Page 35 of Monsters in Love

It was a harpy.

"Andrew," I whispered.

"I know," he huffed, his pace quickening.

Adam seemed to know too. Our pace turned from a brisk walk to a light jog. Their footsteps lost stealth, turning into heavy pounds.

I continued to stare at the creature as it stalked us, following. It grinned at me and opened its mouth, letting out a terrifying screech.

Andrew cursed as we shot out into a path that went down between hundreds of rows. He took off running, and I buried my face into the crook of his neck.

I was terrified and would admit it to anyone.

"Grab the human!"

Andrew was suddenly shoved as a body slammed into the both of us. We hit the ground, and I rolled from his grip.

"Adam!" Andrew yelled.

I scrambled to my feet, looking around wildly. Adam was moving towards me when wings suddenly hugged my entire body.

"Human—"

Two burly hands ripped the wings apart, revealing none other than Adam. His face was twisted in rage, his eye burning with an intensity that made me squeal.

The harpy screeched louder than a stereo at a frat party, and I was yanked free. Adam shoved the creature back, the two of them diving into a fistfight.

To my right, Adam was pummeling the harpy against one of the shelves. To my left, Andrew was battling the harpy that had tackled us.

That left me defenseless, which I became painfully aware of the moment I decided to look up.

Another harpy, one with phthalo blue feathers and the face of a god, was balanced on top of one of the shelves— staring right at me. He grinned, craning his neck like an owl.

"Lost, little human?"

All of the sounds around me were lost to the rush of my blood and the hammer of my heart. I swallowed, my chest swelling with panic.

His head cocked the opposite direction, unnatural in the way his neck twisted. "You look like you'd make a delicious snack. How about you take a harpy mate instead of the two of them?"

As if now was the time to flirt. I knew that I shouldn't, but I still laughed.

The laughter cut through the other noises, and I realized that all had gone silent.

I looked over at Adam and Andrew and realized that they had knocked the other harpies unconscious.

The two of them were immediately at my side, glaring up at the flirt.

He chortled, a weird sound gurgling from his throat. "Your rejection will not be taken lightly. You will not make it out of here alive."

I scoffed, glaring at him. "You're a fucking—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Adam scooped me up and ran. The harpy screeched and lifted from his perch, dive-bombing us like one of those birds that hung out in grocery store parking lots.

I heard a sickening snap but didn't bother to look back, knowing that Andrew was pummeling the creature into the pretty checkered floors.

I buried my face against Adam as he ran, focusing on his scent.

There were a few things that I had learned in my short time in the library. One, cyclopes were real. Two, harpies were real. Three, the world was a lot crazier than I had originally thought. And four…

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