Page 25 of Monster Mistake

Khill released his grip. Jake dropped to the floor like a sack of wet shit, landing in a puddle of his own piss. He turned to Riordan, who said, “Not gonna lie. I was hoping it was him. I’ve been itching to throw someone into one of the feral hog dimensions.”

Khill had been hoping for the same thing, honestly. He wasn’t opposed to tossing this cheating loser into another dimension, but something told him Justine wouldn’t like that. He groaned and raked his hands through his hair again. “Who the hell would’ve taken her?”

Riordan rubbed his furrowed brow. “You know, you said someone sent her songs about fate?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, I thought I caught a whiff of a werewolf on the grounds at the mansion. No one’s more into fate than those guys. Did she know any werewolves?”

Khill frowned. “I smelled that, too, but didn’t think much of it because after a Monster Match, it always smells like…” He trailed off, memories crashing through his brain like a bullet train. “Holy shit. There was a fucking werewolf who followed her out of the Monster Match the night we went to Vegas!”

Riordan grimaced. “It’s fucking hard to track a werewolf. Do you know anything about the guy?”

That’s when Khill did something he hadn’t done since he woke up to an empty bed that morning.

He smiled.

Only it wasn’t a happy smile. It was a feral, unhinged smile that made Jake whimper from his spot on the floor. “We don’t have to track him. I knowexactlywho will haveallthe details about that motherfucker.”

He laid a hand on Riordan’s shoulder and thought about their next destination, readying himself for yet another teleportation. As they were disappearing into the veil, Khill heard Jake mutter, “I gotta get out of this fucking town.”

Khill snorted. “Good plan, asshole. You should get right on that.”

CHAPTER 17

Justine’s friends, Roxie and Lucy, were avid romance readers. They’d introduced her to everything from light romantic comedies to dark paranormal romance. She’d enjoyed all of them. They were a great escape from reality after a long, hard day at work.

Plus, the world was a dumpster fire. Anyone who didn’t enjoy a little romantic escapism needed their head checked as far as Justine was concerned.

I digress…

But never,ever, did she imagine she’d belivingthe plot of a paranormal romance novel.

Although, since her true love wasnotthe delusional werewolf who had zip-tied her to a chair, it was feeling more like she’d taken up residence in a horror novel.

What she needed was to calm down. Think this through rationally. Act more like Penelope Garcia onCriminal Mindsand less like a sassy novel heroine who was destined to fall for her captor.

At least the dumbass wasn’t lurking over her anymore. Telling him she was hungry had sent him scurrying off like a rat with a stupid grin on his face. Obviously, the thought of feeding his fated mate pleased him.

Pfffttt. Fated mate.Her. What a load of horse crap.

As soon as this was over, she was going home and purging her E-reader of every wolf, bear, and dragon shifter romance she’d ever downloaded.

Well…maybe she shouldn’t be too hasty about the dragon ones. She’d especially liked those. But the wolf and bear books werehistory!

She gave her zip ties another useless tug. Breaking them was out of the question. Even if she broke her wrist, the ties were still too tight to maneuver out of. Plus, she’d always been skeptical of that particular escape tactic when she’d seen it in movies and on TV. Unless you enjoyed pain, how could you possibly break your own bones?

Besides, something told her to just wait this out. To stay as safe (and unmolested) as possible, and wait for Khill. She was sure he would’ve realized she was gone by now and started looking for her. And with his tracking skills, he’d be able to find her in no time. Especially now that he knew she…

Oh. Wait. A. Fucking. Minute.

Justine’s blood ran cold as a horrible thought occurred to her. She’d meant to tell Khill she loved him, but she hadn’t. She’d been too distracted by all the kissing and nudity to talk about much of anything, let alone how much she loved him and probably had foryears.

She’d been in love with him since the first time he grumpily forced her to go home and take a break after she did twelve-hours straight of surgeries. And when he’d grumpily binge-watchedThe Great British Baking Showwith her when she was stuck in bed with the flu. And when he never once told her she was hard to connect with, or that she should smile more. No, not Khill. It tickled him that her grumpiness rivaled his. He protected her and cared for her without asking for anything in return. He loved her because of her personality quirks, not in spite of them.

He was kind, caring, and giving—more so than any human or monster she’d ever known. Whenever something annoyed her, he was the first person she wanted to bitch to about it. He was the first one on her mind when she woke up, and the last one on her mind when she went to bed.

She loved theshitout of him.

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