Page 8 of Curse of Ancients

“Yep. The more you practice, the sooner you’ll have control over both. I know you and the other female Goyles fuss about not getting wings, but can you imagine those suckers popping out when you least expect it? Talk about painful. I couldn’t leave the house for a week.”

Carleigh supposed it could be worse. Then again, Harlow was a Goyle/Gryphon hybrid, and Carleigh had always been jealous of her cousin. Until now. She continued the back and forth, learning to speak while her fangs were out without them digging into her bottom lip. It took a couple of hours before Carleigh felt well enough for Harlow to go back to the office.

Christina, who had stayed at Connor’s house to visit, showed up later, and the three of them binged a rom-com series. When it came time for supper, Carleigh opted for ice cream to soothe her aching gums. Harlow checked in often, and she also sent Carleigh the little bit of information she’d dug up on Bayu Tan. Carleigh couldn’t wait to do her own reconnaissance on her mate.

The next morning, Carleigh felt as though she had her phasing under control well enough to go to the office. Harlow had dropped her car off, so she didn’t have to call for another rideshare. Carleigh went in the back way, avoiding everyone since she looked like crap.

When she entered the office, Harlow gave her a once-over. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. A little achy in the gums, but other than that, I feel fine.” Carleigh took her seat behind her computer. “I’m ready to do some research on my mate.”

They worked in silence other than the clacking of their keyboards. Harlow startled Carleigh when she muttered, “Oh wow, he’s hot.” She had offered to monitor the safehouse where Steele Securities had taken their latest client while Carleigh did a deep dive on Bayu Tan. “Wait, wait, wait. C, look at him!”

Carleigh dragged her focus from her screen to the larger one in front of her cousin. “I have my own hot guy to—” No way. No fucking way could it be this easy. “Zoom in.” Harlow did so, and there in the safehouse was Bayu Tan, stunning Asian male, who worked at Goldmeier Financial Group in the same building where Steele Securities had their office. She recognized him from his photo in the company directory. “Why does my mate need a bodyguard?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure Tabitha would tell you.” Harlow leaned back in her chair. “Damn, C. You two are going to make some beautiful babies.”

“We will, won’t we? But first…” Carleigh picked up her phone and called Tabitha.

“Hey, C. What’s up?” Tabitha answered.

“I need all the information you have on Bayu Tan, like why he needs a bodyguard.”

“Hoo, boy. That’s a long story, and it’s one I can’t talk about over the phone. Why the interest?”

“Because he’s my mate.”

“Seriously? How do you know this? When did you meet him?”

Carleigh slumped in her chair and explained how she reacted to his scent in the elevator, then found the same scent upstairs in Sebastian’s office, where she got Bayu’s name from Grace. “Harlow drove me to Juniper’s since I was about to transition, and I didn’t think I’d make it home. You all weren’t kidding when you said it sucks. Anyway, I felt well enough to come into the office this morning. Harlow was monitoring the safehouse while I did some research on Bayu, and when she pointed out the gorgeous Asian, I knew it was him from his picture on his company’s website.”

“Oh, boy. Carleigh…” Tabitha hesitated, and Carleigh held her breath. “Give me about half an hour to finish up here, then I’ll walk over to see you.”

“Is it that bad?”

“I’m not sure. Again, not something I care to speak about over the phone, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll see you soon.”

Carleigh thumbed the call off and leaned her head back. Harlow’s chair wheels squeaked as she rolled closer. Putting her hand on Carleigh’s arm, she squeezed. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it.”

Carleigh rolled her head to look at her cousin. “Thanks, Low. Why can’t we all have it easy with our mates like Tabby and Major?”

“I don’t know, but I’d say that whatever you’re fixing to go through will be worth it. It always is.”

Carleigh knew Harlow was right, but dammit to hell and back. She stared at the monitor despite her stomach yelling at her. Silas Mayfield, a Gargoyle from her dad’s time who had relocated from the West Coast several years back, was chatting with Bayu when he paused and looked at something on his phone. He returned his focus to Bayu and started talking again. The cameras in that safehouse didn’t include audio, and that pissed Carleigh off. She wanted to hear him speak. Did he have an accent? Was his voice deep, or was he soft-spoken? She hadn’t found much about him online other than where he worked and lived. Bayu didn’t have any social media accounts, which was odd but not unheard of. She had yet to dig far enough into his background to know who his parents were, where he was born, or how long he’d been in Atlanta. He’d been in his current job for seven years, and he resided in an apartment not far from where she was sitting.

“We really need audio in all the safehouses.”

Harlow, who’d gone back to her desk, sighed. “I don’t disagree, but Mason wanted their clients to have a modicum of privacy. Now that Tabby and Major are in charge, that’s changing.”

Instead of researching more, Carleigh propped her feet on her desk and watched the monitor. Harlow didn’t give her shit for it. She wouldn’t since finding one’s mate was the most important event in a shifter’s life. When it was Harlow’s turn, Carleigh would be there for her every step of the way. She was still staring at Bayu when Tabitha strolled into the office.

Tabitha pointed at the monitor. “That would be so much better with audio. You would probably have learned a lot about Bayu during his chat with Silas.”

Carleigh dropped her feet and sat up, giving her cousin all her attention. Harlow stopped what she was working on too. “Okay, spill.”

Tabitha pulled up a chair and crossed one leg over the other. “Bayu’s story is almost as surreal as Elle’s.” Carleigh sat entranced as Tabitha wove a fantastical story about the handsome male. It almost sounded too surreal, but if dragons and fae could exist, why not a Nuhuala? Gods, Carleigh’s mate was a being blessed by an ancient god? And a white tiger at that? Connor’s drawing now made sense.