Mine To Devour (Monster Match season two)

1. Chapter 1 Kyvian

Chapter 1: Kyvian

The high-pitched alarm blares loudly, piercing the air and startling me from sleep. I almost topple right out of bed, not used to waking in such a jarring manner, but catch myself at the last second. An incubus always values his sleep, after all.

Realization dawns, and it hits me all at once: the insistent sound is the alarm downstairs. Someone has broken into my bookstore. My sanctuary. My home. I take a moment to debate my options. The security company guarantees that law enforcement will be here in less than five minutes. It’s part of the beauty of living in a small town like Gilmer Rock. Unfortunately, it’s plenty of time for a thief to steal one of my precious texts.

Like hell.

If it was anything else, I’d let the authorities handle it, but this is my home, those are my books, and what’s that saying? Knowledge is power.

I quickly wrap a silky black robe around my body, loving the sensual glide against my skin, and tie the sash at the waist. My toned chest is exposed, but I don’t bother with trying to cover up completely. I was never one to fret about nudity. Half the time, I didn’t even bother with clothes until I left the monster world behind. No one here in town has ever seen me without all my usual jewelry, but I lack the time to adorn myself fully. I throw my long turquoise hair into a loose ponytail before quietly making my way through the hidden door that leads to my bookstore.

Streetlights filter through the window, casting a lovely glow over my books. Everything upstairs seems to be intact. However, the important text is all downstairs.

My heart races with uncertainty. When was the last time I felt the hint of fear nipping at my heels?

Memories of the last time I was in the monster world come to mind. I push the image of running for my life aside and try to concentrate on the here and now.

Shattering glass startles me back to reality, and I cock my head to listen. I might have inhuman hearing and speed, but I have no idea who—or what —is downstairs.

Fuck.

Who the hell would break into my shop? I reach for a bookend with a sharp edge and wield it like a weapon. I curse myself for not grabbing a knife, or at least something helpful for protection. My only hope is that a weaker monster or a human has broken into my place.

Used to moving as quietly as possible, I tiptoe down the spiral staircase, bracing myself for an attack. As soon as I reach the first floor, my free hand fists into a tight ball. My sharp claws dig into my palms, and my fangs descend. Anger builds within me as I glance at the chaos around the register. My tail whips around in irritation as if it has a mind of its own.

Shattered glass is all over the floor. Several books that were once sitting on a nearby shelf are haphazardly tossed on the ground, and dozens of items litter the floor. There’s no rhyme or reason to the scattered items, but something about the mess breaks my heart. The alarm continues to blare, only adding to my anger and ramping me up. I can tell my emotions are heightened and my eyes are surely glowing with fury.

Movement catches my eye, and I whip around quickly, ready to defend my shop. I’ve spent most of my whole life fighting, trying to survive, and taking out any monster who tried to kill me. And now that I finally have safety, along with my own place—a place I can truly call mine—there’s no way in hell I’m going down without a fight.

I scan the area until I see what caught my attention.

Large black eyes blink up at me from just behind a shelf. A familiar, tiny feline-looking creature trembles as it stares up at me. I step forward. The little thing snarls and launches forward as if to attack, before immediately jumping back again.

The tiny cat-like monster tries to act brave, I’ll give them that, but their aura is sour with fear.

Just in case it’s a trap, I glance around critically, taking in the mess with fresh eyes. There doesn’t seem to be another aura around us. Everything littered on the floor came from either the front counter or the shelf next to it. The cash register is untouched, and all the items are accounted for on the floor. Nothing is missing.

If I had to guess, I’m pretty sure the creature hopped up on one spot, accidentally knocked over a few things, and startled itself.

The little thing continues to snarl and snap, its black eyes flashing gold before glowing with fury. If I remember correctly, these little guys were harmless and didn’t survive long in the monster world. From here, I can see their tiny ribcage poking through their tan fur. The poor guy is starving to death.

Suddenly, all my anger dissipates like a leaf in the wind, and my heart goes out to the tiny creature.

I take a deep breath and relax my nerves, before forcing the glow in my eyes to return to their normal magenta color. As an incubus, I’m able to project emotions into the air. I focus on soothing swirls of blue magic.

The monster’s eyes flicker around, spotting the tendrils of magic floating around them. While they are distracted, I walk over to the alarm, punch in the code, and turn it off. Some of the tension drains from their face. Avoiding the shards of glass, I give them a small smile, and I kneel in front of them, trying to appear as harmless as possible.

