Page 134 of Monsters in Love

“Sleep, mortal,” the Wolf in front of me growled.

And the hellish creature snuffed out my light…

The night stayed…thudding,boominglike a midnight storm as it unleashed inside my head. I crackled open my eyes to see the world jolting.

“No.”

Thick fur under my hands…my hands that were tied. Memories slipped in, flickers of moments as the wall inside my house shattered, and those beasts…those beasts were in my home.Warmth moved under my body. Sleek, powerful muscles moved under me as the beast ran with me on his back. Those heavy paws met the ground withboom…boom…booms!

My blurred vision sharpened, watching as the city grew smaller and smaller in the distance. I knew that city…my city.

“No!” I shouted as I shoved upwards and slipped, falling backwards.

There was nothing but air.

Until I hit the groundhard.

My ass hit first before my head snapped backwards, clacking my teeth together and sending a spear of agony through my head. I screamed as the agony cleaved through my skull. Grass…dirt. The ground was hard under my body. I sucked in a deep breath. My arms shook as I pushed upward, my hands still tied in front. My vision blurred. Thick, looming shadows came closer.

Shadows that moved closer…and closer.

“Get away from me.” I shoved away, but my elbows buckled, sending me crashing back to the ground.

I tried again…and again, punching my fists against ground as I shoved upwards. All I could see was black fur and enormous paws. I stared at them, and then at my hand.

It was bigger.

So much bigger.

I slowly lifted my head, taking in the beast that hunkered over me.

Heavy breaths scattered my hair. His midnight eyes were a void I lost myself in. A void that swallowed me,consumed me…agony raced through my body. Heat followed, blooming like a molten wave. Sweat dripped down off my chin as I stared into the soulless eyes of the beast.

“Wh-what the fuck do you want from me?”

The beast stood over me, staring me down…his tall straight ears pointing to the sky. He was bigger than any beast I’d ever seen—I glanced at the others—they all were.

“Let me go,” I demanded, my body shaking as my sodden, sweatstained shirt stuck hard against my skin. “Let me g-go and I’ll g-give you wh-whatever you w-want.”

Agony roared through me again. My body ached, like my bones were rubbing together, splintering and fracturing until the shattering was all I could feel.

The beast didn’t answer, just watched me as I stood there, trembling, my fingers gripped together. “Answer me…ANSWER ME!”

I stumbled backwards, until I tripped and fell, hitting the ground hard once more. But I didn’t stay down. Not now when the darkness had crept from my vision, leaving cruel clarity behind. I shoved up from the ground, stumbled, then lunged.

But I didn’t get far. Two of the towering beasts closed in from the sides. Their low snarls were threatening. Their heads lowered, glaring at me sideways.

I stiffened, moaned, and felt the world sway. In a blinding instant, the fight left me. I clutched my hands together, trying to understand what exactly had happened. “I hadn’t finished the spreadsheet.”

“What?” the Wolf behind me muttered. I let out a screech and spun, staring wide-eyed at the beast behind me. “You talk?”

“Did you want me to meow?”

“What?” I whispered.

“Did you…” He took a step closer. “Want me to meow?”

Did I want him to meow? Like a cat meow? “No,” I said, confused, my heart hammering. “No, I don’t want you to meow.”

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