Page 1 of A Monstrous World: The Complete Series

Chapter One

Emerson

A yawn escapes. I'm on the last hour of a double shift, and my body feels every second of it.

Rolling my neck from side to side, I give the customer a placating smile. My back aches from holding up my boobs all day. I'm damn cranky, I know.

The diner is filled with late-night stragglers, drunks needing some carbs on the way home from the bar, and rowdy college kids after the club.

Friday and Saturday nights are the worst. Not that I have much room to complain.

A job is a job, and I'm grateful to have it, since it puts food on the table for me and my daughter.

I roll my eyes for the twentieth time as the frat guy asks for my number. He's hot in that all-American, guy-next-door way, but men in general aren’t currently on my radar. I might be their age, but I feel like I've got several decades of life experience on them.

The next time he asks if he can hit me up sometime , I swear I'm going to the kitchen, grabbing a basket of fries, and every time he opens his mouth, I'm going to shove a couple in.

The guys are laughing and making crude comments under their breath, but I'm way too freaking exhausted to care. All I want to do is close out their check and get home to crawl into bed.

A pang of depression hits me square in the chest when I realize I have to wake up and do this all over again tomorrow, but that's life. Keeping a roof over mine and Ember's heads means I don't get to take days off just because I'm physically and mentally worn down.

I toss my tips into my bag and zip the side pocket. My eyes fly to the clock by the back door—I'm thirty minutes late to pick up Ember. Mrs. Brown won't be pleased. She's my neighbor who watches my kid while I'm working.

With a shake of my head, I sigh. That last table of drunk guys didn't want to leave. They stuck around forever, but I'm finally free.

I push open the back door and head out, scanning the alleyway. I hate leaving alone at this time of night—it's just asking for trouble—but I don't have a lot of options these days. Or rather, the options I do have aren’t very appealing.

If being a struggling single mom wasn’t bad enough, I’ve got my ex’s debt constantly hanging over my head.

That asshole jumped ship two months after I found out I was pregnant.

He left me with a massive financial burden I didn’t rack up, but apparently, because I was involved with Alix, and I'm busy caring for his kid that he abandoned . ..

Somehow, the local alpha is convinced that debt falls on me.

I don't agree, but Alpha Brayden is bigger and scarier than I am. It doesn't leave me with many choices, outside of paying the ridiculous debt that seems to grow every time I see one of his lackeys.

The echoing sound of my Converse hitting the pavement follows me down the alley until I round the corner. The front of the restaurant is mostly dead, with only a few cars remaining in the parking lot. I vaguely hope those college guys either walked somewhere or called a freaking cab.

The route to my duplex takes me past the front of the building, and once I hit the parking lot, I know I'm not going to enjoy the rest of the night. A chill shivers its way down my spine as I spot three of the guys from earlier congregating by a fancy SUV.

“There she is,” Mr. Hit Me Up Sometime says.

My pulse picks up as my gut drops. They were pushy and kind of aggressive with other people around. The fact there's no one here now to witness their bad behavior doesn't bode well for me. I slide my hand into my bag, digging around for my cell phone as I pick up my pace.

It's less than a five-minute walk to get home. I make this short journey almost every night and, besides Alpha Brayden's dickhead henchman, no one has ever given me trouble. I guess my luck has officially run out.

“Hey, sweetheart,” the guy says, jogging after me. “Can I get your number?”

I glance back. It's clear I'm not going to be able to outpace him. He's tall and has that soccer player or swimmer's build.

My head falls back as it shakes. Despite being within the city limits, it's a relatively small town with low light pollution. The stars are beautiful as they sparkle.

My mind races through ideas . . .

Run.

Don’t run.

Be polite and give him a fake number.

Be a total bitch and hope he backs off.

I continue a few steps farther and come to the front sidewalk that lines all the businesses on this street. His hand clamps down on my shoulder and spins me back around.

“Did you hear me? I asked if I could get your number.” His blond eyebrows furrow as he studies my face.

I want to snap something like, yeah, asshole. I got that the first fifteen times you asked. Instead, I paste on a fake smile and take a step back. “Have you got your phone?” I nod to his jeans. “Let me give it to you.”

I continue retreating like a person backing away from an animal that's poised to attack.

“Where's your car? Are you walking?” the dipshit asks, frowning and scratching at his jaw. He's giving me major creep vibes.

Movement catches my eye, and I blow out a breath of relief. At this point, pretty much anyone would be preferable to the drunk guy. I don’t know why he’s setting off my creep-o-meter so hard, but he is. After Alix, I learned to trust my instincts.

It's my turn to frown as I get a look at the tiny form approaching. It has to be a woman based on the short, thin frame. The person is wearing a legit cloak that billows as she walks straight toward us.

The other two drunk guys suddenly approach and join their friend, deciding they need to be in the middle of whatever is happening.

“You should come with us,” the creepy drunk guy says, making a grab for my arm. He succeeds in wrapping his strong hand around my wrist.

