Page 63 of The Stone Initiation
Shar smiled thinly. “Sure, why not?”
Chlobe’s smile remained, but it now had a fixed quality to it. As if it was painted on. “I’ll add an extra person to the warping. But feel free to pop in and see us before then.” This she addressed to me, not Sharniza.
I wanted to ask why Shar wasn’t included in that invitation but kept my mouth shut because I couldn’t help but feel I’d made a faux pas by asking to bring Sharniza along on the shopping trip.
We left Chlobe to her empty infirmary and headed out the door, almost bumping into Varsa the caretaker.
He grunted and side-stepped to avoid a collision, shooting us an annoyed glare before shuffling off down the hall.
The corridors to the main building were silent and empty, most goyles either still in bed or in class. “What was that about?”
“I doubt he likes anyone,” Sharniza muttered.
Huh? “No, not the caretaker. Chlobe. Things got weird when I asked if you could come shopping.”
“Omega and alpha females don’t mix. Unless they’re mother and daughter, and even then, once the alpha matures, the omega doesn’t have much to do with her. She’s raised by the male influence.”
“What? Why?”
“Just the way it is.” There was a bitter edge to her tone.
“Just the way it is? Things are a way for a reason.”
She came to a halt. “We all have our place, Cameron. Maybe you don’t get that because you’re a halfblood, but in this world, omegas stay with omegas and alphas with alphas. It’s better that way. That way we aren’t reminded of what we can’t have.”
Even though I’d told myself I didn’t care about this world, I’d still wondered what life would be like as a pure blood. But now I was glad I wasn’t a part of it.
Gargoyles may have super strength and power, extra sensory capabilities, and the ability to shift form and fly. They may be able to heal in a blink and resist damage, but as a half human I had one thing they didn’t.
A choice in how I lived my life.
And there was power in that.
CHAPTER28
SERATH
“You did good today,” Selas says to me.
“Don’t patronize me. You know this is the last place I want to be right now.” I want to be on campus stalking my mate. I want to be close enough to hear her voice and inhale her scent. “This cuff isn’t working.”
This mate bond is turning me into a primal mess.
“It’s working fine,” Willowman says. “If it wasn’t, then you’d have claimed her already.”
The observatory is bathed in rays of red and orange as the sun sets. It’s beautiful. My favorite time of day because this is when my true nature surfaces. When our full power is released. When we can access our gargoyle forms and our baser forms, the primal beasts that each of us hide deep within. This is the moment that I usually lose myself as all the disconnected parts of me connect, but this evening, all I can think about is the bruise on Cameron’s face and the blood on her lip.
The need to protect her and end whoever harms her flows through me in a sudden rush. My hands curl into fists.
Control it.
There is nothing you can do.
She chose this path.
She chose to be here.
Determined, willful, half human, and no match for the gargoyles Farnell will pit her against. She’ll get hurt because he’ll have no mercy. He’ll treat her like everyone else and not give her an inch of leeway. It’s why he’s the best at what he does. Why our cadets come out strong.
