Knights of Stone - Lachlan (2 page)

As if reading Lachlan’s mind, Raina asked. “Wouldn’t it be easier if we just repaired the veil as soon as possible? They’d never find the Isle of Stone to even question us.”

True. The gargoyle clan, wolf pack, and tree witches had worked together decades ago to generate the veil for privacy, shielding the island from humans and their technology. Since the division of the island after the great battle, each group had kept to their territories, letting the veil disintegrate. Enough so that humans had recently discovered the Isle of Stone.

As the eldest gargoyle remaining on the isle, Lachlan shouldered the responsibility of helping to restore the veil. He had no idea as to what type of magic to use, let alone if he was capable of creating it. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit his lack of knowledge to the wolves and witches.

Especially in front of an attractive female, even if she was a wolf.

He skirted around his uncertainty. “Aye, that’s one of the things we need to discuss. What do we each need to do to restore the veil?”

“Each species contributed a magical component in the past.” Matilda narrowed her eyes. “You do know it, don’t you? I mean, you are rather young to lead a clan.”

Bryce shot him a quick, worried look, which he covered up by looking elsewhere. Then he communicated silently.
I don’t. Do you?

No
, Lachlan admitted.
We need to figure it out. And fast.

Agree. It’s the only way.

“Of course we know our magic.” Lachlan stood straighter and used a confident tone to belie his lack of knowledge. “It takes time to conjure enough to cover an entire island.”

What are you going to do? Go to the clan?
Bryce asked. After humans had discovered the island a few months ago, the Calder gargoyle clan had returned to their ancestral home in the Scottish Highlands. Lachlan had taken on the role of alpha in their small group of five brothers who remained.

Och, no.
No way was Lachlan going to swallow his pride to beg them for magic they should have left him with anyway. Not after all the grief the other gargoyles had given them about their band, their concerts—an endless broken record. Plus, admitting he and his brothers needed help undermined any respect for their new clan, however small it might be at this point. As well as weakening confidence in Lachlan’s ability to serve as alpha.
 

He would have to figure it out himself. He considered their abilities. Gargoyles could shift from stone to man to a creature in between. They could communicate telepathically. They could shield themselves in flight, making themselves invisible. Yet nothing came to mind about how to shield an island. His ribs tightened. He tried to concentrate despite the mounting frustration.
I’ll think of something.

“As does our magic,” Matilda replied. “We need two more days to prepare.”

Lachlan resisted an audible exhale of relief. “Two days should be enough time for us.”

Two days
? Bryce said.
You think we can figure this out in two days?

We have to,
Lachlan replied, not sure how they’d pull it off in such a short period of time.

“Let’s meet here, two days from now, at sundown,” Ian said. “In the meantime, what are we going to do about the ferries with humans coming to the island? You’ve drawn quite a crowd with those
spectacles
.”

“I’ve already taken care of it with the ferry operators,” Lachlan replied. “Said our shows are canceled for a fortnight as we go on a European tour.”

An ocean breeze rolled his way, making the purple heather and high grasses sway. A female scent followed, with a hint of berries and wild herbs and a distinct wolf aroma. His body heated from the core, spreading out like a rising brush fire.

The beast inside reared to lunge forward and wrap itself in Raina’s scent while he took her on the forest floor.

Lachlan stiffened, halting the overwhelming drive to raise his hand and touch her skin. What was with his odd reaction? He’d never found anything appealing about a wolf, before. Yet, something about this one elicited this surprising response.

Raina tilted her head, studying him with a curious expression that did nothing to alleviate the tightness in his groin. “The humans won’t come to explore the island, then?”

He cleared his throat and refocused on the situation at hand. “Not likely. Some might—by boat. But the ferries won’t bring them. Part of their whole package was a concert. There’s nothing else on this island that would draw tourists.”

“I’ve heard the witches have exceptional gardens,” Raina added, nodding in their direction.

The witches nodded, agreeing to that, clearly proud of their landscaping efforts.