It’s probably an impossible task considering they saw me in my true form with fangs extended and eyes glowing, but I try for several minutes.

“Come here, little one,” I coo.

They step forward hesitantly.

Right when it starts to feel like the tiniest bit of progress has been made with the little thing, there’s a pounding on the door. The creature scurries back and hides behind the shelf. Two officers are at the front door peering inside, straight at me.

Great.

Both of them are human, one blond, one brunette.

Only took them fifteen freaking minutes. If I really had been in danger, I’d be dead, and the thief could have taken my whole collection by now. Sighing, I open the door and step outside.

“Hello, officers. How can I help you tonight?”

The blond officer arches a brow when I click the door closed behind me. Something tells me if I left the door open, the cat-like creature would scurry past, and that would be the last time I’d see them. Call me a bleeding heart, but I wanted to help the monster. The mixture of fear and bravery reminded me of myself.

The brunette officer eyes the tablet. “Hi. I’m Officer Cynthia Lopez, and this is my partner, Officer Michael Walsh. I’m assuming you’re Kyvian—Smith?”

I smirk, just like I do every time I hear my human last name, and slide my hand into hers. “You would assume right,” I purr. “Although, it’s pronounced Ky-vee-en. Ky, like Sky.”

Officer Lopez’s cheeks tinge pink, and arousal scents the air. My nostrils flare, and my cock jerks against the silk of my robe. I inhale the tiny bit of arousal as if I’m a starving incubus. I have to refrain from licking the air.

Officer Walsh clears his throat. The air around me becomes sugary sweet as I realize Walsh is extremely turned on, even more so than his partner. My eyes snap up to his and I instantly recognize him from my feedings at the club.

“Ah. Looks like I have a fan.” I give him a wolfish grin.

He clears his throat again and his eyes drop to the bulge in his pants. “Guilty,” he murmurs, shuffling on his feet. “My wife and I have a date night once a week and we uhh—we visit your feedings once a month.”

My face softens. “Yes, I remember now.” They are a truly nice couple. Their arousal is potent and absolutely delicious since they are madly in love and truly enjoy one another’s company. Couples like them are some of my favorites since strong emotions tend to not only taste sweeter but also sustain me longer. “You and your wife are beautiful together. The love between you two is potent, and I really appreciate your visits.”

Officer Walsh blushes again.

“Kyvian,” Officer Lopez steps forward. “I apologize for the wait, but it looks like your alarm went off about seventeen minutes ago. Is there anything amiss?”

I shake my head. “Thank you for coming to check, but it looks like a stray…cat got into my shop and knocked a few things off the shelf.”

“Mind if we come in?” Officer Walsh asks, still looking concerned.

I step in front of them, blocking their entrance. “I’d rather not. The little cat is frightened. I actually like the little thing and might try feeding it.”

Lopez arches a brow and taps her tablet. “Are you sure? It says here you ignored the phone call from the security company.” She tries to look over my shoulder again.

I curse, making a mental note to take my phone off silence. Realizing it’s going to take more than a few words to convince these two, I push lust into the air, and let my eyes begin to glow that eerie purple glow. Officer Lopez gasps, her arousal tinged with fear.

I make a show of inhaling the sour-sweet scent. An incubus like me can’t let a good thing float away, even if the taste of fear ruins it for me. Reacting on instinct, I accidentally touch her wrist and pour as much sincerity into my words. “I promise you I’m fine. I’ll give the security company a call and let them know I’m okay. It was just a stray, probably looking for food.”

After a moment of searching my face, Officer Walsh taps his partner. “Come on, Cynthia. We already did a perimeter check, and there weren’t any broken windows.” He points at the door. “The lock isn’t busted, and Kyvian says he’s fine. We can’t go in there outside of business hours since this is his home. Let’s go.”

“Thank you, Michael,” I reply in a silky tone that causes him to shudder and readjust himself in his pants.

He tugs Officer Lopez away after I sign their tablet, and I hear her murmur that she needs to rush home to her wife. I smirk, hoping her wife appreciates the good night that’s about to follow. I usually avoid touching people unless they ask, but it’s within my nature to seduce and feed from the lust around me.

That undeniable bout of loneliness overwhelms me, hollowing out my heart. Supposedly, an incubi’s true mate is the only one who can satiate our hunger. However, I haven’t found anyone who truly trusts or wants to be with me for who I am, and not just the lust I can provide.

Suddenly feeling drained, I walk back into my shop, flip on the lights, and search for the little monster, hoping they will trust me enough to let me feed them.

