Page 15 of Claimed By Her Monsters

Chapter Fifteen

Freaky

“What?” I squeak, springing off the couch like I’ve been stung by a wasp. Except this isn’t a regular wasp. It’s one with fangs, claws, and the ability to vanish into thin air. My back hits the far wall, hands spread like I can hold them back with panic alone.

Mick lifts his palms. “Easy, honey. No one’s gonna hurt you.” His grin is gone, but the heat in his eyes isn’t. If anything, it’s worse now. Hunger tangled with fear, mixed with excitement until all the emotions merge, become indistinguishable from one another.

Alister rises slowly, a snake uncurling, a predator waking. His gaze cuts to Mick. “You had no right to tell her. Not like that,” Alister points my way. “Madison decides how much, how fast.”

Mick bristles, shoulders squaring. “She needs to know. Look at her. She’s crackling with it already.”

“Enough,” Alister snaps. The word slices the air. His presence is commanding, and for one terrifying second I swear the firelight bends toward him like it’s alive and eager to do his bidding.

My chest heaves. I can barely breathe.

Caspian hovers by the corner of the couch, calm as ever, though his eyes glow faintly, eerie in the dim light. “Maddie,” he says softly, like he’s talking to a spooked animal, “it’s not as bad as it sounds. Initiation is meant to anchor you. Without it, you’ll tear yourself apart.”

I press tighter against the wall, shaking my head hard enough to make my vision blur.

Thunder roars outside, one boom after another.

“No. Nope. Not happening. I’m not—” My laugh comes out high and hysterical.

“I’m not signing up for some freaky monster gang-bang.

You’ve all officially lost your goddamn minds. ”

Alister’s eyes flick to me then, softer, but the hunger and frustration in them are unmistakable. His voice lowers. “We’ll never force you, but I'm scared of what will happen if you don’t.”

He strides across the room. Plants himself in front of me and faces the other men, a wall of malice and muscle. There’s a hiss to his voice when he tells them, “I’ll do it. You two stay away.”

“Can’t.” Caspian leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. In a way, his calm is worse than Mick’s mania, worse than Alister’s restrained fury. “She’s too powerful. It’ll take all three of us to contain her.”

A frustrated growl rips out of Alister’s throat. Hands behind his back, he paces back and forth in a tight line. I catch the glint of sharp teeth in his mouth. “There has to be another way,” he snarls.

“There’s not,” Mick says, stripped of levity. “Listen to the house, the storm.”

He’s right. The storm crashes down with a deafening boom, the whole house rattling like it’s about to split in two. Plaster dust rains from the ceiling, coating my hair, my lashes. The chandelier swings like a noose. My heart spikes higher with every flash of lightning.

Even Caspian, stoic, unshakable Caspian, looks stricken. “She has to awaken before the end of her nineteenth birthday. The gate closes at midnight.” His voice cracks low as he rasps, “We’re running out of time.”