Beloved Fate [Hands of Fate 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

  And that was enough.

  For the first time since the night his parents died, Nikos didn’t feel an overwhelming rage and a need to find those responsible. He just wanted to lay in bed with Yannis and watched the handsome gargoyle breath.

  Since the moment Yannis came back, it seemed like time had stopped. But as the first rays of dawn began to break over the mountains in the distance, Nikos wished that time would stop just a little longer.

  Daylight was coming, and that meant Yannis would turn to stone until nightfall. Nikos wasn’t sure how he would stand the hours of separation, not after giving himself so freely to Yannis just hours before.

  Tears prickled Nikos’s eyes as the first morning rays filtered through the window and landed on Yannis’s chest. His breath caught in his throat, and he quickly reached out to catch the last seconds of warmth in his Beloved’s skin.

  “Yannis,” he cried out as soft, pink skin turned gray and cold. His heart ached, and he felt like he was dying inside, his soul shriveling up to nothing. As much as he didn’t want to watch his lover turn to stone, he couldn’t bring himself to look away. This was a part of Yannis that he would have to grow used to.

  Nikos leaned up and gently brushed his mouth over Yannis’s, the tears in his eyes falling freely at the coldness of his lover’s lips. He told himself it would just be for a few hours and then Yannis would be back with him, calling him Beloved and discovering the world around him, trying to protect him from the phone.

  Just a few hours and— Nikos blinked.

  “Yannis?” he whispered as he leaned back a fraction of an inch, afraid to hope. His eyes rounded, growing large with each passing second as he watched the cold hard gray stone of Yannis’s body crack, the little pieces flaking and falling off, revealing beautiful, soft, pink skin.

  “Yannis?” Nikos crawled closer, moving until his body pressed against the gargoyles.

  Hoping he wasn’t causing the man any pain, Nikos gently picked off a piece of the flaking stone. It was thin, almost like the hard coating on a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone. It fell off easily, more bits and pieces cracking and breaking and falling to the mattress.

  Nikos licked his lips, his eyes darting to Yannis’s eyes and then back down to his chest. “Yannis, please wake up. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m scared.” He was even afraid to touch Yannis any more than he already was.

  “Hush, Beloved,” Yannis murmured as he rolled to his side and wrapped his arm around Nikos, pulling him close to his chest. “We will get up soon and eat. I need a bit more rest.”

  “Yannis!” Nikos shouted.

  Yannis’s eyes flashed open, focusing instantly on Nikos. “What it is, Beloved?”

  “It’s daylight, Yannis.”

  Yannis’s lips tilted up as he started to smile. “Nikos, I have explained to you that I turn to stone during the daylight. As soon as Apollo drives his chariot across the sky I will—”

  Nikos grabbed Yannis’s chin and turned it toward the window, right into a ray of light. Yannis inhaled sharply and jumped back.

  “By the Gods…” He stared at the light as if he had never seen it before. “Beloved, what—”

  “Trust me, Beloved,” Nikos whispered into the man’s pointed ear as he laid his hand over the top of Yannis’s, lining their fingers up, their skin pressed tightly together. He slowly stretched their hands out into the soft streaming light shining in through the window. After a moment, he pulled his hand back, leaving Yannis’s hand in the sunshine.

  “It’s so warm,” Yannis murmured as he turned his hand one way then the other. The light seemed to move over Yannis’s skin like a wave, turning his normally cold, gray skin pink and warm until not an inch of the gargoyle looked like stone anymore.

  His hands suddenly went up to his head, grabbing his horns, then around behind him, touching his tail. Nikos heard a whoosh and watched, dumfounded, as Yannis spread out his wings and swept them through the air. He realized Yannis was checking to make sure he still had everything like someone might make sure they still had their legs after an accident.

  “Is this normal, Yannis?” Nikos asked after letting the man bask in the light for a little while. He was terrified that this would harm Yannis is some way.

