Furia

Furia Plot Summary

Introduction

# Stone Whispers: A Gargoyle's Dance Between Light and Shadow Grace Foster awakens in her dorm room at Katmere Academy with four months of her life erased from memory. The last thing she remembers is Hudson Vega's sword piercing her chest, yet here she stands—alive, human, and haunted by whispers she can't quite place. The gothic castle perched on Alaskan mountains houses vampires, dragons, witches, and werewolves, but Grace carries a darker secret than her newfound gargoyle nature. Hudson Vega, the most feared vampire prince in supernatural history, lives inside her mind. His brother Jaxon had killed him to stop a massacre, yet Hudson's consciousness survived, tethered to Grace through magic neither understands. Every day he drains energy from her mate bond with Jaxon, growing stronger while the voice in her head offers sarcastic commentary and seizes control of her body. Grace needs him gone before he destroys everything she holds dear, but freedom requires five mystical artifacts and a journey that will test the very nature of good and evil.

Chapter 1: Awakening Stone: The Voice Within Grace's Mind

Grace stares at her reflection in the dormitory mirror, searching for any sign of the months she's lost. Her cousin Macy bounces excitedly beside her, chattering about Grace's miraculous return, but the words feel distant and hollow. Something fundamental has changed during those missing months, something that makes her skin crawl with unease. The whispers start as she walks through Katmere's ancient halls. Students stop mid-conversation to stare, their expressions ranging from awe to terror. A vampire girl actually crosses herself when Grace passes, while a dragon shifter backs against the wall with wide eyes. Grace quickens her pace, but the whispers follow like shadows. "The gargoyle," someone breathes. "She's really back." Professor Badar intercepts her before she reaches class, his weathered face grave with concern. "Your uncle needs to see you immediately," he says, escorting her through corridors lined with portraits whose eyes seem to track her movement. Uncle Finn's office feels like a tomb when she enters, heavy with unspoken truths. Jaxon waits inside, his dark beauty marred by exhaustion that runs bone-deep. When he sees her, relief floods his features so completely that Grace's chest tightens with guilt she doesn't understand. He moves toward her with vampire grace, but stops just short of touching, as if afraid she might crumble to dust. "Four months," he whispers, his voice breaking on the words. "You were stone for four months, Grace. We thought we'd lost you forever." The revelation hits like a physical blow. Grace staggers, her hand finding the desk for support as memories refuse to surface. Stone. She'd been trapped in stone while everyone she cared about searched desperately for a way to bring her back. The weight of lost time presses down on her shoulders, but beneath it lurks something else—a presence that feels foreign yet familiar, watching through her eyes with ancient patience.

Chapter 2: Unwelcome Passenger: Hudson's Presence and the Quest Begins

The blood isn't hers. Grace wakes covered in crimson that tastes of copper and fear, her hands stained with violence she doesn't remember committing. Cole lies in the infirmary, his werewolf healing struggling against wounds too precise to be accidental. The evidence points to Grace, but her memories hold only darkness. "I didn't do this," she whispers to Jaxon, but doubt creeps into her voice. The blackouts have been happening for days—moments where she finds herself in places she doesn't remember going, doing things she would never choose to do. The pattern becomes undeniable when the academy's sacred Athame disappears during one of her episodes. Security footage shows Grace moving through the halls with purpose that isn't her own, her actions too calculated for sleepwalking. When Jaxon sees the recording, his face goes white with recognition and horror. "Hudson," he breathes, the name falling like a curse. The truth crashes over Grace in waves. Hudson Vega, the vampire prince Jaxon killed sixteen months ago, isn't dead. He's trapped inside her mind, a passenger in her consciousness who can seize control when her defenses weaken. The sword strike that should have killed her instead imprisoned his essence within her gargoyle form, creating a prison that serves as both his salvation and her torment. Hudson's voice finally breaks through the barriers she'd unconsciously built, smooth and mocking with that aristocratic British accent. "Hello, Grace. We need to talk." She sees him then, standing beside her mirror with the casual arrogance of someone who owns the world. Tall and lean with sharp cheekbones and eyes like winter ice, he's beautiful in the way predators are beautiful—elegant and deadly. His smile holds centuries of secrets, and when he looks at her, it's with the interest of someone examining a particularly fascinating specimen. "You've been using me," Grace says, her voice steady despite the terror clawing at her chest. "I've been surviving," Hudson corrects. "Just as you have. The question now is what we're going to do about our rather intimate arrangement."

