Love Monster (Monsters Love Milk #2)

Chapter 1 Hordan

HORDAN

They’re coming.

Again. With the same news they bring every time.

The remaining band of violent human rebels in this area have evaded my soldiers in the woods for the third time in three days.

Wily little beasts. Their networks of tunnels are wreaking havoc with the end of this war, and my warriors are dangerously frustrated.

It won’t be long before someone speaks their mind about simply burying them in their warren of self-dug graves, but a suggestion like that is an intolerable risk to the hostages being kept below ground.

My chair groans under my weight as I lean back and massage the ache between my horns.

We don’t have time for this. The longer they remain at large, the more innocents they’ll harm, and our duty is to protect and care for those sweet souls until this once-joyful realm is restored to its original state of love and safety.

A kind and happy human is capable of creating beautiful things in absolute harmony, and my monster kin and I have waited so many long and lonely eons feeling the echoes of their fear and sadness radiating through the ethers that we now yearn to experience peace as much as the oppressed beings we’ve come to liberate.

Nothing could have held us back from answering their prayers.

It has been an honor and a pleasure to do this work, but truth be told, I’m exhausted by the drain on my energy day in and day out.

While I am dedicated to the cause, and my psychic abilities have seen me become an invaluable machine in the system, every time I reach out with my telepathy, I’m met with the neediness of traumatized victims and the malice of evildoers.

I feel everything, and my soul aches for relief from the hell of it.

The sooner this war ends, the sooner I can find peace and myself again, and if I’m lucky, maybe I could even find a sweet soul to share the rest of my life with — if there’s even a creature out there I could be around for longer than a few moments without loathing every thought I heard them overthink.

“Enter,” I call out before Shermahn has even knocked.

Already in the motion, his knuckles rap lightly once anyway. He pushes the door open and dips his head in a subtle bow. “High Commander.”

Sensing the chill in his bones, I gesture to the seat by my fire. “You have been in the forest all night, but the heat of the hunt has left your system now you are returned. Warm yourself.”

He obediently sits and holds his hands toward the flames.

“I don’t need to say the words, do I?” He sounds as defeated as he looks, but the worst thing is how he feels to me.

His devastation penetrates my soul as deeply as if it were my own, and my weariness makes it an effort to fight off the thick, aching emotion he’s projecting.

“The words are not necessary. No.” I rise from my chair, needing to dissipate the bad energy through movement.

I stretch and step toward the wall where I keep a visual record of the simultaneous attacks under my surveillance.

I close my eyes and tap into the universal consciousness.

“If it boosts your spirits any, we are nearly done,” I advise him.

“While your forces have been out hunting, I’ve been busy deploying more soldiers to the farthest ends of the earth for the final sweep.

Almost all the remaining scum in other lands have been subdued, and we have only one more cluster to eradicate once we’re done here.

Many perpetrators of evil have been terminated, and most of the ones deemed capable of redemption have been sent or are being packaged for transport to Vlad’s re-education centers. ”

“So, it’s only my squadron failing, then,” Shermahn says with a groan.

“We have not failed; we simply have not yet succeeded. But our victory is inevitable,” I assure him. “Every problem has a solution, and I will not tolerate any negative mentality in my presence, so you may reframe your mindset or leave.”

Shermahn sits straighter. Checks himself. Nods. “Yes, sir.” He purses his lips and strokes his bearded chin. “Do you have a solution in mind?” he asks, already thinking what I’m thinking.

“We both know what needs to be done,” I say with a smile as I pick up my long-dormant sword. “With the enemy all but dealt with elsewhere, the need for me to stay in stillness and constant connection is no longer required. I believe it’s time I stretched my legs.”

Shermahn grins. “Let’s see how well these miscreants can hide when a high-powered psychic steps onto the battlefield.”

I grunt in agreement and click my neck one way and then the other.