“The humans haven’t discovered that,” he replied. “They stayed over in our territory to watch our show.”

“We were quite the experience,” Bryce added with a grin. “Ensuring nobody would want to wander elsewhere.”

Let’s not get them started up again about the concerts,
Lachlan told him.

“All right,” Ian said. “So the problem with tourists is likely small. But we’ll still have to watch for humans coming to investigate the attacks. We may need another two days before we can restore the veil.
If
it works,” he added with a note of skepticism.

Lachlan nodded at Ian. “My brothers and I will patrol from the skies.” His gaze traveled to Raina and lingered longer than it should.

Raina’s skin burned under someone’s gaze. When she glanced up, she caught Lachlan staring at her. She’d heard of the gargoyle brothers, but had never seen any of them until now. They appeared more wild and rugged than what she’d envisioned for glamorous rock stars. He didn’t shift his eyes when she’d caught him, but continued to watch her; his posture straight and sturdy as the oaks behind him. She propped her hands on her hips and glared back to show her displeasure, however the shade of his eyes distracted her—a blend of green and brown, reflecting the colors of the island’s forests.

He winked and flashed a cocky grin.
Och
. How arrogant. What did he think she was, one of those impressionable human females who’d fall over themselves to get closer to one of the band mates? Not going to happen.

The rumors about the reckless gargoyle brothers were now easy to believe. They were notorious on the island for rebelling against their clan. Instead of keeping their identity from humans, they’d played music for them.
Entertained
them.
Encouraged
them to return to the island.

She turned away with disgust. Damn him. The gargoyles were the main reason they were all in this mess right now. If they didn’t keep the humans coming back with their unconventional rock concerts, the humans may have left the isle alone. But no, the gargoyles’ wee antics kept them coming back, drawing more humans each time. Her father spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts about the brash gargoyle.

“Our pack is committed to working with all of you to restore the veil.”

The only upside to the horrendous incident was it forced the islands natives to come together in these peace talks. After all, her father had been the one to appeal to a gargoyle and tree witch who’d been meeting in the moors. The veil was essential. Not only did it keep the island undetected by humans, it also provided a shield against the potent effect of the moon on wolves. Young wolf shifters were especially prone to the moon’s power.

Raina shuddered as she remembered the way it had been for her. In her teens, the moon had driven her half mad and with a longing for blood, and she’d ravenously torn into many deer on the island to sate the blind need. With the veil having thinned even more in the last five years, the young wolves struggled to maintain self-control.

In recent weeks, her stirrings had returned, different than the bloodlust of her youth, yet one that left her restless and prowling in search of something. The problem was, she didn’t know what her wolf wanted. Confusion and frustration often followed.

Her pack mates teased her saying she was getting ready to mate.
Och
, she couldn’t even think of that. She and Seth already bickered like an old couple, and they hadn’t even mated, yet. Today he’d made her late for the peace talk. He’d tried to convince her he should be the one to return, although they’d decided the day before they’d each have a turn at the momentous event, which would affect the future of the pack on the Isle of Stone. It was her chance to make a difference, take on more of a leadership role; she couldn’t let him take it from her.

Lachlan responded to her father, recapturing her attention. “We need to organize these ideas into a plan.”

His brogue was deep and gravelly; he spoke with a commanding yet reasonable tone. Despite her objection to him and his cocksure attitude, she caught herself sneaking another glance. After all, she’d heard so much about this mysterious species they shared the island with.

All negative.

Still her gaze traveled over him, somewhat transfixed. His long black hair gleamed under the sun’s rays, falling over defined shoulders and halfway down his back. He’d assumed a confident stance that fit his powerful body. Wolf shifters were naturally strong, but gargoyle shifters transformed from stone. Every ripple and contour of his bare torso reflected that aspect. The overall package was enticing, making the lure for human females understandable.

She wasn’t a human female and knew better. How foolish they were to fall for womanizing bad boys in a wee, appetizing parcel wrapped in blue tartan.

Och
,
wee
wasn’t the term to describe the massive gargoyle.