Chapter 3: Gathering Shadows: The Circle's Ultimatum and Ancient Artifacts

The Vampire Circle arrives at dawn like harbingers of apocalypse. Eight thrones dominate the great hall, occupied by the most powerful supernatural beings in the world. At the center sit King Cyrus and Queen Delilah Vega, their presence filling the room with such overwhelming power that Grace's gargoyle instincts scream at her to flee. "Grace Foster," King Cyrus's voice resonates through the hall like thunder. "You will come with us to the Vampire Court." The words are phrased as an invitation, but Grace hears the iron command beneath. Cyrus speaks of protection, of teaching the only gargoyle born in a thousand years to defend herself. But his blue eyes gleam with avarice, and Grace sees through the honeyed words to the cage beneath. Hudson materializes beside her, invisible to all but Grace. "Don't go with them," he warns, his usual mockery replaced by genuine fear. "My father will kill you the moment you're away from witnesses." "I request inclusion," Grace shouts, the words Hudson whispers in her mind. The hall falls silent. Cyrus's mask slips for an instant, revealing cold fury before sliding back into place. Inclusion means trial by combat—a chance to earn a seat on the Circle through victory in an ancient, deadly contest. It's suicide, but it's also the only path that doesn't lead to Delilah's dungeons. "Two days," Cyrus declares, his smile sharp as winter wind. "At dawn, in the stadium." As the Circle departs, Hudson explains what Grace has bought with her desperate gambit. "The trial is designed to be impossible," he says. "But there's another way. Five mystical artifacts can perform a ritual to separate us permanently. I've already stolen two—Cole's fang and the Athame. We need three more." The list reads like a catalog of impossibilities: a dragon bone from the Cemetery beneath the academy, a witch's moonstone from the Bloodletter's collection, and the heart stone of the legendary Unbeatable Beast. Each artifact carries its own dangers, its own price in blood and sacrifice. Grace looks at Hudson, seeing past his arrogance to the desperation beneath. "Why help me? What do you get out of this?" His expression grows serious, free of its usual mockery. "Freedom. For both of us. Because some prisons destroy the jailer as much as the prisoner."

Chapter 4: Trial of Stone and Blood: Standing Against the Vampire Throne

The stadium fills with spectators eager to witness Grace's trial, but the atmosphere is wrong from the start. Dark clouds gather overhead as King Cyrus manipulates the very air to create despair and hopelessness. The trial is a twisted version of Ludares, the magical sport Grace had previously mastered, but now she faces eight opponents alone while navigating portals that inflict excruciating pain. Cole leads the opposing team with sadistic glee, his werewolf pack flanking him with predatory grins. Dragons circle overhead, breathing ice and fire in equal measure. Witches weave binding spells that turn the air itself into chains. The rules have been modified to ensure Grace's failure—the field is shrouded in darkness that favors her opponents, and protective magic shields everyone except her from mortal injury. "Transform," Hudson urges as the horn sounds. "You can't win this as a human." Grace reaches for the platinum thread inside her consciousness, feeling the familiar rush as stone replaces flesh. Her wings spread wide, and she launches herself skyward as chaos erupts below. The enchanted ball burns in her hands, but her gargoyle skin absorbs the heat without damage. Cole leaps toward her with werewolf speed, his claws extended for her throat. Grace banks hard, avoiding his strike, but a dragon's ice blast catches her wing. She spirals toward the ground as more enemies converge on her position. "The water," Hudson shouts. "You can control it!" Grace doesn't understand until she sees the stadium's fountains responding to her desperation. Water rises in impossible spirals, forming whirlpools that sweep her enemies aside like toys. She grows larger with each attack against her, her stone form becoming nearly indestructible. When Cole attempts to strangle her in one of the portals, she breaks free with brutal efficiency, shattering his bones with her stone knee. The crowd's bloodlust turns to awe as they witness not a frightened girl but a gargoyle warrior channeling powers that shouldn't exist. Grace doesn't just win the trial—she dominates it so completely that the stadium trembles under the force of her abilities. When she finally crosses the goal line, the crowd erupts in cheers, but Grace collapses from exhaustion, having pushed her body beyond all reasonable limits.

