Page 56 of Fated to the Gargoyle

She keeps scanning the rooflines, and I know who she is looking for. My brother has come to the land once since she moved in, long enough to raise the frame of his own cabin and leave again. The noise of our mating drives him off. So does watching what he does not yet have. He keeps to his patrols instead.

A woman crosses the lot with her shopping and squints up at me, and I know her at once. She is the one who lectured me at my first public sunset. She stops and takes me in, top to bottom. Then she smiles. “Better. Much better.”

I tip my head to her with respect.

She points her chin at Treasure. “You’re taking good care of your big guy. Good job.”

“It’s a whole job, but I manage.” Treasure leans into my side and takes all of the credit.

The woman moves on, and my mate wraps both hands around one of my claws. “After I tell Andy I’m not coming back, I want you to meet my friend Lena. She owns the craft store.” She squeezes. “Best for last.”

I nod and follow her inside.

The bell jingles, and I duck through the door. Lamar looks up from the grill. He does not look back down fast enough. Burnt pride rides under the grill grease, and it is coming off the cook.

“TREASURE!” Devon comes out of the kitchen so fast the door keeps swinging, and she laughs as he wraps her in a hug. Then he holds a hand up to me. The boy is no longer worried about my claws. I press my palm flat to his without letting a claw touch him.

“This is Soren,” Treasure announces to the new waitress and the room at large, patting my arm. “My mate.”

The customers in the booths glance up at me and go back to their food.

“A room full of humans, and not one of them stopped chewing,” I tell her.

“We’re home now,” she says. “It’s supposed to be this way.”

Andy comes out of the back with his chest already puffed out, proud of himself about something. “You could have just called.”

I stare at him.

He clears his throat and chooses his next words with care. “What I mean is, I already took care of it. I knew you were quitting soon, so I went ahead and hired your replacement.” He waves a hand at the waitress breaking down the far table. “Say hi to Jenna.”

She is the one Andy interviewed while I stood stone outside the glass. I bow my head to her, and she gives a shy little wave with a rag still in it.

The bell jingles again, and Tyson steps in from the night. He makes it halfway to the counter and quits moving mid-stride. Then he turns to Jenna and forgets the rest of the room. Jenna glances up and catches him staring. She gets very busy with her table.

Andy looks at Jenna. Then at Tyson. Then at the ceiling.

“Shit!” He stomps back toward his office.

Treasure tugs my arm. “What was that about?”

“She is fated,” I tell her. Across the room, the wolf gets hold of himself. “Any shifter can tell when a human carries the markers. Their animal feels the pull, and most shy away until they are ready for it.”

“Wait.” She grabs my forearm. “Can you tell?”

“No. My senses do not read the markers. I am a watcher. It is why you read differently to my eyes than any human I have ever seen.” I look down at her. “But the day I caught your scent, my body knew what my eyes could not prove.”

She smiles up at me, and I pull her in closer.

Tyson makes himself walk the rest of the way in. He stops beside us, and Jenna is the only thing in that diner as far as he is concerned. “I know that look,” he says to me. “One whiff of her scent.”

Devon crosses to help Jenna with her heavy buss bin, and a growl rolls out of Tyson before the boy gets two steps.

“Easy, brother,” I say. “He is a friend.”

Tyson groans at himself and takes a stool at the counter. Jenna comes around to take his order. She has no idea tonight is likely her last shift. I chuckle.

Lamar comes out from the back at last, wiping his hands on his apron. He takes note of Tyson and Jenna, then of Treasure. He puts on a smile for the room. “Congratulations to the lucky couple.”