Beauty’s Monstrous Demons (Fairy Tales With A Monstrous Twist)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

BAST

I have been in my bedroom for the last ten hours, trying to force myself not to track Lorelei down. Samael’s fears have dug their claws into my mind, getting wilder and wilder with every passing moment. Image after image of her being hurt, raped by Adares, or killed in a half a dozen ways has had me spiraling.

It’s all I can see as I press myself into a corner of the room, whispering that it’s not real.

“Fucking fear demon,” I whisper. “She’s alive. We saw her. Lorelei is alive.”

Saying her name makes things worse, and I dig my claws into my thighs in an attempt to find a connection to what’s real. None of it helps, as every effort pulls up a different image of her death.

I actually pushed my dresser in front of my door to keep myself from breaking out, but now my window is begging me to use it. I know I could open it, and push my body out. Everything in this building is made with monsters in mind. I doubt the architects had suicide in mind though when they drew the drafts for these buildings.

If she’s dead, then there’s no reason for me to continue to live, right?

A part of me knows Samael is controlling my mind, but the other parts that are obsessed with Lorelei are horrified that there’s a world where she doesn’t exist in it. Her light, the brattiness that makes me insane, none of that exists without her. As the sky lightens outside of my bedroom window, I finally break.

Pushing aside my dresser is child’s play. The only reason it worked as long as it did is because I didn’t want to wake Thorley up. Though, he had a girl with him, so I shouldn’t have bothered.

He’s in the middle of fucking her in his bedroom as I stride through the apartment. Glancing down, I see that I’m only half dressed, and grumble to myself. It’s better that Adares is dead, because he’d be pounding on Thorley’s door, telling him to share or get out.

It happened last semester, and Thorley punched him in the face. Rolling my eyes at the memory, I stumble back to my room to pull off my clothing and change. Time is moving funny, and my thoughts are jumbled. I can’t wear yesterday’s clothing.

Sweats are the best I can manage, if I’m going to visit a ghost, I may as well be comfortable while I do it.

My mind is hazy, feeding me brief moments of clarity before telling me that the person meant for me is dead. It’s a mindfuck to think that I may never hear her beautiful voice sing, or listen to her curse me out.

Barely remembering to grab my keys, I walk out of the apartment, only to find that the door has been left unlocked again. Fuck, I don’t know why I bother. Lorelei is the only one who ever locked the door.

There aren’t many people in the hallway as I walk to the elevator, trying to figure out what I want to accomplish by leaving. My thoughts are tumbling over each other at a rapid pace, and when I look up, I imagine that I can see Lorelei.

Except her body is bruised and mangled, her eyes dead. Blinking hard as I gasp in a breath, I stab at the button to call the elevator up to my floor.

It can’t be real.

“Not real,” I mumble, stepping through the hallucination as I get into the elevator. The sound of my voice is jarring, and I shudder as I look around myself.

Pushing down the button for the lobby, I drop my head back on the wall behind me. My heart is pounding, my ears are ringing, everything in me telling me that something is desperately wrong.

The hours since I’ve physically been in Lorelei’s presence have been too long, I need to know she’s alive. I just worry about my ability to know what’s real or not.

Fuck. The revenge and anger of a fear demon is no joke. Pissing Samael off was a bad idea, but I also needed a reality check. My own anger at myself was misplaced and I redirected it at Lorelei.

Someone who was hurt and in pain. I thought… so many things. If the danger was this much, then maybe she shouldn’t be here. Yet, in the next breath I accused her of being dumb or a liar.

Fucking stupid is what I am.

I’m stuck in my head as my feet take me to Phenex’s apartment building. The locks have just unlocked for the morning, so I don’t have any trouble getting inside. I’ve stalked her so thoroughly, it’s not a surprise when I find the apartment and begin to bang on the door for entrance.

Appearances be damned. I need answers. Is she really dead? By this point, my sanity is unraveling. The closer I got to the apartment for some reason, the worse my hallucinations and anxiety get.

They’re waking nightmares at this point.

“Let me in!” I scream, uncaring of the repercussions.

“Bast, what the fuck,” Phenex sighs, opening the door.

“You know exactly what the fuck,” I grumble, pushing him out of the way, looking for her.

Lorelei is standing in the middle of the living room, but I can’t tell what’s real or not. Walking toward her, I see blood flowing from gaping wounds in her body, her eyes bloodshot. When she holds out one of her hands to me, her fingernails are broken or pulled off, the nailbeds destroyed.

