Mason: Knights of Stone: Highland Gargoyles, #1

By Lisa Carlisle

Shifters in kilts on a mystical Scottish isle!

 

"If you like shifter books, romance, and hot alpha men, you have to read this series."

 

Kayla, a curious witch, crosses into forbidden territory to sneak into a controversial concert.

 

Mason, a gargoyle shifter, catches her. When he discovers she's an enemy to his kind, he must resist the attraction.

 

Too much is at stake with the wolf shifters losing control. And the full moon is coming...

 

If you like men in kilts, paranormal thrills, and forbidden romance, you'll be hooked by this series.

 

"Well now, I have decided that I want to visit this mysterious isle as often as possible, I love the mystical ambiance, the sexy gargoyle brothers (kilts...need I say more?) and fascinating world which held me hostage from the very beginning..." ~ Night Owl Reviews

 

Meet five rebellious brothers and binge this complete series today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Carlisle
• Release date: Oct 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781502288615

Lisa Carlisle

USA Today bestselling author Lisa Carlisle loves stories with dark, brooding heroes and independent heroines. For much of her professional career, she’s written non-fiction — but she’s discovered writing romance is the most fun. Her romances have been named Top Picks at Night Owl Reviews and All Romance Ebooks. When she was younger, she worked in a variety of jobs, moving to various countries. She backpacked alone through Europe, and lived in Paris before returning to the U.S. She owned a bookstore for a few years as she loves to read. She’s now married to a fantastic man, and they have two kids, two cats, and too many fish. Visit her website for more on books, trailers, playlists, and more: Lisacarlislebooks.com   Sign up for her newsletter to hear about new releases, specials, and freebies: http://www.lisacarlislebooks.com/subscribe/ Lisa loves to connect with readers. You can find her on: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Goodreads If you enjoyed reading this set, I’d greatly appreciate you leaving a review. It means a lot to authors. Thank you!

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

As the last trails of fiery sunset faded, the crowd pushed Kayla closer to the stage. They knew what happened once darkness fell. She recovered her footing and focused again on the five life-sized stone gargoyles perched on pedestals on the perimeter of the stage. The space between them was set with instruments—guitars, a drum set, mic stands, and massive amplifiers, while a bonfire in a pit behind them cast the statues in a warm glow.

A stagehand with tartan draped over one shoulder climbed onto the stage and walked to the closest statue. He fastened the kilt over its shoulder and around its waist with a thick belt, covering the statue’s massive thighs. Kayla flushed, picturing why the coverings were necessary once the transformation began. The kilt had become a key detail in her fantasies about the guitarist, since it was the only clothing he wore. The stagehand continued dressing each statue with the same brilliant blue tartan worn by the gargoyle clan.

The last vestige of sunlight disappeared from the sky, and night draped the stage like a closing curtain. The statues loomed, dark silhouettes barely discernible by the crescent moon with the backdrop of the craggy cliffs and the rugged peaks of waves in the Atlantic Ocean behind them. The murmur of voices was replaced by silence. Waiting…

Five torches blazed on the stage all at once, lit by an unseen force. The audience erupted in cheers as the dancing lights from the flickering fire basked the statues. The flames lowered, casting the gargoyles in an eerie, almost reverent glow.

Movement. So slight, Kayla wondered if it was simply a play of light and shadows in her anticipation for the change. She fixed her gaze on the statue in front of her, the one she’d gravitated to each time she had sneaked out to see the show. Its massive gray form stood straight on two legs built for sturdiness. Its chest jutted out proudly. Gray wings with detailed feathers etched in the stone arched from a point below its shoulder blades. Eyes cast straight ahead on a face that appeared to be a mixture of canine and lion. Its right hand twitched, so slightly she would have missed it if she hadn’t stared so intently. Then a clawed foot inched forward.

Murmurs of astonishment burst from the crowd as the transformation began. Their cries of fervor grew louder as the monstrous statues transformed into taller, slimmer figures with the bronzed skin of warriors who battled under the midday sun. The tartan fabric fell over their thighs as they stood erect, covering their nudity.

Kayla barely blinked, mesmerized as always, as the statue before her stood to full height, taking on the form of a human male, but with beautiful raven wings. Hair just as black snaked rebelliously past his chin. The stony eyes flickered with animation, turning to a mossy green. His deep gaze seared the audience, seeming to burn anything in the path. When he found Kayla, he stopped. His expression was unreadable, but the intensity in his unblinking stare made her swallow. She froze under the scrutiny as if hypnotized, unable to break eye contact. Her stomach lurched, heart pounded, and every muscle in her body tightened, fueled with blood now scorching through her veins. His penetrating appraisal affected her so. When his eyes took on a smoldering glint, her skin tingled and a red-hot awareness grew between her thighs.

He broke the stare and continued to assess the audience. She gasped and then panted while she tried to slow her breathing to a normal rate.

