Mine To Devour (Monster Match season two)

2. Chapter 2 Enzo Walker

Chapter 2: Enzo Walker

My knuckles turn white as I grip my steering wheel and glance at the notification as it lights up my phone from its holder. I park my car, and like a damn magnet, unable to fight the pull, I swipe open my phone and read the text.

Philip: Come on, baby. Stop acting like this and answer the phone.

Philip: I know you’ve read all my texts.

Shame washes through me and I peer around the parking lot as if everyone nearby can read my messages and see the truth on my face.

Philip isn’t wrong. I’ve been too damn curious to not read what he has to say. I might not want to talk to him, but I still had questions that needed answering.

Questions like, why the fuck did he think it was okay to cheat on me? Or why wasn’t he just open about things in the first place? And how many others did he hurt while we were together?

He never actually said we were exclusive, explains that tiny niggling voice in the back of my head. I squash it down like an irritating fly buzzing around my head. Screw that. I deserve better.

Another text comes in, but I don’t bother to read it. “It’s been three months, asshole. Leave me alone,” I murmur to the empty space in my car.

Four years ago, I started working with Philip at Monster Match as a government liaison. We were undercover agents recruited from law enforcement, tasked with investigating romantic entanglements between humans and monsters. Specifically, connections made on Monster Match. Were the monsters respecting human laws and personal boundaries? Were there any na?ve humans being taken advantage of? Our job was to observe human-monster interactions in the field and report our findings. Then, depending on our workload, we’d handle or delegate any case involving a human in potential danger.

We were hired to protect humans, yet ironically, it was the monsters we had to shield from humanity’s cruelty. Through collaboration with the government, Monster Match fortified its vetting process to protect both monsters and humans. Despite all our best efforts, though, some things still fall through the cracks.

Philip and I worked together for about a year, before one night, we crossed that imaginary line between work partners and friends to lovers. From there, things started heating up between us. We never actually discussed our relationship or what it meant. We were just there to scratch an itch. That is until I started to develop feelings for the man.

I thought Philip was on the same page, with the way he called me baby, and the playful demeanor between us. Fuck. I’ve been so blind . If I paid any attention to the man, rather than the one I thought I was falling for, I would have realized other than the annoying pet name and mutual orgasms, nothing really changed between us.

We only spent the night together when we were assigned to a random case out of town, and we were rarely together on our days off. I didn’t think anything of it until after things ended between us. I thought that since we were together so much at work, it would be normal for us to do our own things on our days off. I just never imagined that our own things meant taking advantage of some of the weaker monsters around us and fucking anything that moved.

I shudder in the driver’s seat of my car, remembering how I immediately had to go get tested for STIs when I found out. Sure, monsters can’t pass us humans anything, but Philip literally fucked everyone—monsters and humans alike. I wasn’t anything special.

That realization became very clear when I showed up at his apartment to surprise him. The door had been unlocked, and he didn’t answer when I knocked. I heard a scream and barreled in, only to find a pixie tied to the bed while my boyfriend pounded into him.

Things did not look consensual, and I pulled Philip off the poor little monster. Philip looked more devious than I’d ever seen him before and asked if I wanted to join in. The pixy smiled from the bed and asked if I could role-play with them, too… like they did with someone else the week before.

I swear, a flood of emotions overwhelmed me at that moment. Anger, embarrassment, lust, and most potent of all, heartbreak and sorrow.

A stupid, domestic future I’d painted for Philip and I was gone in the blink of an eye. The man I loved—or thought I loved—was gone. Instead, a stranger smirked back at me.

With my parents, I was able to mourn their loss, honor their memory, and slowly heal. Don’t get me wrong: some days that specific pain is so fresh, so raw, I wonder if I’ve even healed at all. On other days, I’m smiling or laughing at a memory of them. But with Philip, it’s as if I lost him, yet I’m not allowed to mourn him. I lost him, yet he’s still here.

We went back to work the following week, and he acted as if everything was okay with us. As if it were normal to fuck others whenever we weren’t in the same room—hell, for him, it probably was normal.

For weeks, I struggled; Philip’s persistent attempts to seduce me, coupled with his open flirting with others, hurt me deeply, and he remained oblivious to my pain. I tried to avoid him when I could, but it’s hard to escape someone you work so closely with.

One night, we went back to base after a particularly hard case. The monster we saved was an empath, and he was as scared of Philip as he was of the other human we saved him from. Things started to fall into place like puzzle pieces slotting together. Philip was taking advantage of some of the monsters other humans hurt before him. I just knew it. In a drunken rage one night, I went through his phone and was sickened to find hundreds of messages for hookups. There were even a few where the monsters cut communication before blocking him.

Philip caught me snooping on his phone, but I tried to act indifferent. As if I didn’t find proof of my ex not only cheating on me but stalking and maybe even hurting other monsters.

The next day, I immediately requested a transfer and reported him. Philip must have been a whole fucking step ahead of me because when they confiscated his phone, everything was deleted.

