Captured by the Monsters

by R. L. Caulder

  The leader in the middle rose from his throne. “What do you mean?”

  “My mate and two others are missing. The only woman that is still in there is theirs.” He pointed to the Trifecta behind me. It was the brunette’s Trifecta, the one who hated this world and everyone in it.

  “Where is Sera?” I bellowed in a furious voice, needing answers from someone immediately. My heart raced, and blood thrummed in my ears as a blinding rage began to take over.

  “The guards weren’t there either,” Sylan announced in a seething and accusatory tone.

  A collective gasp sounded in the throne room as we all connected to the dots.

  “Our mates have been taken by the guards,” I breathed out. Rushing out of the room, I barely paid anyone any heed as I sprinted towards the room we last saw her in.

  The brunette whirled around with a scowl on her face as I entered the room.

  “Where is she?” I demanded.

  “I don’t answer to you,” she seethed with a disgusted look on her face.

  I advanced upon her in anger, but her Trifecta ran in to surround her, to defend her from me. Smart of them to do so, because right now, no one was safe in my war path.

  It didn’t matter who I had to kill in order to get Sera back. No one else mattered.

  But if this woman was the only one who could give me answers and her Trifecta wouldn’t let me near her, I’d have to try a different approach. My heart sank at the thought of her refusing to answer me, denying me the information I needed to help Sera.

  “Please,” I croaked, my mouth dry with fear for what was happening to Sera. “Please tell me where she is.”

  The woman shoved her mates aside and brushed her clothes off like they were infected from their touch. “Don’t touch me. I’m fine.”

  She gave me an assessing stare, seemingly determining if I was worth her time before she admitted, “The guards took your mate. If you cared that much for her, you shouldn’t have left us alone. But you were all nothing but a bunch of savages, chomping at the bit to steal human women and use them to repopulate your species.”

  I shook my head, stunned by her vile accusations. Did she think we wanted to watch the fight? That we enjoyed the savagery?

  Shaking my head, knowing now wasn’t the time to figure out what her deal was, I asked, “Please, do you have any idea where they are?” I stepped forward cautiously, trying to convey the urgency to the woman before me, pleading without begging.

  “They’re going to the crystal, I think,” she finally muttered. “They mentioned wanting to see if they could match with any of us, wanting to be Rumilus so they could take over.”

  The feeling of relief nearly crumpled me to my knees as she gave us a direction to begin with. “Thank you!”

  “Don’t thank me, you monster,” she spat right back.

  My relief was suddenly overridden with fury as I processed her words. They were trying to match with already claimed women? What the fuck had our species come to?

  This was a new, vile low.

  I grabbed Rowen and Sylan, and we rushed out of the room, racing down the halls until we found the door that led to the basement. Historically, the crystal had been kept in the throne room, present for all to see back when it glowed in its vitality. But after the fall of the True Queen, it had been taken down to the dungeons to protect it from being stolen.

  Together, the three of us raced down the steps below. The castle was set up like a labyrinth underground to confuse those who wished to steal the crystal. I doubted the guards had made it to the crystal with our mate unless they knew the exact route already, but they still had a head start no matter what.

  We barely slowed as we approached the three entrances into the labyrinth. “I’ll go left. Rowen, you go right. Sylan, you’ve got the middle.”

  Rowen nodded, already rushing off, but Sylan hesitated. “Do you think we should separate? We’re more powerful together.”

  “I understand, but we can’t afford to stick together. She could be down any of these paths. The sooner we find Sera, the better, and we will always be a thousand times stronger than the Specters.”

  Our true form of Rumilus could take on a Specter Trifecta any day of the week. As Sylan nodded his understanding, I took off. Quickly swerving left, I raced through the labyrinth in and out until I heard sobbing and pleas for someone to help.

  It wasn’t Sera’s voice, but she had to be near.

  Following the cries, I turned a corner to find a Trifecta holding the raven-haired woman who’d seemed to quickly take to Sera. Their tendrils were wrapped around her neck, and I yelled, “Stop it! Don’t hurt her!” but my commands did nothing.

  They wrapped their shadows tighter until her neck cracked and they dropped her to the ground. I was too far still to stop them as they raced away, but I was determined to pursue until I captured them.

  They would pay for their crimes.

  As I ran after them, suddenly a door popped open to my left and Sera tumbled out, weeping, “Axton!”

  Sera.

  She was safe.

  She was here.

  I stopped in my tracks as she threw herself into my arms, shaking as I held her tightly.

  I’d never leave her alone again. We had been fools to trust in any semblance of honor within this twisted world we lived in now.

  “Julie!” she screamed and pushed from my arms. I let her go and watched in agony as she sank to her knees and cradled her friend’s head in her lap.

  Tears streamed down her face unchecked as she rocked back and forth and ran her hand through the dead woman’s hair. “No, no, no. This isn’t fair. Julie, I’m so sorry.”

  I wanted to hold Sera and take her away from this all, but she needed this moment to grieve. I couldn’t be selfish and rob her of this goodbye.

  “Julie’s dead,” she stuttered out between sobs, as if trying to process the truth out loud.