Crouching down in front of the bookshelf, I call out to the little monster while opening a can of tuna. Sure, they aren’t a cat, and I can’t be entirely sure what they eat, but I figure tuna would be a safer bet than the leftover strawberry and blue cheese salad in my fridge. Going by the sharp little fangs I saw earlier, I’m going to assume the monster is a meat eater. A carnivore, if I’m remembering the correct human word for it.

“Come on. I promise I won’t hurt you.” I’ve been swirling calming tendrils of emotion into the air for the past hour, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. Every once in a while, I see a flash of gold before they duck back behind the shelf.

Glowing gold pupils means they’re scared, probably frightened of my appearance. But it’s not like I can hide my horns or stop my wild tail from whipping in irritation. I’m not sure what they call this type of monster here in the human realm, or if the humans have ever seen such a creature, but I’m determined to help them.

I dump the can of tuna into a bowl and begin singing a sweet lullaby in my native tongue. Singing has always held deep significance for my kind. Before my family was taken from me, my mother and I would soothe my younger brothers with songs when they were scared. Now, I sing to remember them. I sing when I need a little reassurance that everything will be okay.

I continue singing and place the bowl on the floor in front of me while I sit and wait.

Slowly, oh so slowly, a paw steps out from behind the shelf. Then, I see their face begin peeking out, nose high in the air, sniffing.

When the creature fully steps out from behind their hiding spot, my eyes widen with shock and awe. The little monster is beautiful. Its tan fur—more orange and golden in the light—sparkles as if their fur is made of glittering diamonds.

Hesitantly, they crawl forward, golden eyes still flashing.

When they finally make it to the bowl and take their first bite, the creature’s gold eyes fade to a pretty obsidian. Looking into the little monster’s eyes is like peering up at stars in the night sky. It’s ironic that a creature from the monster realm looks like it holds an entire galaxy in their gaze, yet there aren’t any actual stars—that I know of—in the monster realm.

The creature gobbles the tuna quickly, and something about knowing that I helped this little monster when no one else did soothe a deep ache in my soul. It comforts the guilty part of me that regrets not being able to help my family in their greatest time of need. Pushing away those dark thoughts, I start purring. The creature pauses its licking and cocks its head, studying me with curiosity.

To my complete shock, the monster crawls up onto my lap, headbutts my chin, and purrs in tune with me. I smile and pet the tiny monster. They roll onto their back, and I chuckle when I realize the monster is male.

“Well, aren’t you a handsome boy?” I say. “Do you have a name?”

He purrs louder, loving the praise. His orange-and-tan fur sparkles in the light and, for some reason, I think about that ridiculous movie. “You’re such a glittery little thing. I think I’ll name you Edward. Do you like that name?”

Edward mews, and I take it as approval.

After several more minutes, I realize just how hungry I am. Cursing, I place Edward on the floor next to me and stand. I stumble toward my office. “Damn,” I murmur, as I catch my fall against a nearby shelf. It isn’t often that I use my incubi powers and emit emotions into the air. I was so concerned for the creature, I didn’t take my own hunger into consideration.

I should have been more self-aware before expending so much energy.

Edward trots next to me, looking concerned.

Trying to lighten the moment, I give him a weak smile. “All it took was a can of tuna and now you’re worried about me?”

Edward mews again, as if understanding me. Hell, maybe he does understand. I open my office door and walk in, eager to get to my Jewlta and feed, only to stop dead. My eyes bounce around frantically, looking for the vase that magically holds the extra lust I feed on. However, the vase is not where it should be. My Jewlta is gone.

Fuck .

Someone has stolen it. My head whips back toward the door. Edward is still standing there looking concerned, the tip of his little tail flicking back and forth, imitating mine.

I stand there for probably way too long. Wondering what to do next. The cops can’t help; I sent them away. Did someone actually break into my shop and steal my vase? Panic wars with a sense of being violated. I don’t need my Jewlta to eat, but that just means I’ll have to find someone I can feed from instead.

Who the hell would do this to me?

Shit. I must be in shock because the next thing I know, I’m upstairs, in my bedroom, and tapping through the contacts list on my cellphone.

Finding the one person I know I can trust no matter what, I tap the call button and call my friend Danilo Diaz.

“Hey, Kyvian. I didn’t expect to hear from you,” Dani’s friendly voice says as soon as he answers his phone. “It’s a little late over there. Is everything okay?”

“Dani,” I whisper, still feeling violated and hungry. “I need your help.”