Some Kind of Monster

by Albany Walker

  “I am. You’re a witch. Isn’t that how you all get your powers?”

  “By killing? No, it is not.” He shakes his head vehemently. “I’ve never killed anyone. Certainly not a Charmed one.”

  “Well, look at that, you learn something new every day.” If I didn’t know for sure he was telling the truth, I would think he was lying.

  “Not all witches are dark.” Gregory widens his arms as if to encompass the area around him. “You can amass great power without the sacrifice. It just takes patience and persistence. Unfortunately, most do not possess either.”

  “Yeah, aren’t you a special little snowflake?” Gunnar snarls. I can’t fight the grin tugging at my lips. Gregory has unleashed my kitten’s claws.

  Calix places both of his palms on the table and rises slowly from his seat. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what would happen if we find out you know more than you’re letting on.”

  Gregory reaches for his short glass and takes a slow, measured sip. This guy’s got some balls on him, either that or he genuinely doesn’t fear death. “If I learn anything, I’ll be sure to let you know. Killing for power can only lead to our demise,” he states, making sure it’s known if he helps, it’s because he’s choosing to do so, not because we are forcing him.

  Torin rises and he stumbles just a little to the left, proving all the alcohol he’s consumed is affecting him. “Alpha, blessed be.” Gregory lowers his head in respect. Torin’s eyes are glassy, probably from the liquor.

  “Too late, I’m already fucking cursed,” he mumbles, and walks away without looking back.

  I let out a small sigh. I wish there was something I could do for him. Sometimes when I look at him and see the pain living in his eyes, I regret that we came here, even if it means we saved him. “I’m going to go make sure he doesn’t do something he’ll regret.” I squeeze Grim’s hand briefly before jogging to catch up with Torin.

  Chapter 18

  “Why the fuck did I think it was a good idea to drink my weight in tequila?” I hear Torin’s sharp voice after I slam the door. Well, at least I know he stayed here instead of running off into the woods after I finally went to sleep this morning.

  “Good morning, Wolfy!” I shout loudly and obnoxiously. Torin’s face scrunches up in a scowl before he glares at me.

  “If I didn’t like you so much, I would eat you!” he mutters.

  I click my tongue at him. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not on the menu. Plus, I would slice off your eyelids and feed them to Dare, then I would make you watch as she nested in your pancreas.

  “What the fuck?” His face scrunches up even more.

  “Oh, I would love to have his teeth for a necklace. Let me know if you decide to pursue this avenue,” Aeson chimes in.

  “Bloodthirsty lot.” Torin covers his eyes with his inner elbow and crosses his ankles over the end of the sofa, seemingly going back to sleep. His shirt is off, and I catch Aeson licking her lips as she does a long, slow perusal.

  “Too bad he’s so large.” She purses her lips and tilts her head from left to right. “I bet that witch could make me a potion to make him just the right size.” She continues to examine him.

  I gesture for her to follow me into the kitchen, but I don’t miss the slight lifting of Torin’s lips. “You can’t have him,” I whisper once we’re out of the room.

  “Why ever not?” Aeson gives me an indignant glare.

  “He’s grieving.”

  “Best way to get over someone is to get under someone new,” she purrs.

  I can’t help it, I laugh. “You’re such a whore.”

  “Says the slut who’s fucking three men.” Her little face is pursed in the sweetest smile.

  “What can I say? I learned from the best, you hussy.” I reach in the fridge and pull out a carton of vanilla yogurt—which is not usually to my taste—but this shit is good. Throw in some chocolate chips, and it’s damn near perfect.

  “Finally eating, are you? I guess three dicks can build up an appetite. Or you’re pregnant.” Aeson cackles at her statement.

  The yogurt container slips from my hand and hits the floor, the white goo exploding upward. My mind finds the truth in her joke, piecing together the reality in an instant. The hunger, the yellow glow from within my stomach, the feeling of happiness… “I think I’m going to throw up.” I run to the sink and lean my head over the white porcelain, waiting for my stomach contents to empty, but the only thing that happens is my breathing speeds up, along with my heart rate.

