Page 17 of Gaming with the Gargoyle in Hallow's Cove

“Oh gods, Gabe! Yes!” she screams, and I’m finished. My body tenses and I shuttle into her. She’s sotightat my tip, I can’t even believe it, but then, like a thief in the night, I slip through some barrier. I feel the blunt rounded edge where I thought her canal ended and where my head just barely brushes it with each movement.

But, part of me continues past that. Part of me, a very sensitive part of me, extends beyond and has slipped inside her and suddenly, right as I explode inside her, filling her with my seed and hoping with everything that I have that it takes hold.

Gwen’s screams take on a higher pitch, though she doesn’t seem to be in pain, she’s clutching me so tight and staring straight into my eyes.

“Holy shit. Was that—was that normal? It felt new, it was amazing, don’t get me wrong, butthatdidn’t happen the first time.”

“Maybe I’m just getting better? I wasn’ttryingto do anything different.”

Gwen relaxes dramatically and puts a hand over her eyes. “Well, damn, keep doing it, even if you have no idea how you did it.”

But as soon as my mind clears and I can think straight for two seconds, Idoknow what has just happened.

I bonded to Gwen.

So yeah. I am like, super fucked.

Remember how I said I was fucked? I am even more fucked than I thought. A lot of races have fated mates, that the second they meet them or after some other trigger event, boom, they know and then it’s just a matter of like, logistics. Sometimes the bond is instantaneous. Sometimes the bond requires a mating bite or something. Gargoyles don’t have fated mates. We can absolutely develop a mate bond, but it takes a long time and a lot of sex… Usually.

But apparently, if you are obsessed with someone and in love with him for a long time, and you hang out with him all the time, and you are constantly surrounded by their scent, and then you finally have sex with them and then it is the most amazing experience of your entire life… you can form it the second time you have sex. So yeah, I’m super fucked.

The good news is that a bond to Gwen will, overtime, give me some flexibility around when I sleep. While I will always likely need to take a midday nap to soak up the sun, I shouldn’t automatically turn to stone the second it’s up. Gargoyles who mate other gargoyles aren’t so lucky, so I always kind of hoped that I would form a mating bond to a human, because I’ve always been fascinated by the day. Not to mention, that restriction makes it so that I have to sleep way more than the vast majority of people. Most people don’t go to bed the second it is dark or wake up the second it is light, but for my entire life, my life has been ruled by the sun.

Just before dawn, I tear myself away from Gwen to go find Brooks. If Jake was ever up this early, I might go talk to him, because he knows Gwen better, but he’s never up this early. Brooks on the other hand is a farmer. So he’s frequently up before the sun, and if he’s not, I know he won’t be pissed if I wake him up. If anything, he’s probably going to be smug as hell.

I take off, soaring over the end of Main Street, and for not the first time, wonder what it looks like during the day. What are the real colors of the businesses? A lot of them stay open late, because we have so many nocturnal folks, but sometimes it really is like there are two different towns, one of which I don’t know.

I circle Brooks's farm, and see the light on in his and Sydney’s kitchen and land on their front walk. Brooks is pretty used to me coming over early at this point, so by the time I’m sitting down at the table, he is preparing me a cup of coffee.

“Morning.” We grumble at each other. I don’t feel nearly as tired as I usually do at this point and that has me worried.

“I had sex with Gwen.” I blurt out.

Brooks’s eyes widen as he sits down at this table, crossing his hooves as a smug smile is quickly hidden by the coffee cup. “And now you need advice?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” Gods, I sound whiny, of all things, but I am panicking here. “Jake, snarky fuck, was right. I am a Fairfield, so we decided to have a baby. And… we had sex.”

“Congratulations?” Brooks says. “I don’t see the problem here. You guys are perfect for each other.”

“The problem is that it’s just the baby… and sex… a lot of really good sex, not being together. I—” Fuck my life, I’m going to have to fess up if I really want this to make any sense at all. “I’ve loved Gwen for years.”

I wait, but Brooks just sits there, staring at me like there is more to it.

“Is that it? No shit you love Gwen. I think we’ve all known forever. Maybe even before you,” He sets his cup down on the table and leans forward. “So let me make sure I’ve got this right. You love Gwen, and now you get to have sex and make a baby with her and you are… what? Worried that she won’t fall in love with you back?”

“Yes…” I don’t need to tell him all of it, right?

“No, there’s more there.” He shakes his head. “Gabe, you’ve come to the right place. I’m a mated man, who obviously knows how to make a baby. But if you don’t tell me the whole situation, how am I supposed to help you?”

I tap my feet on the floor, because this sucks balls. “Listen, it’s possible I’m accidentally bonded to Gwen…” I mumble.

Again, Brooks is staring at me. He could be the statue guy for all he moves. “How do you ‘accidentally’ bond someone? I feel like if you bit her or whatever it’s pretty—”

“Gargoyles don’t bite,” I say. “It’s just something that kind of happens. But usually it takes years. My mom wasn’t bonded to my dad until I was like six.”

“And this is a problem? If I could have locked Sydney down that fast, you know I would have.”

“That’s just it. She’s not ‘locked down.’ I am. Humans don’t feel it, not like gargoyles do. It’ll probably extend her life, but mostly… I’ll be able to stay awake during the day, feel like puking if I think about having sex with someone else, actually puke if I do, miss her a lot… Brooks, my mom died because my dad died.” I sit back in my chair and run my hand down my face. “Their relationship was a fucking nightmare. And sure, some of that was my mom’s fault. She kept going back to him, kept letting him in. She could have stopped before it formed. This isn’t something that happens this fast. It shouldn’t happen this fast.”