Page 156 of Monster Daddies

I’ll take her, I decide. I’ll question her. Then I’ll have my fun with her, and eventually, once I’ve had my fill, I’ll release her. Maybe.

I reach out and curve a hand around her waist, causing her to tumble forward over my shoulder. She gasps and immediately starts wiggling around and trying to escape. Her panicked whimpers and cries make my shaft swell larger.

“Please, no. No, no. Oh, please put me down.” She draws in a huge breath, then screams, “Help!” As she kicks harder, her shoes go flying into the bushes.

I laugh. “They can’t help you, little girl.”

After diverting a final barrage of arrows, I turn from the altar and carry my prize away from the village and deeper into the forest.Kiera, Kiera, Kiera, the wind continues to whisper.

She keeps thrashing around, but I maintain a firm hold on her and navigate the path that leads up the mountain. Eventually, she grows tired and ceases moving. The abrupt silence is almost startling.

My cabin finally comes into sight, and I hasten my steps, eager to get her inside. I have many questions for her, and I know I’ll savor the interrogation. I find myself hoping she’s uncooperative, at least initially, so I’ll have an excuse to punish her.

I scan the area around my cabin for any signs of recent trespassers, and when I don’t glimpse any footsteps, I open the door and carry her inside. I kick the door shut behind me and walk to the center of the cabin, halfway between the sleeping area and the kitchen. Then, I set the dark-haired beauty on her feet.

She gasps and peers up at me with wide eyes. She takes a few steps back and glances around the cabin before her gaze returns to me. “Please don’t hurt me, sir,” she whispers in that lovely, pleading voice of hers.

I approach her with slow but deliberate steps. Ravenous urges heat my blood, and I take another deep inhale of her intoxicating scent. She smells like herbs and flowers and feminine slickness. Gods, I can’t wait to taste her.

But first, I must learn exactly what the villagers were planning. Well, I know they were planning to kill me, butwhy? I need to know why. I also need to know whether they know what I am.

“What’s your name?” I ask, even though the wind has never whispered a wrong name.

“Kiera. My name is Kiera.” Her eyes fill with tears. “Are you the demon? Are you going to… kill me?”

Demon? I draw back. I fucking despise demons. The wretched creatures are not welcome in my domain. I’ve killed scores of them over the millennia.

“No, Kiera, I’m not a demon.” Why does it feel so good to utter her name aloud?

Her eyes brim with relief, and she blinks away the tears before they fall. She exhales slowly and no longer appears so tense and frightened. She still looks wary of me, however, and she’s smart to remain cautious. I carried her miles away from her village and brought her to my home. And I’m not planning to release her anytime soon. She’s very much at my mercy.

“Doyouhave a name, sir?” she asks in a hesitant voice, and she takes another step back.

I draw myself up taller. “My name is Silas.”

She glances at my antlers. “If you’re not a demon, what are you then?”

“I am a guardian, and this vast forest is my domain.”

She studies me more intently, and I stand still for her perusal. Given her increasing excitement, the sweet, pungent slickness I keep detecting, I suspect she likes what she sees. Though her opinion of me shouldn’t matter—she’s in my domain and she’s at my mercy—I find myself feeling flattered by her approval of my human form.

“A forest guardian.” She stares at me in awe. “Oh, thank the gods. You’re not an evil creature then. Right?”

“That depends on your definition of evil.” I approach her until I have her backed against the wall. I place my hands on either side of her shoulders, ready to grab her if she attempts escape. “I have some questions to ask you, little girl, and I expect you to answer honestly. If you hesitate or I suspect you’re lying, I will punish you. I will put marks on your flesh, and I will make you cry.”

Her breath hitches, and she stares at me in shock, her dark eyes wide and filled with uncertainty. Not that I can blame her for the sudden return of her fear. I just threatened to hurt her.

“What do you want to know?” She lifts her chin, and she keeps blinking fast. Ah, she’s trying to summon bravery, yet she remains so very frightened of me.

“Why were you standing on the old sacrificial altar dressed in white?” I briefly tug at the sleeve of her gown.

She takes a deep breath and meets my eyes. “My brother is set to hang at noon tomorrow, but the Elders said if I agreed to help them kill a demon that’s been plaguing our village, they would release my brother. So, the Elders’ wives helped meget ready. They dressed me in a white wedding gown because they said it conveys innocence, and demons are attracted to…virgins.” She whispers the last word, and a deep blush covers her face and neck. “I-I was supposed to be bait for the demon, and the Elders promised the archers wouldn’t miss their target.”

“A demon? Why do your Elders believe a demon is plaguing your village?” It riles me that the archers released their arrows. The villagers thought I was one of those dark creatures I despise so much.

“A lot of terrible things have happened in Zochal during the last few years. A plague of locusts, a deadly illness, poor rainfall, and several disappearances. Many of the hunters who venture into the forest claim to have seen a demon.”

“How do the hunters describe the demon?” I tense as I await her reply. Only one demon has eluded me over the years, the Nameless One, a wraithlike demon that ventures from forest to forest across the realm, taunting guardians. I can’t kill the Nameless One, and neither can my fellow guardians, because the wind never whispers its true name. It’s impossible to vanquish a demon without possessing such intimate knowledge.