  My mate’s large gray eyes pooled with tears as she turned her head to look up at me. I felt her pain as if it was my own. I’d do anything to take it from her, but I couldn’t. She hiccuped before explaining, “They killed her. They killed the redhead before her. They thought they could force us to bond with a second Trifecta, and if we couldn’t they were going to—”

  Her words cut off as her tears began to flow anew, and I dropped to my knees behind her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and chest. “It’s okay,” I soothed, not knowing how to console her at this moment.

  “No it isn’t,” she sobbed.

  There was nothing I could say back to that, because she was right. None of this was okay, and suddenly I was questioning what was more dangerous for our mate—The Above or Paratiisi.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  SERA

  Holding Julie close, I mourned her senseless loss. Axton had found me before they could kill me, but there were still two deaths that did happen.

  Two women had been sacrificed by their society to appease a bullshit treaty, set up for failure with the lies we were taught of this world, then were killed by traitors here.

  It was all bullshit, and my grief was transforming into so much anger and hatred for this life we were forced into.

  Glancing up as Julie’s Trifecta and my two remaining monsters rushed in, my anger was spurred on further by the look of agony in her Trifecta’s eyes as they took in the scene before them.

  Julie and I had defied the odds and chosen our monsters, developing real feelings for them in such a short span of time. We felt that magnetic pull that couldn’t be denied, and by the pain in their screams and the way they scooped her out of my lap, I could feel the utter heartbreak they were experiencing.

  They would never have a chance to build a life together.

  It wouldn’t just be the death of these two women though. Without their mates, they were sentenced to death as well—they needed these women to live once the claiming was complete. There was a tiny shard of peace in my heart at the thought of them being reuni
ted hopefully in an afterlife once they passed.

  Our souls were fated, so they had to continue on together in whatever came after death, right?

  I cried as they pulled her from my lap. “I’m so sorry.” I knew there was nothing I could have done, but it didn’t stop the guilt I felt from being a survivor.

  Sylan dropped down to kneel in front of me, and I fell into his arms as Axton’s dropped, sobbing while he stroked my hair. I don’t know how long we sat there like that when a voice came from behind me, pulling me from my stupor.

  “When you’re ready, she still needs to be presented. I’m so sorry for what has happened here today, but grateful that you fought.”

  It was one of the Rumilus leaders. How the fuck could he care about that right now when Specters could have possibly killed the True Queen? It could have been Julie. It could have been the strawberry blonde woman.

  But they were just ready to move on like it was a regular fucking Tuesday and nothing traumatic had just happened?

  No fucking way.

  “Are you kidding me?” I half-yelled, half-laughed. The audacity was astounding. So much so that I couldn’t figure out whether to cackle like a loon from the shock or if I wanted to punch him in the face.

  Sylan’s arms wrapped around me tighter as Axton piped up at my back, “I will always do what is needed for Paratiisi, for my kind, and of course, for my mate. But right now we need a moment.”

  “Of course,” the leader agreed. “We’ll give you some privacy, but know that you will do your due diligence in taking her to the crystal shortly.”

  It was a respectful yet menacing statement. They thought highly enough of my Trifecta to trust them and give us some time, but the underlying message was still received loud and clear: don’t push us too much more.

  With that, he turned and walked away, and it was then that I noticed the Trifecta of the redhead gathering her body and turning to leave.

  It reminded me how important a name was, once again.

  It was a way to honor and remember someone, especially those who were no longer here, but I didn’t know hers or the brunette’s.

  “What was her name?” I croaked out at their retreating backs.

  One stopped to glance over his shoulder at me. “Leah,” he whispered before turning back to leave.

  Leah.

  Julie.

  Hope.

  Madison.

  Olivia.

  Mishka.

  The list of women who’d tragically lost their lives was growing, and the fault lay with both territories. The Above and Paratiisi were equally to blame for this.

  I would honor these women by fixing the divide between our lands. I would ensure no other woman died due to the lies and desperation of our species.

  Rowen dropped to his knees and brushed a tear from my cheek with the pad of his finger as I pulled back from Sylan to look at him.

  My eyes closed as the warmth from his palm centered me, and I leaned further into it, needing to feel grounded.

  I was a mess of chaotic emotions inside, and it was truly hitting me how dangerous this world was. Like a fool, my monsters and I had assumed I would be safe after being claimed.

  But I could have died today. This could have been our last day together.

  The fear of losing them hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t want to be parted from them, ever. I had come so close, and I still felt like I was on pins and needles, waiting for the usurpers to come back and finish me off.

  An urgency crawled underneath my skin until I felt an overwhelming need to feel them and remind myself that I was here with them. My mind warred with the physical need of my body. It felt wrong to crave a sexual touch to ground myself after the deaths of these women, but it won out over my logical side.

  My brain was frayed, and it was all too much.

  That craving for them that had started as soon as they left me in that room had only intensified at the realization that it could have all been taken from us, and I couldn’t push it back down. It refused to leave the forefront of my mind now.

  “Please,” I begged dejectedly as my eyes opened and fixated on Sylan in front of me. “Please help me.”

