Her Gargoyle and the Seven Orphans: The Gargoyle Shifters of New York City, #4

By Amelia Shaw

The final Mansovich brother, gargoyle shifter Gabriel, is sick of waiting for his mate. All of his brothers have stumbled upon their Beloved's in the last few months, but not him. That is until he follows his shifter instincts and accepts an invitation to a charity ball. Gabe is there to party and pick up, like every other night. But fate has other plans for him.

Angelique's parents died when she was in her early twenties, so she took that money and property and found a way to turn something horrible into a blessing for some else. In fact, she blessed seven foster children with her love and support, and her life is going along just fine.

When Gabe and Angelique meet it changes everything, but their happily ever after is contingent on staying alive, and with Rose's stepmother out for blood, and the shifter's enemies... that may be harder than they first thought.

Steamy shifter paranormal goodness.
 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harley Romance Publishing
• Release date: Aug 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223440437

Book preview

Chapter 1

GABE/GABRIEL

Our new apartment was incredible. Expensive, dark and a little too edgy for my taste, but the security features were second-to-none. Bullet-proof glass, ten-inch-thick reinforced internal walls, and a panic room that would make any prepper cream in their pants.

My brothers were happy, their Beloveds were set on redecorating the whole place and our head of security, Bill, was already updating the security cameras and adding passcodes for each bedroom door.

It was insane how ‘secure’ life had become. Which was great for everyone who now craved security. Everyone with a Beloved.

For me, the whole set-up felt more like a jail than anything else.

You ready? Roman called out, flicking his head toward the living area that faced the direction the sun would soon rise over the horizon.

Yeah, coming. I sighed, getting to my feet to trudge out to the new area we’d designated for our daytime sleeps. To be honest, I miss the fresh air.

I stepped onto my stone circle, ready for the sunrise and the moment I’d turn into a stone gargoyle once more. Ever since Rose had discovered that we could actually move our shifting places from the roof of the New York Public Library to our apartment with its super-charged security, everything had changed.

We’d moved our four stone circles into the new location and we spent every day there. Most nights, too. Or my brothers did, anyway. Now that they had all found their Beloveds, none of them wanted to spend their nights clubbing and bedding women.

That was an activity I had to pursue on my own. Which held little appeal these days.

Rafe grunted at me. If you miss the air, then go out tonight. Don’t stay in with us. I, for one, don’t miss the panic of waiting for the next attack on top of the library.

Rafe knelt down into position and I heaved another sigh. You’re right. And in a way, he was. I was definitely calmer now, not fearing the moments we were in stone form and helpless against an attack if someone tried to destroy us.

My skin tingled as the sun rose, the early morning light stretching across the city like the fingers of God.

My wings turned to stone, my feet shifted to claws, and I was pulled down into a crouched position that shrunk my frame into a size that fit with my gargoyle.

Our bodies were frozen, but our minds were not. I watched as my brothers’ wives walked over to their respective partners’ statues, kissing them and talking to them softly, before retreating to their beds for sleep. I tried not to feel anything. Not the jealousy that threatened to roar through my heart, nor the loneliness that came with being the only one of my brothers that hadn’t found his Beloved.

Would I ever meet her? I was beginning to doubt it. And with that thought, the loneliness settled over me like a miasma.

I was determined that no-one would know of my feelings. I was frozen and would stay that way until the sun set in the west once more. And when we shifted back to our human form, I would pretend that I was happy being the only brother without a fated mate.

Until then, I stared ahead, trying not to miss the view of the city I’d had when we’d lived our daytime hours atop the New York Library.

THE MOMENT MY STONE body melted away, I jumped off my circle and marched straight to my room for a shower. The new apartment’s ensuites were massive, and far too luxurious for a single person.

I intended to pick up tonight and bring them home, let them enjoy the claw-footed free-standing bath and the huge shower. I’d been wanting to try that out for sex.

I showered and changed into black slacks and a soft blue shirt. Then it was dinner time.

When I walked back out to the lounge area I expected to have the place to myself, like I normally did now that my brothers had their Beloveds, but everyone was sitting around on the couches, enjoying a cocktail or a drink.

You guys haven’t gone straight to bed? I asked, mixing myself a drink with the whiskey they’d left on the counter. That’s unusual.

Roman, who was the nearest to me on the couch, looked up with a grin. Just relaxing for a moment, brother. We need our energy for the bedroom, after all. Come and sit. Let me share the good news with you, too.

I picked up my tumbler and walked around the couch to face my oldest brother. Good news?

The news of our relocation success has spread, and our Canadian brethren are planning to move tonight.

That’s great news. I took a sip of my drink. It was certainly something to celebrate. Too many of our gargoyle cousins had been destroyed by the so-far nameless enemy that seemed intent on killing every single one of us. What do the elders think?

The room went quiet and I glanced from one brother to the next.

I couldn’t help the amused smile that lifted my lips. Yeah, didn’t think they would be so happy about it. They didn’t like it when we moved our stone circles here, did they?

The elders were sticklers for tradition. They preferred to keep things the way they’d always been done.

Roman sat up straighter, pulling Chrissy in closer. They will have to deal with it for the moment. Until the danger is gone, we have no other choice. Resting here during the day is so much safer than where we were before.

I still think we should move. Nate said, grabbing his Beloved and kissing her hair. Texas, Australia. I don’t care where.

I laughed at his suggestion, then realized he was serious when his gaze settled on me. You must be joking, I managed to sputter out. We can’t leave New York.

Nate’s eyebrows flicked up. Why not?

I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. The only argument I had was the fact that we’d always been here, and we