Mated to the Gargoyle

When the statue awakens…

I love working in a private university library with its special collection of antiquarian books and works of art. My favorite sculpture is one of the massive gargoyle statues, one that’s perched near my desk. Visitors often remark how lifelike it is, and I’ll tease, “Maybe it is.”

One night, a frantic woman asks me to hide a book. It’s a fascinating one with intricate details and contains spells. When I’m shelving it after hours, I hear movement in the library.

Has someone broken in?

What I discover is far more shocking...

Mated to the Gargoyle is a fated mates, protector romance.

Had someone broken into the library? My pulse jolted up a notch as I listened. After several seconds of silence, I reassured myself that it was nothing. It must have been one of our harmless library “ghosts” again, wandering the old building after hours. Nothing to worry about.

I carefully shelved the spell book. Then I climbed down the ladder and exited the special collections room, locking it behind me. I headed up the stairs. Footsteps echoed off the tile on the lower level, alerting me that I wasn’t alone.

With my heartbeat echoing in my ears, I looked over my shoulder in slow motion.

Two men advanced, both wearing all black. I locked gazes with one, and we both froze as we stared at each other in surprise.

The shorter one demanded, “Where’s the book?” He ran up the stairs toward me with a threatening gleam in his dark eyes.

My brain finally jolted into action from its frozen state. Run!

A strangled scream ripped from my throat as I bolted up the stairs. Both men chased me, their footsteps approaching as I tried to outrun them. I broke onto the upper level and turned right in the direction of my desk, not that there was any way to escape them.

“Stop!” one of them shouted.

I rushed past bookshelves and around tables, gauging if I could use anything to my advantage or to shield me.

One was so close his panting seemed to surround me. He grabbed me around my waist. I shrieked as I struggled to escape his hold, but he tackled me. As the hard tile floor reached up to smack me, I barely had time to put my arms before me to break my fall. I greeted the tile with a wincing kiss and enough of an impact to steal the breath from my lungs.

He pinned me down from behind.

I scrambled to crawl away from him. “Get off me!” I screamed. “Help!”

He covered my mouth with his hand, and I inhaled a whiff of garlic.

“Stop it,” he seethed in a low, warning tone. “Or this will end up much worse for you.”

Every inch of me, every sense, was on high alert for what he’d do next.

“I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth. If you cry out, I’ll break your arm.” He twisted one of my arms behind me, emphasizing his threat.

I moaned at the sharp pain and closed my eyes.

When I reopened them, I blinked hard. A dark shadow moved above me. The gargoyle perched near my desk moved.

Massive gray wings unfurled as the enormous creature lifted from its perch and ascended into the air.

I gaped. It couldn’t be happening.

The gargoyle flew toward us, a dark shadow blocking out the light from overhead.

“Let her go,” the gargoyle said in a deep, seething voice iced with fury. “Now.”

Read what happens next in Mated to the Gargoyle!