As if reading her mind, Lachlan stared at her again, his eyes now filled with wicked amusement. Raina turned to her father, hoping he didn’t catch her gawking at the gargoyle, but he was invested in the discussion.

“In years past,” her father began, “the tree witches have prepared a potion that helped protect our youngest and most vulnerable wolves against the effect of the full moon. We could use it again.”

Her father had a reputation as being more tolerant than other alphas she’d heard about, but that was because he had to be. It took a tremendous amount of courage to admit he needed help from the tree witches and gargoyles—they’d kept to separate parts of the island for so many years. But he did what was necessary for the pack, swallowing the notorious wolf pride. She’d always looked up to him. The two of them had a closeness forged in shared grief and a mode for survival after her mother had died. She hoped to develop his sense and patience for when it was her time to rule.

“Aye,” the witch named Claire replied. “Kayla already asked us to prepare the potion, and it’s brewing. It should be ready tomorrow.”

“Brilliant,” Ian replied. “We will send someone to retrieve it at midday.”

“I’ll go,” Raina piped up.

She’d heard about this witch Kayla and was curious. She was the one who’d sneaked away from her coven to watch the gargoyle shows and fell in love with a gargoyle shifter named Mason. When Raina’s father had spied them in the moors, he’d seen an opportunity—they’d been the best chance at bringing the feuding groups together, and he’d appealed to them. Was the tree witch courageous—brave enough to cross the boundaries separating their lands? Or was she just pure mental, an outlier who chose outside of her coven?

“Don’t come into our territory,” Matilda, the other witch, added. “We have a protective shield up.”

“Kayla will bring the potion to the new house she’s building,” Claire said. “At the copse in the moors. With the
gargoyle
,” she added, unable to keep the distaste out of her voice.

Raina glanced at Lachlan to see his reaction. He kept his expression neutral, although she caught his jaw twitch. Turning to his brother, Bryce, she noted the resemblance in their features and strong physique, but Bryce’s hair was shorter and lighter, with reddish highlights.

“I’ll meet Kayla there,” she replied.

“We’ll meet here two nights from now at sundown,” Matilda declared. She turned and toddled through the moors with Claire toward their houses in the trees.

“
Shite
,” Lachlan muttered.

Before she had a chance to ask what was wrong, a winged male flew in from overhead. She turned to her father. He nodded and mouthed “gargoyle.”

The gargoyle landed in front of Lachlan and his brother Bryce. It must have been one of their brothers. Aye, similar strong features—wide eyes that appeared to take in everything, a strong nose, carved lips—but different hair. The newcomer’s was russet, far lighter than Lachlan’s raven mane.

“Did you get my message?”

“Aye,” Lachlan said.

“What’s wrong?” Her father stepped up to them.

“They’re coming,” the gargoyle barked, his expression grave. “They’re coming
now
!”

Raina exchanged a worried glance with her father. The implications of what the gargoyle had announced were serious.

“The humans are on the way?” he asked, stepping closer to the gargoyles.

Although there was little doubt that was what the gargoyle meant, they had to know what they were facing.

“Aye,” Bryce replied, confirming her fear.

“Where?” Ian asked.

“Approaching the docks,” the newly arrived gargoyle brother said.

“Stay calm,” Lachlan directed, raising an arm.

Raina shot him a withering glance. What did he expect them to do—run with their hands flailing through the moors, shouting, “The humans are coming! The humans are coming!”

“We’ll take care of them,” he added.

“What are you going to do?” she asked him.

“Talk to them,” he answered. “Pretend we’re humans just like them.”

Was he serious? She shook her head. “That’s a terrible idea.”

His eyes flickered with surprise at her response.

“Look at the three of you.” She motioned toward them. “You’re like a bunch of hulks. Far too intimidating to regular old humans. Bound to set off some suspicions.”

“How do you know so much about humans?”

“I don’t,” she admitted. “But I’ve seen them. Few, if any, are as—colossal—as the three of you.”