Gavin opened his eyes, adjusting to the dim light of the table lamp. He’d spent many hours envisioning how today’s events would play out. Fiona’s body was safely tucked against him. He’d held her all night as the hours had passed, finding contentment in her presence. He wished they could have remained naked, so he could stroke her soft skin, but they’d both dressed to be prepared for an inevitable return of their captors.

An hour or so later, the door flew open. She gasped, woken from the intrusion. Gavin jumped into a defensive stance, in front of the bed.

Mark and three other men entered. His gaze skimmed over Fiona. “I’m surprised you’re still alive.” He pointed to Gavin and commanded the four guards, “Take him back to his cell.”

Gavin assessed the guards. They were armed. He recognized the strange weapon that had rendered him useless yesterday and the guard who had done so. Gavin could tear the men to pieces with his bare hands, but if one reached him with the weapon, he’d be useless for some time. And unable to help Fiona.

“Are you going to go willingly in the cuffs, or do you prefer we incapacitate you again?” Mark asked.

Gavin stared at him and snarled. He’d make this despicable human pay. He held out his arms for the restraints.

“Good choice,” said one of the guards. “You’re heavy as fuck.”

“Don’t hurt him,” Fiona pleaded.

Mark gave her a pointed glare. “How did you manage to avoid him mauling you to shreds? By manipulating him some more?”

“Don’t talk to her,” Gavin warned. “Don’t even look at her.”

It was a weak threat. The guards tightened the cuffs around his wrists and led him through the lab space where he surveyed the other closed doors on either side of the lab space. What was trapped inside?

He wiggled his hands, clenching them into fists. He flexed the muscles in his biceps. The numbness had gone from them. Although the restraints likely held silver and affected his magical abilities, such as being able to communicate, it shouldn’t hamper his gargoyle strength. That was a physical attribute of his kind, not a magical one.

The guards escorted him into his room, shackled him back to the wall, and then left. After they closed the door, he counted to fifty while he prepared his next step. It was risky, but since he’d end up dead anyway, he had to take it. If there was any chance of rescuing Fiona and their child, he’d take it.

Gavin yanked on the chains. Aye, he still had his strength. He shifted to gargoyle form to maximize his abilities. Then he pulled again with all his might, tearing them from the walls. The cuffs remained around his wrists, but he was no longer bound to the walls. Chains hung to the ground. He repeated the motion with the chains binding his ankles. The guards might have heard the sound, but at least he wasn’t restrained. He had to get back to Fiona.

He assessed the door for the best way to break through. Backing up, he then launched into a sprint and ran full force to kick the door. It worked. The wood splintered, and the lock gave way, but the clatter of his chains echoing on the tile floor would alert the guards.

As he rushed toward Fiona’s room, he paused to take another gamble. He slammed down with both fists on the door handle adjacent to his room, breaking through the lock. A thin man rose from a wooden chair. He wasn’t restrained by chains, but a chain mail vest was draped over his torso, likely coated with silver.

“Hurry! The guards will come.” Gavin tore at the chain mail. It was fastened with a lock in the back, but it was easy for him to rip through the thin coils of metal.

The man said, “Thanks,” and pulled the torn vest over his head.

“Help the others escape.”

Gavin ran out the room broke through the locks of two more doors. He had no time to see who was inside. He shouted the same warning and sprinted to Fiona’s room.

Fiona paced in the room. Hope flickered through the darkness of her situation. Sure, they were locked up and might be killed by a madman, but she and Gavin had committed to each other. If she was going to die, at least it was with the knowledge that he loved her.

Sounds outside the room caught her attention. Shouts and crashes. Like a battle had erupted out there. Her breath quickened. Was Gavin in danger?

Her door opened, and a winged creature burst into the room. She shrieked and stepped back. It was enormous and gray from head to foot, with a wingspan that doubled its size. It had horns and claws, which could cause significant damage—like ripping out someone’s throat. Her heart thundered in her chest, pulse rocketed to the heavens.

“It’s me, Fiona,” the creature said. “Gavin.”

Her mouth dropped open. No, it was impossible. Yet, the deep timbre of his voice struck her with familiarity. And his features as well. They were much larger than normal, but somehow recognizable as his.

“Gavin?” she repeated. “How?”

“No more secrets, right? This is my gargoyle form. It’s optimal for combat.”

Fiona blinked. That was what a true gargoyle looked like. This form was as far from the attractive guitarist that practically melted the panties off his adoring fans as she could imagine. It was more monster than man. The dark wings behind him were enormous and imposing.

She gulped. She was carrying a baby with this blood inside of her. Her pulse raced. A swirl of confusion mixed with fear as if propelled by storm winds.

“You need to come with me,” he insisted. Offering her his hand, he added, “Now.”

She stared at his gray hand, and her gaze traveled up his arm to the rest of him. This was Gavin. The father of the child. The man she’d just declared she loved.

