. However, since you value it, I have taken it.
If you want it, come find me.
Aloys
"What does that mean?" she asked Kieran.
Kieran blinked a few times. "I think it means another gargoyle has woken up." He looked at Michelle, "Shit. Jurian and Draven." He grabbed both Ann and Michelle, bolting for the front door. "We need to go."
"What do you mean?" Ann asked after they made sure Jen locked the door behind them and ran for the car. When they were safely buckled in, Kieran hit the gas peeling out onto the road.
"If he's tracking Elric by scent, the next place he's going is probably our place. And Jurian is there alone. He's a strong gargoyle, but we don't know anything about these ancient ones. If it's anything like I've heard, we're in trouble."
She touched the ring on her finger. If only Elric were here, he'd know what to do. He'd know who this "Aloys" person was.
Kieran picked up a phone and dialed as he drove. "Jurian?" he asked. "Good. Stay in the house. We're coming. … No, I can't talk about it right now, but we're on our way. There might be another awakened gargoyle, though. Loose this time. No collar. Be careful." He sighed, "Maybe some sort of mind control element. Insane, I know." He nodded, "Yeah. Yeah. Stay safe. See you soon."
He dropped the phone into a cup holder and focused on the drive back. Ann only hoped Peony was okay and wished Elric had left a way to contact him. For a second, she looked at his ring, wondering if that made it possible. The onyx stone only sparkled at her. Just a black stone in a golden band, no magic power there. Only hopes and wishes. She wished Peony and Jurian were okay and that all of them could come out of this safely. She held on tight as Kieran continued to break every traffic law in their rush back.
***
Elric nearly finished dinner with the Oracle, updating her on what had happened in the human world so she could help him with Ann, when the phone rang in her office. Only Enforcers called her there. His heart leapt, wondering if perhaps Kieran and Jurian were calling for Ann. Maybe she was asking him not to go to sleep, or maybe she was telling him how he ruined her life and she wished she never met him.
The Oracle walked out of the room and over to her office, picking up the phone beside her desk. He followed her and immediately knew from the look on her face that whatever she heard on the other end of the call wasn't good.
"What's going on?" he asked.
She put up a finger, "Jurian, slow down. What's going on?"
Elric stepped forward,desperate to hear what was being said. Had something happened to Ann?
"What do you mean someone is there? No, no, I don't want to speak with them. Jurian, what's the matter with you? Jurian, Jurian... Jurian!"
Elric swallowed. Something was definitely wrong. Gargoyles never ignored a command from the Oracle. Her face went dark as she listened to whoever began speaking. She scowled, "That doesn't work on me, asshole. What do you want with Elric? How did you get free?"
Elric's heart grew cold. He already had an idea what was happening. It reminded him of his old life, something he didn't like.
Someone he didn't like at all.
The Oracle slowly lowered the phone, looking at Elric speechless. She handed him the phone, "Stay calm."
Elric promised himself he would as he put the phone to his ear. "Nyrelric, baby, I've been searching for you," a low, too familiar, toxic voice said.
"Aloys. What do you want?"
"Revenge," he said simply. "You thought you'd just run free and leave me in cryo? Me and all the rest of your kind?"
Elric swallowed, "What do you want? Where are you?"
"Somewhere nice. I may take over here after I have the residents under my control. After questioning Jurian, I'm excited to know I'll be meeting your mate."
Elric's fist crushed the Oracle's marble desk as he leaned on it. His whole body tended as he spoke through his teeth, "Don't you touch her."
"Oh, I'm scared," Aloys mocked him.
Elric winced, he had sounded like that when he first woke up. All he recalled about the other gargoyle was they had never gotten along. And Aloys had a cruel streak--not that he was the worst thing around.
"I have your pet," he said, putting the phone near something that let out a little mew.
"Peony," Elric grated out. "If you do anything to her…"
"Hurting a one-eyed kitten? Where's the fun in that?" Aloys said. "Unless it hurts you…"
"What do you want?"
"Fight me," Aloys said. "Fair this time. It's time we settled this."
"You wake up for the first time in a century, and that is your primary desire? Another fight?" Elric said in exasperation.
Aloys laughed, "I desire to kill you. I desire to rule this world, but I'll settle for seeing you again, after all this time."
The call ended with a click. Rage coiled in Elric's stomach as he ran for the front doors.
"You're flying, right?" the Oracle said.
He nodded.
"I can get you there faster. There's a portal," she said. "I'm the only one who uses it, but we have no time." She led him to a door he'd never seen before and as she opened it, he saw a swirling purple vortex. "When you get there, you'll still have a ways to fly. You must do it quickly. While you're gone, I'll try and figure out how this happened. The cryo lab was meant to be completely secure. Someone has betrayed us all."
Elric nodded, but deep down he didn't care what was happening with the cryo lab or the other gargoyles. All he cared about was Ann and Peony being safe. Luckily, Aloys said he didn't have Ann yet, so hopefully, he still had time to get there before it happened. He would do everything and anything in his power to make it so.