Page 10 of Monsters (Vengeance #3)

Gray

P ortal travel, without a doubt, always left me feeling odd.

Especially considering the short turn-around time from leaving the Horde to landing in Boston.

I probably could have figured out a way to jump realms but that shit sounded dangerous.

So, instead, we landed our asses in the snow of Estonia and, after a momentary reprieve, we portaled again to Boston.

Originally, I had wanted all the boys to come with me but by the time Friday evening rolled around and we prepared to leave, there had been another border attack on the other side of the lines.

It was smaller and, once again, didn’t cause any major damage.

I almost felt as though they were trying to gain our attention.

As if we hadn’t assumed they were coming already.

Either Mario was beyond dense or he was attempting a distraction technique.

It worried me to leave but the boys assured it would be fine.

Adyen and Taylor were with me and, while the portalling was exhausting, I was happy they were in tow.

At this point in time, I would take any alone time I could have with any of them .

Focusing on the location Palo had provided was easy enough, but the energy to actually portal took a lot out of me so it took much longer than normal.

Along with the difference in time zones, it felt as though we’d had a million lay-overs in bad airports and had been traveling for hours on end.

When the Earth realm air hit my nostrils, I smiled and sucked it in greedily noticing how different it was from the Horde.

Also not nearly as clean, but I didn’t have the time to reflect on the substantial pollution issues plaguing Earth this morning. I was sans coffee and feeling it.

Both boys grunted to a halt behind me. We were greeted to a pretty fucking funny if not downright ridiculous sight. Palo might have been right. These fuckers were insane.

First, I would like to note that the gothic monstrosity Vegas and her boys lived in looked like something out of a horror movie.

Eerily beautiful, but totally creepy. And that’s coming from a woman living in a massive castle without modern luxuries.

The entire garden around us was dying under the chilly Boston sky.

The air seemed thick with the smell of ash.

My eyes trailed to a large tree bursting with red and orange flames.

They didn’t seem like normal flames. Once again I felt as though my friend was hiding how talented she was.

The woman just smelled like fire and magic.

Or maybe I still didn’t know enough about the people I was supposed to be leading.

Second, several men, Vegas’s men, lounged on the stone patio pavilion watching the scene unfold before me with keen interest. The long-haired blonde man laughed at something being said as the elemental mage held Vegas on the ground with grass cuffs.

Grass cuffs? Kinky.

She laughed about something but then looked super emotional the next second. Edwin, the commander of the Red Masques, crouched down beside her with an expression so focused it bordered between obsessive and sweet. Fucking weird shit.

“Fuck,” the elemental mage released her and yelled at Edwin. “Edwin, dude, don’t make her sentimental. You just said she’s emotional! Now you are making her cry and shit. Bandit may actually kill you. He hates Vegas crying more than anything.”

Was Bandit the scary one? I tried to remember.

Blonde hair and green eyes? Made you feel like you were staring into a massive void.

He was possibly the only person I'd ever met in my entire life that scared me.

Mind you, it wasn't much but still. What did it matter, really? All of them were a bit intense. Yeah, I know. Takes one to know one . I was well aware that I was more powerful than them but, fuck, if they ever got strong enough, I’m not sure the Fae world would survive their particular brand of crazy.

My flavor was fairly strategic but just happened to include a growing bloodlust and an interest in all things violent.

It was a primal energy. This? This was just some odd fucking shit.

I wondered briefly if we had landed on the wrong realm. This shit was Wonderland worthy.

Edwin winced and paled. “Sorry, dolcezza .”

“Oh, great!” Adyen grunted in a dismal whisper. “Our special forces commander is using pet names. Fantastic.”

I looked at him with an ironic brow raised. “What do you call lil brawler?’”

My dragon’s eyes flashed darkly to my bite mark causing Taylor to laugh quietly. We continued to watch the scene as some of the men noticed our presence.

“No!” Vegas exclaimed while chuckling tears dripped down my cheeks. “This is fucking ridiculous, I need to get this shit under control. ”

Was she laughing?

God I picked the weirdest friends.

“What’s ridiculous?” My voice boomed as their heads whipped towards us.

