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“Do I really have to?” I call back on a groan. “I almost got it this time.” “You just blew yourself up trying to make shampoo, January. Yes, you really do have to go be a normal teenager for a little while.
I was chased until I opened my mouth, and then I was rejected. I’m a monster, so I have no idea why Mom thinks dating normal guys is even an option for me. Normal guys would shit themselves if I had a panic attack. Or I could kill them. Rejecting me was likely the smartest thing he’s ever done. It feels more life-saving and less embarrassing when I think of it that way.
“Do you remember that mother in the park who flung sacks of dog shit at a group of kids after one kid looked at her daughter wrong?” I ask her very seriously. “Of course I do. That woman was batshit crazy. Why are you—” “Because you’re more embarrassing than her right now. If you could stop, that’d be great,”
“That’s the problem,” I say as I hand off the next box, “everyone wants to yell, scream, argue, take inexcusable shots, and bitch about the past. No one wants to just talk. Even now, everyone wants to remain defensive. All of you just want to hold on to the very thing that’s made you miserable all these years, and at this point, you’re just piling onto the fact no one is seeking resolution.”
Give me one day to help them get the gist of what’s going on in the world today, before the alpha-arguing sets in all around them, with everyone else dictating what they do.
We’ll be the reason the world is plunged into the dark ages if we cause widespread hysteria, and we’ll be mostly wiped out,” Mary adds very quietly. “Then the alphas will just pick themselves back up and start all over again, caring less and less with each stupendous failure, because it’s simply too painful and too hard to keep caring.
I don’t have it in me to tell her that whatever she’s doing right now…isn’t rock-and-roll. It’s more like roll-to-a-corner-and-rock music.
“I’m mostly just a Simpleton, since Mom wouldn’t ever let me be a badass like her,” Violet carries on.
“You chopped off your own foot when I tried to teach you to use a sword, Violet. You lost an arm learning to swing an axe, for Pete’s sake. Don’t even get me started on archery; I’ve never seen a person shoot their own kneecap. It’s not something that should be possible,”
“You fucking barbarian!” he shouts, gesturing between us, as he covers his bloodied nose with one hand and glares at me. “This is why we can’t hang out. You have violent fits like Vance and Arion to soothe your hostile insecurities. I give people fucking great orgasms. You bring pain.”
“You’re a complete asshole,” I call to his back, glaring at the dead body. “Torture is only fun when they’re still alive.”
“The money is/was my late grandmother’s money, so I’ve been saving it. She was loaded because she invented some sort of really popular toothbrush design, so I have plenty of money. You don’t just sink a ton of money into a new business. You work it up until it’s paying for itself so it doesn’t become a financial drain.”
He’s gone so fast that I don’t even see him leave. “What is happening right now?” I ask incredulously, adjusting my skirt. Hell, I’ve even started wearing dresses and skirts to make it easier for them, and still get left hanging.
“Hmm. She almost sounds like she cares about the Simpletons who are going to own their very own beds for the first time ever,” Anna states, words dripping with sarcasm. “I wonder if she poops food since she talks shit.”
“If she’d stop me from messing up this bad before it escalates to the part where her soft little top blows, that’d be fucking helpful,” I dutifully point out.
It’s become clear there are too many details to their story, because everyone is conniving, competitive, and far too messy.
“Forty-eight Simpletons have endured a hundred times as much as you’re all cringing at today. Which is why I’m here. It’s my turn. Because I’m what stands between her petty, deranged tantrums and all of you,” she goes on, which has Nadine darting a glance at all of us.
“I was born to stand in your way, just because I fucking can. And now everyone’s going to know that you’re not my problem. But I just became the only problem you’re allowed to have, because you, the big, scary, all-powerful alpha can’t even make me scream while I’m still just a pup.”
“Vance is going to give me a ride, since he’s stalking me to tell me what an idiot I am for this, and you’re going to go scream into the forest for a few hours before speaking, okay?” Violet says to her.
“You knew?” I ask him, narrowing my eyes. His lethal, cold glare swings to me. “You passed these laws, Sir. I have no choice but to uphold them, and you requested not to be disturbed when I brought it up the past four times.
“Will you get out for a second now?” Violet asks me, drawing my attention back, as she fights to keep the pain out of her expressions. “Violet, let me—” “My leg is healing backwards, so I have to re-break it and turn it back around. It’s going to be painful, and I need just a moment to be weak before I get home and put on a brave face for everyone who needs to see it,” she says very seriously, as her eyes water with unshed tears. “Apparently you need the brave face too, and I just…I just can’t. One minute to be weak, Vance. Please.”