Chapter 5: Bonds Broken and Forged: The Heart Stone's Price

Victory turns to horror when King Cyrus reveals his true nature. Unable to accept defeat, he attacks Grace with his "eternal bite"—vampiric venom so potent that no creature has ever survived it, even gargoyles. The poison spreads through Grace's system like liquid fire, shutting down her body's functions while Cyrus gloats about the "cheating" that justified his lethal response. Hudson appears at Grace's side as she lies dying, his form more solid than she's ever seen it. In a display of power that reduces the stadium to rubble without harming a single spectator, he demonstrates just how much strength he's always possessed—and how much restraint he's shown throughout his supposed reign of terror. "The artifacts," Grace gasps through the pain. "We need the heart stone." "Already done," Hudson says softly. "I retrieved it while you were fighting. But Grace, using it means—" "I know what it means." Grace's vision blurs as the venom reaches her heart. "Do it." The ritual requires all five artifacts and a sacrifice Hudson hadn't mentioned. To free himself from Grace's mind, he must become mortal, stripping away his vampiric powers forever. As he speaks the ancient words, his form begins to solidify while Grace's breathing grows shallow. "Why?" she whispers. "Why give up immortality for me?" Hudson's smile is gentle, free of his usual arrogance. "Because you showed me what it means to be human again. Because you're worth saving, even if I'm not." The magic completes with a flash of silver light. Hudson stumbles as mortality crashes over him, his vampire strength replaced by human fragility. But Grace's breathing stops entirely, the venom finally claiming its victory. Jaxon cradles her lifeless form, his anguish echoing through the ruined stadium. But Hudson has one final gambit, a desperate plan born from ancient gargoyle lore. He buries Grace in granite and stone, trusting in her nature to absorb the minerals and transform them into healing power. As her friends watch in horror and hope, Grace's body slowly draws in each fragment of rock, incorporating them into her very essence. The process is agonizing to witness, but it works—Grace emerges from her stone cocoon not just healed, but fundamentally changed, her abilities enhanced beyond anything previously recorded.

Chapter 6: Power Unleashed: Grace's True Nature Revealed

Grace rises from her granite grave transformed. Her gargoyle form towers over the assembled crowd, wings spanning impossible distances while her stone skin gleams like polished obsidian. But the change runs deeper than physical enhancement—she can feel the earth itself responding to her will, ancient powers awakening after centuries of slumber. Hudson staggers as his mortality settles over him like a heavy cloak. Without his vampire strength, he appears younger, more vulnerable, but his eyes hold the same sharp intelligence that made him dangerous. Jaxon stares at his brother in shock, seeing him truly alive for the first time in over a year. "You're mortal now," Jaxon says, his voice thick with emotions he can't name. "Yes," Hudson replies simply. "And free." But freedom comes with unexpected complications. As Grace returns to human form, she feels something new stirring in her chest—a connection that shouldn't exist, warm and golden where her mate bond with Jaxon once lived. Hudson's eyes widen as he feels it too, the mystical thread that now links them in ways neither anticipated. "The ritual," Grace breathes, understanding flooding through her. "It didn't just free you. It transferred the bond." The implications are staggering. The mating connection that had tied Grace to Jaxon has somehow shifted to Hudson during their months of shared consciousness. What began as unwilling mental imprisonment has evolved into something far more profound—a bond that transcends the physical world and creates new possibilities for supernatural relationships. Jaxon's face contorts with disbelief and rage. "That's impossible. Mate bonds can't be transferred." "Apparently they can," Hudson says quietly, his gaze never leaving Grace's face. "When two souls share the same body for months, when they face death together, when they learn to trust despite every reason not to—apparently impossible things become possible." Grace feels torn between two brothers who couldn't be more different. Jaxon, the noble protector who has been her anchor since arriving at Katmere. Hudson, the misunderstood rebel who shared her deepest thoughts and fears. The choice she makes will determine not just her personal future but could reshape the entire supernatural world.