Or gargoyle. Whatever he was, she had to accept him in all forms, even in this intimidating one. She had to snap out of it and shove her apprehension aside. Gavin was still Gavin no matter how terrifying he appeared.

She swallowed and took his hand. “Aye.”

Gavin led her out the room and into an arena that appeared to be a mad scientist’s laboratory. What she saw looked more like a horror movie set than reality. Creatures she guessed were a vampire and werewolf judging by the fangs and wolf-like appearance clashed with their captors, who were armed with weapons. A tall thin man fought with another guard. The guard fired the weapon, but the thin man blocked it with some type of light shield he’d conjured out of thin air. Scientific equipment on tables smashed to the ground. Broken glass covered the floor. She stepped around it as he led her through the chaos.

Gavin shielded her with his enormous wings as they advanced through the battle. He maneuvered to their left and smashed down on a door handle. The metal crashed to the floor, and the door frame splintered as if it had imploded upon the impact. Damn, he was unbelievably strong—stronger than any being she’d ever encountered.

He shouted, “This is your one chance to escape.”

A blond man exited with a fierce expression. In the next blink, he lunged forward and shifted into a tiger. It landed on one of the armed guards. The guard screamed and fired aimlessly, and bullets hit the walls, as the tiger tore out its throat. Blood splattered across the white tile. Fiona gagged at the gruesome destruction, but Gavin continued to the next door, and repeated a similar warning.

From it exited a wolf. It, too, joined in the fight. Fiona turned her eyes away to avoid witnessing a repeat of the last scene. The excruciating sound of a man’s horrified shriek confirmed he endured a similar violent end.

Gavin rushed her to the end of the workspace. As they approached a door with an emergency exit sign, Gavin howled in pain. He turned and threw a guard against a wall. His weapon shattered as it smashed onto the tile. He crumpled into a lifeless form, limbs twisted unnaturally.

Goosebumps prickled all along Fiona’s skin. She’d just witnessed Gavin kill a man with his bare hands as quickly as a heartbeat. Gavin continued directing her to the exit, but something was wrong. His steps were slower, and he jerked as if in pain.

He hurled open the door leading outside. “Go!” The door closed behind him, but he kept it propped open with his foot.

Rolling green meadows appeared before her with smoky gray mountains in the background. The serene landscape seemed incongruent to the nightmare housed in the middle of it.

Why wasn’t he coming? She turned to him. His overlarge, gray features were etched with pain. His wings sagged behind them, not high and magnificent like they had been. Singe marks marred their magnificence.

“Gavin, you’re hurt!”

“The bastard got my wings,” he spat through gritted teeth. “But, the rest of me is fine. You must get out of here, Fiona. Head east toward Inverness.” He pointed. “Get our child to safety.”

“But, what about you?” she pleaded. “I can’t leave you like this!”

He was injured. No way could he head back into a battle like that.

“It’s only my wings that are shite right now.”

She glanced at the door behind him and then the way forward, where the sun rose with glorious fiery colors over the horizon, as if lighting the way. “Why don’t you come with me?” she begged. “We could go somewhere far from here. Get our baby away from these monsters.”

“I’ll come to you as soon as I can,” he promised. “I can’t let that horror continue. We have to end this once and for all.”

She lowered her head. He was right. But, he was injured, decreasing any odds in his favor.

“I’ll wait for you, Gavin.” She reached up to her tiptoes and kissed his gray cheek. The texture was tougher than soft human flesh.

He cupped his cheek where she’d kissed him. “If I don’t make it, take care of our child. It’s critical that you keep our identity a secret.” He nodded back toward the hellacious lab behind him. “Find my brothers. They’ll help you.”

This was all too much to take in. “All right, but please—please be careful.”

He turned and opened the door back into hell. Before he headed in, he met her gaze. “I love you.”

The door slammed behind him. She stared at it and whispered, “I love you, too.”

Time ticked on as Fiona traveled through the moors, searching for a person or sign of civilization. Without her mobile phone, her exact whereabouts was a mystery. Every unexpected sound of wildlife startled her. As she ventured on, she spotted deer. They wouldn’t harm her, but what else lived out here?

If any of those beings that Gavin had set free had escaped, would they seek prey? She was far too close in range and could be captured.

Despite her uneasiness, every step was weighed with despair. Would Gavin be all right? Would his brothers? A part of her yearned to return to him. But for what? She had no weapons and no abilities to defend herself. She had to do what she promised and continue for the safety of their child.

Her stomach growled. The hunger pangs reminded her that they hadn’t eaten anything yet that day. Should she shift her search for food? No, she should keep heading east toward Inverness.

The slight of shadows floating across the ground struck her with an icy pang. She glanced to the sky and squinted against the brightness of the sun. Winged creatures soared overhead and approached like shadows aiming for her. She covered her heart and sucked in a sharp breath. A flash of Angie’s attacker flickered in Fiona’s eyes. Would she face the same dismal fate?