  “Dami?” I feel Aeson’s little hand push back the curtain of my hair so she can see my face. “Oh, darling,” she coos.

  “I’ve never even had a period.” I don’t know how to sort through my emotions. “How could this even be possible?” I look over at the one woman in my life who hasn’t left me, hoping she will tell me I’m overreacting, that I’m not pregnant, but I know that to be a lie.

  “Dami, you’re not human, so you’re not bound by the rules of science. Magic is in your veins.” Her voice is pitched low as she tries to be comforting.

  “I don’t know how to be a mom. My mom was a monster, a real one. What if I’m like her?”

  Aeson tsks and looks at me with what I can only assume is disappointment. “Damiana, I have watched you care for creatures who terrify others. The baddies—as you call them—don’t come to you because you’re powerful. They are drawn to you because you accept them as they are. How could you be anything but a wonderful mum?”

  Tears prick my eyes, but I don’t allow them to fall. “I don’t know which of them is the father,” I confess, as if I’ve committed a cardinal sin.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Aeson assures me.

  “What if it does to them? How am I going to tell them?”

  “Tell who what?”

  I snap my head up and straighten my back at Calix’s voice. I don’t turn around, though, for fear he will see the unshed tears in my eyes. I blink rapidly several times.

  “Tell them to stop being such nosy buggers,” Aeson snaps flippantly.

  “I spilled yogurt all over the floor.” I’m grasping for anything other than what I’m really thinking. “It’s all over the table and wall.” I reach for the washcloth and turn on the hot water. Just because I don’t like to clean doesn’t mean I don’t know how.

  “I was going to leave the mess for someone else to clean up, but since you caught me.” The lie burns my tongue. I’m so glad it’s not Grim standing in the doorway. I force some lightness into my tone. I have a lot of practice faking my emotions.

  I drop down to my knees, cloth in hand, and start to scoop up the mess, but my thoughts are consumed with going over every single time I’ve slept with each of the guys, so I end up just smearing the yogurt around.

  Calix chuckles and takes the cloth from my hand, then he rinses it out at the sink. He squats in front of me, his eyes soft and worry free. For now. “I’m good at cleaning up messes.” He winks and takes over the job. I just keep staring it him. I can’t force myself to get up off the floor. Will the baby have his hazel eyes, Grim’s gray, or Gunnar’s and my blue? Aeson’s words echo in my mind, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ Stars, I hope she’s right.

  Torin makes his way into the kitchen. His eyes are a little wild when our gazes meet. He knows. He doesn’t even have to say anything, and I know he knows. He must have been listening to Aeson and me. I plead with him using my eyes, begging him not to say anything. He looks away first, his lips pinched.

  Calix lifts his head and his face falls when he sees me. “Everything okay?” I open my mouth to answer him, but nothing comes out. He looks even more concerned.

  “She’s fine. We were just talking about my vaginal dryness and you interrupted us.”

  Aeson plants her hands on her hips. Calix’s eyes widen for just a heartbeat, then he resumes cleaning up the floor with renewed vigor.

  “Come on, Dami, let’s go finish our conversation where we won’t be disturbed.” I for
ce my legs to move, and out of the corner of my eye, I watch Aeson give Torin a stare down while Calix is distracted with cleaning. The way she draws her black painted fingernail across her throat—giving the wolf a warning to keep his mouth shut—would normally make me laugh, but right now I’m too numb to do anything but accept the out she just gave me to get away from Calix and Torin so I can come to terms with the fact that I’m pregnant. Fucking hell.

  A nervous laugh bubbles its way up my throat when we reach the stairs. I place my palm on the ground next to Aeson and she climbs aboard. “Vaginal dryness?” Gunnar pokes his head out of the bedroom, his hair still damp from the shower, and his eyes land on me.

  “I can cure that for you.” He smirks.

  “Oh you can, can you?” Aeson chirps.

  Gunnar jerks his head back, not realizing Aeson was even with me. “Nope.” He pops the ‘p’ sound and ducks back into the bedroom, which makes me laugh even harder. We make our way into Kim’s room. I place my hand on the bed allowing Aeson to step off.