“Gray?” Vegas echoed.

I smiled and stepped forward as she jumped up, eyes filled with emotions and body with intense power levels. My magic sought out hers. While I encouraged it to figure out what the hell she was, my magic just gave hers a high five and started shooting the breeze like old friends.

Good. So helpful.

“Hey,” I pulled her into a hug. She squeezed back, bouncing on her toes with excitement.

“What are you doing here?” She asked excitedly as her other men walked over.

“We need to talk,” I spoke, feeling oddly hyped up instead of tired. It was her fault. She was jumping around like a bunny.

“Sorry.” Edwin grunted while trying to hold her in place. “Her magic seems to make her a bit more reactive to emotions.”

One of the boys snorted and I narrowed my eyes, their eyes snapping away immediately. Good. Only I was allowed to poke fun at my friends.

“Let’s go inside,” Vegas tugged on my hand and I followed. I noticed that she was dressed in workout gear and felt a small tug of pride knowing she’d been training. I wanted to think it was because of the problems in the Horde but maybe she was just enjoying a casual workout.

“Nice place,” I commented as she led me down a hall.

“Right?” she chirped. Her hair whipped around in a ponytail. Must be nice to be able to keep one of those in. I tossed an accusing look toward Adyen .

I meant what I said about the gothic mansion. It seemed lived in and despite being a tad shadowy and dark, there was a warmth to it. It’s totally possible that it wasn't imagined. The warmth could be coming from my friend. Either I was really fucking cold or she was searing.

“So, what’s going on?” She sat down on the couch and I moved to the seat across from her.

I started feeling badly, considering taking them away from here, now that I’d seen them in their everyday life.

Her boys filed in. I felt Adyen sit next to me, he wrapped an arm around me possessively.

I knew he understood, as well as I did, that none of those boys were a threat but it didn’t stop his dragon.

Taylor sat on my other side and wrapped a hand around my leg.

He stroked it gently with his thumb. I leaned forward slightly, speaking to Vegas.

“I hate to do this, especially after seeing all of you so happy here, but we need you to come to the Horde. There have been more attacks from the Dark Fae and since you were seen with me last…”

Vegas’s eyes flashed a deep purple, nearly amethyst, with understanding and something else I didn’t understand. She offered me a look that seemed far too knowing. Finally, she spoke.

“We actually had decided to leave for the Horde within the next day as it was.”

Oh.

Taylor groaned dramatically. “Gray, we just wasted so much time.”

And energy. So many hours and energy. That bastard Palo had been right. We should have called ahead.

I scowled at Taylor’s smirk regarding my thoughts. “Taylor, this was not a wasted trip! We had a mini vacation and now we are perfectly refreshed to kill Mario. Plus, how would we have known they were planning on returning anyway?”

All right. Most of the relaxing part wasn’t true, but I didn’t want them to feel bad about it.

Taylor offered me a raised brow. He started to say something but Commander Edwin spoke.

I focused back on the group. Within a minute I’d sized them up and found myself surprised by their dynamic as always.

I loved…really liked my boys. A lot. I considered us to have a healthy love, er, liking relationship.

We all respected one another and I felt safe around them.

We were normal. As normal as Fae can be.

Admittedly slightly scary and violent. But, trust me when I say that their group was centered around Vegas, I don’t mean how the boys are my guard and I’m their Queen.

No, I mean they are literally centered around her.

Like she is their universal focal point and the only thing that has existed. Ever.

Even food. She existed more than food. That is fucking terrifying. How the hell does an individual become more important than food?

I tried not to let my analysis show as I categorized each of them and tried to understand their dynamic because it had to be something other than boys like girl.

Commander Edwin, his eyes not on Vegas but the three of us, had his hand wrapped around her thigh possessively.

Not very different from his cousin, my demon Taylor.

The alchemy mage, according to Neo, was one of the strongest in the Horde yet he used pet names? All right. That was sort of cute.

Then you had his brother, Byron the blood mage, who had a vicious reputation. The Horde equivalent to Vlad the Impaler. Even my boys tried to steer clear of him. Not because they couldn’t overpower him, but because they said it would be a “messy affair. ”