Captured by the Monsters

by R. L. Caulder

  Barely acknowledging my victory, I turned to the two remaining soldiers. Silence filled the room that now seemed like a vacuum in time.

  Or maybe that was the ringing in my ears from the gunshots, making it seem like it was quiet.

  But then my thought was proved wrong by a shrieking wail that was so loud, I dropped the gun to clap my hands over my ears.

  Fuck, not more piercing noises. I had the fucking migraine from hell forming.

  From the paneled walls where the soldiers had been hiding came three Specters. The sight of them startled me while I tried to piece together why they were here.

  It wasn’t until they attacked my Trifecta in tandem with the remaining two soldiers that I pieced it together. The leader of The Above had been in cahoots with the usurpers all along. Of course they had. They had a similar goal.

  I had seen my mates fight Specters—they were no match for another Rumilus when their kind was corporeal—but my monsters were so weak from fighting. Like me, their bodies bore evidence of where bullets had hit them.

  They couldn’t keep going—and the Specter Trifecta knew this.

  An indescribable rage started to brew in the pit of my stomach. It grew and grew, rising within me until it was a fiery bile I needed to expel. My heart beat began to thrum loudly in my ears, just as it had when I’d touched the large crystal and had felt connected.

  Opening my mouth, I howled in anger, surprised that flames didn’t erupt from my lips like a dragon. What happened instead was even more miraculous.

  A bright, sharp light exploded from my mouth, the glow so intense I had to shut my eyes. Cracking one eyelid slightly, I couldn’t see anything for all the light that was coming out of me, bathing myself and the entire room in its glow.

  After what felt like an eternity, my mouth closed, swallowing the beam of luminosity. My eyes struggled to make sense of my surroundings. No one besides my mates remained, and I had to wonder if my light had just…zapped them away?

  I really didn’t have the least bit of a clue on how to wrap my brain around what was happening in front of my very eyes, but I couldn’t deny that our attackers were done. And by the looks of it, my light had healed my monsters.

  Blood still stained their clothes, but all of the bullet holes were closed. I jerked my head down to look at my thigh and found it was the same. Bringing my hand up to my shoulder, my fingers trailed over smooth skin beneath the lingering blood.

  “Holy shit.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  SERA

  It was finally over—actually, it was just beginning, I realized. My knees felt weak. Even though the crystal had healed any physical damage, my head was still swimming with what had occurred here.

  I was just grateful that my monsters were okay.

  Trudging over to the leader’s desk, I sat down in his chair, staring at the row of buttons embedded in the desktop in front of me. I fingered them lightly, making sure not to press anything in case I set a bomb off somewhere.

  Rowen, on the other hand, either didn’t think of this or care, because he merrily started pressing the buttons like a kid in an elevator for the first time. I smacked his hand away in a panic, but was relieved to find they merely opened secret panels and compartments within the office.

  Half expecting more people to jump out, I braced myself for an attack that never came. Exhaling in relief, I noted one panel opened up to a camera labeled “broadcasting.” It took me a second to register that this was the official place where the government flashed the names of the Selected—it was also where the leader addressed everyone when he had an announcement.

  Inspiration struck when I saw a TV nearby. Turning it on as well as the camera, my face filled the screen. My blond hair was sticking out all over the place and was streaked with red—presumably blood.

  “Precious, what are you doing?” Axton demanded in his gruff voice.

  “Addressing the nation,” I answered him, stepping up to press the button to turn on the live stream.

  Axton shared a look with Rowen and Sylan, silently communicating his unease, but I forged on ahead. I knew I had messed up a lot of things by coming up here, but when the crystal had taken over during the fight, I realized it had been supporting me all along. We were connected, and the pounding of my own pulse had begged me to pull on the power of the crystal.

  Just as I fed it my energy, it seemed to work the other way as well.

  When I surrendered at that last moment and let it guide me, I ended up accomplishing what needed to be done. It was alive and connected to my spirit—to all of Paratiisi. I realized I had no idea what I was doing, but it did.

  Just like with what I needed to do right now… I was uncertain, but I knew this needed to happen. I had to trust my gut.

  The screen flashed a brief countdown while I attempted to smooth my hair and look presentable. In no time, the “on air” light lit up, and I pasted a strained smile onto my face before addressing the world.

  But when I thought about the words I needed to say, the smile vanished.

  “I thought I would be overjoyed to tell you all my story,” I started, voice trembling slightly as I thought of all the women I’d seen die, and all of those that had died before them.

  My eyes flitted over to my monsters, who were silently giving me all the support I needed with their expressions.

  Swallowing, I wet my lips before continuing. “But the truth is that I’m not,” I admitted, “because we have lost too many lives for me to get to this point. We should have never been in this position to begin with. Corrupt and savage humans and monsters are equally to blame.”

  Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. “My name is Serafina Adler, and I was a Selected woman that was sent to The Below. I’m back to tell you all that the information we’ve been told is a fabricated lie, and all of our lives are going to change, starting now.”

  I struggled for a moment to figure out how exactly to tell them their leader was dead and that their entire way of life was crumbling before their eyes. Some people would still fight the change, struggling to accept the truth. But I was counting on those rebels and citizens that shared my disdain for this world to help usher in a new era. To prevail.

  So my message needed to be for them.

  “What I am overjoyed about is that when I came back to The Above, I saw brave people fighting against this oppressed life we all lived. Because as much as I wanted to think that I could fix our world alone, I couldn’t. You all helped make this new era that is upon us possible.”

  Rowen shot me a thumbs up from behind the camera, and I smiled softly.

