Chapter Six

Waking from roost, Trynche lifted his head and stared at the hay bales around him. He found the scent of the bales coupled with the aroma of horse and leather soothing. It wasn't his mate, but he would take any help he could get to stay calm and in control.

The prior evening, he'd nearly gone out of his mind waiting to hear news of Enrique. He'd hoped his mate would want to check out the damage to his helicopter, but according to the gargoyles keeping an eye on the bird, he hadn't. Trynche had heard from Biscane that Jory had driven him to the airstrip to pick up his truck, sharing information about gargoyles in the process.

Biscane had winced as he'd shared, "Uh, he also mentioned how gargoyles can get their male mates pregnant." With a shake of his head, he'd squeezed Trynche's shoulder and gave him a commiserating look. "I think that really, really freaked him out."

"It usually does when they first learn about it," Trynche conceded softly.

Even knowing his mate had needed a day to decompress and process hadn't made waiting for him any easier. Fortunately, his friends had kept him busy. There was also the fact that he had his own duties to perform. Every gargoyle enforcer on the place spent a few hours flying the perimeter, searching for encroaching rogues.

The vampire Spieron had a great head for rotating schedules and routes, so the rogues couldn't get a bead on any routine.

It made it interesting for them, too.

"Hey, Trynche. Get your ass movin', man."

Trynche recognized Gladstone's voice. The dark-brown gargoyle was mated to a kind human named Dayvid, who handled the greenhouse. He was also another of Elder Bodb's brothers, working as an enforcer for him.

"Coming," Trynche replied, rising to his feet. He lunged, spreading his wings, and perched on the top of the four-bale-high wall that was used to hide the part of the loft that the unmated gargoyles roosted in. Seeing Gladstone standing below with a crooked smile curving his lips, Trynche paused. "Uh, what's going on?"

From the expression on Gladstone's face, Trynche couldn't help the bloom of hope that filled his chest.

"Your mate came here this evening. Drove in following Archer."

Excitement flooded Trynche, and he quickly dropped to the loft floor. "Really?" He heard the excitement filling his tone and saw the way Gladstone's smile widened even as he lifted his hands. Ignoring the move, Trynche started toward the loft doors, intending to fly out. "Where is he?"

"Hold up." Gladstone rested a hand on Trynche's shoulder. "Calm down. You don't want to go storming in there all gung-ho." With a rueful smile, he told him, "I don't think he's ready for that quite yet, but at least he's here looking out for our interests."

Trynche forced himself to still. "What's that mean?"

"Evidently, the video recording auto-uploaded to Enrique's cloud account before Spieron could delete it." Gladstone winced as he eyed him. "You knew there were a couple things on there that are a little hard to explain."

Grimacing, Trynche nodded. "The rogue's wings as he swooped in to hit Enrique's bird, then a bit of me while I was checking my mate and removing the helmet." As Gladstone nodded in confirmation, Trynche continued, "Did he delete it? He said he'd protect our secret."

Trynche wasn't certain what the problem was.

Gladstone heaved a sigh as he stared out at the night sky through the open loft doors. "It's not that simple." Shaking his head, he let a growl enter his voice. "Evidently, Enrique's password to his cloud account wasn't too secure." Meeting Trynche's gaze once more, Gladstone revealed, "Sheldon accessed his cloud account and watched the video. We have no idea if he downloaded it anywhere or what."

"Well, shit," Trynche whispered, his gut churning with unease. "What are the elders going to do?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Gladstone's crooked smirk reappeared. "And that's what we need you there to talk about." Patting him on the shoulder again, Gladstone pointed out, "He's your mate, so you should at least be involved." He pointed at the bunkhouse. "Go get cleaned up. Food'll be ready when you get to the main house. We're in the lounge."

Nodding, Trynche did as Gladstone instructed. He flew to the bunkhouse and took the quickest shower of his life. After wrapping a fresh loincloth around his hips and brushing his teeth, Trynche paused and rested his palms on the sides of the sink. He stared at himself in the mirror, taking in his coral skin, green eyes, and pale-blue hair.

"Keep yourself in check, Trynche," he ordered himself. "Your mate is a grown-ass man. He told you the other night that he'd been in the military." Thinking of the other night, Trynche immediately thought of the feel of his mate moving beneath his touch, the taste of him on his tongue, and the sounds he made while in the throes of passion. His cock instantly thickened, and he grunted as he frowned at himself. "Enrique isn't here for sex. You need to support him in this problem, not try to tell him what to do or get him in the nearest bed."

