Page 29 of Monsters Within (The Creatures We Crave 1)
Well damn, despite his soft tone, that was a big question. One that I would love to know the answer to as well. I still wasn’t quite sure what I had to offer, seeing as I wasn't supernatural like them, but I’d ride this train as long as I could.
Drawing her hands up to rest under her chin, her eyes drifted over each of us.
Part of me yearned to stick out to her. To show that I wasn’t just a simple human and that I belonged here with my monsters. I knew she had already said she hoped we would stay here, but my fear of displacement or not being welcomed was a natural reaction for me.
I always assumed I would be left out or left behind.
Instead of giving us an answer, she turned it around. “Do you know what you are?”
It almost broke my heart how Elwin responded dejectedly, “No. We’re starting to realize there is a lot we don’t know or were wrong about. It’s really overwhelming, honestly.”
Reaching out, I grabbed his hand, which was settled on the top of the chair arm, and squeezed. “We will get answers.”
I might not have them, but I wouldn’t rest until we understood and all felt like we had control over our lives and what was going on.
He offered me a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes as he looked back at Estrid. “We remember an entire life with Alexandra, but she says we were just characters in stories she came up with.”
Fuck, when he put it that way, a stab of pain pierced my heart. That made them sound so insignificant. Had I made them feel that way?
A mess of emotions seemed to flicker across Estrid’s face as she sighed and admitted, “As I said when you were in your other forms, I’ve never seen creatures like you before. I honestly cannot pinpoint the energy that you all radiate. It is unlike any species that has passed through the doors here.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced myself to have the courage to ask, “All of us?”
There was that saying ‘don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers’ to, and this very may well have been one of those times, but I was crossing my fingers and toes that it wasn’t.
“Alexandra, I don’t know how to put this…”
There it went. My fucking heart withering away to dust and floating in the wind.
Shaking her head slightly, her brows rose. “You exude an energy that is on par with a god.”
I distinctly heard my monsters making noises of shock, but all I could do was blink and counter with, “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
The best I had hoped for was to be a witch who had suppressed magic or something.
The energy of a god? No. That couldn’t be.
“Trust me, I’m as surprised as you are,” she reassured me as she stood up, smoothing her hands over her black skirt. “I know you all probably have many more questions, but I have a staff meeting shortly to discuss final details for our new academic year that starts on Sunday.”
Pressing a button on her phone resting on her desk, she asked, “Victoria, do you have a free moment to join me in my office?”
The line clicked like the person had hung up, and I balked at the rude behavior. They hadn’t bothered to even say no. But not two seconds later, there was a knock on the door before it was pushed open.
In walked a tall, slender woman with raven hair and silver eyes that ran over us. An air of confidence radiated around her, but not in a smug way. You could tell she was comfortable with who she was and wouldn’t take anyone’s shit. A black pencil skirt was paired with a silk red blouse and black stilettos. It was the perfect balance between business boss and sensual woman.
I’d never be able to pull that off, but I could definitely appreciate her beauty and strength and applaud it.
A gasp escaped me as her eye color changed to a soft, moss green, and suddenly I felt seen. It was as if she could see into my soul and was holding all the broken pieces in her hands, offering to help me glue them together. Her features softened as she looked at Estrid. “I’ll need to see all of them once a week. Possibly more for her.”
Wait, what?
Estrid quickly agreed, not shocked in the slightest by her words—which made one of us based upon my own feelings and the questioning looks of my monsters. When I glanced at them, I was met with shrugs and thinned lips.
“Okay, pen it into their schedules, please.”
When I looked back at the woman, who I assumed was Victoria, she suddenly had a notebook and pen in hand, jotting down notes. “Which sector?”
“Undetermined.”
