Page 5 of In the Monster's Wake
Jasper blinked and stepped away from the man he’d been dancing with.The man reached for him, but Jasper turned toward Corey.“What?”
“Kerry wants to go home, so I’ll go with her.You don’t have to come.”Corey glanced at the man behind Jasper.“I’m pretty sure this guy has plans for you.”
Jasper shook his head.“Whatever plans he had, he’ll have to move on to someone else.Let’s go.”
Corey rolled his eyes, but he followed Jasper as he made his way out of the crowd on the dance floor.Kerry was sitting at the table they’d snagged up when they’d arrived at the club.She was talking with two of their friends, but she looked up when Corey and Jasper reached the table.She smiled and got to her feet.
“Thank you,” she told Jasper as she leaned against him.“I have a headache.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“How’d you know I’ve had it for a while?”
“Because I know you.You didn’t want to ruin the evening,” he accused.
She shrugged, then winced.“You got me there.You don’t have to come, though.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
The three of them were a team.They’d promised each other that they would continue being one even after they’d left the hunters, and they had.They had each other’s backs, and that would never change.Jasper didn’t care about finding someone to fuck.He cared about Kerry and her well-being, and he’d make sure that she and Corey made it home in one piece.
They left the club after saying goodbye to everyone.Jasper shivered when they stepped out into the cool night air.It wasn’t cold since it was August, but his skin felt overheated after he’d danced for so long.
“Can we walk?”Kerry asked.“I’m hoping that some fresh air will help.”
Jasper eyed the park they’d have to go through if they wanted to walk.They weren’t far from the apartment they shared, but they weren’t in the best neighborhood.Walking through the park made him nervous, but the three of them had hunter training.They could probably deal with any attacker.
“Sure,” he said with a smile.
Corey hovered next to his sister as if he was afraid she’d fall on her face or faint because of the pain, but Jasper gave her more space.Kerry wouldn’t hesitate to kick his ass if he behaved like Corey.Hell, the only reason she wasn’t kicking Corey’s ass right now was probably that she was in pain.
The park was silent of people.Jasper stayed focused, but he could only hear the sound of their footsteps and the rustling of the trees.The air smelled of the city, but it was more pleasant between the trees than it ever was outside of the park.The paths were well-lit, and while they walked past a man passed out on a bench and a couple making out, everything was quiet.
Until the scream.
The three of them jumped when it echoed through the park.They glanced at each other and started running as one.Kerry didn’t look like she was in pain anymore.She was reacting to the scream the way she’d been trained to do, the same way as Corey and Jasper.
They stuck together as they ran.The scream hadn’t come from far away, and Jasper wasn’t surprised when they reached the end of the path and found a small building that stood half in the darkness.The smell of urine and other things Jasper didn’t want to think about made it clear that this was a restroom, but that wasn’t what caught his attention.
No, what caught his attention was the monster pinning a woman against the outside wall of the toilets.
The park illumination didn’t make it easy to see the monster, but it was impossible not to notice how long his arms were compared to his body.He was using them to hold the woman, but Jasper bet that when they hung by his sides, they almost reached the ground.The monster was wearing a jeans jacket that stopped at his elbows, and when he turned, Jasper saw that the jacket was open, exposing the monster’s bare chest.His only other article of clothing was a pair of cutoff jeans shorts.His feet were bare, probably because his chicken feet wouldn’t fit into any kind of shoe that wasn’t purposefully made for monsters.It was possible to find them in the city, but something told Jasper that this guy wasn’t a friend of the monster community who lived here.
Jasper was pretty sure that the monster was male—he couldn’t see any breasts, but monsters’ physical aspects didn’t always match what most humans thought of as male and female, so he could be wrong.He didn’t care if he was.
He realized that the woman against the wall was a monster, too, when she raked her claws against the attacker’s chest with a shriek.The monster’s only reaction was to slowly turn his head to look at her.
Jasper needed to do something.He might not be a hunter anymore, but he wouldn’t stand by and watch someone get hurt.
He launched himself forward.He knew without looking that Corey and Kerry were right behind him.This was how they used to work when they were hunters.He’d never had to make sure they were there to support him.
As Jasper reached the monster, he heard him chuckle.The monster let go of the woman, and Corey moved past Jasper to help her.Jasper was focused on the monster, though.
The monster cocked his head and stared at Jasper.Jasper was in a defensive position, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to attack.Something told him that he would, though.This monster wasn’t one to play around.
The monster moved faster than Jasper had expected.He lunged, swiping his claws at Jasper.If Jasper had been any slower, he probably would’ve died, but his instincts had been honed by years of training under his father and other hunters.He ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The monster didn’t stop coming at him.Unfortunately, Jasper didn’t have weapons.He would have any other night, but the club they’d been at refused to let anyone with weapons in, so they’d left everything at home.Jasper was regretting it.
