Page 123 of A Monstrous World: The Complete Series

Chapter Twenty

Nadia

T he darkened room immediately sets me on edge. Brock and Ridge don’t join us, but Echo is at my back. His hand rests on my hip and his grip tightens.

“What the hell is this?” Echo asks.

“My friend, she...” Jenny’s head shakes. “She needs a healer.”

“Yeah, or a coroner,” Echo mutters.

I ignore them both as my magic pulls me forward. Someone isn’t in good shape. I don’t ask for permission. My hands buzz, guiding the way, and when I spot the woman on the bed, my gut drops. Pure rage takes over pretty quickly after that.

“I hope you’re both ready to bleed,” I choke out, pulling the pin on my bracelet that manifests as soon as I need it.

“Fucking lovely,” Echo grumbles. A second later, a dark stream of smoke appears from behind me. I give him a grateful smile over my shoulder as I slit my wrist.

Jenny’s blood joins the party a few moments after that. I hope whoever did this is ready to suffer, because retribution is coming.

I stagger out of the small house, looking half drunk.

Maybe my life in Haven has been insulated to the point I thought the supernatural world was better off than it really is.

It’s hard to tell, because Haven is run by decent monsters.

This place is a clusterfuck very close to what I imagine Hell would be like. Maybe even that is a stereotype.

“Where are you going?” Echo hisses from behind me.

“To replenish,” I say without looking back. “I’m looking for someone named Drake?” I point at the group of four or five enforcers standing in a semicircle.

One of the guys eyes me up and down, shoving his hands into his front pockets. “What are you willing to do for that information?” He laughs.

I stagger closer, running a hand down his chest. He grins wickedly. “How about I won’t suck every single drop of blood out of your body through your eye sockets? Does that work for you?” I pat his T-shirt. “I’m waiting.”

“Damn,” one of the other wolves mutters.

“He’s the big guy over there,” the cocky one says, nodding closer to the tree line. “Black hair. Nasty scar on his right cheek. I don’t think you should mess with him. He’s a mean son of a bitch.”

My jaw slides side to side. “Yeah, I know.” I take off without a backward glance.

“Are you about to cause a scene, baby darkling?” Echo appears at my side. He makes a grab for my arm, but I shake him off. “I’m technically not supposed to intercede if you get yourself into major shit while on pack land.”

“Good, that’s actually a great idea. Don’t interfere.” My magic laces my last few words with my command. The tether between us pulls tight.

Echo growls.

I ignore his fury, taking the last few steps to the mountain of a wolf. “Are you Sabine’s father?” I stop dead in my tracks. My magic jets out, and swirly shadows envelop him.

“Who the fuck are you?” he growls.

“It seems you owe me quite a bit of blood.” My head tilts, studying the disgusting man.

“Oh, this is going to be great. I can just feel it. Are you that desperate to get yourself killed?” Echo groans.

“I’m already starting to itch, so I’m going to relocate to just inside the tree line.

Pack lands don’t have the same UV shield that covers the downtown area.

I have no interest in burning to a crisp in the direct sunlight.

” He continues muttering under his breath the entire way.

I can’t see him, because he moves too fast, but my ears register him getting farther away.

I grimace a little.

I’m not a great tether.

I hadn’t even considered whether he’s one of those vampires that the sun can be a problem for. It was extremely overcast at the peaks yesterday.

My shadows still firmly encase Drake, but a number of them take off toward the woods. My forehead wrinkles as I frown after them. I don’t know what is wrong with my magic lately, but Drake isn’t going to end up the odd omega. His fate is definitely going to be more gruesome than that.

The wolf finally looks alarmed at the sight of my shadows swirling around his massive frame. He might be a big guy, but he’s a tiny little man at heart. No one with a dick ever needs to hit a woman with a fist.

Consensual rough sex is one thing, but that’s not what this is. A shiver of unease runs through my system at the thought. Thank God, since they’re related.

“Who the fuck are you?” Drake growls again as I prowl closer. “And what the hell are you doing?”

“We’ve already been over this,” I inform him, shoving dark hair away from my face as it whips in the wind.

Drake growls and his eyes glow, signaling his wolf. His entire body begins to contort like when a shifter shifts. My eyes widen as I step back. I infuse every bit of focus I’ve got into commanding my magic to stop him.

