Page 77 of Monsters of Desire and Nightmares of Passion

Ivy

Horse face is there. He takes my hand and pulls me after him. That’s bad. My instincts tells me that much. But there’s nothing I can do. I must follow him. He’s huge. His body looks contorted, and he has no eyes.

“I’m hungry “

He groans. My flesh shivers in response.

Who is this guy, man, shadow, thing, whatever the fuck?

“I have to go back.”

Still no response.

I try to make sense of my surroundings, but up is down and the other way around. The only time my stomach does not spin inside my body and my eyes can see is when horse face is with me.

“I said, I have to go back.”

“No.”

“Why have you brought me here? What do you want from me? Say something.”

Horse face floats around me. His image switches between the skeleton of a horse skull and something else, something more feral, more primary.

“We will see.” He says it with a calm voice, but the tone is laced with hunger and desire.

“Ivy.” He pronounces my name with great effort. “We are many. We need to see.”

“Get a Netflix subscription, then. What the fuck? I won’t let you torture me.”

“Torture?” Horse face laugh, his laugh a deep rumble. “You don’t know the meaning of that word.”

“Then what the fuck do you want from me?”

“We need to see.”

“You have zero communications skills.”

Intense, burning pain fills me. It feels as if each of my cells is being plucked from my body, inspected, and tasted.

“Let her go!” The voice is a roar. I know that voice. I know who it belongs to.

“Khal.” My scream sounds weak, my throat filled with my own blood. How is it possible he’s here?

“Intruder,” Horse face says calmly.

Khal runs from the darkness and stands in front of me.

“Khal, what’s going on?”

“Shh, stay behind me. I’ll get you out of here.” Khal addresses horse face. “Let her go. She’s my mate. My blood is her blood. You can taste me, feel my body and mind, consume me if you must, but let her go.”

“Khal, didn’t you die?” The question sounds silly. This is probably not real. I must have hit my head or something. Yet grief rises inside my chest.

“We accept,” horse face says.

An unknown force pulls Khal away.

“I love you, Ivy.”

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