Page 3 of Monster’s Redemption (Monsters in the Mountains #9)

Blythe

E verything hurt.

Fire still lingered in my veins, but the sensation was fading the longer I laid on the ground. The dirt beneath my fingers seemed to be leeching the heat from my flesh, and I welcomed it, embracing the cold creeping in.

My cramps had stopped, but my belly ached as if I’d drank too much and hadn’t relieved myself. The bloating was a mild discomfort compared to the stinging of my entrance and channel, but my mind shied away from that, not wanting to think about the cause.

My knees and palms felt like pincushions, tiny abrasions flaring to life as I moved to push myself upright, but they were nothing to the pounding in my head. It felt like someone had taken a branch to it, beating it like a dirty rug.

The worst of the pain was in my neck, though, radiating through my chest to join with the throbbing of my heart.

I couldn’t help the whimper that slipped out as I blinked my eyes open, trying to find my bearings. I wasn’t sure if I’d remained lucid or if I’d lost time, and while the fog in my mind was clearing, my thoughts were still muddled enough that it took a few heartbeats to realize what was standing in front of me.

Jaw dropping, I could do nothing more than stare up at the towering beast, horns curling from the sides of his head, and for a moment, I welcomed the thought of him taking my life. Death would be less painful than the turbulent emotions warring within me as images of what had happened since I’d awoken that morning came back to me in pieces, and the scent of blood in the air confirming why my chest and neck hurt so much.

Dicean had claimed me, the bond forming between us despite my unwillingness. It wasn’t as strong as a two-way bond would have been if I had bitten him in return, but it was still enough to tie us together. His satisfaction and enjoyment in my pain had poured into me, confirming my life would be misery tied to him, and then fear flooded over everything.

I understood what it was that had scared him so badly.

Swallowing hard, I sucked in a deep breath, preparing for it to be my last as the monster moved closer. I’d never been one to believe the tales of monsters living high in the mountains and had never listened to them, but if he’d killed Dicean, there was no reason to believe my fate would be any different.

Clenching my eyes shut, I whispered a prayer to the gods even as part of my mind was distracted by the scent of honeysuckles. They didn’t bloom until summer, so I had to be imagining the smell, but my lips lifted at the corners thinking the gods must have sent the memory to remind me of a time I’d been happy.

“Omega, are you okay?”

Goosebumps rose along my arms at the rumbly voice, a shiver skating down my spine as I let my breath out in a rush. The pain lingered, throbbing and distracting, so I clearly wasn’t dead yet, therefore it was no god inquiring as to my welfare. After another breath, I reluctantly peeled my lids open again.

“Omega?”

The monster had crouched down in front of me, but his massive form still dwarfed mine. It was as if I sat before a furry boulder, and a giggle tried to burst free before a spike of pain popped the hysteria threatening spill out.

“I… No.”

My chin trembled, tears pooling along my lashes. His question forced my attention inward again, and it didn’t matter what the male looked like, because he was the least of my concerns.

The trembling spread, extending into my chest and then out through my limbs. Tears scalded my cheeks, and I lifted my hand to my neck where the pain was the worst.

“He… He…”

I couldn’t form words.

Couldn’t face the multitude of things Dicean had done in the course of one evening that took everything from me.

Couldn’t think about what he’d have done to me for the rest of my life if the monster before me hadn’t come to my rescue.

My eyes had dropped to the ground, but I lifted them to meet a golden gaze. There was intelligence shining back at me, and some emotion I almost wanted to name regret.

My heart clenched, spikes of bleakness radiating through my chest until my focus shifted past him to the body of the alpha who’d taken my future from me. His clothing was still rucked out of place, pale thighs almost glowing in the light coming through the leaves overhead, exposing the bloody mess left where the thing he’d violated me with should have been.

Savage glee filled the hole in my chest left behind by the torn bond. The red painting Dicean’s throat and dripping down his chest was almost regretful, and I wished I’d been more aware when the monster had gelded the cruel alpha.

“He is gone and will hurt you no more.”

I nodded at the monster’s words, almost unable to peel my eyes from the gory sight, but with Dicean’s death and the possibility that the monster might not be taking my life as well, I had to face this new reality. One where my intended was dead, and somehow I’d survived the death of the alpha who’d claimed me instead.

What do I do now?

As unwanted as the bond had been, I still felt the ragged edges of it lodged in my chest. It matched the jagged tears in my flesh left behind by Dicean’s teeth, and was just as painful. A claiming bite didn’t usually hurt, but he had been neither thoughtful nor kind when he’d made it, and I’d had no pleasure to ease the physical pain.

I tried to force myself to think.

To come up with some reason to move from where I sat in the dirt and old leaves.

To envision something of what would become of me.

The tears that came then were fat and slow. Full of sorrow, because what kind of life could I have now?

The alpha I loved had been killed.

I had a broken bond and a mark that would haunt me forever.

If I returned home people would want to know what had happened, and yet I wasn’t sure any of them would believe me if I told them of being rescued by a monster. They might blame him if they believed me at all.

“Kill me, too.”

I stared at the ground as I let the words out, but I didn’t miss the way the monster flinched as if I’d hit him.

“Omega, no! You don’t mean that.”

His tone was soft, but I heard the outrage in it. He’d saved me from Dicean, but he wouldn’t save me from a future I had no reason to live for.

“Please. It hurts.”

I pressed my palm to my chest where the ache I didn’t want to acknowledge gnawed at me.

“He killed the alpha I chose, and now, I’m ruined.”

My voice broke on the last word, my breath rushing out on a sob. The thought of going home, of facing all the people who knew us…

I couldn’t.

Everyone knew I’d chosen Ricarie, but I also knew there were some who wouldn’t see anything wrong with what Dicean had done. They’d blame it on instincts instead of holding him accountable for his actions. That was the way it was with alphas.

And how would I explain Dicean’s death without it being blamed on the monster? People would think I was crazy. They would say it was the broken bond, and they’d never look at me the same. The monster would be hunted and possibly hurt because of me.

But I’d still be forced to choose another alpha. No omega was allowed to remain unbonded once their cycles began. I’d have to go to another alpha who would consider me used. I’d feel his contempt and disgust.

I clenched my eyes shut, shuddering at the thought. My scalp prickled and my hip throbbed as if Dicean had ahold of me again, the burning between my thighs intensifying.

There was a gentle brush against my cheek before a soft sound reached my ears. Ricarie had purred for me whenever I was distraught, but this was deeper, somehow invading my mind and pulling me from the dark spiral I’d gotten stuck in.

“You are not ruined, omega. There can still be meaning and happiness in your life. There is no reason to end it now because of one bad person.”

I wanted to scoff, to pull away, but something about the warm fingers cupping my cheek and the vibration of the purr had me unwilling to lose them.

“Then take me with you. I can’t go back home.”

It was a foolish decision, but as I opened my eyes and looked up at his golden ones, it felt right. Dicean’s betrayal stirred mistrust towards every alpha in my village, because if he’d been willing to kill his own cousin to steal me, what might others do to an omega without an alpha to protect her? I couldn’t hide that I’d been claimed, and there were those I suspected would try to take liberties since I was already spoiled.

“P-Please.”

His purr had stuttered to a stop at my request, and while his face was different than what I was familiar with, I could still see different emotions flitting within his eyes. There was shock and worry, but there was also anger, and a deep, burning intensity that froze my lungs.

It wasn’t until then, as I drew in a ragged breath, that I realized what I’d done.

Beneath the gentle smells of the forest, beneath the scent of seed and slick and blood, there was that rich perfume of honeysuckles…

Laced with alpha musk and pheromones.