“Now would be a good time to cancel your command.” Echo sounds breathless. His anxiety and frustration radiate in my chest, thanks to that silly tether between our souls.

A low growl comes out of Drake as he lunges. A claw extends, and it seems to be pointing precariously close to my throat.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re doing to me, but you better stop before I rip out your fucking throat,” he snarls, staggering a bit.

My shoulders pull back. Okay, so my magic is doing something. It’s just a mystery what exactly that is. Good, he deserves it and more.

The wolf continues to transform. His face elongates, sprouting extra hair and longer teeth.

“Now would be an excellent time to call your demons or release me,” Echo snaps.

My eyes turn toward him. What demons?

Echo looks furious, but I’m still royally confused. Now isn’t the time for him to start talking nonsense.

“Look out,” Echo snarls, pointing at something.

My head snaps back just in time to see a fully formed wolf barreling toward me. His muscular shoulders flex as he lunges off the ground, using his back legs to propel himself at my chest.

My hands rise, as does my panic. Yeah, I could definitely use some help right now. Fun fact that I’m apparently just learning about myself: I guess I freeze under pressure, because my magic sure doesn’t do a single thing to save my damn life.

A feral growl breaks the air to my right and Ridge comes out of nowhere. He tosses himself in front of me in full human form. Which seems dangerous. Wolves have teeth that can rip human skin to shreds.

“Shift,” I hiss, slapping the giant alpha in the back.

Drake hits Ridge, but the alpha wolf doesn’t even stumble a step. The wolf’s claws do rake down Ridge’s arm. I step aside to see what’s happening because I’d really rather Ridge not get hurt trying to protect me.

Ridge has his hand wrapped around Drake’s throat, but I gasp when I notice time has stalled again. Thank goodness, because Drake’s teeth are only inches from Ridge’s face. My alpha wolf definitely saved my life just now.

I spin around, trying to figure out what the hell is happening.

“Hello, love.” The reaper bows his hooded head. “Is there a specific reason why you always wait until it’s a life-or-death emergency to call for us?”

“Yeah, doll. Talk about trusting us with clutch timing.” The man at the reaper’s side feels familiar, but my brain throbs when I try to remember why. My hands fly up, a groan escaping as I grip my aching skull. “Oh shit, I forgot about that. Feel free to remember us.”

The heavy pressure immediately subsides, and I glare at the demons. I vaguely remember the reaper is Wraith and the sin eater is Knight.

Knight has blond, straight hair to his shoulders. He’s slender, with a lithely muscled frame and he’s tall. He has a bit of stubble covering his jaw.

I glance at Wraith, and he pulls the hood back, giving me a timid smile.

He’s got a wide, strong jaw and no facial hair.

His hair is short, and it may be spiky because of the hood, but it currently sticks up in a million directions.

His eyes had two settings at Milania’s house.

They were either dark voids or glowing white orbs, like an alien in a sci-fi movie.

Wraith still gives that same timid smile. It’s ridiculously adorable, considering he’s a soul devouring machine. I’m also super freaking embarrassed that I didn’t recognize him at Milania’s. I’m guessing Knight had to release me from his command for the memories to come back.

“I can’t believe you made me forget how you lied to me,” I snap, spinning to face Knight. “Yeah, Sam, my ass.”

“It was a better answer on the fly than Dean.” Knight chuckles. His lithe chest flexes as he saunters over to appraise the Drake-and-Ridge situation. “Or both, which was that guy’s bright idea. And, yes, while we were in one vessel. Two names, can you imagine?”

“I’ve seen limited television in Hell,” Wraith says indignantly. “It was the first thing that came to mind.”

“You lied to me.” I seem really stuck on that fact. “You were going to blame me for Kash’s death,” I huff.

It’s also really difficult to be angry, because they’re Sam.

My Sam. The Sam I spent three years getting to know.

Every single week, I spent time with him.

There’s a whole lot of emotion there that I’m not sure I’m ready to unpack, but what I can’t manage to be is afraid of them.

I kind of feel a little guilty that I didn’t initially command them to stay, but I was in shock.

