Page 46 of Enticing Monsters

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CALEB

My parents only have one rule for me and Maddox when we meet with the fae council.

Don’t make asses of ourselves.

Honestly, I should be offended that they have such little faith in me. When have I ever made an ass of myself in front of high-ranking supernaturals? Okay, yes, there was that one time when I attempted to invite one of the ladies back to my room with me. But in my defense, I didn’t know she was a powerful fae. And I definitely didn’t know she was married.

It’s not my fault she eagerly accepted my invitation.

My siblings often refer to me as a player, but I don’t think that’s true. Look at Maddox, for example. That asshole has a new partner every week. He constantly leaves behind a trail of broken hearts and fanboys. He’s just better at hiding his conquests than me. And Sera…

I see the way those fuck faces sniff around her.

Ugh. Now I’m thinking about my little sister being in a relationship with multiple men. Ew. Brain bleach. Disgusting.

I’d like to believe that my baby sis will stay single and a virgin forever. Yup. She doesn’t even know what sex is.

Ignorance is bliss.

I glance inconspicuously around the hotel conference room as I wait for the meeting to adjourn. My parents stand on one side of me, their backs ramrod straight and their chins hefted imperiously, while Maddox rests on the other. Unlike my parents, my younger brother looks decidedly relaxed, with his hands shoved into his front pockets and his eyes lazily trailing over the lords and ladies present.

That’s a front, of course. Only someone who knows my brother as well as I do can see the keenness in his eyes and the pursing of his lips.

This meeting is just routine, but it never hurts to be on guard.

There are twelve lords and ladies in total, six from each court, though only a few are present right now. The rest are scattered throughout the world, serving their queen in some capacity.

My gaze drifts to Brooke first—an Unseelie fae—and I inwardly blanch, especially when I find her cold gaze fixed on me. I lift my hand in the beginnings of an awkward-as-fuck wave before immediately lowering it when Maddox elbows me in the stomach.

But how else am I supposed to greet the woman whose marriage I accidentally ruined? Talk about awkward.

The oldest of the bunch currently seated before us—Duncan, if I remember correctly, and a Seelie fae—clears his throat to begin the meeting.

“We’re here today to discuss the most recent investigations on the murder of the following fae…” Duncan then begins to read off a list of names as my stomach turns over itself painfully.

I hate thinking about that night my sister found all of those fae bodies killed in a pit behind Tristan’s house. We still have yet to find the culprit, hence the reason for today’s meeting. Both my family and the FIB are working tirelessly to find the group behind this attack.

Because ithasto be a group. One person couldn’t possibly kidnap all of those fae and arrange such a brutal slaughtering.

My parents believe it was a terrorist attack. Somehow, the terrorists created a weaponized version of the virus that killed the majority of fae hundreds of years ago.

I don’t know what the fuck I believe.

I remain silent as my parents go over the facts of the case with the lords and ladies. Devyn should be here as well, but he got called away a few hours earlier and hasn’t returned. Hopefully, that means he got a lead, but I’m not overly confident.

Snippets of conversation reach me.

“None of the victims seem to have any connection…”

“All of the victims came from different cities in the United States…”

“They were all different ages, genders, and species…”

“We have no new leads…”

I ball my hands into fists while hearing our failure firsthand. We’re supposed to protect the fae—protect Sera. What if one of those bodies had been hers? She was right fucking there. If that virus was airborne, she could’ve become infected.

---