Although, his mate and a bed sure sounded fantastic.

Scoffing, Trynche rolled his eyes and straightened. He headed out of the bathroom and moved swiftly through the adjoining bedroom. The lingering scent of his mate still hung in the still air, since it was the same one he and Enrique had used the other night, and no one else had been in there.

With a sigh, Trynche hustled down the bunkhouse steps and out the front door. He jogged across the backyard and bounded up the steps and over the expansive back deck. Reaching the back door, Trynche took one more deep breath, hoping for calm and control, before heading inside.

"Grab food, Tryn," Pauline encouraged from where she stood, placing a fresh stack of breakfast burritos on a warming tray. She smiled kindly at him as she pointed at the spread. "It'll give you something to focus on other than the fact that you're going to be sitting with your unclaimed mate."

Offering the ranch's cook a grateful smile, Trynche followed her advice and began filling up a plate. Pauline was a fox shifter mated to the gargoyle Lebone. Being a paranormal herself, she knew about their massive appetites and always put together an expansive spread.

Plus, Pauline was a kick-ass cook. Trynche couldn't remember when he'd eaten so well on a regular basis. It was definitely before Elder Cliatno's chef had decided to retire nearly two decades before. The elder hadn't been happy with any replacements, and Trynche hadn't blamed him. None of them had been as good as their resumes had claimed them to be.

Dismissing his random thoughts—Trynche felt so scattered with his mental conflictions due to finding his mate—he grabbed several sausage, egg, and cheese burritos, a couple dollops of hash brown casserole, and half a dozen each of bacon strips and sausage links. He filled a cup of coffee, adding a dash of cream to it. Finally, he filled several small paper cups with spicy picante sauce for his burritos. At the last second, Trynche remembered to snag a couple of cinnamon rolls since the spice was a natural contraceptive to a gargoyle's sperm.

With everything in hand, Trynche smiled again at Pauline and started toward the hall that led to the massive lounge used for meetings and movie night.

"Good luck, sweetie," Pauline called from behind him.

Trynche turned and smiled again. "Thanks."

Then Pauline winked and reminded him, "Don't forget the importance of the mate-pull. Just you sitting near him will affect him, too."

Nodding at that reminder, Trynche turned and resumed his trek to the lounge. He paused at the door and hesitated. Then he used his elbow to knock on the door.

The right one of the double doors instantly slid aside, and Lludd offered him a tight smile. "Hey, man. Welcome." The purple gargoyle lowered his voice and muttered, "Enrique's pretty tense. Maybe you can help him relax."

While Trynche was pretty darn sure Lludd didn't mean relax in that way, he couldn't help thinking about how he'd helped his mate relax the other night. Seeing the other gargoyle enforcer's smirk, he growled under his breath and scowled at the large male. Lludd lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug and turned away.

Trynche stepped into the room and quickly scanned it. He immediately spotted Enrique sitting on a barstool in the corner. He almost looked as if he were using the fully-stocked bar to his right as a shield, separating himself from... well, all the gargoyles filling the room. Trynche assumed that because they all knew that Enrique was his mate and knew about their kind, they all felt comfortable staying in their true skin.

Or it could be the shock value.

It's also possible that they're doing their best to help—not so subtly—acclimate my mate to the presence of paranormals.

He supposed either option was possible.

Taking a deep breath, Trynche started toward Enrique. He noticed the exact second that his mate spotted him. His human's shoulders stiffened, his eyes widened, and he straightened just a little on his bar stool.

Trynche did his best to ignore the reaction and placed his plate before a barstool kitty-corner to his mate's. That put a little space between them so he didn't crowd his human. After taking a sip of his coffee, Trynche eased onto the barstool, keeping half his attention on Enrique.

To Trynche's pleasure, he spotted the second that his mate must have caught his scent. Even humans were affected by the smell of the other half of their souls. His eyes widened just a smidge, and his nostrils flared. Enrique even licked his lower lip before dipping his head and focusing on whatever drink rested before him.

Slow and steady.

"Hi, Enrique," Trynche greeted softly. Picking up his first burrito in one hand, he used his second to drizzle a little picante sauce onto it. "It's good to see you. I hear Sheldon's going to be a pain in the ass."

"Yeah." Enrique rotated his glass on the bar, glancing from Trynche to the drink and back again. "Wish I'd never taken that damn job, but the money was good, and gas prices have skyrocketed." With a growl, he finished, "Damn economy."