“I can’t tell,” I mutter, angry with myself. My large hooves trip over each other as I walk over to Lorelei, my brow furrowing with confusion. “Goddamit, please don’t be dead. Please.”

Tears flow down her cheeks as she stares up at me, except I can see blood also streaking her skin.

“Fuck,” I groan, cupping her face gently.

“Careful there,” a voice rumbles behind me. I can’t tell who it is. It’s not Samael or Phenex.

Alecto? I think that’s his name. Lifting Lorelei into my arms as my knees buckle, I hear the room gasp but she just gazes at me.

“I’m right here,” she whispers.

God, if only I could believe that.

SAMAEL

Bast Dalca is lost to a nightmare of his own making. If Lorelei dies, the possibility that we would too is high, but I truthfully don’t want to be part of a world where she’s not in it.

Her smile brightens my life, her beauty lies within the fire in her heart. Bast hasn’t experienced all of this, yet just the hint of what he’s been exposed to is leaving him a mess.

“He won’t hurt her, right?” Alecto breathes, his gaze on Bast and Lorelei.

She’s crying at how much of a mess he is right now, her sobs soft as she leans against his chest.

“No, but he’s definitely lost touch with his sanity,” I mutter. “That was fast.”

“You’re an asshole,” Phenex says with a chuckle. “If you made any of us see what he is probably seeing, we’d be a wreck. You’re lucky he didn’t jump out of his window.”

“Eh, he did think about that,” I admit. I’m able to monitor the thoughts of those that I implant fear responses inside of. Adares managed to block me from doing that, though I’m unsure as to how. “He talked himself out of it so it was fine.”

“I don’t know if I should cancel the rest of my day or not,” Alecto mutters. “I don’t think she should work tonight.”

“Cancel her shift,” Phenex agrees. “Are we really going to make him suffer for the next… fourteen-ish hours?”

“Maybe ten,” I reply. “I want him to believe she’s dead, sit with that, and realize what he’d be losing. She can still eat and everything, he’ll simply see something else.”

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Alecto sighs. “Lorelei.”

She glances over at him, her eyes wide with sadness.

“He needs to go through this, Baby Girl, okay?” he says. “Bast will never forget what it’s like to live through a day without you in it.”

“He’ll be more careful with you,” Phenex growls under his breath.

“He’s losing his mind,” Lorelei sniffles. “This feels cruel.”

“You’re too good,” Alecto reminds her, moving over to kiss her forehead. Bast doesn’t even see him, locked in the hell in his mind. “Please make sure to eat something. I’m going to let Hailee know to find coverage for your shift.”

“I’m going to get fired,” she grumbles.

“You’re fucking your boss, Baby Girl,” he says. “You aren’t getting fired. There are also bruises on your face, particularly your chin. They may be purple and green instead of black and blue because of your rapid healing, but you still will scare the clients.”

“Fine,” she says with a pout. “Thanks, boss.”

“If you’re not careful, I’ll decide we need to act that out,” he says, smirking as she shivers and perfumes.

The three of us grin as Alecto adjusts his erection in his pants and leaves, while Lorelei puts her hand on Bast’s chest and rubs it slowly, trying to help him see that she’s alive and there.

“I’m going to start breakfast,” Phenex sighs. “I think this is the beginning of a long fucking day.”

I still think Bast deserves it all. Tears trail down his face as I sit down to watch them together, my tail twitching beside me. I really doubt he’ll hurt her, but I won’t leave them alone.

Feel every second of this, dickwad, because this is the only chance you’re getting.

I won’t give him another.

One month later

April third

LORELEI

Life doesn’t stop just because my life is a mess. Bast still hasn’t gotten over that long day of hallucinations, and seeks me out every day.

Sometimes, it’s with a rose, others it’s to kiss me to remind himself that I’m here and alive. There are days where there are words, and ones where there are none. Out of the four of my mates, he confuses me the most.

After rehearsals, I’ll find a song in my backpack that he wrote, a poem telling me that he wants to ask me out, but he doesn’t know how. He tells me that I haunt his dreams, and there are days where words escape him when he sees me.

“Lorelei,” Bast calls out as I walk to class.

After a full day of being held by him, as he struggled to make head or tails of his sorrow and waking nightmares as he spoke to me, it’s less jarring to hear his gravely voice. I can see him as someone outside of simply being a teacher and tormenter.

