The Mates of Monsters
Chapter 44

The first thing she says to me when I open the door is, "So it's true," as her cat-like eyes survey my bruise. "I didn't get to see it. I was escorted out so quickly."

I glance at Tarlo behind her. He doesn't look like he wants to step further than this. In the few seconds we have, Tarlo and I communicate through stares. He seems to ask: Will you be alright? And I say: Yes, you don't have to stay. "Please, come in," I tell Aurora. "I'll be close by," Tarlo insists then turns the other way, being a good Beta and friend to David. I know he wouldn't let anything bad happen-the same promise David makes to me.

Aurora walks inside but we don't spend a moment too long in the foyer. I take her to the first living room; the one with a grand window that oversees the front yard. I think I might see Tarlo making rounds, or he might see me being strangled. She takes a seat and needs no instruction, so I remember to breathe and settle across from her on a tufted chair. "Just, say what you have to say," I request, wasting not even a minute on pointless pleasantries. "I'm sure you're not here to talk about the weather."

"Alright then," she shifts, "what happened at the union was a mess, was it not? I mean, my mate choked you. He said you threaten him, belittled him, and to sum it up-you were asking for it. So I've come here wanting the truth. What the hell happened, Brigette?" "Right. I did threaten him, I guess, but in all honesty, it wasn't that serious. I just told him to watch his back because I knew his plans were a cover for something dangerous."

"I'm not stupid. I know he's always up to no good."

"Then the truth is that I called him out on it. I got him angry, he attacked me, and I took his spot to argue my own proposition."

She raises a brow. "Your proposition?"

"The Lunas proposition. I did it with Bonny."

"Look, I'm not here because of the proposition. My mate hurt you, and I'm sorry," she says. "It looks painful."

I shrug. "It isn't so bad."

"A high pain tolerance? That's good in our line of work. Are you pregnant yet?"

I shake my head, no.

"I am," she reveals, and something changes both beneath and on her surface. "We were never the obedient, Brigette. We're the brave Lunas who do what has to be done." "A-Are you feeling well, with the pregnancy?"

"I'm almost ten weeks in, and it's getting harder to hide."

I bend forward, placing my elbows on my knees. "So you lied at our Luna lunch? You were pregnant?"

"I didn't know then. I found out about a week after. So I take it you don't hate me? Or were you trying to get rid of me as well?"

"I wasn't." My face softens. "I don't hate you, not at all. I think you're one of the few people I can believe."

"Good. Because I need you to. Because you're not the only one getting thrown around." She then slides up the sleeve of her blouse and there just above her elbow is a bruise as blue as my own. "They come and go." "Goddess, Aurora," I mutter and ask, "He did that?"

"He's a troubled man-unpredictable, they say. Every day I beg the Goddess why she mated me to him. What did I do to deserve this? She never answers, and despite what he promises, he never stops. And I put up with it for a long time because I love him, but with the pregnancy, I can't risk it. So I've been thinking, and I think I have a solution."

"What is it?"

She glances down. "I heard about that woman who killed her mate here."

Bile rises in my stomach and I'm sure that I'm going to be sick. "Aurora-"

Her eyes gloss over and redden, but she doesn't let the tears slip away from her. "I know it's sick. I-I keep hearing him say these things; how we act like humans trapped in monster bodies, when we're really monsters trapped in human bodies. And maybe he's right. And maybe that's what I have to do; I have to be a monster."

There are no words to express my pain for her. But I know why she's come to me; it's like she knows my dreams. She's seen the disturbing nightmares that infest my sleep.

"Brave Lunas do what they have to do, but I can't do this alone."

"I... you want me to..." I shudder. "This is-"

"I know what it is. I want to kill him, Brigette. Do you know what it takes to drive a mate to this means of thinking?"

I shake my head again.

"I hope you never do. Alpha Amin is a good man. You'll be safe, your children will be safe, but I can't say the same for myself."

"You can stay here. You'll be safe here."

"No," she says. "He'll never stop until he gets me back. He'll kill your people, he'll tear this place apart, and I can't let that happen, even if Alpha Amin were so selfless to try and protect me."

I try to wipe away my tear before she sees it, but I'm not fast enough. "You know he would."

"So then you know I can't stay."

"Aurora," I breathe, "killing him-killing anyone is-is not the answer."

"Then why do I know so deeply that he has to die?"

She breaks then, and two tears drop from both her starry eyes. She doesn't bother brushing them away. She lets them roll and gather and fall to her lap. Her hands caress the invisible bump of her growing child. "My baby will be safe, and with your proposition, their gender won't matter. Boy or girl, the pack will survive."

My lip quivers before I seal them together.

"H-He can't see it coming. I thought we could do it during our visit here at the end of the month. Then I can return to the pack and make up some lie about an accident on our way back," she proposes. "We'll probably need Alpha Amin's help as well."

"He's a good man. He's an honorable Alpha. I won't ask that of him."

Aurora nods. "I won't beg. I just-I can't do it alone. He'll kill me for trying."

"And what if he kills us both? I can't leave David alone in this world. It's just too unrealistic for either of us. I know you feel that this is what you have to do, but there must be another way. People will be willing to protect you."

"If I am kept from him, he will come for me, and I don't want anyone to die protecting me. We can come up with a plan, something smart, a trick or-"

"Poison him," I say just as soon as the idea comes to mind. "Compromise his alcohol. Weaken him to the point where the two of us can do it cleanly."

Aurora's coughs bleed into a chuckle. "I knew you would understand. I knew I could come to you."

I sigh. "Are we evil? I don't think David would look at me the same way if he knew I'd done it let alone considered it. He believes I'm good."

"You are good. You're willing to help me keep me and my baby alive. You're willing to save the world from a man like him."

I lean into the back of the chair. "All of it still seems so wrong. I was obsessed trying to figure out how she did it-that woman-and here you are saying that you want to do the same."

"Sometimes people are driven to do drastic things; driven to use their pain on the very people that cause it."

"I-I need time."

"Then I'll give you time.

"And you should take more time," I suggest, "to think things over again."

She stands. "I don't think my mind will be changing. I think I've been sure for much longer than someone outta to be. He brings wine with him-I'm sure you've tried it."

I still recall the taste-remember my apology for knowing nothing about wine or drinking wine.

"I have to go. I have to be back before morning. He thinks I'm at my sister's-just, give it a thought. I know I'm asking the world of you, I just need someone on my side."

I walk her to the door. When I touch the handle, I say, "Tarlo will escort you back to the borders. I'll make sure he keeps this discrete."

"Thank you, Brigette. If anything, for listening."

I stare hard as she walks from the house. Tarlo-like magic-comes from the side and meets her. He peers back at me, and I nod. I close the door and listen for the pop of the lock as I turn it in place. My hands seek stability against the wood, and I lower myself to the tiled

floor.