Chapter 1.

ANGELIQUE.

Waking up with the sunshine streaming into our master bedroom was wonderful. I was warm and cozy beneath the duvet; and my body ached in the best ways thanks to the loving I'd gotten from Gabriel through the night.

And best of all? Well... close to it anyway, there was no alarm forcing me to get up. I had no work to get to, and no children to get to school. We were on a forced vacation for the first time in forever, and I was enjoying every moment I could.

My eyes flew open, and I sat up, staring at the huge windows in fear of what I might see. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at Gabriel's stone form. There was no reason to panic.

"Oh, thank god." I put my hand to my chest and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. He was here, he was safe. We were all safe.

I threw back the blankets and slid out of bed, needing the bathroom. But before I went there, I sashayed up to the statue and stood in front of him, still naked from the night before.

"Good morning," I said, not completely certain if he could hear me or not. He'd inferred that they slept in their gargoyle form, but I wasn't sure what that meant exactly. "I'm going to have a shower, then check on the kids, but thank you for last night."

I covered his hand with my own, although his fingers resembled more of a claw than anything else in his gargoyle form. "Sleep well my love."

I wandered into the bathroom for a long, hot shower, forever grateful for my nanny Sharon. Normally I was a very active Mom, getting up early to be the first one to greet the kids. I'd make breakfast and we'd chat and go over their plans before the bus came.

But this morning I needed to gather my thoughts. I had a... I didn't even know what to call him. A boyfriend? A husband? A stone statue occupying the window seat?

Well, whatever I called him, he was now a part of my life. And due to that, he was now in my kids' lives. We were inextricably linked, that was for sure. For better or worse. And there had certainly been a lot of worse lately. And there may still be more to come.

I got out of the shower and dried myself. Despite the worry I had over the future, I felt insanely relaxed. Gabriel's love making was truly incredible. Every part of my body was sated and replete.

I got dressed into some comfortable leggings and a long sweater and left our bedroom. I wasn't sure where everyone was, but I was sure to find out. The first person I ran into in the hallway was Jenni my sixteen-year-old daughter, carrying a stack of books. "Oh hey, Mom."

She looked bright eyed and chipper this morning, which was good to see. "How'd you sleep sweetheart?"

"So good," she beamed. "My bed here is so comfy."

"Oh, that's great. I'm glad." I glanced around us as though people were going to jump out and yell ‘boo', "Where's everyone else?"

"Sharon has most of the kids in the library, studying. I was just taking some books back to my room to read."

I couldn't help the proud smile that tilted my lips. Jenni was brilliant. "Well, you go do that. I'm going to try and find some adults."

"Rose, Bella and Chrissy are in the conservatory." Jenni said, turning to walk away, "They're all really nice by the way."

I stopped and smiled, feeling a warm melting feeling flood over me. "Yeah... they are."

In falling in love with Gabriel, I'd also inherited three brothers and three sisters-in-law. For someone who'd hated being an only child, I'd officially got my wish. I'd never be alone again.

I headed towards the conservatory, finding Bella, Rose and Chrissy sitting in a circle of chairs around a table of sandwiches and cakes.

"Oh, good morning!" Rose called out, grinning at me. "Sleep well?"

I sat down with them, looking at the food with relish. "Yes, very." They were all staring at me so to avoid saying anything more, I grabbed a sandwich and shoved it in my mouth. I was starving.

"How's Roman doing?" Bella asked, looking at Chrissy.

Chrissy sighed. "He's alive. They brought him here after they'd operated on him, but he was still in so much pain. The doctors stayed with him and although I lay beside him for most of the night, it was hard. He was struggling to breathe and he's... well, I've never seen him like that. It was scary. He's always so strong."

Chrissy's eyes welled up with tears and Bella moved closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "He's going to be all right." Bella said. "They have incredible healing powers, we've all seen them. Look at Rafael."

I smiled at Bella and the love she had for her battered gargoyle.

"Have you heard anything from Anthony?" I asked the group, though more specifically Rose. Anthony had been her personal guard for many years and he'd stayed behind in New York to find out who'd been behind the latest attack.

She nodded and picked up her cell phone. "He's been texting me. He's staying at the apartment, so we have eyes in the city."

"And he can track down who did this to Roman." Chrissy added.

"Has he had any luck so far?" I asked her. I wanted to know specifics. "Do you know what the plan is going forward?"

