The Mates of Monsters
Chapter 25

breeze. I've never seen a firefly before, and they glow with an unrealistic brightness, like a hole poked through black curtains.

The sky is murky above my head, and the surrounding forest is alive with the smallest of sounds all conjoining into one orchestra of buzzing and humming and brushing. The grass is soft, and I lay on my back against it, staring at the stars and fireflies carried by the I sit up and smile when I see David's wolf skulking in the trees. He sneaks over and circles me. "What are you doing?" I ask as my eyes follow him. "Come on. Shift. Lay with me."

I fall to the grass as he steps over me. As his wolf scales my body, he shifts, and by the time his face reaches mine, I'm met with his flesh and not fur. His brilliant grey eyes are shadowed to black, and they wash over me as stripping and refreshing as a wave on a beach. I breathe in and my chest fills with his air. Just as he lowers his mouth to mine, a voice calls from behind.

"David. What are you doing?"

I panic and look out from under him. A girl emerges from the trees. Her face is flooded with the horror of heartbreak, and I realize her face is my own.

"David?" Another voice calls, and I lift my chin, looking at the figure now standing before us. My heart pulses at the sight of another doppelgänger. "What are you doing?"

I frantically crawl out from under him and notice myself multiplying all around me.

"You love her?"

"You slept with her?"

"What are you doing? Lay with me."

"I don't want to talk to you."

I look back to David, my mouth open and my eyes tearing. But I'm still there, underneath him, or maybe one of my other selves are. "David?" I call. "What are "

My eyes open at once. My heart continues to beat at the same urgent pace it was in my dream.

"Brigette?"

David is awake behind me. His body cradles my own, and his heavy arm reaches over and lays against my stomach, keeping me flush with him. My eyes dart around the room. The closed shutters let only slivers of daylight in, and I question, "W-What time is it?" "I'm not sure," he says, his voice still tainted by sleep.

I feel his hand against my skin as it reaches just past the hem of my shirt, creeping under my clothes. I blink hard and shift my focus to the feel of his chest and legs-torso, breath-everything against me, pushing into me. When did we get like this? This is not how I fell asleep.

I do know one thing: I am safe with him like a pearl tucked away in a clam. Nothing can penetrate his shell and swipe me. No monster from my dream can spill out and get me. I soak this feeling in before my need to fully wake up is no longer an excuse. I murmur, "Don't you have to go?"

He says, "No," as his arm flexes and as his hand slides upward, bringing my shirt up with it. Instinctively, I place my hand on top of his, halting him from accidentally groping me in his sleepy haze.

"I thought you had to leave early? You always do."

"Not today."

"Why?"

He takes a deep breath and holds me tighter. My feet stretch and my toes curl and I pray he is half asleep and doesn't remember my silent enjoyment. "Go back to sleep," he murmurs.

I turn in his hold so we are now facing each other. Instead of acknowledging this and opening his eyes, David adjusts his hold and presses me to his chest, his chin resting on the top of my head. My face blooms with the sweetest pinks, girlish and darling. "David," I mumble into his chest, nearly intoxicated by his scent. He ignores me, so I temporarily give in, shutting my eyes and basking in his attention. A gentle knock sounds at the door. David does nothing, so I unsurely call, "Yes?"

"Tarlo is here for the Alpha," Helena's voice answers.

David groans. He waits a moment then says, "Tell him I'll speak with him later. Tell him to go on without me. Thank you, Helena."

"Well, alright," she says through the door. "Brigette? Would you like me to send breakfast to Lindsey's guest house?"

"Yes please," I chirp. "Thank you, Helena."

I listen to her footsteps as they faintly disappear down the hall. David has gone quiet again, so I ask, "You're supposed to be somewhere else, aren't you?"

"I am supposed to be where I believe I am supposed to be."

I roll my eyes and wiggle in his grasp, attempting to get free, so he rests his palm against the back of my head. "You're different in the morning," I say. "You're different in the morning."

"How am I different?"

"Coming from the girl who doesn't like to be touched," he mutters. "All night you were tossing and turning. I had to hold you to get you to stop."

"Liar," I accuse. "You just want to feel me up."

"Well, that too."

In a second attempt, I manage to sit up. David shifts onto his back and I steal glances at his pretty face. His eyes are closed but his hand wanders up my spine, sending a chill through me. "I let you hold me one night and suddenly I'm your teddy bear." He smiles a little and finally begins to wake.

"I have to get ready and meet Lindsey before she thinks I've abandoned her."

I have one last look before I disconnect from him-like a plug from a wall-my battery will slowly drain.