Page 10 of Feral Monsters
Wraith
Pops stepped out of the house and into the garage, arching a brow at the three of us as he came to a stop. Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked, “So? Were you successful?”
Ike scoffed. “Have we ever failed, Pops?”
Pops narrowed his eyes at Ike for the smartass reply, but honestly, he shouldn’t have expected anything different, especially from Ike. “No,” he finally said after a moment.
Ike shrugged and pulled open the back doors to the van. “Then you have your answer.”
Pops clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes at Ike like he was contemplating wringing his neck, then shook his head. “If it weren’t for your dad…” he muttered, turning on his heel to stride back into the house. “Get the fucker inside, and watch your fucking mouth with me.”
“He’s in a mood,” Vargas grumbled once Pops was out of sight, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and a lighter. “Guess we can thank you two for that since you acted without permission.” He lifted a cigarette to his lips, and I rolled my eyes.
“You trying to get us all blown the fuck up?” I demanded. “Get the fuck out of here.”
Vargas leaned in close to me as he pulled the cigarette from his lips. “Boom,” he whispered, then laughed and headed inside the house, hopefully to take his cigarette away from the fucking garage where multiple vehicles were parked, most of which were full of gasoline.
“Dick,” I muttered before making my way over to Ike. Together, we pulled Michael out of the van. Ike grabbed his shoulders once he was mostly out, and together, we carried his heavy ass into the house. Pops was standing by the basement door, and he silently pushed it open, letting us carry him down the stairs.
“Think we can just drop him and he’ll roll the rest of the way?” Ike grunted.
I shrugged. “Possibly.”
Ike dropped him without warning, which made me lose my grip. When Michael’s heavy body tumbled into mine, I lost my footing and went rolling head over heels down the fucking stairs. When I hit the bottom, I grunted, the breath knocked from my lungs. I stared at the ceiling, blinking away the dark spots in my vision. It was a fucking miracle I didn’t snap my neck on the way down. What the absolute fuck.
“You fucking asshole,” I finally wheezed.
“You were supposed to move out of the way,” Ike deadpanned, now standing over me, looking at me like I was a dumbass. How was it my fucking fault that I didn’t know he was just going to drop the mother fucker?
“You two are fucking idiots,” Pops growled as he stepped over mine and Michael’s prone bodies. “Get the fuck up and get him in the chair. Sabbath is getting Merit as we?—”
“What the fuck happened?” Merit rushed out as he hurried down the stairs, his bare feet slapping on each wooden step. Pops sighed and shot Ike an annoyed look, to which Ike just ignored, as usual. Merit crouched beside me and grasped my face, his brows furrowing in concern. “Are you okay? Why are you on the floor?”
“He didn’t move when we agreed to drop Michael,” Ike said. “So, he rolled down the stairs.”
I winced as I pushed myself into a sitting position, glaring at my dumbass brother. “And you didn’t fucking warn me. You asked if he would roll if we dropped him, and I said, probably. Not at any fucking time, you goddamn dimwit, did I say drop him.”
Ike shrugged and grabbed Michael’s legs, dragging him across the cement floor. “Communication error,” Ike said.
“Fuck you,” I snarled.
Merit huffed, shooting Ike a dirty look before he focused back on me. I smirked at my brother when he truly looked baffled. And surprising the fuck out of me, he proceeded to pout. Huffing, he dropped Michael’s legs once he was in front of the chair.
“Here, let me help you up,” Merit said, grabbing my hands. Once he pulled me up and I was on my feet, he hurried to brush me off. My cock twitched in my pants when he swiped at my ass a few times. “Are you hurting anywhere? Do you need?—”
I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips to mine in a short kiss, which shut him up. He blinked at me in surprise when I pulled back. Stroking my thumb down his neck, I said, “I’m fine, little killer. If I start hurting later, I’ll grab some pain meds from Dad, okay?”
After pressing a kiss to his forehead, I moved over to Michael, and together, Ike and I got Merit’s first soon-to-be kill in the chair and strapped down. Ike stood back and dusted his hands like he’d done some kind of dirty work.
“You ready, little killer?” Ike asked Merit. “As soon as you’re ready, we’ll wake him up with some magic powder, and he’ll be all yours to do with as you please.”
Merit stared at Michael, his eyes cold and flat. Empty. I hated it, but if I had learned anything from Dad, I knew sometimes, victims just had to shut it all off to survive when faced with their abusers.
Merit tilted his chin up. “I’m ready,” he said quietly.
Pops rolled over a big toolbox to Merit, which was full of shit we used to torture and kill people, then stood back. “Take your pick, kid. And welcome to the family.”
Nine