He turned on robust legs and strode to a guitar stand. She tore her eyes from him to note the other gargoyles. They, too, had shifted into the form of striking males. One had black hair draped down his back, one had long blond hair, and two had reddish-brown hair—one wavy and shaggy, the other straight. They took their place at other instruments. She sought the guitarist again and caught the first sound of the pick striking the strings. On hearing the guitar projected through the amp, the crowd roared again, pressing Kayla forward.

The freak show was about to begin.

Spotlights flooded the musicians, powered by solar panels near a massive amplifier. The guitarist continued playing, and the others joined in, playing a raucous crossover between hard rock and heavy metal. The one with long blond hair grabbed hold of the microphone and belted out a shattering cry that sounded like a call to battle. The crowd went pin drop silent to listen and then cheered in unison as the band played on. The front man sang piercing growls and low croons about the Knights in Stone, the protectors of the ancient forests, battling against the evil tree witches.

Kayla’s coven.

She shouldn’t be here. The Isle of Stone was divided for a reason. The island’s inhabitants—the witches, the gargoyles, and the wolf shifters—had agreed to stay out of each other’s territory after a great battle a quarter of a century ago had led to many casualties.

If she was caught trespassing here—no, she couldn’t bear to think of the consequences.

And yet, she couldn’t stay away either. After she’d heard the faint sound of music from gargoyle territory and had learned they’d been performing concerts, her curiosity had grown. She’d never been to an actual concert before, only heard about them from other young witches with their fascination for human lifestyles.

She’d never even left the island. The tree witches kept to themselves, a self-sufficient coven specializing in certain skills. The witches sang, played music, and danced at the gatherings around the fire, but nothing like what she’d heard coming from the gargoyles.

Several nights ago, she’d taken the bold step, slipping through the shadows to the border of their lands as she’d strained to hear more. Intrigue drove her closer until she’d taken a hesitant, precarious step across the boundary. The music had called to her like a dangerous siren’s song, compelling her to approach despite the reminder with every drumming heartbeat that what she was doing was wrong.

And could be disastrous.

Once she’d approached the crowd of humans, it had been safer to hide in plain sight among them.

Then she’d spotted him.

The guitarist wasn’t just beautiful, but the music he’d played enraptured her. She’d never imagined an experience like the gargoyles’ performance, and she was hooked.

Despite the risk, she’d ventured back again the next night to hear their unique sound and to watch the guitarist with hair as black as midnight. She’d returned to her home build in the trees in witch territory each night and had fantasized about him. What would it be like if they could be alone?

But that was impossible. The gargoyles were the witches’ sworn enemy. To be here wasn’t just forbidden, it could be catastrophic.

She should be a good witch and do what she was told. Namely, not standing on gargoyle territory like she was doing now, desiring someone with whom she could never have a chance. Not only did the witches despise the gargoyles, but they loathed the witches.

If a gargoyle found her here on their land…

Kayla swallowed. There was only one option—she had to sneak back home before she got caught.

Blood pumped through Mason’s system, animating him during the transition to his human form. Every cell in his body ignited with the change from stone to flesh.

He scanned the crowd again for any threats. Since humans on nearby islands had discovered the island, it was only a matter of time before the government found out about it. If they discovered shapeshifters lived here on the Isle of Stone, no doubt they’d try to capture them and study them in a lab.

Once assured there were no threats, he searched the crowd for the woman he’d been thinking about. Energy from the change to human form invigorated him, especially his libido, and his focus was on finding her. He spotted the pixie-like female three rows back.

She’d returned.

This was the fifth night he’d seen her at the Knights of Stone shows, the name he and his brothers had come up with for their band. Each night, she’d moved a bit closer, braving the frantic energy of the audience. She intrigued him, and he searched for her every evening now, assuming she must be from the nearby islands. She had to be—the other inhabitants of the isle weren’t permitted here, so she couldn’t be a wolf shifter or witch. None of them would dare trespass into gargoyle territory.

One of these nights, he would have to seduce her, to get this woman who’d penetrated his thoughts out of his system. But whenever he’d searched for her after the concert ended, she’d disappeared. Where to?

Mason needed to find a way to get to her before she left, and he wanted to get her alone, away from this crowd. At least, she didn’t appear to be with anyone who might be an obstacle in that goal. Peculiar. How many trips had she taken to the isle alone?

Humans on nearby islands had only recently discovered the Isle of Stone. In decades past, the three clans of the island—tree witches, gargoyles, and wolves, had cloaked their land with many layers of protection. Their combined magic had created such a powerful force it had remained undetected by human technology. After a feud had erupted between the witches and gargoyles twenty-five years ago, it had led to a division of land. Without reinforcements from the clans’ combined magic in recent years, the protection slowly seeped away. Humans on nearby islands sailed over and discovered the bountiful land and its mysterious inhabitants.

Mason’s youngest brother Calum shrieked a wild cry that began the next song, The Hunt. Mason and his brothers played a driving instrumental that quickened as Calum sang a tale. The object of the hunt was left ambiguous—it could be an enemy, an animal, or even a lass—but as the music rose to its climax, it