Chapter 7: Death and Rebirth: Cyrus's Venom and Stone's Salvation

King Cyrus lies broken in the stadium ruins, his power shattered by Hudson's display of controlled fury. But his venom continues its deadly work in Grace's system, a final act of spite that threatens to claim victory even in defeat. The eternal bite has never been survived—its poison is designed to destroy the very essence of supernatural beings, unraveling their magic from within. Grace collapses as the venom reaches her heart, her newly enhanced gargoyle form unable to process the ancient toxin. Hudson catches her as she falls, his mortal hands trembling as he feels her life slipping away through their new bond. "There has to be something," Jaxon says desperately, his medical training warring with supernatural reality. "Some way to counteract the poison." Hudson's expression grows distant as he searches memories spanning centuries. "There is one possibility. Gargoyles are creatures of stone and earth—if Grace can fully embrace that nature, become one with the minerals around us, she might be able to filter the venom through rock instead of flesh." The process requires Grace to surrender her human form completely, trusting in her gargoyle essence to preserve her consciousness while her body transforms into living stone. It's a leap of faith that could save her life or trap her forever in an existence between life and death. "Do it," Grace whispers, her voice barely audible. "I trust you." Hudson places his hands on her chest, speaking words in a language older than civilization. Grace feels her body hardening, not into the flexible stone of her gargoyle form but into something more fundamental—granite and marble, quartz and obsidian, all the minerals of the earth flowing through her veins. The transformation is excruciating. Grace experiences every grain of sand, every crystal formation, every geological process that has shaped the world over millions of years. But slowly, impossibly, the venom begins to separate from her essence, drawn into the stone where it crystallizes and becomes harmless. When she finally returns to flesh, Grace is fundamentally changed. Her connection to the earth runs deeper than any gargoyle before her, and her power reflects that bond. She can sense every living thing through the minerals in their bodies, feel the pulse of the planet itself beneath her feet. "You did it," Hudson breathes, wonder replacing the fear in his eyes. "You actually did it." Grace looks at her hands, seeing them as if for the first time. She is no longer just a gargoyle or just human—she is something entirely new, a bridge between worlds that opens possibilities no one had imagined.

