Page 3

Chapter three

Kai

N o matter how many times I slammed my hands against the invisible barrier, I couldn’t seem to make my way back through. It was… strange to say the least, and my fists were hurting after the sixth or seventh hit.

But as I drew back to ram into it again, something dawned on me.

If Rainn came through this way, he probably couldn’t get home either.

That would be a good reason for him to be gone for two weeks when he was supposed to be home sooner.

With a sigh, I turned, looking around. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but everything was slightly off. Just a little too bright and lush and untouched.

Just a little too wild.

The leaves were shaped differently; the air smelled different.

The noises weren’t… right.

“The fuck am I supposed to do now?” My eyes instantly flicked to the ground. Nervous talking… I was probably going to be doing a lot of that until I figured out what was going on. If I’d been in one of Rainn’s books, there would have been tracks leading me to where I needed to go.

Well, either that or there would have been some huge hunk of a monster waiting just this side of whatever I’d walked through to fuck me senseless and convince me I was into guys.

Monster-dick magic.

“Not happening,” I muttered to myself, pausing for a second to see if my voice was going to bring the aforementioned monster out of the wings to do exactly what I’d imagined.

When nothing came charging at me, I sighed, leaning my shoulders back against the invisible barrier and shivering at the hum of power that tickled along my spine.

I glanced down at my phone one more time. Still no signal. No signal, no Rainn… and no idea what I was supposed to do.

All of this was lame.

So fucking lame.

Stuffing my phone back into my pocket, I pushed off the wall that wasn’t there and started forward. I didn’t actually have any direction in mind, but I figured if I were Rainn and I got lost in a place like this, forward was probably the way to go. It was the only way that had any kind of path, after all.

“Okay, think like Rainn.” The words came out soft beneath my breath, and I glanced around one more time. Third time was not the charm to make anything come charging out after me—not that I wanted it to.

Because I didn’t.

I enjoyed reading monster books. That didn’t mean I wanted to live one out.

“Think like Rainn.” I said it aloud again, but it wasn’t doing me a damn bit of good. Rainn would be looking for the monsters, for the adventure and inspiration.

If this was where he’d ended up, at least I wouldn’t have to be worried about him being lost and terrified. He’d be having the time of his life.

And I was…

My eyes flicked back behind me—the mouth of the cave had already been swallowed up by the trees, but that was fine. I’d be able to find my way back.

Probably.

Maybe.

Especially if I just walked in a straight line.

I had faith in myself.

That faith lasted for a good ten minutes before I heard a growl coming from my right and paused in my tracks—it wasn’t that I was afraid of animals in nature. It was just that the growl was unlike anything I’d ever heard before.

Deep, rumbling, lower than any big cat I knew of. Reverberating, like it was palpable in the air.

“Shit, fuck what Rainn would do.” Because Rainn would probably run toward whatever it was to see if it was a monster, and I wasn’t about to do that. I took a step back and darted through the trees, completely ignoring the mantra I’d been slowly muttering under my breath about staying in a straight line, because a straight line would not get me away from the heavy footfalls I could hear crashing behind me.

The string of curses that ripped from my lips as I ran probably weren’t helping me get away from whatever was chasing me, but I couldn’t seem to stop them. I ran, tripped over branches, picked myself up, and ran some more…

I finally got to the point where I wasn’t sure if I was still being chased, or if the thundering I heard was just the pounding of my own heartbeat.

It didn’t help that the trees I was running through were so thick there were spots where the entire ground was shadowed because the sun couldn’t reach through the foliage. The ground was slick and damp and dangerous . I slipped and slid my way forward as best I could, letting out another low string of profanities as my gaze landed on a spot of sunlight ahead of me.

A clearing?

Shit, was it better or worse to be in a clearing when there was something chasing you?

I didn’t know, but the thought of getting out of the thick trees was enough to send me scrambling forward.

This time, it wasn’t a curse that tore from my chest. I screamed as I was suddenly jerked upward, and it took me a good fifteen seconds to realize that I couldn’t move my arms because they were pinned to my chest with a net that had molded itself to my body. I dangled nearly eight feet off the ground, which… wasn’t ideal, but maybe it would keep me safe from the thing that was after me?

It was a thought, until another low sound of panic tore from my chest when the thing that had been chasing me came out of the trees.

It was huge .

Fuck.

It was so huge that I was pretty sure me being eight feet up in the air was only going to make it easier for the creature to eat me. That and it was the strangest shade of green I’d ever fucking seen on a cat.

Mutant cat?

Shit, were there really monsters? If there were and this was it, Rainn was going to be so disappointed when he realized they were the “eat you painfully” kind and not the “eat you until you couldn’t walk” kind.