  “There is a legend, a myth really,” Yannis said in a voice filled with a combination of astonishment and trepidation as he looked down at his flesh-colored body. “But it was just a myth, Beloved, something told around the fires at night to those fantasizing about finding their Beloveds. No one ever believed it.”

  “Tell me about it,” Nikos insisted, wondering if that was the root of what was happening to Yannis.

  “It is said that when a guardian finds his Beloved, he claims him. When a guardian finds his True Beloved, his Beloved claims him.” Yannis had a glint of wonder in his crimson-red eyes when he turned them on Nikos. “You claimed me last night.”

  “When I bit you?”

  Yannis nodded. “That completes the bonding between us.”

  “So, this”—Nikos waved his hand at Yannis’s body—“is what is supposed to happen?”

  “It is called a molting. It happens only once in a guardian’s lifetime, and only if he is claimed by his True Beloved. After this, if the legends are true, I can turn to stone at will but I will never be forced to become stone unless I choose it. The daylight and darkness no longer rule my transformation.”

  Nikos scrambled up onto his knees, excitement grabbing a hold of him. “You don’t have to leave me when the sun comes up?”

  “I do not believe so, no. But be forewarned, Beloved, what I know of this is merely talk. I have never encountered anyone that has molted before, or even met their True Beloveds. I might return to stone at some point.”

  Nikos frowned, confused and worried. “What is the difference between a Beloved and a True Beloved?”

  “A Beloved is chosen by the Moirai at the time of our creation. Our life threads are entwined together so that when we claimed each other, we will be together through this life and the next.”

  “Right.” Nikos nodded. “You explained this before.”

  “When a True Beloved is chosen, the Gods themselves pick the threads that go together.”

  “And this means what?”

  “The bond that we have will be much stronger. Already I have been able to feel your emotions. Soon, I will be able to hear your thoughts, and you mine.” Yannis sounded practically gleeful, excited.

  Hell, the damn gargoyle sounded proud.

  “And this is a good thing, this bond?”

  “Oh yes, Beloved.” When Yannis reached for him, Nikos eagerly went into his arms. As much as he wanted answers to what was happening, he figured he could get them while still being close to Yannis.

  “This doesn’t hurt you, does it?” Nikos asked as he plucked a piece of gray stone off of Yannis’s arm and dropped it over the side of the bed. Althea was not going to be happy about the mess.

  “Not at all, Beloved. I believe it is much like peeling skin from one of your sunburns.”

  “Do you know how amazing this is, Yannis?”

  Yannis grinned as he lifted Nikos up in his arms then rolled from the bed and stood, walking quickly across the room. Nikos felt Yannis’s hands grab his ass as he wrapped his legs around the man’s thick waist.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I have never made love to my Beloved in the sunlight.”

  Nikos’s eyes widened. He could feel how excited Yannis was by that prospect. The proof was pushing against his abdomen like a steel pipe. Nikos laughed as he waved his hand toward the balcony. “The sunshine is that way.”

  Nikos chuckled as he watched Yannis bask in the sunlight like a lazy cat. He had never seen anyone that was so excited to see sunshine, or sit in it, stretch out in it, eat in it, sleep in it. If there was sunshine inside or out, Yannis was in it.

  Currently, the large gargoyle was standing in front of Nikos’s office window, soaking up the afternoon
sun. As masculine as the man was, he looked absolutely adorable as he sat cross-legged on the floor, his face tilted up into the warm rays coming through the window.

  Nikos shook his head and went back to his research. He was going back through his books, looking for anything that might pertain to gargoyles. So far, he had been unsuccessful in finding anything.

  There were hints that there was something else out there, but no actual words. The more Nikos researched, the more confused he grew. It was almost as if history knew of the gargoyles but refused to admit to their existence.

  Nikos glanced at the notes he had made after talking with Yannis. He knew that the man was hundreds of years old. He had been born around the time Gods and Goddesses walked the earth.

  And he was not human.

  Despite the new, softer pink skin he now had, he still had wings, horns, and a tail. Yannis was pretty sure he always would. He didn’t remember anything from his legend that said he would lose his wings, horns, or tail.

