Page 1 of Who Owns You?

Prologue

ATLAS

Thou shalt not suffera witch stealing your fucking house. Especially when said house is the ancestral castle of your nest’s alpha. My eyes find the bastard in question. Darius is tapping away on his laptop like his home isn’t under threat by an unknown witch. The white glow of his screen makes the powdery blue of his stone look bleached, like it’s been left in the sun too long. His stupid face is also far too calm. Like we haven’t been in this attic for over a day already and will be for an indeterminate amount of time. It’s a good thing we don’tneedfood or water or to use the bathroom. The small luxuries of living aren’t necessities when you’re made of stone and magic.

Born or forged, gargoyles are the same once they take their first breath, even if those who are born don’t see it that way. A bitter taste coats my tongue, and my eyes fall on our alpha and then my other nest-mates. They’ve never known about the disdainful looks, the whispered jabs, and outright vile threats against mytainted stonedirected at me when we meet with the other world protector gargoyles, and I’ll never let them know.It would only make them more unbearably protective of me. Youngest and the troublemaker forever, I suppose.

Scoffing, I cast my gaze over to our alpha.

“What?” he asks, crossing one leg clad in black slacks over the other like this dusty attic is the most lavish room in the castle.

The way he acts makes my magic boil in my veins. All the humor I felt a moment ago freezes into distaste.How can he be so blasé about all this?

“How the hell can you stand it?” I ask, barely keeping the hiss out of my words.

“Stand what? Your attitude?” He smirks, and I force my eyes not to roll.

“Har, har. No, you arsehole. Letting a strange witch do as she pleases with our home.”

“And what exactly do you think she’s doing? Hexing every corner and hall?” The chuckle he barely tries to hide pisses me off further.

I roll my shoulders, trying to keep my hands loose. It’s not good to get into fights with your nest-mates, but for the last few days, I’ve been more on edge than I have in centuries.

“I don’t care what she’s doing or not doing. It’s not about—” I scoff and run my hand through my hair, pushing the dark, dusky strands from my face. “It’s not about the witch.” I hiss the word like an insult. “I want to enjoy my space, I want to watch Julius fuck about in the kitchen, I want to see you shit a brick when Marcus breaks another of your precious ancient vases that is ugly as fuck, or whatever he does to piss you off.”

“So you’re being a brat because you miss your room?” Darius asks, crossing his arms over his chest. All folded up like a pissed-off alpha gargoyle pretzel.

“If that’s what you want to call it, then yes, I want my fucking room. I want to wander the house that we have kept safe andsound for hundreds of years. I don’t want to act like a fucking dormouse in my home!” I snap, the magic simmering inside me fizzling to the surface.

I feel Darius grab hold of it through the bond and drag it just out of my reach. An alpha’s control over the magic of their nest-mates is almost complete. The prick often pulls mine from me.

Of course, I can’t even lash out with my own magic.

I tip my head and my neck cracks loudly. If I had been human, I would be dead, but I was never human and would never be.

“Calm yourself, Atlas. I’m going to send a message to Eloise. Once the witch is settled in, we’ll have an introduction made. You are right in the respect that we shouldn’t have to hide in our home, but you are wrong in the fact that the witch doesn’t belong here at all. You know what this old place can be like,” he says with a dismissive wave of his hand.

I hiss and fight the urge to punch into the brickwork next to me. The older the building, the more strongly it’s connected to the magic of the land it’s built on. And Colbéliard is one hell of a magical place.

I bite my lip against further argument as Darius pulls out his slim cell phone and begins to tap away at a text to the only other supernatural we have regular contact with.

The only thing keeping me a little sane is the fact he hasn’t caught on that I’ve turned off the electricity in the main castle or the fact that I’ve stashed all the towels and extra bedding in this dusty hellhole with us. It is stupidly pleasing. The alpha of my nest is anal when it comes to communication and has backups for his backups, so I knew there was no risk of his devices losing connection.

Though Colbéliard is incredibly magical, the town is small. Before, if there were more than just the handful of us, the humans would notice things were not quite right. Everything ischanging, and it’s not just the witch that feels wrong. Gargoyles are supposed to be the silent protectors of balance between humans and supernaturals. We are seen in the day but never questioned simply as a part of the architecture. All of that has gone to shit now. Even up in this attic, we know word has gotten out. We have been anticipating it ever since the first whispers of displeasure have rippled through the community.

It’s a silly little game of life and fate that some other supernaturals have chosen to play. With long lives, wealth, beauty, and power, there is little a supernatural does not feel they deserve in the world of mortals, and that means that they will need a lot more protection. It forced my nest-mates to quietly try and get ready for how the world would change. My nest-mates and I provide that protection, even if we aren’t so visible in the light of day.

“There, done,” Darius says, lifting his voice to catch the attention of our nest-mates.

“Where, what?” Marcus asks, eyes flicking about the room like he’s looking for a ball or a squirrel.

The poor guy is so understimulated in the attic he’s losing his mind. Julius shakes his head, giving a slight wince at Marcus’ puppy-like energy before pulling the other man into his side.

Darius’s eye twitches, but he brushes over what Marcus said and points at me.

“Atlas here is displeased with having to stay in the attic, so I sent a little text to Eloise to let the new witch know we’d like our home back when the witch settles in.”

The town’s coven leading witch is the one who got the notification to expect a newcomer in town soon, one with the deed to our castle in tow and no knowledge of what she is.

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