Creed

“It’s not that.”

Angel blew out a relieved breath. “Good.”

“This is about me right now, and my past. The guardian before Creed was named Monolith. He was this gorgeous hunk of man. He had silver-blond hair and these startling blue eyes.”

Angel gri

Her mother blushed.

It was something she had never seen before and it made her laugh. “You went to bed with a GarLycan? Wait. Was he a half-breed Lycan and Gargoyle or was he a full-on Gargoyle? I know some members of that clan aren’t mixed-bloods.”

“He was a half-breed, and don’t look so amused. I was curious and young. Back then, we had a lot more women than men in our pack. It’s why I had such a difficult time finding a mate. All the good ones were taken right off the bat and what was left wasn’t so great. The older girls would tease the strong, good-looking younger men before they were even at the age of consent, so when they reached it, they already knew who to claim. I didn’t stand a chance until your father visited our pack. He was looking for a new home. I found my mate.”

“You once thought about mating with a GarLycan?”

Her mother hesitated. “It’s not that simple. You know how we go into heat?”

“You went into heat so you decided to jump on this Monolith?”

“No. GarLycans don’t suffer from heat but they do have this thing called the ravage.”

Angel laughed. “Wow. He ravaged you?”

“Be serious. This is important.”

“Okay.” She sobered.

“It happens every thirty years for them. It lasts one night. You know they aren’t the most feeling or emotional beings.”

Pain sliced through Angel. She knew that all too well. “I do. Stone cold is their motto, or so it seems.”

“Exactly. For one night, they lose all control. They’re emotional, and I don’t know how to explain it except it’s their version of going into heat. It’s some kind of instinctual or hormonal thing that happens to make certain their race survives. Like we go into heat so we’re assured that we birth children. Monolith knew the ravage was coming on, and he asked the single women in our pack to volunteer to spend that night with him. I put my name in and he chose me.”

Angel studied her mom. Lycans aged slowly. Her mother didn’t look a day over twenty-six, even though she was actually fifty-five. “Of course he did. You’re beautiful, Mom.”

“Thank you. They have this ritual they do. I was so nervous about that, but I was the adventurous type. He wasn’t looking for a mate. He just needed someone to be there for him.”

“You mean he needed someone to have sex with.”

Her mother nodded.

“What kind of ritual? I’m curious.”

“They ask for single women to volunteer, then the guardian will choose which one he wants. The evening of the ravage, he’ll ready his bedroom to receive her and she will prepare her body.”

“Okay. Weird.”

“She removes all her body hair from the neck down and soaks in a bath so only her natural scents remain without artificial ones. They don’t like any chemical smells.” Her mother glanced at her hair and bit her lip. “Then they tie the woman down on their bed. It’s to prevent her from getting hurt.”

“He tied you down? Kinky, Mom.”

“It was for my safety. Monolith explained it to me beforehand. He knew he’d lose control, and that I didn’t want him for a mate. He wasn’t looking for one, either. They tend to avoid it for as long as possible. It’s a weakness or something to them, when they mate. You know how solitary they are.”

Boy, do I. Bitterness still left a bad taste in Angel’s mouth, remembering her teens and right before she’d moved away. She just nodded.

“They don’t get totally naked. He had me wear this thin gown. Think like a towel wrapped around your body that hooks together under your left arm. It falls from breast to mid-thigh. He wore one around his waist. They just move them out of the way where necessary. It’s to avoid as much skin contact as possible so they don’t get the urge to claim a woman as a mate.”

“It sounds cold.”

Her mother blushed again. “Not exactly.”

Angel arched her eyebrows. “Do you want to expand on that?”

Her mother glanced out the door, then lowered her voice when she looked back at Angel. “He had me drink some of his hormones first.”

“What?” That stu

“No. It’s complicated but it’s just a little drink, and it kind of put me into heat, only more intense than that. It’s what they do.”

“Don’t tell me you had to give him a blow job or something. I don’t want to hear that. You’re my mom.”

Rava laughed. “No. I probably would have if he’d asked, but I was tied down for that very purpose. No touching him. It helps them not mate a woman during the ravage.”

“You had to kiss him?”

She turned her head and pointed at the base of her skull. “They get this bump right here. It fills with their hormones. Don’t tell anyone. He swore me to secrecy but I was as curious as you are. I didn’t want to drink just anything he gave me. They use a needle to withdraw it. It’s how they know the ravage is coming on. It starts to build up there and they can feel it. Anyway.” Her mother paused. “It was amazing. I’ve had great sex before, but he was very memorable. I couldn’t even talk for a day afterward. I was hoarse from screaming.”

“T.M.I, Mom.”

“Your clit swells up and throbs. You hurt from wanting sex. He touched me and I came. Then he entered me and we went at it for hours. Lycan men are excellent lovers, but a GarLycan during the ravage is far more intense. I lost track of how many times he made me c—”

“Okay. Enough. Got it. Get to the point—besides shocking me with your past sexual exploits.”

Her mother bit her lip again. “Yesterday, Creed showed up and spoke to the elders. The ravage is upon him. He asked for volunteers. It’s tomorrow night.”

Angel forgot how to breathe for a few seconds. Pain squeezed her chest. “You brought me here for that? So I could know which woman he chooses?”

She stood so fast she almost knocked over her chair.

“You know he rejected me when I practically threw myself at him. I…” She blinked back tears. “I was in love with him. I don’t want to know. Why did you call me here?”

Her mother stood and rounded the table. She wrapped her hands around her upper arms and locked gazes with Angel. “I called you because no one volunteered. He’s not as social as Monolith was when he was our guardian. Creed rarely speaks to anyone except the elders and our alpha. The women are afraid of him, and there aren’t many single women who haven’t taken mates.”

Angel let that sink in, and more pain flooded her. “So you called me because you think I still want him? Even for a night? I practically begged him to give us a chance. Then he flew away every time I even approached him after that. He’d stay up on his cliff and not come down. No thanks. He’d reject me even if I offered. I’m human. He went to the elders asking for a Lycan woman, didn’t he?”

Her mother tightened her hold. “Yes, he did. I’ve never lied to you. I won’t start now. I know he hurt you. You always had the biggest crush on him. He brought you here and rescued you from your before life. You almost had hero worship. I know it pained you so much when you told him how you felt and he stopped talking to you.”

“He broke my heart.” Angel blinked back more tears.

Her mother nodded. “I know.”

“Then why did you call me?”