Page 6 of Enticing Monsters

The voice from behind me has me whirling to see Gage, Kian, and Xander charging through the forest. It’s the latter who’s speaking, the sleeves of his suit coat pushed up to reveal muscular, tan forearms. Sweat from Foster’s flames dots his forehead.

“Is that Hudson?” Xander asks.

Foster is making the boy—presumably Hudson—jump and run as he fires ball after ball of flames at his feet, burns marking his bare arms and the fabric of his clothing where he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the fire balls.

“What the hell happened?” Kian lifts a hand to shade his eyes, squinting to try to see better. Unlike Xander, who’s wearing a suit coat and dress pants, Kian is dressed casually in a teal shirt and blue jeans. The color heightens the blue of his eyes and is a striking contrast against the gold of his hair and skin.

“Uh, out of curiosity, what is the punishment if Foster kills this guy? I mean, V has some kind of immunity—or at least an insanity plea—but what about Foster? Would he be punished?” It doesn’t seem like there’ll be a body left, but I doubt it’ll be hard to track back to me with all the bullshit the asshole is spouting.

My stomach tightens at the reminder, anger attempting to wash aside the concern I feel for Foster, but I squash it down. My pride can take the hit, but I am not letting Foster go to the supe version of jail.

Is that a thing?

I make a mental note to ask Xander or Devyn about it when things aren’t so…heated. Pun intended.

“You are correct, Ms. Jenkins,” Xander says tightly. A different kind of heat rolls through me at the dark purr of his voice, calm and collected despite what is happening in front of us. “He would certainly face punishment unless he has been threatened.”

Well, fuck.

Could we lie? Make it look like self-defense?

God, how has this become my life?

“Or unless he burns the body and you all keep your mouths shut,” V suggests. “I think he’s burning hot enough at this point to turn it to ash. Or I could share some more of the lies he was telling about my kitten. That may help.” He chuckles, licking his lower lip as he studies Foster. “His temper is quite a thing to behold. Who would have thought that much fire was contained in him? He’ll be fun to train.”

“What the fuck was Hudson saying about Sera?” Gage growls out, his eyes flashing and his upper lip pulling away from his teeth in a snarl. Today, he’s wearing a black hoodie and jeans, the hood currently pulled up to conceal his messy onyx hair. He looks like a shadow—a dark, avenging shadow hellbent on destruction and pain.

I ignore him, for now. I already have one mate to deal with—I don’t need two lost to the bloodlust V seems to be attempting to cultivate.

Bloodthirsty psycho.

“Sera?” Kian’s worried eyes meet mine, and I offer a weak smile.

“Any hints on how to calm him down?” I ask.

They mentioned Foster holds a temper, hence his fire elemental side, but I never would have guessed it was like this. He’s always so gentle and soft-spoken.

Kian studies me for a moment and then nods, as if he has decided something. His eyes begin to glow.

“Foster.” His voice echoes slightly, and a wave of…something hits me.

I can’t name what it is, but it sends a shiver over my skin, and goose bumps pebble on my arms. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

“Well now.” V shifts, studying Kian through the barrier he has built. “It’s a day of surprises, Kitten.”

Kian takes a deep breath, ignoring V, his eyes glued to Foster. I can’t look away. My incubus mate looks…ethereal. The sun filtering through the tree branches creates a golden tint around his head, almost like a halo, and highlights the fine angles of his face. My heart squeezes painfully—and not just because of his looks.

But because, right then and there, I’m overcome by my feelings for him.

“Foster.” He calls his name louder this time, letting it be heard over Hudson’s cries.

Foster wavers for a moment, the blue edging on his powers seeming to lessen briefly.

“You’re worrying Sera, Foster. What if you hurt her? Your fire’s hot. V’s shield could waver.”

V hisses at that, but I poke his wing, enjoying the silky glide of warm feathers over my finger as I do.

Foster stills as Hudson skitters farther backwards. Burns cover the majority of his skin, and it’s clearly been too hot even for him to cry, the moisture of his tears immediately disappearing from his skin.

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