Page 51 of An Inheritance of Monsters

If she had been island-raised, she would know these obvious things.

“I have pleasured you,” I told her, and was gratified by a faint pink flush on her cheeks. “Now I will clean and care for you. The mate of aMlul’dramust not be treated poorly, or he will lose his privilege to keep her.”

“Mlul’dra,” Juno said thoughtfully, gazing up at my sharp teeth. My ears swiveled forward, my entire being focusing on her. “And Zirin is aKlee. Those are… what you are? Your particular species of monster?”

I nodded, pleased once again by my mate.

Before the arrival of the new blood, as the island’s bonds to this world weakened, I had feared we would have to take a stupid, frightened human. One who would scream and cry and refuse to listen to sense.

Juno had sense.

“What is Voraal’s species? I saw a painting that looked like him, but he said it was only one of his kind. There are more of your kind?”

“TheMlul’draare out there.” I waved one hand towards the distant horizon. “They will come only if more are needed. But Voraal is…V’uthli. He is Elder One.We have chosen to make this place our home.”

Juno’s brows puckered, but this was not the time for more questions.

We had reached the Sea of the Void, where glimmering lights washed up on the shore, and I waded in, still clutching Juno.

When the water was chest high on me, I supported her with two arms and used the others to gently wash her, using the pads of my fingers.

Juno didn’t fight me; even when my finger pads moved over her face and hair, washing away sweat and come, those gray eyes were focused on my face.

My cock began to stiffen again as I moved downwards, gently wiping her breasts, and I grunted when Juno wriggled against me. My knot felt over-sensitive and swollen, still throbbing with the need to come inside my mate and mark her.

“Rask…” Juno bit her lip, still watching my face. “I have a life… or something like it… out in the human world.”

“Your life is with me. In the Void.”

“I have crewmates who are depending on me. We’re aiming for a TV show.”

“I have seen TVs in your world. I do not understand the appeal when life is for living, not for watching.”

Juno’s teeth released her lower lip. I wanted to lean forward and taste her mouth for myself.

Then she huffed out a soft laugh. “I guess you’re right, in some way. I spend so much time in front of the camera for other people, trying to pose into exactly what they want to see… and sometimes I forget why I do what I do. The whole reason I got into filming in the first place.”

“Tell me, little mate.” I moved on lower, trying to ignore the ache in my cock and listen to my Juno’s words.

She gazed up at me, swallowing hard when my fingerpads moved over her lower belly. Her voice was a little raspy when she spoke.

“I just wanted to find the truth about why I see ghosts. Why everyone thinks I’m crazy if I bring it up. Why they stay on Earth instead of moving on… I wanted to know why I saw my brother after he died.” She grimaced, looking down at the luminescence on her skin. “I didn’t want to pose and be perfect for cameras. I didn’t want to create a whole persona just to make money. It was never about the money or fame for me, but now… if I stop, I let Crispy and Sierra down.”

“Your other humans do not see the souls?”

Juno blinked. “No. I’m the only one. And itkillsme inside to always pretend I can’t see anything, or to be accused of pretending for attention.”

“Then why do you pretend? What does my Juno want?”

She shuddered as I moved on to the apex of her thighs, still moving as gently as possible. Her hands, wrapped around my fingers, tightened.

“I still just want to find… the truth. That is what I want. I don’t want to pretend for cameras or views anymore.”

I did not know what a ‘view’ was or why it would matter. The only thing I cared about was that my mate was unhappy.

But she had come to the island at this time for a reason.

“You will stop pretending.” I carefully rubbed her calves, ensuring her entire body was pristine. No self-respectingMlul’drawould allow an inch of his mate’s skin to go unwashed. “You will do what makes you happy, and you will be my mate. That will bring you much happiness.”

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