  “Thanks, I needed that,” I tell her, referring to the moment of levity.

  Aeson places the back of her hand on her forehead like some old-fashioned cinema damsel. “And that’s what killed her, folks. The rampant rumors of her dry pussy. She eventually succumbed to her plight and shriveled up and died from lack of dicking.”

  “You’re such a drama queen. I’m sure we could find some poor sap who would give your arid pussy a jizz bath.”

  Aeson gets a faraway look in her eyes. “Yes, I’m quite sure one load from the wolf and I would be soaked for days.” She throws herself back on the bed, spread eagle style.

  My thoughts immediately return to the reason my best friend just threw herself under the bus for me. I’m pregnant.

  My hand goes to my lower stomach. I’m tempted to try the meditation technique Grim taught me to see if I could feel that glow again. When I felt that warmth, everything seemed right. Now that I know what it is, maybe it would help abate some of this panic making my throat feel tight. Fear is not an emotion I’m used to.

  Aeson senses the mood shift and tilts her head back to look at me, then she rolls over so she’s on her stomach with her palms propped under her chin. Put a little pair of wings on her and she would make the cutest goth Tinkerbelle ever. “I’m going to take that smile and the fact that you’re no longer threatening to throw up as a good sign,” she comments hesitantly. My smile slips. “Oh dear.” She sighs.

  “I just never even thought about being a mom. I didn’t even know it was a possibility. Fucking hell, what if I would have gotten knocked up by some random hookup?”

  “I don’t think that would have been a possibility, Dami.”

  I start worrying the skin on the side of my thumbnail, something I haven’t done in years. Not since boarding school. “When should I tell them? How should I tell them? Am I going to have to go to a human doctor?” Horror fills me.

  The thought of Grim, Calix, and Gunnar all standing in a delivery room threatening the doctor and nurses with death might be kind of funny though. Then I remember I’m going to have to push a baby out and I grab my pussy in sympathy.

  “Now’s not the time to diddle yourself,” Aeson scoffs.

  “I’m not diddling myself. I’m comforting my puss. She might never be the same after this.”

  “Oh, shut up, you’re speaking like a daft man.”

  “It’s gonna fucking hurt though,” I exclaim.

  “They have drugs for that sort of thing,” Aeson counters, dismissing my concern.

  “A baby.” I shake my head. There’s no denying the facts, but I don’t think it’s truly sunk in yet. I feel like this is both happening to someone else and me at the same time.

  “Dami.” Aeson’s voice is in full comfort mode. “I want you to know this is your body, your choice. You don’t have to tell anyone.” Her eyes are blown wide, and she bites her lower lip as she finishes.

  I get choked up even thinking about what she’s implying. I shake my head vehemently in refusal. “No, I could never.” I don’t ever want to think about that again.

  Aeson’s entire body sags in what I’m hoping is relief. “Okay, good,” she breathes, confirming my interpretation of her reaction.

  “I don’t know how they will feel about it though.” I try to imagine each of their responses and fail miserably. “Do I tell them together or separately, now or when we get home?” I’m rambling, but I can’t help it. My thoughts are shifting wildly.

  “All of it is up to you, Dami. But if you’re asking for my advice, I would suggest you tell them sooner rather than later.” She reaches over and places her tiny hand on my leg. “My instincts tell me you’re worrying for the wrong reasons.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’d be more worried about having three rabid mother hens than I would be about them being upset.” She retracts her hand. “Heaven forbid if you should stub a toe, Death may start the apocalypse.” She rolls her eyes.

  I snort, but she’s not wrong. “Maybe I should wait to tell them until after we get rid of Antonio?”

  Aeson winces. “It’s your call, but they won’t be happy when they find out you kept this from them,” she remarks, and it sounds like a warning.

  Chapter 19

  “Have you heard from the witch?” Gunnar pushes Torin’s feet off the end of the couch, and the big man catches himself and sits up. “Are you just moving in, or what?”

  “Technically, it is my house since it’s owned by a member of my pack.” Torin lifts his brows.