“I could certainly use some fresh air and a change of scenery after being cooped up in these cramped quarters surrounded by work. My eyes are desperate for something pretty to rest upon, and a walk in the woods sounds like a good start. It’s about time I had an opportunity to take more than a glance at this beautiful world we’ll be retiring in. ”

A cool, low mist hangs in the forest like a still, damp blanket.

It has provided much cover to the enemy we hunt, but it’s no match for my extra-sensory skills.

It isn’t long before my intuition leads me toward the river, and I know with all of my being, that I will find my first kill for the day there.

And something else.

I’m detecting something… unrecognizable.

I close my eyes, tilt my head, and extend my spiritual receptors further to feel around this new energy, but as if it has sensed me prying, it hurriedly retreats beyond my conscious grasp.

A change in the angle of my horns yields no further results, and I open my eyes again to peer fruitlessly into the fog.

What was that?

I’ve never encountered such a thing, and without a decent chance to determine its energy as friend or foe, I’m reluctant to proceed without taking precautions.

I quickly camouflage my energetic signature by assuming a passive and friendly human-like shroud to conceal my true nature before I step deeper into the woods.

Is this how these pesky, elusive assailants keep avoiding my warriors? They have an intuitive with them? A mage?

I run my tongue over my teeth as I grin.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a challenge to rise to, and after what feels like an eternity of predictable boredom, a spark of delight flares within me.

I slink silently between the trees, with all my senses activated and wildly heightened for the hunt.

I’m almost disappointed when my prey comes rushing through the forest toward me.

Almost.

There are two humans. Both yelling so loudly it makes my ears ring and my spine shudder.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Rawrrrrr!”

I grab the first and loudest by the throat as he runs past, and the second, I seize by her raised, machete-wielding hand.

Both are instantly quieted. They stare at me in equally wide-eyed horror.

The male has the entitled, aggressive vibe of a criminal type, though he points an accusatory finger at the female and babbles at me as if I care for his obvious lies.

I turn my attention to the human woman, who holds no malice or murderous intent in her energy.

Despite her aggressive role in their shenanigans, I believe her actions were defensive.

In fact, all I feel while look at her is… peace. Sweet, soul-soothing peace.

Drawn in by an insane curiosity about this strange new sensation, I study her more closely.

Soft-looking and pale with a messy shock of deep, richly orange waves, she is very easy on my eyes.

I smile at her, but she ducks her head to hide.

She appears nervous and untrusting of me, but she is not exactly scared of me.

There are inconsistencies in her energy, and it makes her disturbingly difficult for me to read.

Is she able to cloak her true self as I can? Is she the puzzle I was hunting?

Her pretty blue-green gaze darts around the trees before she eventually settles it on me. She appears to size me up — though for what, I do not know. She’s masking her thoughts as if she understands I might use them against her, which only makes me more suspicious.

I look her up and down, trying to gauge her nature, but no matter how long I scan her, I cannot make sense of my feelings.

I can’t deny an overwhelming instinct to protect her — more so than any other human I’ve encountered — but there is something else at play between us.

A deep, unfamiliar connection that appears to trigger my usually intense sensory load into…

peace. Again I arrive in this quiet, blissful place where the noise of my energetic surroundings fades enough to become an optional quest and not a constant demand.

I have never felt such a thing. Gifted since birth, I’ve had to learn to manage the constant flow of sensory input, but the ease in its cacophonic intensity that I feel in this intriguing little female’s presence has me a somewhat giddy inside.

I’m awash with confusion and struggle to stop staring into her sparkling eyes, but eventually, I force my gaze to the machete still clutched in her fierce grip.

Her knuckles are blanched even paler than the rest of her fair skin, and she doesn’t show any intentions of releasing the weapon.

She has spirit, I observe with admiration.

Many of the mistreated humans have had their spirits broken or very badly damaged, but there is fight left in this one.

Even now, in the presence of a protector, she seems reluctant to leave herself unprotected.