“No, I think that would be a very bad idea.” I immediately recognize Nadia's voice and shed a proverbial tear in pure fucking joy or, possibly, appreciation. “Emerson, come on. Let's get you home.”

She extends one hand while the other pulls off her hood. The three men gawk at her. She's a witch with old-blood powers. She could wipe the floor with these three assholes without breaking a sweat.

I try to shake out of the guy's hold, but he only grips me tighter.

Nadia sighs, then she raises both hands in front of her and blows out a breath as she approaches. I can't see anything, but I feel a strange jolt of energy. The asshole immediately releases me, and I jog to her side.

“Are you okay?” she asks, studying my face.

I give her a nod. “I'm fine.”

“Let's go.” She takes my hand and guides me toward my duplex. When she tosses her free hand over her shoulder, the men groan.

I, however, don’t look back. Not sure I want to know what she did to them.

“Was this a happy accident?” I ask as we approach Mrs. Brown's door.

“No,” Nadia says, shaking her head. Her long, dark waves fall around her slim shoulders. “Sometimes, Nan gets a feeling about something. It's generally best not to ignore those niggling instincts.”

“Thank you.” I squeeze her hand.

“Of course,” Nadia agrees, releasing me as I make it to Mrs. Brown's door.

I met Nadia a few months ago. She's one of the only supernaturals I know, outside of the awful shifter pack that has it out for me.

One evening, she and her grandmother, Meena, came into the restaurant. They couldn't have looked more out of place, but they asked to be seated in my section. They've come in regularly since and have even met Ember.

At the moment, they're about the closest thing I have to friends or family. Or someone to report me missing in the event tonight had gone drastically wrong.

I cringe as I knock gently. I already know Mrs. Brown won’t be happy. She's not only my babysitter during work hours, but she also rents me the other side of her duplex.

Mrs. Brown opens the door with Ember on her hip. The look on her face says it all. She's furious. She gently shoves my sleeping daughter at me and frowns at Nadia.

“I can't keep this up.” She bends down, picking up Ember's bag and slamming it into my outstretched hand. It's not only filled with the normal stuff I bring for an evening. It's packed to the brim with everything that normally stays at her house.

I frown. “I'm so sorry. I got here as quickly as I?—”

“It's not just tonight, Emerson. I'm getting old. I can't keep up with Ember the way I should.” Mrs. Brown shakes her head. “I can't keep her anymore at all .”

Nadia takes the plastic bags Mrs. Brown grabs off the floor. I don't even know what to say. She’s been getting more and more frustrated with me, but honest to God, I'm doing the best I can.

My eyes ache as I try not to cry.

I open my mouth to say something—to beg, if necessary—but Mrs. Brown cuts me off.

“I need you and Ember out by the end of the month,” she says, looking uncomfortable. “My daughter is going through a breakup. She's moving back to town. I need that unit for her and her son.”

“What?” I whisper. My mouth falls open. Ember and I have been here for a year and a half. I've never paid late and...

We have a month-to-month lease, so all that means absolutely nothing.

My stomach drops.

“Come on,” Nadia says, glaring at the old woman. “Nothing you say is going to change her mind. Let's go.”

She helps me carry Ember's things over to my side of the duplex. I get Ember settled in her bed and come back out to find Nadia lounging on the couch. I'm exhausted to the point that crying feels like a very real option. But my mind is racing with what all this means.

I have no backup plan. No family I can ask to take me in. My mom died five years ago and my grandmother three years before that.

I fall on the edge of the couch and bury my face in my hands. Earlier tonight, my biggest complaints were lower back pain and a bit of lingering exhaustion. Well, outside of Alix and the bullshit he saddled me with.

“I don't know what I'm going to do,” I whisper, trying my damnedest not to burst into tears.

“You'll come stay with me and Nan.” Nadia scoots close to my side and tosses an arm around my shoulder. “We've got room. It's no trouble.”

I frown, shaking my head. The offer is so tempting I feel bad for even considering it. I've got major issues following me. I can't bring that to their doorstep. It's not fair to them.

“Emerson,” Nadia says in a tone that means business, “don't go there. This isn't up for debate.”

“What about Alpha Brayden?” I ask, twisting to face her. “I can't put you two in his crosshairs.”

Nadia shakes her head. “How much do you know about Haven?”

“Not much. Just that it's where you live and it's a supernatural hotspot,” I tell her truthfully. She and Meena have mentioned a few vague details about their town, but I grew up pretty removed from the supernatural world. I knew it existed, but I didn't have any close contact.

Finding out Alix was a shifter had been a huge shock.

“It's a sanctuary city.” Nadia rearranges herself until her legs are tucked under her. Her hand sweeps toward the hallway to Ember's and my room. “Your daughter is a shifter, so you can claim sanctuary.”

“I'm human,” I whisper, shaking my head.

“You've got the tiniest sliver of witch blood,” Nadia says with a shrug. “Even if you didn't, Haven is filled with mortals. I work with more than a few of them at The Monster's Den.”

“The club you work at?” I ask. “Are they hiring?”

“For humans?” She chuckles. “Always.”