Page 43 of Their Pretty Little Monster

Chapter

Fourteen

SAGE

The day’s been a struggle.

It’s later in the night, and nothing I do helps me sleep. I’ve been tossing and turning in bed for hours. Since spending half the day in the pond room, then grabbing food from the dining restaurant, mainly consisting of berries, I’ve been hiding in my room.

Killian hasn’t barged in, and I hoped alone time would help me calm down, along with getting another good night’s sleep.

Except it hasn’t.

My stomach’s growling for food beyond berries while my head’s been replaying the events of the ritual.

Not only is Killian my true mate…

But I’m half-monster.

Since coming to my room, a burning heat has been roaring inside my body. No shower will cool me down, and I have that strong feeling wash over me that it’s Killian’s touch I crave.

The sensation pushes through me.

Flames.

Guilt.

Fear of how quickly I’m losing control. How back in Nightingale Village, I kept my distance from the villagers who bullied and pushed me around. Remaining hidden from them gave me the temporary salvation I sought.

But evidently, there’s no running from the inferno consuming me.

I close my eyes, and I swallow the thickness in my throat, squeezing my thighs together from the building sensation, the tingling that refuses to leave me. Rolling onto my back in bed, I exhale loudly. The growing sensations are rattling me.

Killian touched me in a way no one ever has, not even me. His mouth… I whimper at the buzz curling between my thighs. That tongue on my pussy… I had no idea what a real orgasm felt like, but his mouth was electric.

Rolling around, teasing myself, isn’t helping, so when my stomach growls once more for food, I climb out of bed and decide I’m not getting anywhere.

Dressed in a pair of leggings I found in the wardrobe drawer, along with a loose shirt, I decide there must be food being served somewhere on this ship. With no clock, I have zero idea what the time is.

With one glance outside the balcony doors, staring at the two moons hanging high, I assume it’s around midnight, so I slip into my shoes and head out into the hallway.

Eerie silence.

Shadows stretch across the wall from the dim lighting, and only the sound of my footsteps echoes around me.

At the top of the spiral metal staircase, I pause. Voices float up from below, faint but unmistakable. Maybe there’s a kitchen down there or a different dining hall where I can find something normal to eat. Just as I start to descend, a dark, wolflike creature is coming in my direction from a few floors below, and fear has me freezing up.

The sight of it makes my stomach churn with terror. The spiral staircase stretches endlessly downward, making me dizzy just to look at it, and I quickly recoil, backing away.

I find myself rushing right past the elevator doors, where I pause as the doors slide open for me. With a shaky breath, I step inside, and the doors close silently behind me.

For a moment, I’m enveloped by a faint light.

“Where would you like to go?” Howler’s voice fills the small space, and I flinch at the loudness of his question.

“I’m hungry,” I admit. “Is there anywhere that serves late-night food? But nothing too… wild, please.”

“Of course,” Howler replies smoothly. The elevator starts moving, but I don’t feel it. Instead, I see the floors flashing by rapidly on the display through the glass doors. I have no idea how far we’re descending, but my stomach’s churning with where I’ll end up. There are no buttons to press.

---