I’m unsure of what this means for our future, but I know I’m open to finding out.

“Shouldn’t you be at the theater hall?” I ask him, moving off the sidewalk because someone is behind me.

Bast glares at the student who isn’t paying attention and almost steps on my foot before following me.

“I should,” he agrees. “Costume rehearsals start this week, but I wanted to ask you out before I get pulled into the madness.”

“You don’t have the time for that,” I remind him gently.

“The fuck I don’t,” he says, scowling. “What are you doing from four to six in the afternoon tomorrow?”

“That’s oddly specific,” I say, thinking. Tomorrow is Wednesday, and I’m not working, but I have classes until four. “I’m free, actually. What are you thinking?”

My midterms are over, most of my papers are turned in, so I have a blissfully peaceful week outside of rehearsals and actually attending class. The weather is even warming up, and I think Louisiana may be one of my favorite states to live in.

“I want to take you to dinner, well it’s more of a picnic,” he explains with a shrug.

“Really?” I ask, brightening at the thought. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a picnic.”

“That’s terrible,” he murmurs. “Your boyfriends are slacking.”

Giggling at his words, I shake my head, knowing that he’s teasing me.

“Let me walk you to class. Every time I see you, I worry about one of the students squishing you,” he says.

“It hasn’t happened yet,” I say with a shrug, ignoring his growl as he takes my hand. “I kind of just work my way around them.”

“You’re fun-sized,” he mutters, shaking his head as he looks around and picks me up to carry me in his arms.

“I can walk,” I remind him, laughing as he steps onto the path and hits someone with his tail when they run into him.

“Watch where you’re going, Kennedy,” Bast growls.

“I’m so sorry, Professor Dalca,” the student yelps.

“And this is why I’m carrying you to class, Lorelei,” Bast says. “Math?”

Of course he’s not only found out my schedule by this point but he’s also memorized it as well.

“Yes, stalker,” I murmur, enjoying the rumble of his laughter.

“I’ll wear that label with honor,” he says.

Leaving Kennedy behind, his long strides eat up the distance between us and my math building.

We are lightyears away from him bullying me and driving me insane. I kind of miss the clit spanking, though.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks, his nose dragging up my throat. “You smell so damn sweet, Lorelei.”

“It’s embarrassing,” I hiss.

“I don’t care,” he says with a chuckle. It’s like he’s had a lobotomy for his personality, but only for me. He still barks and yells at everyone else, and during rehearsals he still gets pretty intense. “Tell me?”

My cheeks blush as I bite my lips, my hands clasped in front of me. We’re getting glances because he’s carrying me, but that’s not why I’m self conscious.

“Whisper it in my ear,” he says, lifting me higher until my hands grab for his hair to hold onto. The ground is so far below me since he’s almost eight feet tall.

His brown, spiky hair is short, though perfect for me to grab onto as I lean toward his ear to whisper into it.

“I was just thinking about the way you used to spank my clit,” I admit softly. “I kind of miss it.”

He trips over his feet at my words, beginning to cough because he inhaled too quickly.

“You’re going to kill me one day with your confessions,” he wheezes.

“They don’t happen very often,” I say, smirking.

“Thank fuck for that, I’m younger than your other males, but damn I wasn’t expecting that,” he says with a chuckle. “I have clearly been slacking in the romance department. I’ll have to step up my game, Lorelei.”

I can’t stop smiling as he sets me down outside of my building and brushes a kiss on my forehead.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he murmurs. “Be careful and have a good day.”

Nodding, my lips part in surprise as he opens the door for me. I don’t know why I’m still shocked about things like this. They’re second nature to Phenex, Alecto, or Samael, yet I’m still unused to this.

“This face you make whenever I do something so simple tells me I’m not doing enough,” he grumbles.

“It’s not that,” I promise, though there’s a whimper of a lie in my words. “A part of me is waiting for the sweetness to stop, I guess?”

He gazes at me for a moment before he shakes his head. “It could be forty years from now, I won’t ever stop, Lorelei. I know what a life without you is like, I’ll do anything to stop that from happening,” he says.

We’re blocking the flow of foot traffic, so I nod and walk away. The way I feel isn’t fair to Bast. I just feel as if I’m having whiplash from the sharp change in direction he’s had. Granted, I was there for the many hours that he thought I was dead.

