Page 28 of Who Owns You?

“I need something. Maybe snacks, maybe booze, maybe to rub it out.” I shuffle toward the kitchen, keeping my eyes glued to the floorboards, up until I smack into a wall that I don’t remember being in the middle of the hall.

“Ouch. Watch yourself, pest,” the wall hisses.

OK, definitely not a wall.

“Hey!” I snap, my head jerking up until I can lock eyes with those of the dusky gargoyle. Atlas stands far too tall above me, but I pull my shoulders back and puff out my chest. “I was clearly walking somewhere with my head down.”

“Who does that?” he asks with a scoff before dusting off the front of his plain white T-shirt as if I sullied it by bumping into him. “You need to mind yourself. This isn’t your home.”

I know it isn’t. My home is across the damn ocean, but I don’t back down.

“If that’s the case, then show me your deed,” I say with a smirk.

Atlas’s jaw tenses, and I can hear his teeth grind from his agitation. “You are a nuisance, pest. Keep out of my way until you’re gone.”

He slinks down the hall around me, his tail whipping like an agitated cat as he goes.

I can’t help it when I look after him and flip him double birds. He deserves it. I don’t really want to be here, but I need to. This place was somehow willed to me, and I don’t get any of the money that was left to me without being here for at least a bit.

“At least he didn’t call me a witch.” I shake my head, the anger boiling inside me making it hard to continue.

I curl my toes against the floor, and I have to clench my hands into fists to keep from peeling off more skin from my fingers.

“I’m not a witch, and I’m not a pest.” I force a laugh. “But that’s a new one.”

I end up wandering aimlessly around the castle, stomping like a petulant child. I want to stake some kind of claim on the space that felt like mine and not mine in equal measure.

When I’m finally calm, I find myself upstairs in front of a door left ajar with noise spilling out. It’s not a bad noise, so I take a chance and peek in.

Darius, the biggest gargoyle, sits behind a desk made to fit him, with his head tipped toward a laptop. The room is dimly litby candles, so his light blue face is cast in hard shadows from the glow of the screen.

“I can feel you watching me, Charlotte. Come in.”

“I should have known better than to just…lurk.”

“Everyone deserves to lurk, but I am too preoccupied to endure any staring.” He leans back in his chair and gives a heavy sigh.

“You sound like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.”

“No, it’s not the entire world, but a good chunk of it. We have to go back to more blatant protection.” His eyes drift to a map on the far wall. A large chunk of Europe is circled, in addition to Ireland “Before, when all supernaturals were a part of the environment of the mortal world, we played an active role in things like diplomacy and protection from natural disasters and other supernaturals. But there was a change in thought among mortals and we were all dangerous, we were forced to hide ourselves, so we shifted gears instead.”

“How so?” I step more into his office.

The heavy scent of old pages and leather fills my nose as I come to stand before his desk. I wish I could see this space with the light on, see exactly what he’s hiding in here that I can poke around in. We have electricity now, but this seemingly broody gargoyle is only illuminated by his laptop screen.

“Virtual protection as well as hiring human mercenaries and such. Little things to keep my mind occupied while the others were able to indulge in their passions,” he says with a dismissive wave toward his laptop.

“So you’ve still been protecting people, just without them knowing? Are you guys rich?” I ask, suddenly wondering where all the money I’m supposed to get will be coming from.

Darius leans back farther, letting his head loll back against the leather chair. It’s similar to the one in the sitting room, butthis one looks less comfortable. He arches a brow at me, and I’m startled as I watch his skin drain of that stark blue color and take on a very human olive complexion. His hair and horns change in a blink; his hair goes from blue to a rich brown, and his horns vanish completely as if they were never there.

“It’s not impossible for us to blend in, so yes, we protected humanity without them knowing,” he says casually, something changing in his demeanor. His eyelids droop slightly, and a confident but lazy smile tugs at his lips. It’s so unfair how, despite transforming out of his stone form, he keeps his chiseled cheeks and jaw. “I don’t normally deposit and tell, but we would be very embarrassing immortals if we werenotrich.”

“I guess so,” I blurt, going instantly red in the face.

His dark eyes run over me in a way that I can damn near feel. I suddenly want to lean on the desk and beg him to fuck me. Something about his air makes me want to let him ruin me.

“I think I can see why you’re the alpha of the…nest.” I squeak out the words, the red in my face crawling down my neck and up to the tips of my ears.

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