Page 38 of Monster Daddies

I'm in trouble. So much bloody trouble.

Not because of what we just shared with her. That part was inevitable. We are fated after all. This was always going to happen. We'd find her, fall for her, claim her.

But I didn't expect this.

The tenderness winding its way through my body like ivy climbing onto stone and digging in, and rooting inside me.

This warmth isn't lust, but something deeper. Softer. Sturdier.

Our mate bond.

I can feel it. Threading through my core, reaching for hers.

But it doesn't change the fact that she's human.

She might not even be able to feel it. Not fully. Not like we do. And if she can't feel it, will it ever strengthen enough to link us the way gargoyles are meant to be bound? Will she ever hear us in her mind, like we hear each other? Or is this a one-way pull, doomed to ache and echo unanswered until the day she departs this earth... way too soon.

The idea makes my gut twist.

I glance across her to Jodrick. He's watching her too, eyes soft and glowing faintly in the dark. The love he feels for her is plain to see on his face.

There's no fear in him. Or maybe he's better at pretending.

I'm not.

I'm not built for this kind of vulnerability. Not after everything we've lived through.

Avalon lets out this little whimper, and her hand fumbles toward me in her sleep, reaching.

I catch it instantly, wrap my claws carefully around her fingers, and her whole body settles.

Holy fucking shit.

I feel it.

She trusts me.

And it ruins me.

Because she deserves everything, and I don't know how we're supposed to give it to her. How are we ever going to be enough? With her for only half the time she has left.

Unsure if our bond will ever, even truly form.

Regardless of the turmoil roiling through me, I shift closer, curling around her, protective instinct kicking in even now. Even in this haze of post-mating exhaustion and emotional whiplash.

Jorick meets my gaze, and for once, there's no teasing there. No smugness. Just understanding, solidarity, and brotherhood.

We're in this together.

So together we'll figure it out.

By unspoken agreement, we slip from the bed once we're sure she's deep in sleep. The room feels too quiet without her heartbeat between us. I miss it instantly. I miss her. And she's right bloody there.

Fucking pathetic.

The plan—if you can call it that—is simple. Make her something to eat.

Avalon hadn't had dinner yet, as we pretty much set about devouring her right after we awoke.