  “You should come sit with me, Beloved,” Yannis called out from across the room in clear, crisp English. Nikos had been amazed at how quickly Yannis had learned modern day Greek and English from the language program he had bought him. The gargoyle was smart as a whip. “This is wondrous.”

  Nikos laughed, mostly at the way Yannis seemed to enjoy the sun so much, but just a little at the childlike excitement in his voice. It was like Christmas every morning when the sun came up.

  “Let me finish up with these notes and I’ll come sunbathe with you.”

  “What are you working on, Beloved?” Yannis asked. “You’ve been very intent on those notes for days.”

  “Remember that I told you I had been researching things that went bump in the night since my parents were killed?”

  Yannis nodded.

  Nikos tapped the notes in front of him with his finger. “This is some of that research. I’m looking to see if there is anything that talks about gargoyles or the Brotherhood. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.”

  No sooner did the words leave Nikos’s mouth than something shattered the window and slammed into Yannis, throwing him back several feet. Nikos cried out as he jumped to his feet and rushed to Yannis’s side.

  Nikos cringed in horror when he saw blood rushing from a ragged bullet hole in Yannis’s shoulder. Before he could do anything, the door to the study swung open and Sahm was standing there, gun in hand, his eyes quickly scanning the room for danger.

  “Over here,” Nikos said. “Help me get him to a more secure room.” The last thing Nikos wanted was for one of them to be shot by a second bullet. He wasn’t sure who was out there or why they were shooting, but his number-one priority was to keep Yannis from any further harm.

  Together they managed to get Yannis to one of the first-floor rooms that had only one window, and it sat so high that Nikos knew no one could see inside. He was worried beyond words when he saw the blood continuing to flow, but Yannis was out cold. He knew nothing about gargoyles and their genetic makeup.

  Could it be that different from getting a bullet out of a human?

  Flesh was flesh, right?

  “I have to secure—”

  “Go,” Nikos said as he tried to figure out how to get the bullet out of Yannis. It wasn’t like he could call a doctor. The door closed behind Sahm as Nikos ran to the bathroom for towels and rubbing alcohol. He knew he needed to get that wound cleaned. The bullet being removed was another complicated matter.

  As he reached for the towels, Nikos saw just how badly his hands were shaking.

  Pull it together. Yannis needs you.

  Taking a deep and steady breath, Nikos gathered what he could and hurried back to the room. Yannis still hadn’t woken up, and that concerned Nikos more than the wound. The bullet had gone into the shoulder, opposite side of his heart—if the man’s heart was on his left side.

  Setting towels on Yannis’s massive chest, Nikos was ready to pour the alcohol when he noticed something peculiar. The entrance wound was slowly moving, the flesh looking as if it were working to dislodge something.

  Nikos sat there in dumbfounded astonishment as he saw a small shiny, blood-covered object slowly emerge. It was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen. Nikos was half-tempted to reach over and help the healing process, but feared his interference would halt the bullets slow progress from Yannis’s body.

  “Is he all right?” Althea asked as she slid into the room, whispering like the bad guys were in the closet, or somewhere close by, waiting to jump out at them if they spoke too loudly. Nikos was still too stunned to say a word. He just sat there and watched the bullet finally push free and tumble from the wound onto the bed.

  “Well, that’s different,” she said as she stared at Yannis’s self-healing body. “A handy trick to have.”

  And Nikos couldn’t be happier—considering the dire situation—that Yannis possessed such a unique healing capability.

  “I’ll leave you two alone since it seems he is going to be all right. I just wanted to let you know that so far Sahm hasn’t found anyone on the grounds.”

  Figures.

  “Thank you, Althea.” And then he had a thought. “I think he’ll be hungry after expending so much energy to heal. Could you make him something hearty to eat?”

  She looked relieved to have a task assigned to her. “I’ll have him fed and on his feet in no time.”

  Again, Nikos couldn’t see his life without her loving hand.