Trynche caught a whiff of whiskey on Enrique's breath. Coupled with his short ramble, he figured the drink before him wasn't his first. He nearly smiled, thinking that meant he could keep his mate for the night under the guise of not allowing him to drink and drive.

Then the man's words registered.

"Well, I'm glad you took the job, Enrique," Trynche told him after swallowing his bite of food. He really was hungry after waking from roost. "Even though it brings a little trouble to us."

Enrique narrowed his eyes as he looked at him. "Why?"

Trynche chuckled around his mouthful of food. After swallowing, he told him, "Well, it brought you to me." Seeing that Enrique was still confused, he explained, "It allowed us to meet, Enrique. You're the other half of my soul, the single person on this earth that I can bond with, forge a lasting relationship with."

Setting down his food, Trynche took a chance and reached over to rest his hand over Enrique's. To his pleasure, his mate didn't pull away. Gently, Trynche used his thumb to rub his mate's pulse point, feeling it begin to speed up.

I love how he's affected by me.

Trynche knew it was Fate's way of helping the human accept his or her paranormal mate. Learning there were other species living on the planet was normally pretty traumatic for the average human. While Trynche wouldn't trade his mate for anyone or anything, he definitely thought gargoyles who found their mate in another paranormal had it far easier.

That's okay. My mate will be worth any work I have to put in.

"I know you're still processing, Enrique." Trynche kept his voice a low, soothing rumble. "I look forward to learning everything about you and helping fulfill all your wishes and desires."

Trynche picked up his fork. Wanting to give his mate a minute to process his words, he took a bite of his hash brown casserole. He waited, trying to be patient, as he enjoyed his food.

Scoffing softly, Enrique peered at where Trynche held his wrist. "All my wishes and desires, huh?" he mumbled.

Nodding, Trynche silently confirmed his mate's words.

"Don't really have any of those anymore," Enrique mused, his voice quiet. His expression turned a little vacant as he took a sip of his drink. After setting it back on the bar, he stated, "For the longest time, getting my business up and running, keeping it solvent, was the only thing I thought about. Lived and breathed work." Scoffing, Enrique admitted, "Lost a few boyfriends and girlfriends to it. Said I didn't make time for ‘em, and they were right." He peered at Trynche with a pained expression. "I'm really not relationship material, man."

Trynche felt his heart speed up when he saw that look. His mate wasn't denying him. No, instead, he was warning him. His mate worried that Trynche would be the one who ended up hurt.

Aww, my poor mate. I'll prove him wrong about that soon enough. He definitely needs a paranormal, someone who'll understand how to care for his needs and be devoted just to him, and I'm that man.

"I understand how your job can overshadow your time for a significant other," Trynche began slowly, mentally searching for the right words. "It happens with everyone. That's just life." When Enrique met his gaze with a disbelieving look, Trynche told him, "There'll be times that I must put my duty over spending time with you." He used his fork to wave behind him at the others clustered around the room, talking quietly. "One of those gargoyles is Elder Cliatno. Technically, he's my boss. I'm an enforcer for him. It's my job to keep him safe."

"Sorta like a bodyguard," Enrique offered, perhaps trying to fit Trynche's job title into a frame of reference he could understand.

Trynche nodded once. "Sorta. I work with a team to assess risk to his planned activities and make certain he's safe while doing them." Chuckling, he grinned. "Yeah, just like a bodyguard."

To Trynche's pleasure, Enrique smiled and even offered a soft chuckle. He sobered quickly, though, as he looked at those around them. His eyebrows furrowed, and he appeared troubled.

"That means you have a pretty dangerous job at times." Enrique cocked his head, his expression turning sharper as he eyed him. "You said you were chasing a rogue. That one of the elders went rogue."

Trynche nodded. "Yes, and yes." Rubbing over Enrique's pulse point again, he told him, "But try not to worry. I'm very well trained."

"It sounds like a civil war is brewing," Enrique stated. "The gargoyles who want to subjugate others against the ones who want to keep your people in the shadows."

Nodding again, Trynche murmured, "Yes, I guess you could call it that."

"Good thing I'm former military then." Enrique's smile turned hard. "I'll start carrying again. You'll have to let me know what a gargoyle's vulnerable points are so I can watch your back."

Trynche's heart felt as if it skipped a beat, and he smiled at his mate.

While Trynche had no desire to see Enrique in danger, the thought that he wanted to stand beside him still warmed him from the inside out.

Yep. My mate's worried about me. Gods, my mate is perfect.