Page 88 of Monsterland Mayhem
“Then it’s your choice to refuse all suitors,” he murmurs, his eyes meeting mine. “If that’s your decision, we will respect it. And the rest of Monsterland kind should, too.”
“Given what I’ve experienced so far, I have a hard time believing that,” I tell him.
“Because Monsterland is not what it used to be.” He sounds almost sad as he says it, his gaze drifting to my upper body as he begins spreading the soap along my shoulder and arm. “We want to restore it, but to do that, we need an Omega. Everything is upside down here, and it’s been that way since Heart started fucking with the hierarchy.”
Heart. Krolic’s sister.“But it’s the Crimson King you keep insinuating that I should fear.”
He focuses on switching arms before replying, “Both of them are equally villainous. But Crimson is the only one who can impregnate you. Heart has a lock, not a knot.”
“A… lock?” My brow furrows, confusion swirling through my mind.
“You know how Krolic’s knot secured you together, making it impossible for you to move away from him?”
His words evoke a pleasant memory, one that has my thighs tingling—a sensation that increases as he begins soaping my breasts. “Y-yes,” I manage to stammer out.
“A lock is the opposite. It’s when an Alpha female traps a male’s cock inside her,” he tells me matter-of-factly. “But more than that, an Alpha female has no seed. And you, my sweet Omega, need Alpha seed to create a baby.” His palm moves to my belly while he speaks, a wistful glimmer entering his gaze.
“And you want that,” I whisper, my throat going dry.
“Yes,” he admits without missing a beat. “We all do, Ailsa.”
“But we just met.”
“Did we, though?” he asks, his gaze returning to mine. “Perhaps you and Craze, yes, but can you truly deny how things feel between us?”
I… I can’t.
However…
“How much of what I feel is… real? Is the elixir…?” I trail off, unable to finish asking that question. Because somewhere deep down, it feels wrong to even think this way.
These men have been courting me for two years. Perhaps strangely, but this is where our definitions ofnormaldiffer.
They approached me the way they felt was right.
Can I punish them for that? Can I deny how I feel because of that?
“The elixir inspires your heat, which, yes, can alter your frame of mind,” he replies. “In a few days, you will be begging for our knots. But that instinct hasn’t arisen yet.”
I say nothing, simply thinking through what he’s said.
I have felt a little out of sorts, making irrational decisions—like playing with their knots—but I… I feel alive as a result of those choices.
While I’ve absolutely embraced the insanity of this realm, that doesn’t mean I’ve lost my mind, does it?
“I diluted the elixir, Ailsa,” he goes on. “Well, kind of.”
I frown. “What do you mean, ‘kind of’?”
“The ritual elixir is meant to take three days to kick in. That’s part of the hunt timeline.” His lips twist. “But Crimson altered the formula centuries ago to make it more potent, because he’s desperate to send an Omega into heat immediately. The only part of the ritual he’s kept the same is the twenty-first birthday requirement, and I think he only did that to ensure the elixir worked properly.”
I can’t help but notice he’s no longer referring to him as theCrimson KingbutCrimson, suggesting that’s the mysterious imposter’s real name.
But I table that thought and focus on what he’s saying regarding the elixir. “So you… reverted the elixir?”
“Yes.” He resumes soaping my torso before adding, “But I made it even less potent to give you time. We also wanted toensure that others in our world discovered your existence. If Crimson takes you now, there will be a riot. He has to play by the rules and let the Alphas hunt. Or it’s possible his claim will be contested.”
“Except he’s already not the rightful king…” I let that sentence hang as he gently rotates me to start soaping up my back.
