Page 21 of Their Pretty Little Monster

She scrunches up her face. “What ritual? Why?”

“More on that later. You’ve already experienced enough surprises today.”

“I really hate your surprises.”

“Are they meant to be pleasant things?”

She cuts me a scowl.

Nudging her forward, I feel the tension in her back, and with another look at Sage, the girl who was meant to be just a key to our kingdom, now I fear she might just end up being my undoing—instead of the savior I hoped for.

Chapter

Seven

WOLFE

Out here, surrounded by the endless expanse of ocean, a monster could easily go mad. Too fucking late for that, I suppose.

Here on the bridge, I recline with my feet propped up on the console, the quiet solitude of the sea soothing my twisted soul. It’s the one place on this vessel where I can escape; the captain and crew usually leave the navigation to Howler and they work out of the office, giving me peace… rare and delicious peace.

The door slams open with a force that would startle anyone else.

Killian strides in, his hair slicked back and his clothes crisp, the scent of salt and storm clinging to him—looks like someone’s fresh from playing hero, leaving me grinning.

“Thought I’d find you in here,” he groans.

“Guilty as charged,” I respond with a short grin.

Killian leans his back against the window, hands in the pockets of his pants, the turbulent sea a fitting backdrop for his troubled expression.

“Found her, didn’t you?” I ask, rotating my chair to face him fully. The storm outside mirrors the one brewing in his gaze.

“That I did,” he replies, a flicker of something unfamiliar—hope?—flashing across his expression.

“And?” I press, sensing the shift in his mood. It’s a marked change from the fury that he usually returns with from Earth.

He chuckles low, finally breaking his serious demeanor.

“Found her all right, and that’s reason enough to celebrate. But…” His voice trails off while avoiding my gaze as he pushes off the wall and strolls over to the controls.

“But?” I prompt, already knowing when Killian hesitates it’s because the news is more complex than he lets on.

He shoots me a hard look, his jaw clenched. “It went damn smoothly once I found her, which is more than I expected after so long. We should start making arrangements to pay King Bren a visit.”

I rise to my feet, his name grinding up my gut, and narrow the distance between us. “What aren’t you telling me?”

The nerve under his right eye twitches like it always does when he’s holding back information or lying.

With a sigh, he faces me, heaviness etched on his features.

“I think she’s my true mate.”

The declaration hangs between us, heavy like the storm clouds outside. True mate? That’s a twist I hadn’t anticipated.

“Well, fuck!” I growl, not expecting this of all things. “Are you certain?”

Killian had been down this path once before. Through hell and back. I saw it firsthand when he thought he found his true mate during a Monster’s Night on Monster Island.

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