It’s true. Our exchange has garnered a crowd of curious onlookers. No one will step in if this escalates to a fight, but the monster world knows not to mess with Dracula—and by extension, me—with witnesses around. My father’s revenge is well-known across the globe. Hell, I’m pretty sure there are still heads spiked on the fence surrounding our summer home in Hawaii from the last monster group who pissed Dad off.
Alex stares at the assembled crowd, still far enough away not to hear our conversation, and releases a belittling laugh. The noise is reminiscent of starless skies and double-edged swords. Of daggers and full moons. There’s something dark and sinister about it, something that makes my skin crawl like thousands of fire ants have been set free under my skin.
My heart thunders in my chest as Alex steps around his father and leans forward, under the guise of pushing back a strand of my curly blonde hair, and whispers in my ear, “I’d watch what you say, little vampire. Tonight, not even Dracula can protect you.”
When he steps back, the cruel smile is still firmly in place.
“What the hell does that mean?” Mason hisses, still gripping one of Hux’s arms. I can see Hux struggling to regain control of his beast, his monster.
“Don’t threaten me,” I add, lifting my head to meet his crow-black stare.
“Halloween is when we can embrace our inner monsters, but the Roaring? The Roaring is when the monsters actually get to play,” Alex tuts, gripping his father’s arm and pulling him away. “Let’s go, Dad. The bitch isn’t worth it.” His cold laughter rings out as he drags his father down the path, away from me. His mother remains behind for only a moment, eyes surveying my face with the same intensity I had examined hers.
“Helena!” Alex’s father screams, the noise clawing at my skin. She winces, face paling, before leaning in closer to me.
Immediately, Vin and Frankie step up to either side of me. Barret continues to expand until it’s almost comical—if he wanted to, he could crush her beneath one foot.
“Take care of my boy,” she whispers hoarsely, ignoring the men on either side of me.
“What?” I bite out in disbelief. She couldn’t possibly be talking about Alex, could she?
“Please.”
“Helena!” Alex’s father snarls. I watch as Alex futilely attempts to drag his dad away, but the man stays firm, feet rooted to the ground.
“Please,” Helena repeats. With one last beseeching glance at me, she spins on her heel and mechanically walks back towards her husband and son. Once she’s in range, her husband grabs at her frail arm, tugging her to him, and I note a muscle in Alex’s jaw twitch.
“What the bloody hell was that all about?” Cal hisses, his red feathers ruffling in the early winter air.
“The usual,” Mason spits, finally releasing Hux. Cal, after a moment, releases his other arm and takes a tentative step away from the frightening monster. “Vampire haters.”
“No, this seemed different,” I say, watching the three of them disappear in the foggy graveyard. “Personal, almost. Alex even told me that it wasn’t something Dracula did, but something I did.”
“But what the hell did you do?” Vin asks, throwing his hands into the air. “You have a collection of stuffed unicorns, for fuck’s sake.”
“Hey.” I spin on my heel and level an accusatory finger in his direction. “Those are magical horses with horns. Not unicorns.”
“They’re totally unicorns,” Mason throws in.
“I have to agree with them on this one, Cheese Curd,” adds Barret.
“Horses. With. Horns.”
“Unicorns,” all of the men parrot, sans Hux, who is still glaring at a tree trunk as if it has personally offended him. Shit. This isn’t good.
Frankie notices Hux’s predicament at the same time I do and nods subtly at me.
“I need to talk to you guys about something,” he says coldly to the others, shoving his hand into his pants pockets.
When all of them furrow their brows, Frankie inconspicuously nods his head in Hux’s direction, teetering the line between insanity and coherence.
“Huh?” Barret murmurs, but Cal grips his hand and tugs him a short distance away.
“Hux?” I whisper once all of the guys are situated in a circle away from us. “Sweetie?”
Yeah, I’m still trying out pet names for him.
Baby Daddy, Cum Buddy, and Chocolate Bar. Chocolate Bar is my personal favorite, but I’m still struggling for it to catch on.
Hux growls low in his throat as I push up onto my tiptoes and place my hands on both of his cheeks. They have a light layer of stubble on them that grazes my palms and fingers, generating goosebumps on my sensitive skin.
“He threatened you,” he manages to hiss out at last, voice guttural and nearly unrecognizable.
“But he didn’t do anything,” I promise, continuing to hold his cheeks and willing his eyes to flick down to mine. “And he won’t do anything. You want to know why? Because I have you to protect me.”
“I didn’t protect you before,” Hux seethes, and I detect shame in his tone. Self-loathing.
“You couldn’t have,” I counter. “You didn’t know I needed you.”
“But—”
“No buts. What happened wasn’t your fault.” I hold up my arm, allowing him to see the faded pink words. Already, the letters are indistinguishable and impossible to read. “These scars are already fading thanks to Frankie, and soon, they’ll heal completely. And I’m not just talking about the physical ones, but the mental ones too. Because of you, Hux. You and the others. You’re healing me each and every day. I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for you. Sometimes I wish I was a normal girl with a normal life, but that’ll never be me. And that’ll never be you. I’m okay with that. I know that my life won’t be easy, but you guys make me feel like I can do anything.
