Io is a Masonry Gargoyle tasked with looking after old buildings to help maintain a balance, and he’s hopelessly in love with his alpha, Cinder. If only he wasn’t such a screw up. With Cinder’s birthday right around the corner, Io is convinced he has found the perfect gift -- Blackstone Manor, an estate that has captivated Cinder for years. He just needs to find the deed before the house is demolished.<br><br>Of course, keeping the gift a secret from the bitter beta Ran’imy may prove easier said than done. She has her sights set on Cinder, too. But Io is willing to do whatever he has to, including crossing a line that could get him banished from the clan.<br><br>He’s about to make a stand for love.

Blackstone Manor

Occasionally Io wondered why she felt the need to keep him down. She couldn’t possibly be threatened by him, could she? If he’d been in a better mood the sheer absurdness of such a thought would have made him laugh. Instead he experienced a twinge of sorrow, quickly swept away in the waters of determination.


“No more,” he said, his voice growing stronger with each word. “I’m done being her scapegoat. I’m done with always getting that look from him.” Every time things were mucked up and fault laid at his feet he earned a frown that was a mix of disappointment and frustration, perhaps with the slightest touch of sadness. It always left him broken inside, self-doubt and loathing twisting into a knot in his stomach. “If only I could stop screwing up.” Because even without help from Ran’imy his name accompanied a long list of blunders. “Just once I want to prove I’m a good gargoyle. That I am worthy of the Masonry title.”


Chapter 3