Aveoth Read online

  It was time for customs to change. Both women did his bidding.

  His gaze scanned the room again and he saw surprise on some faces. They’d noticed the exchange and where the women were seated. He smiled when their gazes jerked to him but he allowed his anger to show in his eyes.

  Jill kept still and silent at his side but her hold on him tightened. He placed his palm over hers, gently rubbing her skin to assure her things were fine. Whispers circulated and more gazes turned his way, to his mother and great-aunt, and to Jill. Then the room grew silent quickly without him giving the order.

  He tracked the four council members as they moved around the room, coming together near the front. Kelzeb stepped to his right but kept a few feet of space between them. His best friend put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Aveoth didn’t have to look at his face to know that Kelzeb glared at those four Gargoyles.

  “Thank you for assembling this day.” Aveoth used a louder voice than normal so the sound would carry to every part of the room. “As we all are aware, Tork and his mate had a son, and they will share his name when I accept him into the clan. They’ll be along shortly…but I wanted to make an official statement while I have you all gathered.” He took a deep breath. “I’d like to introduce you to my mate. This is Lady Jill.”

  Shock and surprise registered on some faces. He noticed a male near the back was pushed, and wasn’t surprised when he identified the culprits. Elco and Winalin were rudely making their way forward. Elco’s face was badly bruised and one arm hung uselessly at his side, the hand clearly bandaged.

  Aveoth also spotted smiles on the faces of most GarLycans loyal to him.

  “I protest!” Kado sputtered.

  “Shut up,” Aveoth snapped. “I’m not done.” He deepened his voice further. “You will listen to what I have to say before anyone else interrupts.” He eased Jill’s hand off his arm, not taking his attention off Kado and the advancing siblings. He lowered his voice. “Go sit with my mother,” he urged Jill. “Please.”

  She did as he asked, leaving his peripheral vision. He didn’t dare track her movements but knew she was safe.

  He gripped his own sword handle and raised his voice again. “No one has ever dared ask me why I challenged Lord Abotorus.” Instant silence fell over the room. Aveoth continued. “He and the council, all those years ago, determined adding Lycan blood into our clan was a mistake. They were plotting to annihilate each and every one of you with a drop of Lycan blood running through your veins. Lord Abotorus had decided to murder his own mate, the Lady Galihia, and myself so he could breed with a pure-blooded Gargoyle.”

  Shock crossed many faces, followed by rage, but a group of his most loyal nodded in agreement, already aware of the past that had been avoided.

  Kado opened his mouth, but Aveoth drew his sword and pointed the tip at him, holding his gaze, daring him to say a word. The Gargoyle clamped his lips together.

  He lowered his sword. “I challenged Lord Abotorus to prevent that tragedy from happening. It would have destroyed this clan. No lord should have the right to demand any of his people kill their own children and mates. It’s an abhorrent abuse of power. Yet…that was their plan.

  “We’re stronger than ever as a clan with our mixed bloodlines. We’ve thrived and grown in numbers. I keep track of the Gargoyle clans who are our enemies. Not a single member of those clans will ever have the option of claiming a mate, or holding a child in their arms. It’s the very reason the first group of Gargoyles fled Europe and settled in this mountain. They wanted a future—and we’ve become that future. I will never allow GarLycans to be called a mistake, or to be wiped out.”

  He glared at each face of the council. “The slaughter of younglings and mates will never happen in my clan. I will no longer tolerate the prejudiced belief that pure-bloods are better than half-bloods.”

  He let his words sink in to the assembled.

  “I’ve waited a long time for this day…and it’s time to make a point. I want every GarLycan and Lycan mate to go to the left side of the room, and pure-blood Gargoyles to step to the right side. Now,” he thundered.

  His clan divided, the vast majority of them on the left side, with just over a dozen on the right. He waited until they were done positioning themselves and peered at the Gargoyles. “Hawk, would you kill your own sons?”

  The Gargoyle flashed a look of pure rage. “Never!”

  “It wasn’t an insult. I already knew what your answer would be, and of your love for Fray and Chaz. As I said, I’m making a point. Some of the men around you can’t say the same.” He lifted his sword to the council members, one at a time pointing them out. “They plotted with Lord Abotorus to demand that you kill your mate and sons. Council members, look to your right. Your clansmen are never going to allow you to do that.”

  “You’re lying!” Kado roared.

  Aveoth jumped, clearing the stairs and landing near the four council members. “How dare you. You don’t even have enough honor to be truthful to your own clan. You slink behind closed doors and plot like snakes, yet think we’re beneath you! You four conspired with Lord Abotorus to murder every Lycan mate and GarLycan in this clan, and you don’t even have the balls to admit the mistake you made.” He eyed the other three members. “Do any of you have the honor to admit the truth? Or are you as spineless as your leader?”

  Domb raised his chin. “I have honor. Lord Abotorus was correct in stating Lycan blood poisoned our clan and needs to be cleansed. The council agreed—and we still do.” He shot a look of contempt to the other side of the room. “Your feelings make you weak,” he sneered. “I hear you laughing and making light of things with your jokes. You gather in your little groups to have fun. It’s pathetic!” Then he turned to look up at Kelzeb. “My son is my greatest disappointment. He chose friendship over his own father and has defied me on too many occasions. There’s no honor in that. My mate is an annoyance I’ve had to deal with on a daily basis, and for what? To gain him in my life? I regret allowing her to birth him!”

  Kelzeb jumped from the dais to land next to Aveoth.

  Aveoth prevented him from attacking by making a low growl, trying hard to avoid bloodshed.

  “Protect the women,” Aveoth demanded.

  Kelzeb made a grumbling sound deep in his throat but backed up, returning to his previous spot.

  Aveoth glared at Domb and allowed his wings to slide out. He spread them wide and slightly shelled his body. “Do I look weak to you? I could take on all four of you, kill you the way I did Lord Abotorus. I refuse to call that traitor to the clan my father. He was the disappointment, and so are you.”

  None of the four members reached for their swords and most of the Gargoyles backed away from them, distancing themselves from the council. Only Elco and Winalin remained close. It told Aveoth who remained loyal to the four. That didn’t come as a surprise.

  “You recently held a secret meeting and plotted to force me to mate Winalin. That will never happen. Your dreams of turning this clan into what you wish are over. It ends today.”

  He backed up a few steps so he could see more of his clan, staring at the faces of the GarLycans and their mates. “You’re alive today because I refused to allow you to be slaughtered in the name of prejudice. You’re strong, valiant, and I am proud to call each of you my clansmen and women.”

  He turned his head, addressing the council and the two siblings backing them. “I mated Jill. Mixed-bloods are what made this clan strong. My mate his half human and half VampLycan.”

  Someone softly gasped from the crowd, but that was the extent of the reaction from the GarLycans. Pure rage showed on the council members’ faces, though. Domb even reached for his sword.

  “Do it,” Aveoth dared him. “I’d take pleasure in killing you.”

  Domb withdrew his hand and placed it behind his back.

  “I will not lie about her bloodlines. The VampLycan is very weak in her, but it’s there. She is my mate, will one day birth my younglin