The women shared a look before Bella said, "We were talking about that before you came in. We're hoping you're okay with us staying here for a while, just until Roman is better and they can work out the best way to survive this."

The three women waited expectantly and then I realized they actually needed an answer. "Oh, of course! You don't need to even ask."

"Oh, thank you," Chrissy gushed. "Your home is so beautiful, and although I didn't think it was possible, there's enough bedrooms for everyone!"

I laughed and grabbed another chicken and avocado sandwich. "Yeah, this place is insanely big. Ten bedrooms in the main house, and the servant quarters are just as big."

"Speaking of..." Bella said, "How many people are here? Do we have a guest list or something?"

I chuckled. "Um... it's just us, the guys, my kids and Sharon."

"Bill and the security team." Rose said. "There's about six of them."

"And there's a full-time housekeeper, grounds keeper and butler that live on the premises too," I added.

"That's a full house." Bella said. "And Bill's setting up better security as well, I hope you don't mind?"

I shrugged. "No, I don't. Whatever he thinks we need to be safe. Especially for my kids' sake."

"They're so beautiful," Chrissy gushed. "I was always a little sad about the idea of not having kids with Roman, but now we've got your seven to spoil! Can I be Aunty Chrissy?"

I couldn't help the happy chuckle that rose in my throat. "They would love that. I don't have any brothers or sisters, so my kids don't have much family. Just me, and Sharon of course."

Rose picked up her mug and took a sip. "They really are great kids, Angelique. I'm so sorry we've dragged you and them into it."

"You didn't drag me into anything," I said. "According to Gabriel, we're meant to be, or something."

"Fated." Bella added.

"You're his Beloved." Chrissy said with a knowing grin.

I laughed. "Yeah... I forgot you guys all have the same link to your men."

"We do," Rose said. "But we came unattached. You have a whole family that's been swept up into this."

"Well, we've just gotta find a way for all of us to be safe." I said, not wanting to go over and over the fact that my kids might be in danger. "We have security, and no-one knows where we are yet. We have to stay one step ahead of them. Whoever they are."

I wasn't entirely sure who we were fighting. Even now.

"Well, there's two lots of bad guys really." Bella explained. "The ones who've been killing off the gargoyle shifters from all over America. Our guys have been dealing with them for years."

"Then there's my evil stepmother Tania and her goons." Rose added. "Of course."

I frowned at Rose, still incredulous about that turn of events. "Because she wants your money, right?"

Rose sighed, her lips turning down. "Yeah. I don't need the money. I have Rafael, and that's all I need."

But the Hiltons didn't just have money, they had businesses, and real estate and old, family money. Something that most people wouldn't understand.

"But your parents willed their entire estate to you, didn't they?" I asked, wondering if this was something I should get my lawyers involved in.

Rose nodded. "Yep."

"So why not just give her half?" I asked. "Surely you can just gift her enough to make her go away?"

Not that I believed in bowing down to bullies, but this was her life at stake. And ours. We were worth a lot more than any financial sum.

"She wants it all," Rose said with a huge sigh. "And I'd be happy to hand it over to her, but I can't until I turn twenty-five. I have to inherit it before I can give it away."

"And she doesn't want to take that risk, obviously." Bella said, "She'd rather just inherit the whole lot herself because she'll be the only one left if you're gone."

"Yes exactly." Rose agreed. "I wish I'd known what she wanted and how far she'd go to get it. I would have signed something for her years ago."

"But we'd still be dealing with the assassins," Bella reminded her. "So don't think this is all on you. It's not, hun."

Rose nodded but had to wipe away the tears that fell onto her cheeks. "It's still horrible."

There was a long beat of silence, and the atmosphere shifted into something sad. I couldn't have that. Not now. We needed to stay positive, and strong. Together.

"Well, I for one am glad I found Gabriel, and you all," I declared, looking around the circle at the women. "I've always wanted a huge family. Hell... I adopted seven kids! And now... I have you three, and the guys. I feel very blessed."

Rose sniffed and Bella reached over to me, squeezing my hand. "We're so grateful for you Angelique."

"So, what are we going to do?" Chrissy asked, the big question hanging in the air.

"We're going to enjoy some lunch, then take a nap," I said with a sigh. "I'm exhausted."

The girls laughed and we chatted more about the house and the kids while we ate. The future was the opposite of certain. It was a dark cloud on the horizon promising rain.

But before mother nature hit us hard, we'd have to enjoy the calm before the storm. I'd found my new family, and I wasn't going to let anyone take them away.