“Uh… nice kitty?” I half cooed, half whimpered the words out. Its low, rumbling growl, and the way it fixed bright orange eyes on me told me…

It probably wasn’t actually a good kitty, was it?

“Oh, shit. Please don’t eat me?” It snarled again in response, and I had a second to wonder if I was actually antagonizing it instead of helping my situation.

Probably.

“I don’t taste good, I—”

My words cut off in a scream as it lunged at me, but the snarl that tore from its mouth cut off in a loud hiss as a blur of motion slammed into it midair and sent it flying.

I could barely process what I was seeing—the cat monster scrambled off into the trees like it knew a more dangerous predator was on the scene, and my eyes flicked to the form of something standing from a crouch.

And standing.

And standing .

I was met with bright violet eyes… and they were level with me.

Nearly eight feet in the air, and the monster was looking at me square on.

“Oh, shit. I swear… I really, really don’t taste good. I probably taste like energy drinks and cheap pizza,” I muttered miserably. He was looking at me like he wanted to absolutely devour me. But…

But the thing in front of me was humanoid, and looked like a man.

If I didn’t count the green skin and the tusks spilling out of lips that curved into a wicked smile.

Why did I suddenly feel like Little Red Riding Hood?

“Uh, can you… cut me down?” I tried for the warm, charming voice I used when I was talking to any of the men or women I wanted something from in town. He still didn’t say anything, just searched me over with those absolutely inhuman eyes, the perusal slow and almost…

Proprietary.

Fuck. I didn’t like that. It made me feel weird. All tingly and warm, and…

“Please?”

The low rumble that poured from his chest at the word made me think he could understand me. If he could, he was obviously ignoring me, because he walked around me in a slow circle that made me feel like I was some kind of animal on display and he was deciding if he wanted to keep me for a pet or cook me over a fire.

If I had to choose, I’d choose pet.

But if there was a third option that said “ let me go and help me find my friend,” I needed to figure out how to request that one.

Instead, I was forced to dangle with zero dignity while he stalked around me three more times before pulling out what looked like a way-too-fucking-big machete.

“Hey. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. I’m handy, okay? I can… well… uh… shit… I can fix anything? I can totally pick up a lot—” That probably wouldn’t help. He was like fifty fucking feet taller than me. “I’ll do whatever you want. Anything. I—”

The blade caught the sunlight that I’d almost made it to as he swung it downward. I clenched my eyes closed, hoping he’d at least have the decency to lop my head off fast.

I was halfway through trying to decide if decapitation or getting stabbed through the heart would be quicker when I realized I was being lowered to the ground. He had the rope in one hand like I weighed nothing, and when I finally smacked against the wet grass, the woven material around me fell away and left me there.

On my ass.

At his feet.

I swallowed hard as I forced my eyes up to see if he still had the blade out.

And up.

And up .

Up, until I had to lean back and crane my neck so I could see that he was sheathing the weapon and fiddling with the black band on his arm. He murmured, and it fell away from his skin, a strap in his fingers as he slowly leaned toward me.

I needed to scramble back.

I needed to get up and run.

I needed to do anything other than stare at him while those warm tingles I’d felt earlier rippled through my body and kept me firmly in place.

While I was struggling with what weird magic he was using to paralyze me, I felt something warm slap around my neck.

The band he’d pulled from his arm was now around my throat. With a low murmur of a word I didn’t understand, I felt it tighten, nearly molding to my skin. I’d process later that his bulging bicep was so big he had to tighten the thing on my neck, because at the moment I was just trying to pull the soft material off me.

It wouldn’t budge.

It fastened around my throat like some fucked up choker… or a collar.

Then he grinned, leaning forward so he could look me in the eyes—his fingers slid beneath my chin and lifted my gaze to his.

Fuck. Monsterfuck.

The curse caught on the back of my tongue as he leaned in close enough for the warmth of his breath to play against my lips. There was a small part of me that wanted to sway forward… maybe fall against him and ask for help . He was so big, and his violet eyes were like a galaxy swirl, and his mouth was really pretty and looked soft, and…

I stopped myself mid-thought—shit, did hitting against the barrier so many times fuck with me that bad? Or was it all of Rainn’s books putting ideas in my head that were definitely not my usual?

Because I liked women.

Human women.

Not fucking green monsters who were a foot taller than me and looked like they’d bust me in half like a log splitter.

He studied me for another second and smiled…. and when he spoke, I understood him this time.

Well, kind of, because the word that came out of his mouth and the way he was staring at me made no sense.

His voice was a deep rumble, spilling along my skin and sliding straight into my bones as he spoke.

“Mate.”