An investigation was opened to look into Philip’s behavior, putting him on a temporary suspension and giving me the room I needed to breathe.

I’m not supposed to mourn a relationship with someone so corrupt. It fills me with anger. He fills me with anger. Anger, pain, and rage. I hate him for it. For tricking me into believing in love and a future together. For taking advantage of vulnerable monsters, the monsters we were hired to protect. Unfortunately, the investigation didn’t last long, and I hate him for getting away with what he did. The evidence piled up against him, but he got off on a technicality.

Bastard. I don’t think I’ll ever stop hating him.

But even more so, I hate myself for missing what I thought we used to have.

Out of habit, I toggle over to the Monster Match app and hover over the hookup section. I’m ashamed to admit that I hooked up with a lot of monsters after our breakup, trying to push the pain away.

An exclamation mark flashes and a notification pops up, indicating that I still need to fill out the last part of my profile. I eye the question on the screen, wondering if tonight’s the night I’ll be brave enough to add it.

Am I ‘ Looking for Friends ,’ ‘ Searching for Romance ,’ or do I ‘ Prefer Casual Hookups ?’

The lonely romantic in me desperately wishes I could mark ‘ Searching for Romance ,’ but ever since Monster Match transferred me into a different position, I’m constantly traveling between the monster towns. I couldn’t even please the man I saw on the dail—no. I refuse to let those thoughts win. Philip is out of my life. It’s time for me to move on.

I tap on the dropdown menu, and I’m about to select ‘ Searching for Romance ’ when my phone starts ringing. I groan as soon as I see it’s my boss calling.

“Harrison,” I mumble into the phone. “It’s my day off. Please tell me you aren’t calling me at this ungodly hour for something work-related.”

Harrison chuckles. “Yo kid! Is that any way to talk to your boss? I mean, it is work-related, but if you don’t want to hear the good news, I can call you on Monday and have you miss out on a good opportunity.”

“Harrison, stop being so damn cryptic and tell me what you need. I’m literally parked outside of a club right now. I need to let off some steam.”

“They might have found a permanent spot for you.”

I suck in a sharp breath, sure I heard him wrong. “Are you serious?”

“Yup. It sounds like a big fucking deal, too.”

“What kind of position?”

“No idea. They called me and said to make sure you were on base tomorrow. We canceled your flight out. The big boss is coming to you.” He chuckles. “Make sure you step through Gilmer Rock’s portal first thing in the morning. You’re meeting a damn celebrity, boy.”

“Corporate?” I frown. Meeting with Corporate is never a good thing. I deflate. Could this be related to Philip’s investigation?

“Nope. Not Corporate. Danilo Diaz himself will be there.”

My eyes widen in shock. What. The. Fuck? “As in the owner of the whole damn app? That Danilo Diaz?”

“The one and only. Apparently, you were highly recommended for a specific job.”

My mind races. “Who the hell recommended me to one of the richest men on the planet?”

“Someone named Jeremiah Walker. I’m assuming that since you share the same last name, he might be a family member of yours?”

My mouth falls open. And how the hell does my ghost of a cousin know the owner of Monster Match? An image of my cousin’s translucent body and glowing red eyes flashes through my mind. Fucking hell, this better not be a prank. And my cousin better not have scared the owner into agreeing to transfer me.

“He’s my cousin,” I whisper.

There’s a beat of silence before my boss finally speaks again. “Your cousin? I thought he passed away.”

I swallow hard and nod, even though he can’t see me. “Yeah,” I clear my throat. “Jeremiah is a ghost.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He barks out a laugh. “Ghosts are real, too? I don’t know why that’s so shocking to me, but shit, kid. That’s wild.”

“Trust me. I was just as shocked as you were when my cousin reappeared after all this time.” It’s only been about a year since a little monster—a sin eater—by the name of Silk called me, explaining that he knows my cousin and that he was still here.

Harrison and I exchange a few more words before I hang up, still in a daze.

There’s a knock on my passenger-side window, and I’m startled from my thoughts. I peer over to see my best friend, Shantel, waving at me. She practically skips to my side of the car as I get out.

Shantel throws her arms around me. “Hey, you. Long time no see.”

“Yeah,” I mumble into her hair.

She pulls away from our embrace, her tiny hands on my shoulders. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Laughter bubbles out of me, and she smiles, still looking hesitant.

“Harrison just called. I have an interview tomorrow morning on base. It’s for a permanent position.”

Her smile wavers. “Do you know where?”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t.”

She rubs my arm reassuringly. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll make it work. We’ve been friends for over twenty years. We’ll find ways to visit each other.” Shantel hugs me again. “You deserve this, Enzo. I know you want to settle down, build a home, and find romance. This is your shot!”

I laugh, trying to ease the emotions suddenly lodged in my throat. “Enough sentimental shit. We’ll make it work. Now, are you going to show me this fancy dance club of yours?”

Shantel smirks, giving me a familiar look that’s all mischief. “Who said it was a dance club?”

Oh fuck. What have I gotten myself into?