When the silence becomes too unnerving, too chilling, I begin to sing softly beneath my breath. “Walking down the hall. With my shadow and my dog. A vampire wearing bats… And what the fuck is that?” I pause abruptly, the shadow monster ramming into my back before gracefully sliding through my body.
There, standing in front of a closed door, is a creature plucked straight out of a horror novel. And that’s ironic, given that my father is Dracula. He’s hideous, with weathered gray skin that appears flaky to the touch. Long lines, reminiscent of black veins, crawl up both his cheeks and bleed into his eyes, turning the whites into a shade of obsidian. His arms are nearly as long as his body, touching the floor, and his fingernails are sharp claws that are twice as long as my hand. Whiskers sprout from around his mouth, the delicate gray at odds with his foreboding appearance. Black cat ears decorate the top of his head, and as I step closer, they twitch. He sniffs the air once before turning back towards his victim, a very unconscious Cal lying in a pool of his own blood.
It’s…
It’s Cat Man? Nah, I’m pretty sure that’s copyrighted somewhere. Maybe Pussy Man?
Pussy Man swings his head in my direction, yellow eyes narrowing into thin slits.
“What do we have here?” he purrs. “A snack?”
“I’m just going to come right out and say ‘no.’” I slowly take a step away, and as expected, the creature follows. Good. I need to keep his attention off of Cal.
Behind me, the hounds sit in rapt fascination while the centaur grins maliciously. Apparently, they’re perfectly content watching me die at the hands of this fucker.
“I know your father.” The monster continues to prowl forward in a decidedly cat-like manner. When he smiles, tiny fangs pierce his bottom lip.
“Oh. You guys buddies?”
If the murderous glint in his eyes is any indication, that answer would be a ‘hell no.’
“He killed my owner,” Pussy Man hisses. “Sucked her dry.”
I’m really hoping he means her blood, or else I’m going to vomit.
I chance a glance at Cal, relieved when I see the steady rise and fall of his chest. He’s still alive, thank fuck, but I don’t know the extent of his injuries.
Pussy Man follows the direction of my gaze, and pure satisfaction shines in his eyes.
“Is he your friend?” he taunts, crouching down and trailing a finger down Cal’s cheek. “He’s a handsome fellow.”
“Don’t you fucking touch him,” I hiss, my fangs instinctively elongating at the threat. Pussy Man leans down, a cocksure grin on his face, and bares his own teeth. Instead of a cock-measuring contest, it’s a teeth-measuring one. And dammit, I’m going to win.
“Did you know that I’m only part cat?” he queries. “The other half of me?” His eyes shine and contort, becoming distinctly reptilian in appearance. “The other half of me is a snake.” Those two fangs I noticed earlier expand in his mouth until they’re approximately the size of my own. His mouth opens wildly as he prepares to bite down on Cal’s vulnerable neck. Before he can do it, though, I jump on his back, taking us both to the ground. Pussy Man takes no time in grabbing my sensitive wrist and sticking his fangs into my skin.
Immediately, pain begins to heat along my veins, my body turning sluggish. I feebly claw at his face, my fingernails leaving inch-deep gouges in his fleshy skin. I hope he needs Botox.
As my consciousness rapidly begins to wane, darkness pricking the edges of my vision, I see Cal begin to twitch and stir. He shakes his head once and then twice, moving jerkily to his feet. He blinks rapidly as he attempts to orient himself before his eyes come to rest on me.
With an enraged roar—the likes of which I never heard before—Cal lunges forward and grabs Pussy Man by a wisp of his dark hair.
“Don’t touch her.” Cal’s voice is guttural, almost a growl, and causes my stomach to tighten into dozens of small, intricate knots. It’s dark, deadly, and possessive. The cupid hurls daggers at the other monster with his eyes before slowly, hypnotically, opening his mouth.
Pussy Man’s face goes slack as his eyes turn glazed. His lips part as a sigh of pure bliss escapes him. I can’t help but notice his naked cock growing in size until it’s poking Cal’s stomach. A strange, pink mist emits from Pussy Man’s open mouth and enters Cal’s. With every drag, color returns to Cal’s cheeks and his hair becomes glossier and fuller.
The monster’s face begins to shrivel until the bones are visible through the papery, yellow skin. Panic flitters to life in Pussy Man’s jaundiced yellow eyes, but when he finally tries to fight back, his movements are weak and half-hearted. In almost slow motion, his skin begins to flake off in tiny particles, collecting in a pile by his feet. Soon, he’s nothing but bones.
Cal is panting, his wings fluttering behind him as he stares down at the dismembered body.
“Cal?” I whisper, uncharacteristically frightened. Of him.
He smiles, slow and seductive, as his dimples appear in both of his cheeks. “They wanted to make me a monster, so a monster they shall get.”
Dammit. My stomach is totally fluttering right now, and it’s no longer in a “I want to piss myself in fear” type of way. It’s more of a “psycho is a sexy look on him” way.
“Are you okay?” Cal kneels beside me, surveying me with a disconcerting intensity. I feel small and delicate compared to his broad-shouldered frame.
“It’s not every day that a pussy tries to poison me,” I slur, still feeling the effects of said poison. I know it’ll only be a few more minutes until my vampire healing kicks in and boots the toxin out of my system.
“Come on.” Cal jumps to his feet and easily scoops me up, carrying me as if I’m a toddler. “I think we found what we were looking for.”
“The portal?” I inquire, my eyelids drooping. Still, I force myself to follow the direction of his gaze to see room number 69 and the initials VD. Funny, Dimitri. Real fucking funny.
“What the fuck happened!” Vin appears from around the corner, Frankie and Mason on his heels. His eyes flicker from the hounds and centaur to the rapidly decaying skeleton and then to me in Cal’s arms. Rage flares to life in his dark eyes as he takes a threatening step forward. “Give her to me.”
Cal surprises me by growling. No lie. Actual, honest-to-fuck growling. He twists his body slightly to keep me hidden from the other men’s prying gazes.
“Mine,” he bites out in an inarticulate voice as he sets me on my feet.
Vin freezes automatically, something flashing in his hooded gaze too quickly for me to see. He raises his hands slowly, almost placatingly, as he ventures another step forward. Mason and Frankie do the same, the former appearing confused and the latter as impassive as ever.
“We’re not going to hurt her,” Vin says slowly, one foot extended. Cal releases a hiss of air and drags us both backwards, stopping when my back is flush against the wall. He continues to huddle his body protectively over me, almost as if he considers the other three men threats. “But we need to go through the portal.”
“Mine.”
“Um…” I tap his shoulder impatiently, ignoring Vin’s warning shake of the head. “I’m not yours. I’m not anyone’s. If anything, you guys are all mine. So, ha.”