  I felt like I was losing my mind. I felt so much pain and had seen so much death. So why was I having sexual desires right now? It made me disgusted with myself, and I wanted to turn everything off.

  “Don’t worry,” Sylan assured before pressing a kiss to my forehead. “We’ve got you.”

  A single tear ran down my cheek as I internally screamed at myself for needing this right now.

  Rowen’s hand dropped from my cheek, and he laid me back until my head landed in Axton’s lap, who had shuffled back a bit. Rowen leaned down to kiss me passionately, and I clung to him like he was the oxygen I needed to breathe.

  That inferno within me was blazing with their touch, and my skin felt like pins and needles again.

  Rowen continued to kiss me, tenderly trying to slow down my feverish need to go faster as I tried to take control of the moment. Thankfully, Sylan angled himself until he was settling between my legs, knowing I needed more.

  Pushing up my filmy dress until it was bunched at my hips, he spread my legs wide and pumped two fingers into my wet heat. The instant gratification of getting what I wanted only lasted for mere seconds. My back arched and I tried to buck my hips to find the sensation I needed.

  It wasn’t enough. It felt like his actions had fully unleashed a wild creature slumbering inside of me—a raging dragon that was burning out of control.

  “More,” I snarled, gritting my teeth as another tear fell, arching my hips into his fingers.

  I desperately wanted this ache to go away. It was clouding my mind and making me lose sight of how I should have reacted in this situation. The normal Sera would have only sought the comfort of their touch in the form of being held as I cried. Not… whatever this was.

  A part of me expected him or one of the others to tease me and sexually charge the moment further, but to my surprise, none of them did. I was immensely grateful, not wanting this to turn into some drawn-out orgy. I just wanted enough to satiate whatever this was so that we could get the hell out of here and plan our trip to The Above.

  Sylan’s fingers worked me fast and hard, finger-fucking me while I raced toward the pinnacle. I peaked faster than I could have ever thought possible, but I was relieved.

  My orgasm burst like a lightning strike, electrocuting my body with renewed vitality. The crystal around my neck glowed with the intensity as I cried out. Moments passed as I panted, a wave of calmness flowing through me, but it didn’t last long. The tingles beneath my skin returned, this time painfully, and lust slammed into me once more.

  What was happening to me?

  This wasn’t me.

  I started to cry in earnest, hating the feeling of being trapped in a body I had no control over. I wondered if I was slowly coming unhinged from being down in The Below for too long.

  Did all human women feel this way for their mates?

  Whatever this was, I didn’t like it and needed it to stop. Everything inside my brain and heart was a jumbled mess that I couldn’t sift through. All I knew was that my body needed more of them.

  My soul was a fractured mess, and their touch was the glue keeping me together.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  SERA

  Or maybe it was their touch that was driving me to further insanity.

  “Sera, what’s wrong?” Axton questioned as I jumped to my feet to attempt to put space between myself and them. He was having none of that though as he rose and stepped into my personal space, causing my body to pulsate with need.

  “Get back!” I rasped anxiously, leaping away. Although their eyes were not like a human’s, I could read their shock and dismay at my words and actions. “This is all too much,” I whimpered.

  Slowly, Sylan stood up and tried to soothe me with gentle tones. “It’s alright, Sera. There’s something we need to talk
to you about.”

  “Oh, what’s that?” I queried, thankful to have a conversation to keep my mind off of the urges I was having at such a terrible time.

  Maybe if no one got too close to me, I could keep the feral, sexual beast inside of me at bay…

  Sylan cautiously inched forward. “We want to talk to you about your heat, beauty.”

  My eyebrows scrunched together as my head jerked slightly back in confusion. “My heat?” I repeated in bafflement, wondering if there was something wrong with the temperature—it did feel like I had a fever, now that I thought about it.

  “Yes. After the claiming, the female human body starts to change. It starts a physical cycle of intense need that can only be satiated with…” Sylan trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

  That meant one thing.

  “Let me guess—your cum,” I deadpanned. Everything else up to this point required that, it seemed, so it was the logical conclusion.

  “Yes and no. Heat makes you crave your Trifecta’s nearness and touch, makes you long to have us make love to you to receive our cum. That will stave off the symptoms until your body realizes you aren’t…” Axton trailed off once more, shooting a look to Rowen and Sylan for help.

  Axton smiled, seemingly more than happy to take over the explanation. “The reason for your heat is because it drives your body’s desire to get pregnant. And you will keep going through these cycles until you are.”

  His words hit me like a sledgehammer.

  “P-p-pregnant?!” I blurted incredulously, sure I misunderstood.

  “Mhmm,” Axton hummed in delight. “Heat ensures that our mates are bred and our species continues, but it also serves to bond you closer to your Trifecta.”

  Wildly, I shook my head and huffed out an annoyed breath. “I don’t need a reason to be closer to you all—I’m already close enough! Besides, I don’t plan on having children. Ever.”

  My three monsters shifted, looking anxiously at one another.

  “Precious, what did you think my kind were doing with the humans sent down here?” Axton queried softly.