Page 71 of Land of Monsters

What would happen if Ash rejected me… or someone hurt him? What was I capable of then?

Needing to see him, to at least know what he felt, I slipped out of the bed, yanking the sheet with me.

“Damn…” Opie let out a whistle, his attention on the space I just vacated. Looking over my shoulder, my eyes widened at the deep claw marks puncturing the bed. “Which one of you was the beauty and which one was the beast?”

“We are the monsters, dziubus. The only thing you need to bow to is me.”

My beast struggled to listen to my father, and he was my alpha, the leader of our pack. Yet she bowed to Ash with glee, like she finally found a worthy adversary.

Snatching the clothes off the bed, I headed out the door, my heart pounding in my chest. The truth floated at the edges of my mind, but I tuned out all thoughts of last night as I climbed into the shower. Everything we said and experienced, I blamed on the heat of the moment. Ignoring even more the fact my beast could still pick up his scent in the shower. My mind pictured him in here, almost like I could taste his emotions, feel him.

Mine.

No. I shook the thought from my head. I had loved Wyatt all my life. That was real love, not this. This was lust set in intense circumstances.

Dressing, I left my hair wet and ran downstairs, needing air.

Voices came from the bar area, but I turned out a side door, following an instinct I didn’t even second guess… until I opened the door.

Ash stood on the other side, his hand reaching for the handle to come in.

“Oh.” Air sucked in sharply, my stomach jumping like a rabbit. “Hey.”

Awkward. Yet, I still felt myself exhale, like I could breathe again, though I felt anything but relaxed.

“Hey.” His throat bobbed, swallowing.

Oh gods, he totally regretted it. He was going to tell me any moment that this had all been a mistake, while every inch of me could feel him, alive under my skin, making himself at home, marking me forever.

Locking my expression down, I pushed up my chin. An ingrained response when I had to disguise my feelings in front of a crowd or heads of state.

“I was coming in to check on you.” He shifted on his feet, not quite looking at me.

“Oh.” I clenched my teeth, trying not to show the heartbreak I was feeling. My dweller growled at my thoughts, the obscurer brushing up my throat. I swallowed them down, forcing all the training I had to take over and become the princess I was raised to be. I cleared my throat. “About last night—”

“Yeah, I was gonna—”

“I think we can chalk last night up to high emotions.” My tone sounded formal. “Let’s just forget it. Like it never happened.”

“Forget it?” he repeated, his brows creasing. “Like it never happened?” His mouth parted. “Are you fucking serious?”

“You two are finally up.” Dzsinn came from around the corner, jerking us to him. “Good.” He brushed by me on his way into the clubhouse, giving no notice he interrupted our conversation. “We need to talk. Now.”

Ash’s expression lost all emotion, his jaw twitching, his head nodding in acknowledgment. Turning me back inside, he pressed his hand to my lower back, making my lids shut as sparks danced down my spine. Seemingly unaffected, he prodded me into the bar area, following Dzsinn to an empty table in the corner.

Dzsinn sat facing the door, forcing Ash and me to sit next to each other, though we made a point not to touch.

Dzsinn’s gaze went over us, and I suspected he saw much more than he ever let on.

“Let’s get to the point.” Ash leaned on the table, accusatory eyes on the genie. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Sonya?”

“Wait, you know her?” I asked.

“My past with her makes no difference.”

“Seriously?” Ash’s palms pressed on the table. “I think being related to her isvery importantinformation.”

“Related?” I sputtered.

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