Even though he held me in his arms, he saw me dead and decaying. I was a walking corpse, even while Phenex forced me to take bites of food here and there. It physically hurt me to watch him like that.

Samael had a point though in his lesson. Every day that slips into a week and then a month, it’s all that much closer to my twenty-first birthday.

I’ll be twenty in a few short months, so I understand his worry.

Even then, it’s possible that something could happen before that. Nothing is promised.

Walking quickly to class, I shrug off the shiver of worry that I feel. It feels so damn ominous, and I still have two unbonded scent matches.

BAST

I’m not doing enough. The poems, flowers, and songs aren’t giving her the deeper connection that Lorelei is obviously craving, and I’m floundering right now.

How do I show her that her name is etched on my soul? Love is too soon to confess, even though I know that’s what this is. I need to figure out how to show her that I want to keep her.

I have a picnic basket filled with her favorite foods. I swallowed my pride and asked Phenex what she likes. I don’t live with her, I get snippets of time with her due to our schedules, it’s just not long enough to be able to create that familiarity.

Fuck, I need to stop the round and round and focus on her. Nothing will ever change if I don’t do that.

Checking my truck again, I make sure that I have a fluffy blanket, water in the cooler, everything we need for a drive to one of the state parks. I’m parked in the lot in front of Phenex’s apartment building, and I need to get moving so we don’t lose our window of time.

Getting out of the truck, I close the door and lock it as I walk up to the apartment building.

“Bast,” Alecto calls out, striding to catch up to me. He doesn’t have to work too hard at it since he’s so tall, and I nod as he walks next to me. “We need to talk for a second before you take Lorelei out, you sick fuck.”

“What did I do?” I ask, surprised.

“I had a sample of Lorelei’s lotion analyzed earlier this month. The lab didn’t believe the results, and they asked for the entire jar to run tests on,” he rumbles, annoyed.

Wincing, I can tell where this is going.

“She hasn’t used that lotion, has she?” I ask.

“No,” he grunts. “It’s her descenting lotion, and Phenex apparently hates it. She made a descenting body spray instead which works better. When we went through her things when she officially moved in with him, we found that the lotion may have gone rancid. Except?—”

“It’s not rancid,” I mutter.

“It’s beginning to separate due to your cum,” he growls. “What the fuck were you doing?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I ask, sighing as I open the door to the building.

“Well, yeah, but coming in her lotion is kind of?—”

“Imagine knowing that there was a chance that she’d be wearing your cum on her skin,” I say, shrugging. “That’s what was running through my mind when I went looking for a place to come when I was jacking off in her room.”

“Fuck,” he grunts. “Why do I wish I’d thought of it, outside of it seriously fucking with her head?”

“I am sorry for that,” I say. “I didn’t know anything about how it would affect her. Honestly, it was a very deranged moment for me.”

“I haven’t been exactly there, but I don’t think any of us have had fully sane moments when it comes to Lorelei,” he admits.

“Are you going to tell her?” I ask. “I should probably cancel our date, huh?”

“No, I’m not going to tell her,” he snorts. “Samael and Phenex know about your cummy lotion, and it’s been thrown out. You can tell her if you want, but it’s a secret that’s safe with us.”

“Seriously?” I ask, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Yep,” he says. “I just wanted to make sure you knew that we knew. It’s important for you two to figure things out.”

“I honestly don’t know why, but I feel like I’m doing everything wrong,” I say, shaking my head.

“She’s a nineteen year old girl who is insanely independent,” Alecto says. “She makes me crazy. Sometimes I watch her from the corner of my club while she works, busting her ass making drinks when any one of us would take care of her in a second.”

“I don’t think she wants that,” I say, realizing it’s true. It took me way too long to see how important it is to Lorelei to fly on her own steam.

She even asked me if she got her role in the musical by her own merit or not. The answer was that she had, because her voice is perfect for it. I wouldn’t have cast her otherwise, no matter how much I wanted to be around her more.

“You’re right,” he says. “It doesn’t make it any less hard to watch her dragging ass some days.”

Making myself a note to bring her coffee when I can, I nod. I want my gifts to be impactful. While giving her the window to my soul is one way to do that, offering her things that will help her get through the day also are important.

We’re at the apartment door sooner than I’m ready, and I force myself to take a breath before I knock on the door.

“Are you nervous?” Alecto asks, surprised.

“Fuck yes,” I mutter before the door opens.

First dates don’t get any easier, take it from me.