Page 34 of Held By a Monster

She was right. We needed more information from the shifters. If they hadn’t reached out, we needed to seek them out again.

My curiosity had grown about supernatural Society as well. Surely they had some sort of information repository—some way of sharing knowledge through generations.

Lost in my thoughts, I’d missed Kendal getting ready for bed. I must have made a noise of disappointment, because she giggled and patted the nest next to her.

“Come lie down with me until I fall asleep. I know you won’t stay, y’all seem to need very little sleep and you’ll want to go back and help. But I’d like you to hold me for a bit.”

“I would stay if you ask me.”

She gave me a sleepy smile. “I won’t. You should help.”

I curled myself around her, tucking her against my chest. It was like a great cog shifting into place. Her scent in my nose, her skin touching mine. It was a panacea for my soul. The world was right with her in my arms.

It frightened me.

The power she had over me was absolute. The very idea of losing her caused great pain. I wasn’t sure I’d survive it.

I was determined not to let that happen.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the smell of her warm skin. Her breathing was even and steady, so I carefully covered her with a blanket and slid from my room.

I found my brothers arguing again. Kragen held up a hand as I entered.

“Let’s get Drym’s opinion.”

The others nodded. None of them looked happy.

“We need more information,” Kragen began. “We are out of our depth navigating the outside world. We thought it would be simple enough to track the remaining BioSynth employees, but they kept us in the dark on technology and navigating the wider world.”

He sighed. “Kendal’s help is invaluable, but her knowledge doesn’t extend as far as we need.”

I nodded. “We discussed this before she fell asleep. She wants to check her apartment. If the shifters have reached out, we can ask for further assistance. If they haven’t, we need to contact them.”

“That’s the central issue.” Kragen pointed at Cavi, Roul and Thurl. “They don’t trust them, and think we should continue on our own.”

“I’m not sure I trust them either, but the only way to resolve our fears is to interact with them more. If at any point we deem them a threat, or untrustworthy, then we can sever our relationship. I see no harm in giving them a chance, granted we keep as much as possible to ourselves.” I scratched at my bicep. “It will be a tricky thing, revealing enough for them to help without giving them the means to entrap us, but I think we can do it.”

We stood, each silently assessing our options for several minutes. Roul suddenly threw his hands in the air. “Fine! We move forward with the shifters. But at the first sign of trouble, we burn them all.”

There were a few noises of agreement, but we weren’t ready to condemn them without cause. That was good. It meant that even the more suspicious among us saw the value in getting the help we needed.

The only question that remained was whether they would share the level of information we sought.

We’d learn that answer soon enough.

twenty-three

I was surrounded bywyrfangs, staring down the long conference table at Superhuman Security headquarters. All of them insisted on coming this time, and I couldn’t blame them. A lot rode on what they learned here today.

Drym and Kragen sat on either side of me, the remaining four looming behind like gargoyles. I tried to get them all to sit, but they refused. Roul stood directly at my back. I no longer feared him. I recognized that he was wounded. Hurt by the refusal of the woman he thought was his friend to join them when they escaped.

We’d never be fist bumping buddies, but I saw him as the grumpy older brother of the group.

Zeus, the Society representative, brought more people with him this time as well. The two shifters from before werepresent—Behemoth and Russia—but there were others we hadn’t met.

We’d arrived first and Zeus told us to get comfortable in the conference room while the others arrived. He introduced them as they came in. “You’ve met Russia and Behemoth. This is the rest of my team: Wasp, Ghost, Bull, Slick, Titan, and River. I apologize for the crowd. I tried to get them to stay home, but they’re naturally curious.”

Most wore interested expressions. I guess he’d told them about the wyrfangs, but there was nothing like seeing them in person.

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