Page 45 of The Stone Secret
“I know. But there will be times when youneedsomeone else. Both of you.”
Serath with another woman. Serath fucking someone else? My fingers ached and burned, and a low, menacing growl vibrated in my throat.
Selas’s gaze dropped to my hands. “Cam…”
My fingers were elongated and tipped with granite-colored talons. “Shit.” I shook them as if that would get rid of them. “Shit, shit.”
The talons melted away.
“What was that?” Orix hurried to join us from across the room.
I had no idea. “It happened on the extraction run but only for a moment. It’s never happened before, though.”
“A partial shift?” Willowman joined us too. “May I?” He took my hand and studied my fingers. “Partial shifts are impossible for halfbloods and incredibly rare for gargoyles. We need to get that blood sample looked at by my contact as soon as possible.”
“Why not HQ?” Orix asked. “They have alchemists that could look deep and find…” He trailed off. “Right, got it.”
They might find out I was Serath’s fated mate if they cross-referenced samples. My original sample would have been screened at the intake center. According to Lionel, the same samples would have been sent to another lab, and that was maybe where my identity as Basque blood could have been discovered, as deeper screenings were done there. The sample had never made it to HQ.
“Wewillfigure this out,” Willowman said with confidence.
And I believed him.
“Let’s enjoy this dessert, then you can get some sleep,” Selas said kindly. “The next few weeks are going to be intense.”
Sleep with Serath under the same roof?
That was going to take some training of its own.
CHAPTER19
Being under the same roof as Serath was harder than I expected. Knowing he was only a couple of floors down, knowing I could simply head out of my room and take the stairs down to him was a simmering temptation in my lower abdomen.
He hadn’t returned by the time we finished dessert and Selas had walked me back to our floor with instructions to stay on it.
They weren’t taking any chances, and I was glad they were keeping watch because, honestly, I didn’t trust myself when it came to my mate.
Back at the dorms, I’d have fallen asleep by now, but tonight, sleep eluded me. After an hour of staring at the ceiling. I shoved my feet into slippers and headed into the lounge. Serath was two floors below, so that was a no-go, but I could go up. The observatory watchtower was supposed to have an amazing view.
I entered the moonlit space silently and froze at the sight of the large figure silhouetted by the windows.
Even in the gloom, it was impossible for me not to recognize my mate. My feet took me a couple of steps toward him before I regained control.
His shoulders rose and fell as if he was taking a deep breath. Was he inhaling my scent? “It’s all right, Cam. Willowman reinforced my anklet.”
An invitation. I wanted to take it. “You might have an anklet, but I don’t.”
“Are you afraid you’ll throw yourself at me?”
“Yes.”
He let out a soft groan, and the air spiked with his scent.
My throat went dry, my pussy clenching.
“Maybe youshouldgo.” His tone was low and gruff.
“Right.” I needed to leave this room. This unbuffered space where it was just him and me and the primal call of whatever mystical shit lived in our blood.
