“Where are they?” I asked, pacing back and forth at the fork in the tunnel. It had been way too long—they should have been back. I’d made a mistake splitting up with Ava.
“Let’s just go after them,” Brandon sighed, running dirty hands through even dirtier hair. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against the cave wall looking worn out. “Maybe they found Thomas. He hasn’t been talking.”
Or maybe the climber was dead. Either way, the problem would be solved.
“There could be multiple ways to go in there so we’re staying put. They should have been back a while ago.” I continued pacing. Ava better be okay.
This is what I got for trying to be a better man for her. For trying to anticipate and counteract the consuming possessive need I had for my mate.
Except... Ididneed Mothman. There were too many horror stories about other nokken and their mates. Abusive assholes who didn’t let their partners catch their breath. The relationships were more often abusive than not. Unfortunately, most ended in tragedy. Love and death shouldn’t go hand in hand the way it did with my kind.
That wouldn't be me. Not with Ava.
Now that she had accepted me—now that shelovedme—I worried about locking her in the basement to be all mine for the rest of our lives. Even now that soundedveryappealing. Not just so we could enjoy each other at any and all hours but because then I could guarantee her safety.
It would be easy. I could bring her everything she needed and I could bury myself between her thighs until she had to beg me to stop. She wouldn’t even need to clean up, just be constantly leaking my cum, filled to bursting over and over until she had a permanent ache between her legs.
You know, maybe she liked chains. She liked the biting enough. Just one shackle to keep others from stealing her way. Maybe a secure lock on the outside of the door.
That sounded nice. It sounded right. It sounded so good a shudder of pleasure ran over my body.
That’s why I needed another monster around because I knew deep down Ava would hate it. That it wasn’t fair. She couldn’t live her life that way. It almost seemed like fate that Mothman came skulking around just as she finally allowed me to lay my claim.
I was possessive… but also deeply frightened of how far I might go loving Ava.
“I’m going to go insane watching you pace,” Brandon said, biting his nails down to stubs while glaring at me. I stopped pacing and raised an eyebrow at him.
“You’re irritable.”
“Me?” He asked loudly.
“There's no one else here,” I said with a smile, spreading my arms wide. He rolled his eyes and started biting his nails again.
“Stop doing that. It’s creepy,” he grumbled.
“What?” I asked in confusion.
“Smiling all the damn time like some kind of psychopath,” Brandon responded. The smirk that was still on my face dropped. Was he serious? Was the smiling making me look more suspicious? I knewsometimesit was a miss, but I thought generally it worked in my favor. He had to be joking.
“People like it,” I said smoothly, eyeing the dark tunnel Ava had gone down. It stretched endlessly before succumbing to darkness.
“Maybe that shit works on fans and strangers but once anyone is around you regularly they can tell something is off. The smiling makes it worse.” I stood there considering his words.
“What would work better?” I finally asked.
“Are you seriously asking me how to mask your psychopathy?” He stared at me in disbelief. The lantern was set beside him, flicking light in the area around us.
“Oh please,“ I chuckled. “I’m not a psychopath. I’m just not human.” I smiled, then dropped the smile because he had made me self-conscious about it. I felt like one of those people who didn’t know what to do with their hands in live interviews. What expression should I use? Blank apathy tended to upset people.
“Thinkingisn’t a good look on you either,” Brandon said, smirking. I eyed him suspiciously. His eyes flickered in amusement…Oh.
“It’s never happening,” I said.
“What isn’t?” He asked as he rolled his neck in a stretch.
“I’m with Ava. She’s… well it’s hard for a human to understand but she’s everything.” It felt freeing being able to discuss it so openly. Brandon, along with Ava, were the first humans to ever know what I was. I didn’t have to skirt around the truth.
“She’s my mate,” I told him, watching his reaction.
