As I’m going through edits for Knights of Stone: Bryce, part 3 in the Highland Gargoyles series, I thought I’d share an excerpt from Lachlan’s book.
Knights of Stone: Lachlan
As the new alpha of his gargoyle clan, Lachlan takes on a leadership role at the historic peace talks between the wolf shifters and tree witches. Cooperation is crucial to their survival. The magical veil over the Isle of Stone is weakening. But unity is hard to achieve when tensions are running high. So is Lachlan’s concentration when a sexy wolf shifter rushes to the talks. Her wild beauty is mesmerizing.
Raina has her hands full with pack problems, from pack mates succumbing to blood lust to animosity toward her species. The source of her problems is clear-the gargoyles. If they hadn’t lured the humans to the island with their unconventional rock concerts, she wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout. She wants nothing to do with them, especially their alpha. His not-so-surreptitious glances are hard to miss. Nope. Not the kind of attention she needs. She’s heard rumors of the rebellious, attention-seeking rockers–and of their endless string of females.
But when humans come to investigate the wolf attacks, Lachlan and Raina must work together to coerce them off the island. And time spent together sparks a forbidden attraction. If unexpected love were their only problem, they’d be able to deal with it. It’s not. Time is running out, for them and their island.
Excerpt
Raina’s skin burned under someone’s gaze. When she glanced up, she caught Lachlan staring at her. She’d heard of the gargoyle brothers, but had never seen any of them until now. They appeared more wild and rugged than what she’d envisioned for glamorous rock stars. He didn’t shift his eyes when she’d caught him, but continued to watch her; his posture straight and sturdy as the oaks behind him. She propped her hands on her hips and glared back to show her displeasure, however the shade of his eyes distracted her—a blend of green and brown, reflecting the colors of the island’s forests.
He winked and flashed a cocky grin. Och. How arrogant. What did he think she was, one of those impressionable human females who’d fall over themselves to get closer to one of the band mates? Not going to happen.
The rumors about the reckless gargoyle brothers were now easy to believe. They were notorious on the island for rebelling against their clan. Instead of keeping their identity from humans, they’d played music for them. Entertained them. Encouraged them to return to the island.
She turned away with disgust. Damn him. The gargoyles were the main reason they were all in this mess right now. If they didn’t keep the humans coming back with their unconventional rock concerts, the humans may have left the isle alone. But no, the gargoyles’ wee antics kept them coming back, drawing more humans each time. Her father spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts about the brash gargoyle.
“Our pack is committed to working with all of you to restore the veil.”
The only upside to the horrendous incident was it forced the islands natives to come together in these peace talks. After all, her father had been the one to appeal to a gargoyle and tree witch who’d been meeting in the moors. The veil was essential. Not only did it keep the island undetected by humans, it also provided a shield against the potent effect of the moon on wolves. Young wolf shifters were especially prone to the moon’s power.
Raina shuddered as she remembered the way it had been for her. In her teens, the moon had driven her half mad and with a longing for blood, and she’d ravenously torn into many deer on the island to sate the blind need. With the veil having thinned even more in the last five years, the young wolves struggled to maintain self-control.
In recent weeks, her stirrings had returned, different than the bloodlust of her youth, yet one that left her restless and prowling in search of something. The problem was, she didn’t know what her wolf wanted. Confusion and frustration often followed.
Her pack mates teased her saying she was getting ready to mate. Och, she couldn’t even think of that. She and Seth already bickered like an old couple, and they hadn’t even mated, yet. Today he’d made her late for the peace talk. He’d tried to convince her he should be the one to return, although they’d decided the day before they’d each have a turn at the momentous event, which would affect the future of the pack on the Isle of Stone. It was her chance to make a difference, take on more of a leadership role; she couldn’t let him take it from her.
Lachlan responded to her father, recapturing her attention. “We need to organize these ideas into a plan.”
His brogue was deep and gravelly; he spoke with a commanding yet reasonable tone. Despite her objection to him and his cocksure attitude, she caught herself sneaking another glance. After all, she’d heard so much about this mysterious species they shared the island with.
All negative.
Still her gaze traveled over him, somewhat transfixed. His long black hair gleamed under the sun’s rays, falling over defined shoulders and halfway down his back. He’d assumed a confident stance that fit his powerful body. Wolf shifters were naturally strong, but gargoyle shifters transformed from stone. Every ripple and contour of his bare torso reflected that aspect. The overall package was enticing, making the lure for human females understandable.
She wasn’t a human female and knew better. How foolish they were to fall for womanizing bad boys in a wee, appetizing parcel wrapped in blue tartan.
Och, wee wasn’t the term to describe the massive gargoyle.
“Man do I love these gargoyles! They are hot and Rock Stars and, and…I just love them! I loved rough and tumble Lachlan’s story..”
“I started reading this book and in what seemed like minutes I was hooked. I could not put this book down. It was funny, sexy, and fascinating.”
~ 5 Stars from Alpha Book Club!
~ 2 girls who love books blog
Buy Links:
Read more about the Knights of Stone on the Highland Gargoyles series page.