“She built this because she knew you’d stand still. Now there’s nothing left to do but watch her work,” Shera adds, as she turns and walks away.
“All these centuries of such strong loyalty, and you couldn’t grant me one request. For that, I was punished today. By Violet. The cruel girl made me watch how fucking stupid I truly am.”
“All the while, Violet was telling us not to let you become her problem. She warned us quietly, and none of us heard her. Our listening skills are subpar.”
“Ah, glad we just moved the party instead of shutting it down. She’d be really pissed that we’re watching Violet TV out here after squandering away our front row seats,” Damien says as he takes a seat on the ground.
“My mother is the world’s best salesman. I know a pitch when I hear it, so please stop. Do the work,”
“All the pretty monsters want in your pants again, and you’re hanging out with the archives. You don’t deserve that vagina,” Anna informs me as she drops in and takes a seat.
That fucking wanker. I’m going to tear off the wanker’s wanker and give it to another wanker who wants a wee wanker.
“I’m sorry, but did I somehow step into the Twilight Zone. Emit wants to mate me and mark me for werewolf marriage, and you suddenly want me as your bride—after both of you spent five months watching your ex! Do monster men not understand anything at all about women?”
“I don’t want to lose you as individual friends, but as a quad set of boyfriends…you all sort of suck. If I’m being honest,” I tell him quietly, swallowing the lump in my throat and pretending to be unfazed.
“Comparing them to Jerome is like comparing Confucius to Curly the Stooge.
“Fucking hell. She already thinks we’re too much work,” Damien groans, as the whites of his eyes return to take over his sight. “I’m starting to see her point.”
“You all underestimate the fury locked inside the tormented who’ve lost their voice,” I volley.
“Or incredibly starved for affection, in spite of having four very complicated relationships, where sex was most definitely on the table,” I say through clenched teeth, trying not to make any sounds of approval while he’s being an ass.
Emit starts snoring, while I remained smashed against a lot of man wolf, unable to even move my head without earning a sleepy growl. I could seriously use a shower.
Then again, he’ll probably ignore me for days on end now. They tend to do that when they’ve gotten what they wanted from me. How do they not understand why that pisses me off?
I roll my eyes and whimper/groan. “I can’t adjust this fast. No one has even told me they love me, and now I’m mated to a werewolf alpha and have the scars to prove it. Meanwhile, the Vampyre alpha is proposing, while washing away the werewolf,” I mutter to myself.
I’m going to take the night off—rest, eat, and recover from the werewolf who apparently married me without even pretending to love me. Get back to me after I’m caught up, and we can have an adult discussion about this.”
“Are you trying to make me feel sorry for you so that I’ll be your bride?” I ask very seriously. “I’ll wait until you tell me you love me before I make you my bride,” he drawls, eyes flicking to mine.
You assume Emit doesn’t love you because he’s never said the words. Whereas, he assumes you know he loves you, because his wolf just marked you so deeply that you’re tied to him for at least the next few centuries.”
Sometimes I forget how broken they all are, because they’re so…top-of-the-food-chain and all.
Arion cradles him against his chest, and my heart starts pounding in my ears when his eyes widen. My stomach churns with dread as the sound of Jasper slurping resonates in my ears. “Violet, why is there an infant shifter drinking from me with impossible fangs?” Arion asks in a calm tone, even as a harsh exhale is expelled from him.
Children are a coveted thing among those who live forever with no hope of bearing their own.”
Doing some amazing one-armed dressing with the smooth motions of a practiced professional, he cradles Jasper in strategic ways, never putting him down. I’m actually impressed with how effortless he makes it look to dress himself while holding a baby.
I was made a mockery by the woman I loved, and used without reward, to the point where I have no feelings—good or bad—remaining toward her,”
You should have killed Emit instead of rewarding bad behavior. It sets a bad precedent for monsters who are obsessed with making you theirs.”
“It’s scary having this sort of responsibility. Anything at all—big or small—happens to that baby on our watch, and Violet will definitely be angry for many, many centuries, depending on the severity of the infraction,” Damien points out. “Take it back. It’s too much trouble.”
But my girl has been blowing off body parts, while simply trying to make hair supplies, since she turned thirteen.”
“He’s genuinely going to steal that child and make Violet his bride, isn’t he?” Marta asks on a shaky breath she works hard to steady. “Yes, yes he is,” Damien answers with zero hesitation.
I’ve never had anyone but the three of them willing to protect me. Everyone else has always needed me to protect them.
