When a Gargoyle Lives (Gargoyles Book 2) by E A Price Page B

than she is worth.”
    Luc gave him an indistinguishable look and smiled slightly, before following his mate.  Ric groaned.  Was he the only one who saw how infuriating she was?
    Evidently so.
    *
    Brenda traced her fingers over the ancient books.
    “Thank you, Brenda,” said Kylie, showing her evident relief.
    “I just don’t see what would be the point in telling anyone about the gargoyles.”
    And she didn’t.  They weren’t doing anything wrong; they weren’t hurting anyone – at least not to her knowledge.  She didn’t imagine Maggie or Kylie would be on board with that.
    They chose to let her go; they chose to trust her.  She wasn’t going to do anything that would cause them harm.  And there was the baby to consider.  The cutest, strangest looking baby she’d ever seen.
    If they came out to the world, they’d probably be locked up in labs for testing.  They were sentient creatures, and they deserved better.  And if what Kylie told her was true, they’d suffered enough for any lifetime.
    “I don’t like asking you to lie to your uncle.”
    Brenda shrugged.  She was still pissed at him; she had mixed feelings about talking to him at all.
    “How many others are there?”
    “We don’t know for sure.  We’re hoping a lot.”
    Kylie pulled a book off the shelf.   “We have to track them down one by one.  We just found our new gargoyle family, but for every gargoyle we find intact, we seem to find one that is damaged.”
    “Could you repair them?”
    “No, I already asked Luc, and he thought I was crazy.  They’re not real statues; they’re living creatures.  We couldn’t just stick them back together with superglue.  Be nice if we could,” she added after a moments thought.
    “Does your aunt know about all this?”
    “Yes, she and Gustave are actually on their way home.  They went out to look for a new gargoyle but sadly… she wasn’t intact.  They had a small funeral for her, and they should be back tonight.”
    Brenda’s brow crinkled.  “A funeral?”
    “She was still a living creature, even if she was stone.  It was the least we could manage.”
    Brenda nodded.  She opened her mouth and then closed it again.
    Kylie smiled encouragingly.  “You want to ask me something, right?”
    She could feel the blush start in her stomach and slowly make its way up to her face.  “Yes, but I’m not sure how to say it.”
    “You want to talk to me about Luc.”
    She must have been tomato red by that point.  “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
    Kylie shrugged.  “You didn’t; I’ve nothing to hide.  Ask away.”
    “How did you and him… you know, get together?”  How do you ask how a previously timid woman hooked up with a legendary monster?  What was next - the town librarian knocking boots with Godzilla?
    “I didn’t realize I had magic, and I accidentally woke him.  So, feeling responsible, I let him stay at my house, and we got to know each other.”
    “It sounds so average and boring,” said Brenda before she could stop herself.
    Kylie giggled.  “Sorry to disappoint.  It was hardly the stuff of erotic monster romances.  Although I’m sure he would have liked to, he didn’t throw me over his shoulder and run off into to his lair.  It was just normal.  We fell in love as we got to know each other.  But if it makes it any more interesting, Luc believes we were fated to be together.”
    “Fated?”
    “Yes.  Dragons believed in having fated mates, and some gargoyles believed they inherited that trait.  But just as many don’t.  Luc and Annis do.  Gracchus doesn’t.  I’m not sure about Amalric or Dragoslava.”
    “Doesn’t it bother you the way he… I mean,” she stammered.
    Kylie gave her a very direct look.  “The way he looks?”
    “Well, yeah.”  Her thoughts flicked briefly to Amalric and then she tried to banish his scowling face.
    Kylie pondered it for a second.  “I guess it took some getting used to.  But I never felt