Chapter 8: Between Two Hearts: The Choice That Changes Everything

The aftermath of the trial leaves Katmere Academy in chaos. Students whisper about the gargoyle who defeated the Vampire King, while faculty members debate the implications of Grace's transformation. But for Grace herself, the most difficult challenge lies ahead—navigating the complex emotions that tie her to both Vega brothers. Jaxon struggles with the loss of their mate bond, his noble nature warring with very human jealousy. He had loved Grace completely, built his future around their connection, only to watch it transfer to the brother he'd killed to protect the world. The betrayal cuts deep, even though he knows neither Grace nor Hudson chose this outcome. "I don't understand how this happened," he says, his voice carefully controlled. "Mate bonds are supposed to be permanent, unbreakable." Hudson, still adjusting to his mortality, offers an explanation that satisfies no one. "Grace and I shared consciousness for months. We experienced each other's memories, fears, dreams. Perhaps the bond recognized that connection as deeper than the original pairing." Grace feels the truth of it in her bones. Her relationship with Jaxon had been built on attraction and circumstance, forged in crisis and maintained through external pressures. But her connection to Hudson runs deeper—they had seen each other's souls, shared thoughts and emotions without the barriers that separate most people. "This doesn't have to change everything," Grace says, though she knows it already has. "We can find a way to make this work." But even as she speaks the words, Grace realizes the fundamental shift that has occurred. The mate bond isn't just about love or attraction—it's about recognition, about finding the other half of one's soul. And despite everything she thought she knew about herself, that other half belongs to Hudson Vega. The choice before her isn't really a choice at all. It's an acknowledgment of something that already exists, a truth that has been building since the moment Hudson's consciousness merged with hers. She loves Jaxon, will always love him, but she belongs with Hudson in ways that transcend rational explanation. "I'm sorry," she whispers to Jaxon, seeing the pain in his dark eyes. "I never wanted to hurt you." Jaxon's smile is bitter but genuine. "I know. And I know you didn't choose this any more than I did. But Grace—be careful. Hudson may be mortal now, but he's still dangerous. He's still the vampire who once brought the supernatural world to its knees." Hudson's expression grows serious as he meets his brother's gaze. "I was never the monster you thought I was, Jaxon. But I understand why you can't see that yet. Give me time to prove who I really am." As the brothers face each other across centuries of misunderstanding and pain, Grace realizes that her choice will either heal their family or destroy it completely. The weight of that responsibility settles on her shoulders, but she also feels the strength to bear it—not just her own strength, but Hudson's as well, flowing through their bond like sunlight through crystal.

Summary

Grace Foster's journey from frightened human to powerful gargoyle culminates in the discovery that love transcends the boundaries of life and death, consciousness and flesh. Her bond with Hudson Vega, forged in the crucible of shared suffering and mutual understanding, represents something entirely new in the supernatural world—a connection that defies conventional wisdom about fate and choice. The transformation of Hudson from feared vampire prince to mortal man seeking redemption mirrors Grace's own evolution from victim to victor. Together, they face a future where ancient prophecies stir and war looms on the horizon, but they do so as partners who have already survived the ultimate test of trust. In choosing love over fear, mercy over vengeance, and hope over despair, Grace and Hudson prove that even the most broken souls can find their way back to the light—if they're willing to risk everything for the chance to be truly seen and accepted by another.

About Author

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Tracy Wolff

Wolff delves into the realms of the fantastical and the romantic, crafting stories that blend paranormal romance with young adult fantasy. Her dedication to these genres is evident in her commitment to writing about tortured heroes and empowered heroines within richly constructed worlds. While her early career as an English professor laid the groundwork for her literary expertise, her passion for storytelling was ignited at a young age, influenced by reading Judy Blume and romance novels. This fusion of academic foundation and personal passion informs her narrative style, which has resonated with audiences across multiple genres, from young adult to women's fiction.\n\nOne of Wolff's most celebrated works, the Crave series, illustrates her ability to intertwine complex characters with enthralling plots set against a backdrop of supernatural intrigue. The series has captivated readers by exploring the journey of Grace, a teenager navigating a mysterious Alaskan boarding school filled with vampires and other mystical creatures. Beyond the Crave series, Wolff has ventured into diverse literary territories with books like the Ethan Frost series and Sweet Nightmare. By creating vivid and immersive worlds, her books invite readers to escape into narratives where romance and fantasy collide, offering a blend of excitement and emotional depth.\n\nReaders seeking narratives that challenge and entertain will find Wolff’s work to be a captivating escape into the realms of "romantasy." Her ability to craft stories that appeal to both young adult and new adult audiences demonstrates her understanding of what resonates with readers. Her status as a #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author underscores her impact on the literary world. This brief bio captures the essence of an author who has not only enriched the genre but has also connected deeply with a diverse readership.

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