Page 16 of Claimed By Her Monsters

Chapter Sixteen

Do It

“No.” The word tears out of me, ragged. “I won’t do it.

” The darkened lightbulbs explode with a sharp pop, every single one of them in the room.

Glass rains from the chandelier and from the lamps on the end tables.

Wind howls through the hallways of the old house, rattling every windowpane and door.

“Maddie—” Caspian starts, but his voice drowns beneath the storm clawing at the walls.

I clutch my head, nails digging into my scalp. My chest feels like it’s splitting apart. The fire leaps higher, spitting sparks, heat pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat. I stagger back a step, but the wall catches me, traps me.

“Stop it!” I scream, though I don’t know if I mean them, the storm, or myself.

Alister is suddenly in front of me, fangs bared, eyes burning in the firelight. He doesn’t touch me yet, but his presence cages me in. “Madison,” he says, voice low, “breathe.”

“I am breathing.” The words come out a sob, a snarl, both at once. My vision fractures, doubling. Energy surges through me, too big for my body, like I’ll shatter if anyone lays a hand on me.

The storm outside answers with another crash. Lightning flashes in the window. It rips open the sky.

Mick curses, sweat gleaming on his brow. He grips the back of his neck like he’s restraining himself from lunging forward. “She’s gonna blow. Alister, we can’t wait—”

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Alister growls, his voice shaking.

Caspian’s calm cracks at last. He leans forward, urgency in every syllable. “Alister, if we don’t anchor her now, she’ll rip the house off its foundation. You know it.”

I slam my hands against the wall, teeth gritted. “I don’t want this!” Scalding heat floods my skin. The wallpaper blackens around my palms and smoke curls upward.

Alister hisses, steps in to grab my wrists.

He rips them off the wall but doesn’t let go.

His touch burns, but it grounds me, too, like a chain yanking me back from the edge.

“You’ll die if you don’t,” he snarls, every word vibrating with fury and desperation.

“You’ll take us, maybe the entire town, with you. Is that what you want?”

Tears blur my vision. “No!” My body trembles. The storm outside roars, matching my denial.

Mick shoves a hand through his hair, his voice raw. “Then you have to let us in. Let us do this.”

The house moans, thunder shakes the walls, and for a terrifying second I hear something tear apart, wood, stone, maybe my sanity.

Alister leans in. “Madison,” he begs. “Please, let us save you. Save ourselves.”

My knees give. My heart claws at my ribs.

His plea rips me open in a way the storm never could.

If it were only me, I’d risk it, but it isn’t.

It’s about these three men, too, and even though I just met them, I’m already attached to each of them in different ways.

I draw a shaking breath, meet Alister’s black eyes, and accept the truth.

I don’t have a choice. I never did.

My voice breaks, small, ashamed, terrified. “Do it.”