Page 3 of Beauty's Monstrous Demons

I feel emptier than I ever have in my life, and everything hurts.

CHAPTER 1

A year and a half later

LORELEI

My heart pounds as I gaze at the fourth college I’ve transferred to in two years. My soul is tired, my mind won’t quiet, and I wish I had never stopped at that fortune teller’s tent.

My body changed on the side of that road two years ago, my body reacting differently to the world. My eyes are extra sensitive to light, my skin doesn’t like certain types of fabric, and I need things done in a certain way. I make my roommates insane when I have them, but I can’t help it.

The curtains need to sit a certain way, the clothes need to be washed in detergent without any scent, and I’m not above offering to do their laundry if it means I don’t have to smell them. It doesn’t matter if my roommates are humans or monsters, this is what I need.

I also noticed that I have a scent to my skin that makes people follow me around. I smell like cherries and cream nomatter how many times I wash my skin with scentless body soap. This is what I smell like, and it gets worse when I’m aroused.

I’ve done tons of research, but the internet isn’t helping, the libraries are useless, and after two months of this, I was almost raped by a demon with two of his friends.

They kept mentioning that it was my fault, because I smelled so sweet.

So, I took a chemistry course and learned to make a lotion that masked my scent by pulling out the oils of my skin. I wear three thick pairs of panties to keep my scent from leaking from my arousal too.

My life is insane.

Every semester, I find myself transferring to a different school, my grades helping me to find a scholarship at the next one. It got easier once I perfected the lotion, and I reapply it every few hours. It’s exhausting, however I would rather do this than have to face the terror of realizing that my choices are meaningless.

My dreams are plagued with the memories of my reading, a need to find whatever these scent matches are filling me with urgency. It feels as if fate is raising her head and yelling at me to move faster, and I want to yell back at her.

She’s a pushy bitch. I can’t find someone who remains as hidden as I am.

Rolling my eyes at myself, I drive myself to the dormitories. I am sharing the space with two other people, and each of us will have our own room. I’m thankful not to have to share anything closer than that, because my ritual of slathering on my lotion is obsessive and odd to an outsider. It goes beyond someone with a good skin care routine, though my skin is very soft now.

I just picked up my keys, welcome packet, and new schedule from the student office. Now, to see if this school is going to stick or not. The University of Monsters and Education takes humans,but they’re very selective. The Dean of admissions was only swayed by my good grades and my insistence that I’m searching for the right school for my education.

It was a hard sell, but she agreed finally.

I don’t want to give her any reason to rescind my acceptance of admission or the sizable scholarship either. The need to transfer schools is unlike anything I can describe. It’s a warmth, soreness, and excruciating need to run. My body curls up as I whimper, all of my nerve endings screaming at me to jump into action.

The moment I send off the necessary applications and emails with intent to transfer, the alarm bells ease off and I am able to drop into a cleansing sleep. There’s nothing that sets it off, except my body warning me something terrible will happen to me if I don’t transfer.

Better safe than sorry.

Everything I own is in the back of my car. I don’t know how I’ve been able to keep it in working condition. Every move takes me states away, causing me to pray to anyone and anything that’ll listen that I make it. I’ve managed to save every penny possible, knowing the damn vehicle will suck it right up.

I have five hundred dollars to my name now after a costly breakdown on the way here. I can’t afford a new car, so Bertie and I are stuck together.

Parking the vehicle in the lot in front of the dormitories, I hang my parking permit on the rearview mirror and rub my steering wheel affectionately. The ole girl may piss me off and is expensive, but we’ve had some interesting adventures together. No one has lasted this long in my life, and that’s to be celebrated.

Turning off the engine, I haul myself out of the car and shut the door behind myself before I lock it. There’s nothing upgraded or fancy on this thing, but that’s alright. Striding toward the front door of my new home with my welcome packetin hand, I decide to scope out the dorm. I’m not unloading a single item before I do.

What if there was a mixup or something is wrong with the room? I don’t even know what the names of my roommates are. I couldn’t afford to gather all the information this time before I moved.

Walking through the hallways of monsters that are much taller than me, I find that I actually like it. Being one of the only humans around makes it easier for me to hide the things that are different about me. It sounds crazy, but the truth is that it’s what’s kept me ahead of whatever future is coming.

My seemingly arrogant behavior is a front, one I’m good at. If people think I know what I’m doing, they’re more likely to go with my crazy ideas, and I enjoy getting my way.

There are demons, wolves, reptiles, and more walking the hallways, while I’m a human happy to weave around them on my way to my room. Finding it open draws a frown to my face. Most people have moved in since I’m arriving a day or two after everyone else. Classes haven’t begun yet, but I’m cutting it close.

It took three days to fix Bertie, and I wasn’t counting on the delay.

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