  “Yeah, but you also have a swank mansion down the road,” Gunnar reminds him.

  “Yeah, but you guys don’t want anything from me, and they want everything,” he mumbles under his breath, and Gunnar drops the topic.

  “The witch?” Calix reminds him.

  “No, but he doesn’t have my direct number. I’ll check in with Kim in a little while. I’m sure she would have gotten hold of me if he reached out.” Torin’s gaze keeps straying back to me every few seconds. I pretend not to notice as I play a game on my phone.

  “Where did the Brownie go?”

  I roll my head to the side, looking at Torin. “She’s around,” I hedge. If he thinks he can safely out me without her being in the room, he’s deadly mistaken. “Maybe she went to get that shrinking potion she was talking about. I told her it might be a bad idea. Who knows what it might shrink, and if it would ever go back to the right size?” I make a point of looking down at his groin. Torin immediately looks away from me, and I don’t notice him staring so much anymore. Men are so predictable.

  Grim saunters in from the kitchen. I wet my lips and look around, confirming they’re all here. This is the first time all of us have been in the same room all day. “I was thinking that maybe we should go home today. It’s been over a week since I’ve been there, and it’s not like we can’t pop right back if we need to.”

  “You’re leaving?” Torin looks a little panicked.

  “Just for the day. I want to sleep in my own bed. You can still hide out here,” I offer, feeling somewhat guilty, as if I’m abandoning him.

  Grim lifts a lock of my hair and rubs it between his fingers. “I can take you now if you wish.”

  “Not without me. You got her all to yourself last time.” Calix stands up as if Grim may try to steal me away right now and he’s planning on hitching a ride.

  “Let’s wait and see if the witch gets back to Torin.” I return my gaze to my phone, knowing I’m just delaying the inevitable. A few more hours couldn’t hurt. I already told Aeson about my plan to go home this morning before bed so I could tell them. It’s been a challenge keeping it to myself all night. Grim has asked me more than once what I was thinking about when he caught me zoning out. I made sure to keep my answers vague so he wouldn’t sense the lie. I’m not even sure if he would be able to, but better safe than sorry.

  “Are you sure it’s safe there? I mean, Antonio knows where you live, right?” To
rin interjects. “Maybe you should just stay here.”

  I look over at him, and he seems genuinely concerned. During all my anxious thoughts, I never really considered that Torin might be extra sensitive about a pregnancy. He did just lose his mate in childbirth. I don’t think that would be a fate he would wish on anyone. What can I say to let him know the reason I want to go home is so I can tell them about the baby?

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just insult me by assuming I couldn’t keep my mate safe,” Calix deadpans.

  Torin opens his mouth but snaps it closed before grabbing the back of his neck and replying, “Some things are out of our control.” Calix examines Torin, his eyes shrewd and assessing.

  I toss my phone onto the couch next to me. “Actually, we can just go now. You can call Calix if anything turns up, right?” Before Torin can respond, I add, “Aeson will be back soon, she’s just letting the local assassin band know she’s in town out of courtesy.”

  Everything happens rather quickly from there, and before I know it, I’m standing in my bedroom sandwiched between Calix and Grim, which is a nice place to be most of the time.

  Gunnar hollers needlessly from downstairs. “I’m down here.”

  I let out a soft chuckle, then I take a deep breath. “Let’s go downstairs. There’s something we need to talk about.”

  Calix grips my shoulder roughly and spins me. His hazel eyes are intense on mine. “I will kill him. He won’t stand a chance.”

  “What are you talking about?” I jerk my shoulder free.

  “If you think I will allow him to touch you, if you think any of us will, you’re wrong.”

  I look around. Gunnar is now in the room too. All three of them are watching me with varying expressions, but none of them are looking at Calix or saying anything about the way he just handled me. “I have no clue what the fuck you’re talking about. But if you ever,” I snarl, stepping closer to Calix and getting right in his face, “touch me like that again out of anger, I will slit your throat and watch you bleed.” I stomp out of the room. Rage is simmering under my skin, and it’s so potent that I feel like I might burn the house down.