Page 33 of Held By a Monster

He crouched in front of me, his eyes glowing bright gold rimmed with red. “Do you think me a monster?”

I shook my head. “No. The people who held you captive are the monsters.”

“Then you are no more monster than I am, Kendal. I killed those men in the forest because they held you captive. I would have killed Bill for the same reason.”

He stood and pulled me into a tight hug. I rubbed my check on the soft fur on his chest and sighed.

“Do you regret taking the knife?”

I thought about it for a long time as his warm palm slid soothing circles on my back. Did I regret taking the knife from Kragen? I could have just as easily stood by and watched one of the wyrfangs kill him. I didn’t have to get so involved.

Catherine’s face floated through my memory, fierce determination in her stiff posture as they led her from the basement. A memory of Grace, sobbing and begging to be let go morphed to one of Sarah, her small voice and timid movements etched into my brain. “No. He was part of the others being killed. I’m the only one left who can stand for them. They would have wanted me to do it. To take back a little of the power they took from all of us.”

The rough timber of his voice vibrated through his chest. “Good girl.” He pushed me to arm’s length and then tipped my chin up with a finger. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

I was confused until I saw my hand covered in blood, and more spattered across my shirt and pants. I shuddered and let him lead me to his nest where I found my bag and a basin of water. I scrubbed at my hands until I felt clean, emotionally washing away some of the trauma from earlier.

My therapist would have a field day with this.

I changed my clothes and balled up the bloody shirt and pants. Drym waited just outside the entrance to lead me back to the main area, where the other five wyrfangs were engaged in a heated debate. Roul and Thurl wanted to return to the house, certain the men wouldn’t abandon such a prime location.

Kragen argued that there were too many variables, chief of which was time. They couldn’t afford to be out in the open for the days or even weeks it might take for the men to return.

They all fell silent when I stepped up. “Kragen’s right. You can’t expose yourself like that for me.” Several growls filled the air until I held up a hand. “We can still look for them. I think property records are public. I can start there while y’all work on finding more about the director of BioSynth.”

“Kendal, they tried to take you again, in broad daylight.” Drym’s snarl elicited nodding from Roul and Thurl.

I put my hand on his chest, needing to touch him. “It will take them time to find new goons willing to do their dirty work. We have time.”

“What if those weren’t their only ‘goons’, as you call them?”

“Then we’ll deal with them.” The ever-present growl in the cavern reached a new volume. I looked at each wyrfang, making sure I had their attention. “I won’t be alone. I’ll be with you.” I chuckled. “And with six monster bodyguards, I feel invincible.”

“You will not go anywhere without one of us acting as your shadow.” Drym shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable with the arrangement.

“I won’t. I don’t have a death wish, and I’m well aware they’re too angry to let me loose on another hunt.” I sighed. “Besides, they’ll have learned what happened to the goons in the woods. They can’t think I’m still easy prey.”

They seemed to relax a bit, but Drym remained worried. I snuggled into his chest and hugged him tight. When I let go, I looked into his eyes and smiled. “Let’s get to work.”

twenty-two

I was not happyto put off the search for Kendal’s pursuers, but I had to admit, it made sense. As the day waned into night, I could relax. Seeing her tapping away on one of the stolen laptops, smiling and joking with my brothers, gave me a sense of peace I’d never experienced before.

It felt late when she slammed the lid of the laptop. The others startled and she waved a hand. “Sorry, I’m just getting frustrated. My searches are going nowhere.” She rubbed at her eyes. “I think I need to call it a night. We can start fresh in the morning.”

“Yes, you should rest.” I moved to her. I couldn’t touch her enough. I needed to have physical contact with her as much as possible. I didn’t understand this compulsion, but it was no hardshipto indulge it.

As we walked to my nest, she sighed and leaned into my side. “I think we need to check my apartment, and if there’s no note from Superhuman Security, we should reach out again.”

I nodded. “Okay.” I wasn’t sure we could trust the shifters, but time was the only solution to my fears. The more interactions we had with them, the better I could judge them.

My focus had shifted since our escape. I had been determined to find and destroy those in charge of BioSynth, aligned with my brothers in that task. Now, that seemed a secondary priority. Still important, logically, but my heart concentrated on Kendal. Making sure she was safe was paramount.

Our post-lab education was swift but there was one thing we’d learned that seemed to underpin everything. You needed currency to acquire goods and services. Jobs provided that currency to normals, but that was beyond our capabilities. The shifters mentioned others who were unable to integrate with normals being taken care of by Society.

I wondered if that extended to such creature’s mates.

If Kendal didn’t have to work, then I could always be by her side. Nothing could harm her as long as I was there.

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