Page 13 of Wishing Upon a Monster (Monster Brides Romance #40)

Olan smirked, and the appealing tug of his lips made my heart flutter like fairy wings. I was unsure of my feelings in that moment, so I wrapped my arms around his neck and ducked my head down, hiding my burning cheeks from view. His just-rained smell did a lot to soothe my nerves.

His sure steps brought us over to the edge, and then a step up encouraged me to cling to him tightly.

“Are you ready, min lille skat?” His arms tightened around me .

A feeling of safety washed over me. “Yes,” I whispered, and I felt him drop us down into the darkness.

It was like being stretched taut, like a string on a bow, and then we were plucked, shooting off and away. No lights flashed, no sounds could be heard, as we traveled in the black and yet... I felt possibly the safest I’ve ever felt, cradled in the arms of this old god.

I don't know how long we traveled, but eventually the feeling of rising, much like I felt in the waters of Weller Pond, came over me, and I realized we would be exiting soon. Which, strangely, felt sad. Maybe because there were so many things to deal with in the light?

The sound came back instantly, almost painfully.

Ignatius Avenue was in the back of the human’s Shelly Lake Park.

I had hoped some temporary protections had been erected for our arrival, but I didn’t feel any discomfort or the sudden, urgent feeling of having forgotten something at the house. Maybe they forgot we were coming.

“Good afternoon, folks,” a voice called.

Snapping my eyes open, I looked down at a tall brunette, her hair tossed up in a bun, wearing black slacks, a cream button-down shirt, and a badge around her neck.

She looked strong and sure of herself, and with that, I knew she had to be a Council Enforcer.

They were like us on the preserve, but instead of protecting the monsters from the beasties, she would protect the ECCM staff and visitors should trouble arrive.

I smirked, thinking that for once in my life, my talentless self was bringing the trouble.

“I’m council enforcer Odessa St. James, badge number 1666, and I am here to take y’all to the ECCM undetected,” she supplied, her southern accent shaded with something more deeply southern than even my own. She wasn’t from here, but she was from the south, maybe more towards the western part .

“Aurora Aurum and my husband, Olan,” I said from a few feet above her head.

Olan didn’t seem interested in letting me down, and I had to admit, I was pretty comfortable where I was at.

“If it’s alright with you and your husband, I’ve got this van here that our gargoyle shifter, Bryce, says is roomy.” She gestured behind her to a black van like those Zon delivery trucks.

“Very well,” Olan said, still making no move to release me. Instead, he walked us to the van.

Enforcer St. James opened a sliding door on the side of the tall van, revealing an L-shaped leather bench seat, like some sort of modified limo. Olan ducked inside, sitting with me on his lap.

She shut the door on her way to the front and started up the vehicle, then pulled out onto the road.

Unlike a limo, there was no partition, and I shifted slightly, hoping I was going to whisper in wherever his skull receives sound, “Are we concerned that Council Enforcer St. James is not as she seems?”

Olan’s throat made a grinding noise, and I pulled back only to have him whisper in my ear, the heat of his breath sending delightful shivers up my spine, “ She smells of sulfur, I believe she is of Disian descent.

Demons do not bother me, it would be the pot calling the kettle black," he chuckles, switching to speaking telepathically, "but she has misrepresented herself. She is wearing a glamour. I wonder what else she is hiding.”

Feeling foolish, because why whisper when you had telepathy, I opened a small area in my crown, directing my thoughts towards Olan.

“You are feeling like you did in the meeting?” I hazarded, “I don’t believe they mean to separate us. ”

Olan held me tighter to his frame, and I felt the almost overwhelming need to cuddle into him to make him feel better.

“Do you think they will hurt you? I won’t let––” Feelings of inadequacy surfaced momentarily. These are Magic Users. What could I, as a Talentless, hope to do against them?

“ Min s?de skat , you are a fierce warrior. I have no doubt you could defend me against your kin well. It is not all up to just you any longer. We will face this threat together,” He assured me, nuzzling my temple.

My stomach gave a lazy flip, but maybe that was because the van passed through the gates to the ECCM, and I felt the wards wash over me.

I saw a broken-down factory, as did most magicless beings.

As the vehicle approached, I felt the wrongness of being here, the need to flee intensifying, terror trying to grip me.

“Aurora, what is wrong?” He asked, obviously feeling my anxiety rise and pulling me up so I could burrow my face in the crook of his neck.

I must have made a sound, something to alert the enforcer in the front seat.

“Those assholes knew we were coming today. I’m so sorry, Mrs. Aurum.” She cursed.

I took deep breaths of Olan’s fall scent as he stroked my hair.

“I will destroy the charm,” his voice rang angrily in my head.

I shook my head. I had forgotten how intense the wards for the ECCM and the branches were. No one wanted the magical world to be revealed on accident. But they’d miscalculated the anger of the god whose arms I currently shivered in.

“It will pass,” I croaked, “Just a few more feet.” I took a deep breath.

And just as fast as it came, the feeling dissipated.