Page 9 of Rescued By the Mothman

She snorted and then put a hand to her mouth in embarrassment.

“Yes, my adoptive parents thought that since their surname was Argent, it would be funny to adopt a mothman and call him Sable. They have a strange sense of humor.”

I meant it lovingly, and I hoped that came across. My parents had been wonderful to me despite my low points. Rez screwed up his face in confusion. Clarissa smiled at her uncle, a wonderful, open, beautiful smile. I wondered if she’d ever look at me like that.

“The argent and sable is a species of moth. They are beautiful.”

Her uncle snorted, not seeming to notice the blush that was creeping up her chest.

“Humans are weird,” he said, slumping into a chair.

Clarissa twitched an eyebrow with a hint of mischievousness.

“Well, at least we don’t lick our own butts.”

He laughed, a deep rumble. The love and ease between them was clear to see. I sat down, sinking into the cozy cushions and blankets on the chair. Her attention turned back to me and her body tensed. I wanted to reach out and massage her shoulders to ease that tension. I’d never massaged anyone in my life, but I wanted to ease every discomfort she could ever have.

“You broke into my house.”

Her tone was icy now. The levity of the last few moments gone. I longed to have them back. To have that warmth and to be in her good graces.

“Yes. I apologize. You’ve gotten caught up in my pursuit of your brother, and I’m sorry for that. I never wanted to frighten you.”

“He says you are chasing the wrong person.”

“I’m not. I was told what happened by my sister, who also worked at the prison. She and her colleagues have been compiling evidence for the authorities. They have dozens of testimonies from humans and monsters. He caused the prison riot. I don’t know if he meant for it to go as far as it did. Buthe wanted to cause trouble and used a human woman and her minotaur mate to do that. He also behaved abusively towards prisoners over and over again long before the riot.”

I let her process that for as long as she needed to. She and her uncle shared a glance, and he nodded. Her face fell, and she slouched forward. The word devastated didn’t even come close to how she looked. My body ached to hold her. To make it ok. To find her brother and wrap my hands around his neck for causing her this pain. I’d never hated anyone the way I hated John Delaney at that moment.

Chapter 8

Clarissa

So it was all true. My brother was the actual monster. But part of me still held onto the hope that I could change his mind. Surely I could make him see how he’d been behaving was wrong. Maybe it was far too late, and I’d never really known him at all. I felt the silence grow heavy and realized the two men were watching me. My uncle I was used to. But this newcomer had thrown me.

I looked him up and down properly for the first time. Black fur covered a humanoid torso. A very muscular torso now that I was looking at it. His large wings were tucked behind him. His pants and the belts he had strapped around him carried cuffs, a gun and some sort of spray. He could have been straight out of a tv program about a bounty hunter right down to the scarf around his neck.

His face was the least human thing about him. Large red eyes surrounded by more black fur that curled up into antennae. His fur looked soft. I wanted to reach out and stroke it. His mouth was barely visible as he frowned at me. I realized I’d probably been staring and looking him up and down for a while. Heat flushed my face, and I sat back in my chair. I needed the focus to be on someone else for a moment.

“So, what now, Sable?”

His eyes never left me as he answered.

“Now I figure out where your brother is and bring him in.”

“Please don’t hurt him.”

It came out in a whisper. I shouldn’t care. Not after everything. But I did. Sable scowled briefly but nodded.

“I’ll do my best.”

I knew somehow that he meant it. It wasn’t a throwaway comment to pacify me. In a difficult situation that had the potential for violence, he would do his best. I knew looking at the size and shape of him that if it came to violence, he would win though. Those godsdamn bicep muscles….

My uncle cleared his throat, and I flicked my gaze away from Sable’s arms. Blushing yet again, like a teenager.

“Did he bring any belongings with him? Should we check them for evidence?”

Sable shifted uncomfortably, watching me as he spoke.

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