Page 107 of Monster Daddies

“Yeah, that’s a done deal too. I’ve decided that you can’t be left to your own devices. You need a Daddy, since you’re basically a lemming with opposable thumbs, and I have to keep you safe.”

“Hey, I am not!” She narrowed her eyes, frowning.

He stared at her, and she sensed the disbelief radiating from him. “You set yourself on fire, Ellie. Literally onfire.”

“That doesn’t count. I’m normally very good at keeping myself safe. Tonight was all extenuating circumstances, on account of youkidnapping me from my backyard.” She said the last part very slowly, enunciating each word.

“It was an accident.”

“So? Accident or not, I would have been safe in my yard where there was no fire. The only danger I was in, was because of you.”

“Is that so?” His voice had dropped into the growly levels again.

She nodded firmly.

“Then while we’re on the subject, maybe we should talk about the dangers of trying to confront an unknown thief or stalker in the middle of the night, without even a weapon for protection. Was that an example of you keeping yourself safe?”

Well, when he said it like that… “Um.”

“What would you have done if you’d caught someone dangerous? Or something?”

Screamed and fainted probably, at least that’s what the evidence pointed to. “Um, I had my phone to call 911.”

He snorted. “And in the fifteen minutes it took for them to get there, you could have been hurt or killed. There are sick humans out there, wild animals, and… worse. Do you want to end up eaten?”

Ellie laughed. She’d grown up in the city where there were real dangers. Compared to that, small town life was nothing. “Oh, c’mon. There was nothing dangerous out there. There’s hardly any crime around here. It’s perfectly safe.”

“Really? You sure about that?”

“Nothing was going to eat me. Evenyou, the scary cryptid, were only eating my clothes.”

“And you really think I’m the scariest thing out there?” He laughed, but it lacked the warm humor she was used to hearing, and his body had tensed next to hers. “Oh,sweetheart. Didn’t I tell you that the woods and mountains are filled with dangers? There are a lot of monsters out there, and I’m far from the worst of them.”

She squirmed, and this time it was from nerves. Was he saying there were other cryptids besides his people? She shivered and decided not to ask. “I’m sure my yard was safe enough. I’ve got a fence.”

A fence he’d gone right over with no trouble, but there was no need to think about that.

“You’ve learned things tonight that most people never discover. You’ve taken one step on the path and think you know exactly what’s out there. Well, you don’t, and that’s why I need to take care of you. You’re my mate and Iwillkeep you safe, even from yourself if I have to.” His tone was determined, resolute.

She swallowed hard, beginning to realize that she hadn’t stepped into a new world, she’d just been blissfully unaware of the realities of the one she lived in. If Mothman was real, and her aching body was proof of that, then what were the chances that some of the other famous cryptids were too? Judging by his lecture, it was pretty high.

It had definitely been an eye-opening evening. She wasn’t sure how she was going to acclimatize to all the new information. As a biologist, she was very aware that there were tons of mysteries still in the world. New species of plants and animals were being discovered every day, but she’d never expected something like this.

It was a lot to take in, a lot to deal with. “Okay, Lium, I get it now.”

“Try ‘Yes, Daddy’. I want to make sure you understand that putting yourself in danger is going to lead to consequences.”

“Yes, Daddy,” she repeated. The attitude was gone from her voice, for now. And while she didn’t like the idea of needing to be taken care of, it was obvious he knew more about her new life than she did. She’d let him lead the way, and she didn’t think she’d mind too much.

But she wasn’t going to be a meek girlfriend, or wife, or mate—whatever she was to him now. She was going to continue to be herself and she’d simply accept the consequences when they came, as she always had.

From the moment she’d woken up in the cabin, he’d made her feel safe. Now he was making her feel a lot of other things. He probably hadn’t expected the threat of consequences to turnher on, and make her want to get in trouble, but that just meant he had as much to learn as she did.

She was happy to follow this road wherever it took them, and if there were dangers ahead, they would face them together—no matterwhather bossy mate thought about it.

But in the meantime… “Is there anything else to eat around here? I’m still hungry, and then maybe, uh, we could try that thing with your antennae?”

The End