Spectrum (Stone Society #14) - Faith Gibson Page 0,11

that wasn’t all parlor tricks. I can show you my wings if you need further proof.”

Cyrus picked up the whiskey. Instead of adding more to his mug, he drank from the bottle instead. After wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, he dropped into the recliner. “Say I believe you. What does that mean for me? I can’t do all that.” Cyrus waved his hand in Zeke’s direction.

“It’s because you haven’t met your mate. We only recently discovered what causes the half-bloods’ transition. Unfortunately, I ran into my mate about thirty years ago and didn’t know it. I’ve been living without her all these years because I didn’t know she was the reason.” Zeke left out the part about Stella being a toddler at the time. “If you had come across your female, or male if you prefer, you would have given over to your Gargoyle.”

“If I haven’t met them in fifty-three years, what makes you think I will now?”

“Because it is our way. Our niece, Xenia, only found her mate a few weeks ago, and she’s forty-seven. Keene showed up for a date while Xenia was going through her transition. She was freaking out, throwing shit at Keene, yelling for him to get out of the house. Luckily, another niece, Sophia, showed up at that moment and walked Xenia through what was going on. All these years I thought Xenia was our sister, but Jonas had convinced our brother, Sam, to put his first-born up for adoption the way he and Caroline had with most of us. Not only did Xenia find out she was a Gargoyle but that the man who raised her was actually an uncle on her mother’s side. Sophia found out the female she thought was her aunt was really her sister. It’s all a little convoluted.”

“Why did Jonas put us up for adoption? And you said most of us.”

“When Jonas met Caroline, Gargoyles had never mated with humans. He was ostracized from his Clan, and he took Caroline and fled Italy. When she got pregnant with their first child, they were on the run. Caroline wanted children, but Jonas convinced her letting others raise most of their offspring was for the best. Two years after they had me, Gabriel was born. For whatever reason, they kept him, but they probably wish they hadn’t. His story is tragic, but we’ll get into that later. Caroline had seven more children, but when she got pregnant with Isabelle, their last child, Caroline refused to part with her daughter. When Isabelle was old enough to notice her parents weren’t aging, Caroline left Isabelle with Jonas. When he deemed her too much to handle on his own, he sent her to live with a husband and wife who were friends of the family, while Caroline watched over her from nearby. Isabelle thought her mother had died, and it wasn’t until a few months ago she found out that wasn’t true.” Zeke scrubbed a hand down his face. “There are so many stories surrounding our family, but those can wait until later.”

“I’m not sure I want a mate if having one comes with such turmoil.”

“It’s worth it when you meet the one the fates send you. As Gargoyles, there is only one perfect being for us. You haven’t met yours for a reason, although only the fates know what that reason is. I met mine in passing thirty years ago, then yesterday I was standing in line at the airport, and there she was. Our King, Rafael, spent almost six hundred years thinking he’d never find his mate, then one day the chief of police came calling regarding an incident at one of Rafael’s warehouses, and boom – there she was.”

“What if I had found a partner already? What happens to them when my mate comes along?”

“That has happened, but more often than not, the spouse isn’t a good one. The marriage doesn’t last for whatever reason. Rafael’s cousin’s mate was married when he found her, but the husband was a horrible human. He was killed after kidnapping Abbi, and now she and Frey are happily mated.”

“If I never find my mate, what happens?” Cyrus had stopped drinking and was focused on all Zeke was telling him. Zeke took that as a win.

“Life as you know it will continue. You’ll remain human. Keep aging. Nothing will change. If you do meet your mate, you’ll know it because you’ll feel sick to your stomach for no apparent reason. If