Page 71 of Monster's Obsession

"I know what happened to him, Ash. George…showed me everything," I whispered hoarsely.

Ash’s eyes closed, and his features curled up in pain. When he opened them up, there was moisture gathered there.

"He would never have wanted you to see those things… But I'm glad you did," he finally murmured. "I think you're the best chance for my brother’s happiness. I do…But…I don't know how he’s going to face you knowing you’ve seen what happened to him. I only know because when they brought him back from the camps after saving him, I overheard our parents fighting about it every night. They didn’t think he’d ever talk again. He was on suicide watch for years…he’s still on suicide watch.”

"I saw what that she-devil did to him too.”

Ash’s eyes closed again, and a shiver ripped through his body. When he opened them, I staggered backwards, because the sorrow in his gaze could have swallowed me whole. "I promise you, I did everything I could to help my brother. And after she did that to him, I never touched her again."

My fists were clenched so tightly that my nails broke the skin of my palms and blood began to flow from the wounds. Ash sniffed the air and then stared down at me, alarmed, his hands beginning to search for where I was bleeding. He picked up my palm, and then he…licked the blood. Of course I knew that Ash had an obsession with my blood, but the moment felt so tender, nothing sexual about it. It was just…comforting.

"Please don't ever hurt yourself for us," he pleaded. And a tear trickled from his pale blue, sightless eyes.

"I need to go to him.” He nodded, resignation in his gaze.

"I'm sure he would've gone to his rooms. George wouldn't have let him just disappear, not with you here.”

"George is…intense." It still felt very weird to be calling him “George,” but it made him a lot less scary.

"George is almost as obsessed with you as I am. It sounds a bit crazy to admit…but I kind of like the guy after all of this," Ash responded, a hint of a smirk on his full lips for the first time since I’d woken up. I couldn't resist laying a gentle kiss on them. They were too inviting. And then I slid off the bed to go find Seven. Ash followed behind me.

"I’ll follow you to his room. But I’ll wait outside. I just…need to be near you. You are the two most important beings in my life, and I need to make sure that nothing happens we can't come back from.”

It was a bit terrifying to think of all the things Seven…or George, that is, could do that we couldn't come back from, but after being held by him, I was feeling confident for the first time. His dark obsession…it called to me, just like it did whenever I got a glimpse of my other monsters’ need for me.

It made me wonder if it was possible to get what I wanted after all. The things that I tried to never think about.

Somewhere along the way, I’d decided I wanted to keep them all.

My bond tugged in my chest then. Steele checked in with me. I could only imagine the various emotions he'd been feeling over the past couple of hours. But I tried to picture…peace, and then I sent it through the bond, hoping that he would get it on his end.

A few moments later, the bond flickered in my chest.

"Steele’s talking to you, isn't he?" Ash asked quietly, a thread of jealousy interwoven through his words.

"How did you know?"

"Your heart has a different pattern now, and sometimes it’ll be a completely different beat even from that, like it's not actuallyyourheart at that moment. It's something I've noticed in other true mates as well."

"It's the strangest thing I've experienced thus far…but I wouldn't trade it for anything," I admitted.

He nodded, and his jaw clenched as we continued to walk.

"Ash," I said softly, reaching out to touch his arm.

"It's fine, Blake. I know things are different now."

I shook my head frantically, even though he couldn’t see it. "Nothing's changed, Ash. Yes, Steele is my true mate. But…I'm still yours too… If you want me?" Vulnerable. That was the best word to describe how I sounded just then. But he sounded vulnerable too.

I decided it was a beautiful thing when two creatures decided to let down their walls and show their true feelings. Just like it was a beautiful, devastating thing to see behind Seven’s mask.

Ash froze in place, and I almost ran into him with how suddenly he’d stopped. He turned to face me, his hands lifting up to my face, and his thumb gently brushing against my lips. "You really mean that, don't you?" he said roughly.

I nodded, unable to say anything, but he felt the movement with his hands.

Abruptly he pulled me to him so I was plastered against his body. Slight tremors were buzzing between us, and his grip tightened and loosened over and over again like he was having to convince himself to be gentle with me.

"I —" he began before he stopped talking. Butterflies sprang in my chest, the words he wouldn't say floating in the air between us. "I want some time for us, time to talk about how we feel. But it's not right now, not when my brother needs you so much."

---