  When the door quietly closed, Nikos glanced back down at Yannis, wondering if he were just going through some sort of healing sleep. He placed his hand over the man’s heart and let out a breath of relieved air when he felt how strong it beat under his palm.

  Whatever was going on with the man’s body, Nikos was pretty confident he would wake up soon. No sooner had the thoughts crossed through his mind than Yannis’s eyelids fluttered open. Nikos yelped when he was tossed from the bed when Yannis flew to his feet, his fangs extended, his wings spanning out behind him. He had a look of pure rage in his eyes.

  “You’re safe!” Nikos quickly said as he got to his feet. Yannis looked like he didn’t know where he was, as if he were driven by instinct alone.

  “What pierced my skin?” Yannis asked, his tone laced with heated anger.

  “A bullet.” Nikos pointed to the bed where the bullet still lay on the sheet. “But your body spit it out.” He glanced at the wound to see it was already starting to heal. Nikos was still amazed at what he’d seen.

  “What is this bullet you speak of?”

  Nikos blinked rapidly. “Uh, well, a bullet is…uh…”

  “A high-powered projectile,” Sahm said as he walked into the room.

  Yannis’s head cocked to the side. “Like a stone propelled from a sling?”

  “Yes, but at a much faster rate of speed. Slings were used centuries ago. Now days we use firearms to propel the projectile.”

  Yannis just looked more confused. “Firearms?”

  “The earliest depiction of a firearm is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan, China, from around the 12th century. Since then, technology has advanced to the point where we can send a projectile out over a large distance. In fact, the longest projectile shot recorded to date is over 2,707 yards long.”

  Nikos was confused why that was significant, but Yannis seemed to understand it, his jaw dropping almost down to his chest. “That far?” Yannis’s voice was filled with astonishment. “How is that possible?

  Nikos glanced back and forth between Yannis and Sahm. The two men seemed to understand exactly what they were talking about. Hell, they were acting like they were best buds or something.

  If they bumped fists, Nikos was so going to come unglued.

  “The means of projection varies according to design but is usually effected by the action of gas pressure—”

  “Stop!” Nikos shouted when Sahm started to explain to Yannis about guns. “Isn’t anyone alarmed by the fact that someone shot Yannis
? Shouldn’t that be a little more concerning than how a damn gun works?”

  “Of course we’re concerned, sir, but there isn’t much we can do at the moment. The grounds have been searched, and there was no sign of an intruder. Without some sort of clue, I have nothing to chase.”

  Nikos cocked an eyebrow. “And you’re really excited about the prospect of explaining guns to someone that was a soldier just like you.”

  Sahm’s face instantly flushed, and Nikos knew he had hit the nail on the head. Men who had seen combat got excited when they could talk with men who had been through similar experiences. They understood each other where others who hadn’t been in combat might not.

  As far as Nikos was concerned, Sahm and Yannis could talk until they lost their voices—but only after they figured out who had shot Yannis, although Nikos had a pretty damn good idea who had pulled the trigger.

  He had never contacted the Brotherhood again after speaking to them that first time. He really wanted nothing to do with them, even if his parents had been members. He was disgusted by what the Brotherhood stood for. As much as he wanted someone to pay for what had happened to his parents, he wanted the guilty party to pay, not an entire species.

  “I fully believe that it was the Brotherhood,” Nikos said. “They see Yannis as an evil that needs to be wiped from the face of the earth. Besides the Brotherhood, only family knows Yannis is here, and I trust all of them, so it had to be them.”

  “Unless someone was trying to kill you and shot Yannis by accident,” Sahm pointed out. “You’re not exactly on the top of everyone’s hit list, but you have pissed off a few people here and there. This wouldn’t be the first time someone took a shot at you.”

  Unfortunately, Sahm was right, but Nikos still felt that it was the Brotherhood and that they were aiming for Yannis. “We still need to learn more about the organization. Something tells me that they are going to be very dangerous to Yannis.”

  “Is there anything about them in your books?” Sahm asked. The man was well aware of Nikos’s library. He had tracked down enough written work, files, and personal accounts to know Nikos had a seriously stocked collection.