I like that, but I do not wish for her to feel that’s necessary around me.

I wish for her to recognize me not as a threat, but as the friend I am.

In fact, my heart is beginning to ache with the need for her to feel safe.

“Drop your sword, sweet human. You are safe with me.”

She tugs her cute eyebrows downward and speaks her own language back at me. On some strange level, I had assumed we would understand each other, but I should not have expected her to be able to interpret what I said. It’s clear there is a language barrier when it comes to the spoken word.

I tilt my head at her machete and raise my eyebrow at her. She looks from me to her blade and then back to me. She searches my face with great scrutiny, and eventually appears to accept my request. The machete falls to the ground, and I rumble with annoyance when it slices my toe.

She inhales sharply and glances down. Her features twists into a wince, and she bunches her shoulders near her ears, as if trying to retreat inside her own body. “Soh-ree,” she squeaks.

Believing her to be apologetic, I grunt in response and look back at the man she had been chasing.

His trousers are unbuttoned. Did she startle him mid-urination or is the reason for his state of semi-undress more sinister?

I have an inkling, but I’m almost afraid to read his intentions for this very special female.

He makes a strained, strangled sound as I tighten my grip on his neck, and I return my attention to the pretty human I prefer to look at.

She has grubby knees, her dress has been torn at the shoulder, and upon closer inspection, there are vague traces of fading red marks on her arm and her neck.

I stare into her eyes, but her energetic story remains a mystery.

I’m forced to tune into the obnoxious male, who is currently reliving his last actions with much regret now that he’s been caught.

He tried to attack this woman, believing he was entitled to penetrate her.

Clearly, he did not believe she’d retaliate or inadvertently chase him toward a monster who would deliver retribution for such an atrocity.

My claws bite into his throat, and his legs begin to kick.

I hold him further away, sickened by his dark soul and red face. “You will die here,” I inform him.

But not in front of the innocent. Unless she desires to watch? Perhaps it will ease her mind to have proof he will not bother her again.

I slowly lower the woman’s hand. “You will stay,” I command.

She frowns and stares at me blankly.

I loosen my grip, but her eyes immediately seek escape routes. I tighten my hand around her wrist once more, recapturing her full attention. “Do not leave,” I say in a firm, warning tone as I adjust my hand to point at the ground. “Please.”

She swallows visibly, nods, and twists her dainty arm, fighting my grasp.

I let her go, and she holds her wrist to her chest, rubbing at her pinkened skin.

A terrible feeling rushes through me. Did I hurt her?

“I apologize if I caused you pain,” I say promptly. “That was not my intent. You are simply very delicate, and I am…”

I am what?

Oversized and brutish? Uncivilized? I would not usually describe myself as such, and my actions have been reasonable given the circumstances, yet I can’t help feeling shame for having accidentally marked her pale skin’s impeccable softness with its pretty speckles…

I shake my head and clear my throat to speak, but the words that come to mind all feel like excuses, and I have clearly done wrong by her — despite my whole chest demanding I protect her.

I must make amends. “I beg your pardon, M’lady.

I should have moderated my strength, so as not to harm you. It will not happen again.”

She gives me a strange look, views me from a different angle, and then looks between me and the male human I’m holding by the throat. I can only hope she’s not sensing similarities.

I wrinkle my nose at the human male. “His intentions were to harm you. Repeatedly.” I try in vain to unclench my jaw. “Intimately,” I growl as the man’s plan plays over in his head. “Even now he regrets not having succeeded. There is no potential for rehabilitation.”

When I look over at the female, she is glaring at the offender with as much disgust as I was feeling for him.

Perhaps my feelings are hers. I feel no blockage or absenteeism from her currently, and I wonder if we are so energetically aligned regarding this matter, that our feelings are one and the same.

I stoop down to collect the female’s weapon and hand it back to her, handle-end first. “Perhaps you desire to be the one who delivers a permanent end to his being?”