Page 18 of In the Monster’s Wake (Monsters Amongst Us #1)

“T his really wasn’t necessary,” Jasper said, but he made no move to get up from Archie’s couch.

He glanced around the apartment. He hadn’t known what to expect the first time he’d walked into the place, but it was cozy.

It was clear that even though Archie probably didn’t spend a lot of time here, he cared about the place.

The furniture was clean, and there were personal objects scattered around the room.

The smell of cooking coming from the small kitchen made Jasper’s stomach growl, but it still wasn’t enough to push him to move.

“What was necessary? We both know that Kester is interested in you,” Archie called out. “What he did was creepy, and I don’t want to give him the opportunity to do that or to hurt you again.”

Jasper touched the corner of his lips. The cut still stung, but that wasn’t what he cared about.

Kester had licked his blood. It was probably just because he was a creepy monster, but it had felt like there was more to it. Kester had seemed surprised after he’d done it, as if he tasted something he hadn’t expected.

“What do you think Kester meant?” he asked.

He’d told Archie everything that had happened. Archie had pulled both him and Cullen out of the building and into his car, but he hadn’t said anything until they were far enough away from the area.

He’d stopped at a diner and had gotten both of them inside with some coffee and food. Then, he’d introduced Jasper to Cullen.

It wasn’t a surprise to find out that Cullen was running from his father.

Anyone in their right mind would run from Kester.

Jasper didn’t understand why Kester was coming after Cullen, but he wasn’t sure there was a rational explanation for it.

Kester did what he wanted, when he wanted it.

Maybe right now, he felt like finding his son.

He was leaving a trail of bodies behind as he did so, but it wasn’t Cullen’s fault.

Kester was a danger both to Cullen and Jasper. That was why Archie had decided that Cullen would be staying with Braith while Jasper would be staying with him. He’d brought both of them back to his apartment, and they were currently waiting for Braith to arrive.

Jasper glanced at Cullen. He was sitting on the corner of the couch, curled up as if he was afraid to take up too much space. He kept glancing at Jasper, but Jasper didn’t feel in danger like he did when he was with Kester.

Cullen looked harmless. He probably wasn’t since he was a monster, but most monsters weren’t violent. Jasper wasn’t sure how such a cute monster had resulted from Kester, but it didn’t matter.

Cullen was cute. He looked a bit more human than Kester, and even though he had fangs, he didn’t have as many of them as Kester.

He also didn’t use them to scare people.

In fact, he kept his lips pressed together so that no one would see them.

One of his eyes was hidden behind his floppy dark hair, and there was a hint of red that glinted in the visible eye in the right light.

He was shorter than Kester and thinner, but Jasper was pretty sure that he had his father’s chicken feet.

There was something about the way he wore his shoes and moved his legs.

Jasper didn’t care. It wasn’t the chicken feet that made Kester a monster. It was what he did to people.

“Do we really care what Kester meant?” Archie asked as he walked into the living room carrying two plates.

He held one out to Cullen, who only hesitated for a second before grabbing it. Jasper moved more slowly, knowing his body would be in pain tomorrow. He’d been knocked down a few times tonight, and he was starting to feel it.

He was glad for the pasta that Archie had cooked. He was hungry, and he’d never enjoyed cooking, especially not for himself. He was happy he wouldn’t have to go home and find something to eat.

Archie vanished into the kitchen, but he was back with Jasper seconds later, carrying his own plate. He sat on the couch armrest as if he couldn’t bear to be far away from Jasper. That was fine with Jasper, who allowed himself to lean against him.

They hadn’t talked about what they were to each other or about what they were doing. Jasper knew that he liked Archie, and he was pretty sure that Archie liked him, but it might not be enough. They had more important things to focus on than whether or not they were boyfriends, though.

“I think we should care about what Kester said,” Jasper said. “It could explain why he’s so interested in me.”

“Even if it explains it, I don’t think it’s going to change anything. For some reason, Kester finds you intriguing. That’s enough for me to kill him,” Archie offered.

Cullen made a little sound that had both Jasper and Archie turn toward him. For a second, he looked like he might throw his plate at their faces and run, but instead, he clutched it closer and shoveled more pasta into his mouth.

“Why is he after you?” Archie asked.

Cullen froze. “I don’t know.”

