Page 25 of Monsterland Mayhem

Yet I canhearhim.Smellhim. “What’s happening to me?” I whisper, turning around again and jolting as I run into a wall of masculine heat.

Yelping, I stumble back but find my hips caught in an unyielding grip.

Smoke taunts my nostrils as I jerk my face upward.

And find a pair of alluring brown eyes staring down at me.

Eyes I know.

Eyes I saw right before my entire world was turned upside down.

“Master Pillar,” I breathe.

“Hello, Miss Marvel,” he replies, his voice a low purr that makes me feel dizzy. “Where are you running off to, hmm?”

“I…” I swallow. “What are you…? How are you…?” I shake my head, trying to clear it.

Because he shouldn’t be here.

Ishouldn’t be here.

But we’re both standing in this too-hot desert. And he’s dressed in an all-black suit.

Which makes about as much sense as Craze’s jeans and leather jacket in this heat.

Thinking of Craze has me glancing around for him, only to suddenly feel him against my back.

“Looking for me, little rabbit?” he whispers, his lips so close to my ear that I can feel his warm breath.

I can’t even complain about the nickname this time. I’m too speechless to fathom words. Too lightheaded to properly inhale and exhale.

“I thought we were meeting in the caves?” he adds as his arm encircles my waist.

Master Piller doesn’t release me, just continues to grasp my hips with his hands while Craze holds me from behind.

Being between them isintoxicating. Overwhelming. And oddly soothing.

I no longer feel the blistering heat, not even against my bare feet. Which is strange, considering the environment and my exposed skin.

“There’s been a change in plans,” a third voice says, snapping my attention to a man with thick, silver-white hair.

He’s older than Master Pillar and Craze, maybe by twenty years or so, but the ripple of muscles flexing beneath his tight white shirt tells me he’s just as fit as the two men holding me.

“Obviously,” Craze drawls. “And I assume it’s not related to our little rabbit’s desire to be chased down like prey?”

The silver-haired man smirks, his pale green eyes meeting mine. “No, but we can table that activity for later.” There’s a growl in his voice that makes my tummy flip.

But it’s his eyes that captivate me.

They… they remind me of… “Beast.”

He steps forward, his gaze intense. “Instantly recognizing me in my human form only proves how right I am about you, Ailsa,” he says, his palm cupping my cheek as his thumb drags a hot path along my lower lip.

I shiver, not just from his touch but also from the realization that Beast is a man. A shifter.A monster.

I always knew he wasn’t a standard wolf, his size too massive to be anything but spectacular.

But this…