Page 25 of Love & Monsters
The back of the cart flung open and Vadric and I maneuvered our way out. It was hard not to bump and grind on each other accidentally as we left the cramped space. My face flushed from all the contact, remembering our heated, frantic encounter after our escape.
As soon as his feet were on solid ground, Vadric stretched, then grunted as something in his back popped. I shook out my limbs, glancing around the area and taking in our new environment.
It was a dark forest, much like the one I first found myself in when the scavengers caught me. The bark was black, the leaves were crimson, and the shadows in the underbrush were ominous. I felt like I was in the scene of a horror film waiting for the monster to jump out of the bushes.
I looked at Vadric to my right, talking to our getaway driver. He was the monster here, and I couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t jump out of the bushes at me. Why did that thought make my heart skip a beat?
Instead of focusing on him, and his gorgeous dark blue skin or the width of his shoulders, and the bulge of his biceps… Wait, what was I trying to think about?
Oh, right, I forced my eyes onto the driver who had diligently been at the helm of the wagon these past hours. When we left, there’d been too much going on. I hadn’t gotten a good look at him. Now I could see him clearly, and this was the first monster I laid my eyes on that didn’t instantly strike fear into my heart.
Not at all. No, this monster was incredibly and frustratingly cute. He looked like a black cat standing on its hind legs. Some of his features were humanoid. He had hands, and a defined male’s chest and shoulders. But undeniably, he looked like a massive black cat.
Vadric and the driver both had twitching tails as they talked, and my lip trembled with the desire to giggle at the sight. I tried to tune into the conversation before my thoughts went wild and I started thinking about petting the cat-beast.
“There’s enough time for a brief rest, but then we need to move deeper into the woods for the meetup with the others,” Vadric said.
“And you’re keeping that with you? Isn’t it dangerous?” The driver’s words made me still as I realized he was looking at and talking about me.
Vadric snarled, a low warning. “Yes. The human is with me, and I won’t have my decisions questioned at every fucking turn.”
“No—” the cat’s furry paw-hands went up in surrender, “—no questioning. Just wondering.”
“Good. She’s under my protection, so she’ll be coming with me. That’s all anyone needs to know.” Vadric loomed over the cat-man, a dominating and powerful presence that demanded attention.
“Understood.” He scratched his chin and gestured at the wagon. “Well, there are a few supplies in there to get you to the next checkpoint, since it’s a walk from here.”
“I know the way,” Vadric grumbled back, irritation rolling off him in waves.
My presence caused a disturbance in what I assumed had been a careful plan, and my gut twisted uncomfortably to realize I was a burden. Thanks to that thought, I didn’t move an inch and my mind zoned out as Vadric and the wagon driver started going through supplies in the crates.
All I focused on for a few moments was the slight tickle of the breeze on my skin, the gentle warmth in the air, the feeling of soft dirt under my bare toes and the rustling of the crimson leaves caging me in. It was easier to let my mind take in my surroundings than pay attention to the cat-man as he stared at me as if I were the oddity. Well, I guess in this world I was.
“Here, put these on.” Vadric’s voice startled me from my thoughts, and I blinked hard. He had a pair of leather boots in his hand, holding them out for me. “There’s a bit of a walk to a place for us to rest, and then we have more walking. You shouldn’t walk through here in bare feet.”
“Oh, thank you.” I slipped the boots on, wishing I had socks, but it was better than nothing. They were loose, yet a relief from the small rocks and twigs on the forest floor.
“Safe travels, Mewlan.” Vadric tossed a leather pack over his shoulder and waved at the cat-man climbing back onto the wagon.
“Safe travels, my lord,” he tossed back. It was so casual that I didn’t think about at first. However, after my brain registered what he said, I paused, and side glanced at Vadric.
We stood in silence for a moment, watching the wagon vanish through the trees and back to what I assumed was a nearby road. It wasn’t until we were alone, and the creaking sounds of the wagon wheels faded away that Vadric turned to face me.
“What’s happening?” I blurted.
His arched, dark brows furrowed, but I couldn’t read the emotions in his eyes. Vadric licked his bottom lip and looked around at the trees surrounding us. “There’s a lot. It’s not really the time to explain. We need to get moving.”
“We spent hours talking back in the dungeon. You didn’t mention any problems with insurgencies or a plan to escape. You know, you didn’t even tell me why you were down there now that I think about it.” My heart dropped as my words fell from my tongue in a rush.
“You didn’t ask why I was in the dungeon.” His eyes narrowed, and I took an involuntary step back.
“So, what, I’m supposed to just follow you into the woods, not knowing what’s happening? What’s waiting for me on the other side of this damn adventure I didn’t ask for?” My temper was swelling, and the turmoil buried in my heart and mind reared its ugly head.
“Would you have preferred I left you in the dungeon then, little one?” Vadric’s expression told me that my words aggravated him, but his tone was deceptively cool.
“No… I just don’t know where I am, where I’m going, or what’s going to happen to me.” A stuttered exhale left me as I forced back the rising tide of fear and despair rising in me. “Vadric, I’m scared.”
The tension in his features dropped. Vadric sighed and closed the distance between us. His height forced me to crane my neck to look up at him as the top of my head barely came up to the bottom of his pectorals.
