Page 2 of My Boyfriends Are All Monsters
After struggling to her feet, she wandered farther off the path to rest at the well where my body slept. The well was almost as ancient as the stones crumbling around it. Vines nearly sealed the entrance shut, but the moss covering the lip provided a soft rest for her hand as she leaned against it to check the cut on her thigh.
Music rang from her pocket. She fished out her phone and slumped against my home with a withering sigh. “Jess, you were right. I never should have come here.”
“What did that bastard do?” came a feminine voice on the other end.
“He just left me on the side of the mountain like a pile of trash to set up tents with Stephanie.”
“Wait, what do you mean he left you? Girl, where are you!”
Lucy groaned and leaned her head against the well. “I’m fine. Just taking a break on the side of the trail. I’m half tempted to haul my ass all the way back down and ghost him. He doesn’t even deserve a breakup text at this point.”
There was a clatter of plates on the other end of the phone. “Fucking finally! Yes, full support. Walk that voluptuous ass back down the mountain and forget that loser. If it’s safe to do so, I mean. Should I call a park ranger or something? Do they have those where you’re at?”
“Fuck if I know. God. I just feel so stupid!”
“You’re not stupid. You took a chance on the wrong man. It happens.”
“Seems like it happens more to me than others. Is it so hard to find what you and Jazz have?”
“Just try to ... Hey!¡Te voy a dar pao pao!” The sound of children bickering rang out. “Look, I’m sorry, but can I call you back? The kids got into the chalk.”
“Yeah, do what you gotta do. I’ll call you when I make it back down.”
“You better!”
Click.
Lucy rose to her feet and stared down into the well. She fished a coin from her pocket and held it on the tip of her thumb. “I’m tired of dating losers.”
Tears pricked at her eyes, and she let out a shuddering breath before continuing. “I wish to be loved no matter what. The cheesy, happy kind of love that you see in those Hallmark movies where everyone and their mother is contractually obligated to own a bakery or a golden retriever. And none of the men have girl best friends that so obviously want to fuck them!”
Her shoulders shook. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.” With a flick of her thumb, the coin dropped into my well.
I watched it fall, and a ripple of something long forgotten spread through my forest, shaking off the dust of centuries. Her offering, small and unassuming as it might have been, felt like the first breath after a long, dreamless slumber. Memories resurfaced of a time when I did more than feast on these creatures that no longer bowed.
I was worshipped once.
I had a name.
What was it?
Lucy turned to leave. If I had a mouth of my own, I would have begged her not to go. An ancient, possessive urge stirred in the leaves at the woman’s feet, and I wondered what I could do to draw her back to me. Have her speak her desires to me again and again and tell me the name I’d long forgotten.
She wished to be loved. I could do that. I could grant her wish in return for the sweet offering of her blood and her token. Anything for my newest acolyte.
No.
Anything for my Priestess.
Chapter 2
Lucy
Where did all this damn fog come from?” I could barely see in front of my face. Nature itself was working against me. As soon as I’d picked myself up from my crying fit to make my way back down the mountain, fog had spilled over the area like someone had turned on a smoke machine.
“Should I just suck it up and head to the top where everyone else is?” Pride and survival instincts warred for dominance. I had already sent my proud, independent woman speech to the chat, and the thought of going back on my word now that there was a bit of fog did not sit right in my soul. Neither did being alone in a creepy-ass forest, but that’s where lowering your standards for a man got you. Stranded on a mountainside on some bullshit.
It took us about three hours to walk all the way up here, but most of that was on me for needing so many breaks. My ass was far too jiggly for this level of incline. Going down most likely wouldn’t take nearly as long. Either way, the sun would be setting soon, and I needed to make a decision. As much as I hated the thought of returning to Mark with my tail betweenmy legs, it was still probably the safer option. Mind set, I headed up the trail.