“Nah, we just hoped you’d see how convenient it is to have demons ready to murder for you,” Knight says, meandering closer to Drake. He scratches at his jaw. “This asshole smells like a delicious meal.”

“How’s the new mother?” Wraith tilts his head, studying me as he comes closer.

I don’t retreat. Now that I know he’s Sam, I don’t think I could truly fear him if I tried.

Half of Sam.

Whatever, it’s clearly complicated.

“I haven’t had a chance to check in on her.” I gesture to the frozen, snarling wolf. “My magic has been acting strangely lately. Do you two have anything to do with that?”

“We don’t,” Wraith says.

It’s absurd, but I believe him.

“Do you think it would be uncalled for if I ate this asshole?” Knight bounces on his toes. “Seriously, he smells like I wouldn’t be hungry for weeks. I assure you. His soul is tainted to the point where I’d be doing the world a great service.” He flashes a panty-melting smile my way.

My knees get all wobbly just from that grin on his stupidly handsome face. I blow out a breath and say, “I was trying to dispose of him, but at the risk of sounding redundant, my magic isn’t cooperating lately. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

My shoulders slump.

I came to North Falls and somehow devolved into the witch who constantly needs saving. That’s not a great feeling. I’ve always been extremely self-reliant. I’ve had to be because people who get too close are a risk to my secret.

“That is interesting.” Wraith wraps an arm around my lower back and yanks me toward his chest. I don’t fight the contact. His gasoline scent hits me, and it’s so familiar that my hand slides inside his robe, searching for his skin. The reaper immediately pulls the string.

I laugh. “Are you hot with the robe and a suit jacket?”

He shrugs. “The robe is more lore than anything. I don’t always wear it.”

“He does,” Knight interjects.

“Often, but not always. Would you be willing to fill me in on what’s going on?” He rubs my back in tender circles that remind me this is Sam.

It’s weird that he’s even asking. At The Den, he was more demanding or commanding... I don’t even know the right word for it.

My heart flutters.

I vaguely wonder how much of each of their personalities spilled into Sam. I already know Knight is the sadist who enjoys begging and eating me out from behind. Wraith is more of a pleasure Dom, and he’s tender. Like a big grim reaper teddy bear.

“Nadia?” Wraith runs a finger over my cheek.

I nod. “This town is fucked. The council compelled me into taking a vampire vessel. I also can’t leave town.

” A heavy breath whooshes out. I guess I’m spilling everything, but they’re here in North Falls, and apparently, they don’t fall under the guidelines of my compulsion.

It makes me emotional having someone around that I feel completely safe with.

“Then there’s my magic. It’s totally gone off the rails, and I don’t understand why. ”

“You’ve reached maturity. Of course, your power was going to increase during your twenty-eighth year.” Wraith nuzzles his cheek to the top of my head.

I nod because that does make sense. It’s also seriously inconvenient that it’s so difficult to control right when I need it the most.

A creepy sound comes from Ridge’s and Knight’s direction.

My jaw falls as I stagger back, pushing against Wraith’s chest to get us farther away from Knight.

I’m not sure what the hell is going on, but his head has fallen back, and some creepy, horrifying creature has popped out of his neck.

It looks like something from a disturbing-as-fuck alien movie.

Its mouthful of razor-sharp teeth open, and black goo seems to fly from Drake right into the monster’s ever-expanding maw.

Images and scenes flick in and out of view, moving from the wolf to Knight’s monster.

“It’s okay,” Wraith says, patting my back gently. “He’s not a threat to you. I hope you realize by now that neither of us is. That vile being is another story completely.”

The monstrous side of Knight slowly begins to subside, disappearing back into his still thrown back neck. It’s surreal when his chin tilts toward his body.

“It didn’t look like that when you fed on Kash.” I jab a finger at Knight. “That was super creepy.”

“He was extra awful.” His blond hair bounces as he shrugs. “He deserved to meet my monster.” He looks at Wraith. “You’re up.”

“Of course.” Wraith releases me, aiming for Drake.

Knight swaggers forward like some male model with his perfectly sculpted abs and chiseled chin. “Are you scared of me now, doll?”

Hardly.

I think I might have been on the verge of daydreaming about what he can do with those huge, veiny hands. Which is completely bizarre, but still totally true.