  “The leader of our world is dead,” I admitted, voice ringing loud and clear. “I don’t have all of the answers for how we will move forward as a people, but what I do know is that we are free now. No one person will ever control The Above again. It starts with citizens voting to elect new leader representatives and mending rifts with The Below.”

  I could almost hear people asking, Well, how is that possible?

  “I am the Queen that reigns over The Below. I am healing the lands there, and we look forward to ending the treaty that has cost us so many human lives. Instead of the treaty, we look forward to peace and friendship.”

  Perhaps I had been rambling for too long now. How was I supposed to wrap up such an important announcement?

  Running my hand through my hair and tapping my feet against the floor, I took a deep breath and gave it my best shot. “Change can be scary, but it can also be beautiful. We will get through these uncertain times together.

  “As for those who support the now dead leader and his ideals…” I trailed off and let a menacing, cold-blooded smile curl my lips as I gestured for my monsters. I kept my head staring straight into the camera, never looking away as they came and kneeled behind me to be in the frame. “Now is your chance to run and never come back. If we catch you, well, let’s just say those public torture sessions that were held here? That’s chi
ld’s play.”

  Not that we would ever torture them like I was alluding to, but it was time for those people to have a healthy dose of fear. I wanted them to leave these lands so that we didn’t have anymore bloodshed.

  “No one is taking our freedom away again,” I ended.

  When I was done, Sylan walked over and turned off the camera. Rowen leaned in to hug me, and I let his body hold my weight as I melted into him. Inhaling deeply, I noted his birch and eucalyptus scent. Like my crystal, it calmed me.

  “You did it,” he whispered into my hair reverently. “I’m so proud of you, my gem.”

  Tears sprung into my eyes at his words. Sniffling, I pulled back to stare into his bronze eyes. “No, we did it—I would have been shot at the beginning of this battle if not for the three of you.”

  “Don’t remind us,” Axton grumbled, making me chuckle. “Come on, I grabbed a keycard from one of the dead bodies to get us out of this underground hellhole.”

  His words made me laugh again, an almost manic bubble of hysteria rising within me, a side effect from the aftermath of all that had happened.

  “Let’s leave the underground so we can go back home…which is underground?” I teased, and all three guys groaned at my lame attempt at humor.

  “You can do better,” Rowen teased, and I made a face.

  Snuggled between him and Sylan, we followed Axton back to the elevator. No one said anything, but I noted that Axton had a gun shoved into the back of his waistband. He must have grabbed it from one of the fallen soldiers.

  When the elevator slowed to a stop, his hand reached back to rest on the weapon before the doors could ping open. I realized he was bracing for trouble, but when the doors opened, the capitol building was empty.

  Together, we walked toward the entrance, where a thunderous shouting could be heard. Upon opening the doors, I saw the Plaza filled with people—rejoicing. They were singing, screaming, crying in celebration, and the sight made my heart explode with happiness.

  They were finally free of the tyranny that had reigned for decades.

  As my mates and I stepped out into the light, everyone halted their revelry. Like before, they seemed shocked and somewhat fascinated by the sight of my monsters. My gut clenched anxiously, and Axton once more reached behind his back to rest a hand on the gun.

  But we were met with no violence. In fact, the exact opposite happened. One by one, the people scattered throughout the Plaza began to clap until a deafening applause echoed in the space around us—they were clapping for us.

  The moment was bittersweet, standing there amongst those who had been slain and those who stood strong for a new nation. My Trifecta hugged me in adoration as the people continued to shout and applaud.

  Together, we walked down the steps. I was mindful of those who had been killed, not wanting to tread upon them. People parted as we came closer, offering thanks and murmurs of encouragement.

  At the base of my throat, my crystal hummed with life, and I tried to tune in to the feelings I got from it. I loved this new open connection between it and me, but I needed more time to understand it in full.

  Suddenly, it began to glow even brighter and burn with an intensity that made me yelp. Instantly, my monsters sprang into action, ready once more to fight, but I tuned them out.

  Turning inward, I tried to discern what the crystal was telling me, but all I could sense was extreme eagerness—an anticipation, almost. Uncertain, I opened my eyes and whispered to Axton that everything was alright.

  He seemed uncertain but trusted my words. I still didn’t really understand what it was trying to tell me, and I wondered if it was merely happy for the outcome of what had happened here today.

  I took three more steps as the crowd parted for me, and tears instantly welled up in my eyes at the sight that greeted me.

  It was my parents, waiting at the other end of the Plaza—and in my mom’s arms was Gizmo.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  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.

  “I’m guessing she was a handful when she was younger?” I teased.

  “Serafina was—is—very determined. If she wants something, she works until she gets it.”

  “A born Queen,” I muttered more to myself than to her, but she just shrugged.

  “Does this mean you’re staying here?” her mom asked hopefully, eyes still misted with tears.

  “No, I’m so sorry. I must return to Paratiisi—the land and people need me—but maybe you could join me down there?”

  Sylan cleared his throat. “Your parents and cat are always welcome, but first, we should make sure the land is fully restored and no longer toxic to humans.”

  “Toxic to humans?!” her mom shrieked.

  “It’s okay, Mom,” Sera soothed, rubbing her hands on her arms comfortingly.

  “How is that okay?” her dad snapped. “How are you surviving if it’s toxic?”

  I smirked evilly at her, waiting for her response. Oh, how awkward this would get if they knew we filled their daughter with our cum consistently.

  “Er, the crystal helps me,” she hedged, shifting uncomfortably.