“I think that’s a lie.”

“It’s not. I never knew my father, but my mother told me about him. Even without meeting him, I knew that I should stay as far away from him as I could, and I was right. He’s horrible.”

That was one way to describe Kester, but he wasn’t just horrible. He was a murderer and a monster in all the senses of the word.

“Is that what you did?” Jasper asked.

“I tried. My mother passed away a few months ago. It wasn’t easy, but I was working through things when he appeared.

He grabbed me one night. I don’t know why, but he seemed curious about me.

” Cullen shook his head. “I didn’t ask him questions.

I don’t know why he’s trying to find me, and I don’t care.

I ran as soon as I could, and I’ve been running ever since. ”

There was no way to know what Kester wanted or what was going on in his mind.

They could only guess, but maybe Archie was right, and it didn’t matter.

What did matter was Kester’s actions, and he was looking for Cullen while also being intrigued by Jasper.

He always did what he wanted, which meant he wouldn’t stop until he found Cullen and did whatever he had planned to Jasper.

“We’ll help you,” Jasper promised.

Archie grunted. “Don’t make promises you don’t know you can keep.”

“I’m going to do my best to keep this one.”

“I know that, but we have no idea why Kester is after Cullen or what he wants from you. I don’t like going into any situation in the dark, but especially not something like this. We need to know more.”

Jasper poked at Archie’s arm. “You were the one saying that it doesn’t matter.”

“It probably doesn’t, but maybe knowing why Kester is so intrigued by you will help. Maybe if we understand his motive, we’ll be able to find him.”

And if they found him, they could fight him, and hopefully, defeat him. Jasper had an inkling that would be the only way to be free of the monster, and he didn’t fancy spending half of his life looking behind himself.

He couldn’t afford not to do anything about Kester, not only because the monster was terrorizing the city. Jasper needed Kester dead for his own good.

He just wasn’t sure how to make that happen.

* * * *

A RCHIBALD WAS CURIOUS about Cullen, but he didn’t think he would’ve gotten any answers out of him. Jasper had a way with people that helped them relax and got them to talk about themselves.

It should be the other way around. Jasper had killed monsters for a living, while Archibald helped them. He should be used to talking to people and getting answers out of them, but instead, Jasper was doing it.

He was talking to Cullen and getting to know him. Jasper hadn’t been surprised to find out that Cullen was alone in the world. When his mother had passed away, he’d lost the only person who could’ve protected him from Kester.

Archibald doubted that Kester had cared about Cullen’s mother.

He doubted that Kester cared about anyone, even his son.

If he was looking for Cullen, it wasn’t because he’d suddenly decided to act like a father.

No, there had to be something more, although Archibald couldn’t begin to guess what that something was.

Maybe Kester was just curious. After all, he went after what he wanted without hesitation all the time.

Maybe he just wanted answers or to see what his son was like.

There was no way to know what he would’ve done if Cullen hadn’t managed to run away, but Archie had a good imagination, and he suspected that Cullen did, too.

A knock on the door got everyone’s attention. Cullen glanced around as if trying to find somewhere to hide, and Jasper was on him right away, reassuring him that everything would be all right. Archibald wasn’t sure if he was right, but he hoped so.

He went to open the door. Braith’s expression was grim, and he asked about Jasper as soon as he was through the door.

“He’s fine,” Archibald reassured his friend. “A little banged up, but he’s survived fighting Kester twice now. It’s pretty impressive.”

Braith nodded. “It is, but it doesn’t reassure me. We both know he wouldn’t have survived if Kester hadn’t wanted him to.”

“I agree. I’m hoping we can get answers out of Cullen, but something tells me he’s already said everything he knows about his father.”

Braith rubbed his face. “I can’t believe Kester has a son. I thought for sure that he killed every person he was with.”

“He probably doesn’t care enough to do so.”

“I don’t know if I can keep this kid safe if Kester finds us.”

It was a chance they’d need to take. They couldn’t send Cullen away with no protection, and even if they did, Jasper would still be in danger. “We have to try.”

Braith nodded. “You keep Jasper safe, and I’ll worry about the kid.”

“It’s all we can do.” Archibald wished that wasn’t the case, but until they found Kester, what could they do? Hopefully, Cullen would be the key to finding his father.