Page 35 of The Monster's Mate

And what can I say? I kissed his mate. But I would never, ever, strike my brother and I know as soon as he comes to his senses, he’ll be inconsolable that he hit me for the first time ever. So, I lay back on the floor, in the same spot my patron did, my fists in my own lap. And I resent that not only did I sound like my patron when I had a fight with Lucy, but now I lay here, on the floor just like him.

Tiran jumps up to block Bronan from coming at me, and more males posture—a chemical reaction from all the violence.

More screaming fills the room. No one can believe that Bronan struck his own little brother. I can barely believe it myself, and I’m the recipient. Hell, he never even hit Tiran, even when Patron stirred up more conflicts between them than anyone should have been able to.

I’m stuck here on the floor in my worthless patron’s position.

I hear a chuckle from out in the hallway. Patron hasn’t yet left. He stuck around to make sure he got his way.

I jump up and storm from the room, determined to catch thebrinyiak.Tiran blocks Bronan to keep him from chasing after me.

Finally. My idiot middle brother finally sees that he should be the buffer between the two of us, just like I always buffered those two.

I leave them all behind as I grow in size, my body posturing as grand as the rest, the pain still throbbing through my face. My tentacles grow, long and writhing with adrenaline, along the floor, as I burst into the hallway to see my father scurrying away.

He races toward the upper levels and I chase, determined not to let him get away.

Up we climb, until he gets to the areas where the rock walls have eroded over time, and he pitches himself over a gap in the wall to sail into the water below.

I follow, and the colder temperature of the water soothes me as I plunge through, bubbles exploding all around me as I cut through the murky depths. I know where he’s heading—the waterfalls, where it will be easy to escape if he can sail over. Even if two males jump at the same time, they can surface in completely different places.

When he breaks through to the other side of the channel, I catch up to him and grab an appendage, holding him from escaping through the tunnel that leads out to the Adroki beach. We struggle together and one by one, I grab, knot, and then tie his appendages together so he can’t swim, until we’re forced both back up to the surface.

“Boy. How dare you—” he tries to splutter, but I recognize it for what it is. An attempt to take the offensive instead of defending himself against what he did wrong. He twists, trying to untie himself, but his strength is no match for someone less than half his age.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? What kind of patron turns his own sons against each other?”

“Against each other? You did kiss his mate, did you not? Wouldn’t that make you at fault?”

I gnash my teeth. “So, you’re aware that Bel’s not a breeder.”

He freezes, but the damage is done. “I don’t care what she is. The point is, you kissed her.”

I’m not giving him the satisfaction of reducing me to a kish who needs to explain himself. “Let’s get one thing straight. Twice now, you’ve pushed my limits. There won’t be a third time. One more thought from you about causing trouble with me, my brothers, their mates, or my maman—and I’ll send you packing into the next world. There will be no second thoughts, nor will there be any guilt on me. Is that clear?” And to show him I mean business, I use a powerful punch to make sure his face matches mine. If my eye is swollen shut, so shall his be.

Like father, like son.

The strength behind my fist sends him flailing backward into the cold water, but he can’t escape, not with his appendages tied. I haul him back up.

“Well, my mistake,” he splutters. “Apparently, I should have made you the leader of the clan instead of your spineless brother.”

Spineless? Because he allowed this worthless male to live this long?

“You don’t have that much power.” With one hand, I release him, and send him sailing over to the falls. I really don’t care if he lives or dies. Without waiting to see if he untangles his limbs on the way down, I turn and swim back through the tunnels that lead to the Adroki beach—and the Earth portal.

Chapter Ten

Skiden:

I let myself in through the back door using Isabel’s key. Then I head to the living room, take the blue vase from the coffee table, and place it in the windowsill on the other side of the blinds where she can see it from the front door. I see that they’ve adjusted the porch light so that it skims the door and highlights on the window. The females will easily be able to see when the vase is placed there.

And I don’t need her scared should she hear a noise and notice something odd when she first opens the door. Best to let her assume Isabel’s back.

It’s another two hours according to their kitchen clock when I hear a key rattle in the front door. I rise and stand just beyond the doorway of her bedroom—the same place I hid from Samantha—in case someone is outside and looks in when she opens the door.

When Lucy enters and closes the door behind her, I step from the shadows.

Her mouth drops but I don’t give her a chance to protest my presence—I wind my tentacles around her and pull her to me. “Hello, little mate. Miss me?”

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