Page 84 of Captured By the Monsters
ROWEN
“SERA!” I roared in warning when my mate took off in a dead sprint.
Although irrational, I was seriously entertaining the idea of getting her a leash. Sera would be pissed if she ever caught wind of such a thing, but I was certain she would grow to love it. A lot of fun things could be done with some rope.
Of course, the woman paid me no heed—a staple of our future together, no doubt. I, and the rest of my Trifecta, would tell her one thing while she merrily did the opposite. It was equal parts frustrating and sexy.
Sera was fiercely independent, a True Queen who innately knew how to lead, but still listened to the counsel of others—but only when it benefited her. Right now, she must not have deemed my bellow of caution worthy, because she blissfully ignored me.
Seconds later, I understood why. The human couple some many yards away were staring at Sera as if she hung the sun and moon. The white, furry creature in the woman’s arms lifted its head, looking around. The second it spotted my mate, it leapt down onto the ground and came running.
“Mom! Dad!” Sera exclaimed joyfully. She got down on her knees, holding her arms wide as the animal came sprinting into them. “Gizmo!”
Sera hugged him close to her, and I was disgruntled to admit to myself that I was a little jealous. I shared a look with Axton and Sylan, who seemed charmed by the reunion instead of envious. There was no doubt that my mate cherished the little beast, and I tried to banish my irrational feelings.
“Who’s this?” Sylan asked, cautiously stepping up to Sera and into her space.
The beastie narrowed its eyes at him for a moment, seemingly assessing him, before going back to nuzzle under Sera’s chin. Either the creature accepted Sylan’s presence so close to our mate, or it simply didn’t care.
“This is Gizmo—he’s my cat I told you about. I was so sad to leave him behind. You have no idea.”
“A cat?” Axton muttered incredulously, echoing my thoughts. The thing looked far too big and wild to be a domestic cat that humans kept as pets.
“Yes. He’s a Maine coon, a special type of breed. He’s one of the biggest domestic cats, but he makes me feel safe. He protects me.”
“Then we love him, too,” Sylan reassured.
“Because she loves him, orrrr…?” I questioned jokingly.
Sylan threw me a look. “Yes,” he hissed, warning me to be more sensitive, but I wasn’t worried.
Sera knew I was teasing; furthermore, she accepted me for myself. I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind—or feelings—around her anymore. Sera gently set her cat down as the human couple finally reached her. She launched herself into a hug that wrapped around both her mom and dad at once.
“You came back,” her dad kept whispering over and over in disbelief.
“I told you I was.”
Her words tugged at my heart. Paratiisi had been in such a plight, Specters didn’t even think about the consequences of ripping human women from their families. We didn’t see our mate’s parents mourn the loss of their daughter, and we really didn’t fully understand the trauma our mates suffered before coming to Paratiisi.
Before, when Rumilus and humans got along, our mates were free to travel back and forth to see their family. Seeing Sera reunite with her mom and dad made me sad—her parents’ faces were etched with a grief that belied the short time she had been gone, probably thinking she didn’t have a chance of returning.
Sera and her mom didn’t say anything, just held onto one another like there was a chance they would be separated again. Stealing a look at the other two, I could tell Axton and Sylan were just as gutted by the reunion as I was. The only consolation was that Sera had done exactly what we dreamed of—and more.
She had restored the crystal and the lands of Paratiisi. Beyond that, she had helped to begin to heal the rift between our two worlds. Now, we hoped Rumilus would be able to come to The Above and find mates once more, and human families would be free to join their daughters in Paratiisi or simply visit.
Pulling back, Sera swiped at the tears running down her face. “Mom, Dad, I want to introduce you to my monst—mates.”
I raised a hand to cover the smirk stretching my lips.
“This is Axton,” Sera continued. My gold-eyed brethren stepped forward, bowing his head in respect to the human couple. “And this is Sylan.” He copied Axton, moving aside so Sera could introduce me. “And this is Rowen—he’s the troublemaker of my Trifecta.”
I snorted at her words in mock offense. “Nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand to her mom and dad in what I knew was a human greeting.
Her father came forward to shake it, although I saw his eyes on my nails, and I remembered at the last second to retract them. “So, you’re the troublemaker?” he queried, seemingly unfazed that his daughter was mated to three monstrous men. “You two have a lot in common.”
This was going better than I could have ever imagined.
Axton chuckled while Sera glared at her dad.
