A monster tore out of the trees, so fast she barely had time to recognize lots of legs and a round mouth full of teeth. She scrambled backward half a step, her brain all instinct and no thought.

  Then something huge landed between her and the monster.

  The flash of metal in the moonlight. A squeal cut off abruptly.

  And the huge person turned to face her.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Elle nearly sobbed as she stepped into Ben’s arms. He was covered in blood, his face harsh and hard in the darkness. And she didn’t care. He was here. He was alive.

  The relief was so profound she wobbled as she clung to him. His one-armed grip around her waist was so tight, though, she didn’t have to worry about falling. She allowed herself the comfort of his warmth and strength for exactly two seconds. But they didn’t stay that way for long.

  There were still monsters.

  She stepped back as quickly as she stepped into him, moved so she could see the grinluk, nocked and fired another arrow. Then finally said, “Glad you’re alive. What do we do now?”

  If she hadn’t known better, she’d swear his lips twitched in a smile. But he turned to face the grinluk before she could be sure.

  “Keep it distracted,” he growled. And his voice really was a growl. Like the wolf that lived in him was about to break out. “I’ll get its head.”

  Elle fired another arrow. Into the creature’s face again.

  Its head was a mess now, between the buckshot and the magic-tipped arrows hitting it. She was pretty sure its eyes were useless. But it had a whole bunch more eyes on the tips of its tentacles to compensate. So she focused another two arrows on trying to pin tentacles as Ben stalked toward the creature.

  He was a huge man, and yet the creature still rose easily six feet over his head. The monster’s tentacles thrashed at the air, whipping out, forced Ben to leap away.

  She tried not to let her worry distract her. He’d been doing this for centuries. He could kill the monster.

  Something the monster must have realized, too.

  It scrambled at its pinned limbs with its hands and gorilla feet and other tentacles. Jerking at the arrows sticking it to the dirt. Thrashing at Ben almost as an afterthought as it scrambled to free itself.

  Elle fired again.

  “Is the shotgun empty?” Arron asked next to her, gesturing to the dropped weapon.

  “More shots in my pocket. Other side.” She fired another arrow. She was down to maybe ten more. Couldn’t afford to waste them. “You know how to reload and shoot a shotgun?” she asked.

  “Not as well as I know how to fence,” he said, digging in her thigh pocket for the handful of loose shots she had there.

  “Don’t shoot your foot off.”

  Arron snorted. “You’ve got a second gun in here. Will it work?”

  She fired another arrow, up over the top of Ben and into the grinluk. “Not very well or accurately from this distance. But take it out, anyway.” The more weapons they had to use against the creature, the better.

  Ben leapt up into the air, straight up and too high for a human to have jumped, landing in the middle of a wrath of flailing tentacles. She swallowed a scream as she watched him slice through those limbs, taking out one of the big ones the monster had been standing on, then jumping away so fast he blurred.

  The moment Ben was out of the way, she fired another arrow and Arron fired the shotgun. He didn’t have her aim, but most of the buckshot hit the grinluk and not the dirt. And those hits were further distraction for the monster.

  They both stopped firing. Ben jumped high into the air again. The creature screamed, lashed out. Ben swung his sword.

  And the creature’s head fell.

  The sound, the sight of that severing sent two totally conflicting emotions rushing through her system, so hard and fast, she had to lower the bow as her knees wobbled.

  She’d seen things killed, killed animals for food, seen a man killed by her father… Watching the grinluk’s head drop away from its body and roll along the dirt road ranked right at the top of her list for one of the most disturbing and disgusting things she’d ever seen.

  And it filled her with such profound relief her muscles went slack. She nearly dropped the bow now dangling from her fingers and had to tighten her grip.

  She and Arron both scanned their surroundings, hunting for other monsters. Nothing—not human or monster—came charging out of the trees.

  Elle let her relief sink in a little deeper.

  Ben stood a few yards from the dead monster, his head down. Some of the tentacles continued to wave futilely around, but other than that, the monster was still.

  When Ben didn’t turn to face them, she hurried to him, worried he’d been injured again. “Ben,” she called. And when she was near enough that he could hear her without Arron overhearing them, she said more quietly, “Are you hurt? Do you need to do the stone statue thing?”

  He finally turned to her. He looked feral, his eyes glowing in the moonlight, his hair a mess, covered in blood, his jaw tight. He was breathing hard, though she wasn’t sure if that was from the fight or something else. Because she was suddenly breathing hard and it wasn’t from the fight.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice so guttural she barely recognized it.

  “No,” she said even as she scanned him for injuries. “Is any of that blood yours?”

  “My injuries are healing or healed.”

  She nodded. Then she dropped the bow at the same time he dropped the sword. She walked into his arms, again, wrapping herself around him, and dove in for a kiss that felt like life itself. He lifted her up onto her toes as he kissed her, held her with arms so big and strong she felt engulfed in his strength. And yet a tremor ran through his entire body, even as he deepened his kiss, even as his arms flexed and brought her even tighter against him. She trembled, too. And it was all relief this time.

  She leaned back enough to cup his face between her palms. “You sure you’re okay? Not hurt?”

  “Not anything that won’t heal quickly. You? This isn’t how I wanted to test your ability to heal.”

  She snort-laughed, but it sounded more choked than amused so she stopped. “Me neither. But I’m not hurt. The others? The humans? Anymore monsters?”

  “I took care of them. Two of the human guards got away. The living monsters were killed—not many here. Yet.”

  Yet. That had such an ominous ring to it. A sharp contrast to the way they’d been using that word just yesterday. “Do you have to destroy the building again?”

  He shook his head. “My Family will want to look through it, see what they can uncover.” He glanced behind her and she followed his gaze. Professor Arron stood a few yards away, his arms limp at his side, staring at the smashed car. He still held her shotgun in one hand, but he didn’t seem aware of it.

  “Are you okay, professor?” Elle called.

  “Don’t suppose you have a second car around here somewhere?” He didn’t look at them and his voice was dull, almost emotionless. Elle wasn’t sure if that was exhaustion, resignation, or something else.

  “The car.” Elle sighed. “How I’m going to explain this to the insurance company?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Ben said, matter-of-factly.

  After learning who he was, she realized he probably could. Billionaires could do things normal people couldn’t, right? They could “take care of” things and those things got sorted out without too much fuss. Handy.

  “Don’t suppose you have an idea how we’ll get back to a main road or…anywhere?” she asked. “I’m not sure the professor is up for a long walk.” The last she murmured for Ben’s ears only. He hadn’t loosened his hold or let her back onto her feet yet. And she found herself relying so much on his strength to hold her upright, she wasn’t actually sure she’d be up for a long walk either.

  “That’s taken care of, too,” he said, before nuzzling his face against her neck.

  The hug left her breathless again. She threaded her fingers through his hair, and tightened her arms, hugging him back. Her relief at knowing he was alive was profound. Between that relief and his hug, she almost missed the distant whomp whomp whomp sound approaching. When the noise sank in, she straightened, looking behind Ben into the distance.

  It was too dark to see much more than a headlamp which scanned over the ground, but the sound was unmistakable.

  “Do monsters fly helicopters?” she asked.

  “That will be our ride,” Ben said.

  She blinked at him. “When did you…?”

  “Sent a text with the location earlier. Before we went in.”

  She wanted to ask about him calling in backup, what it meant, what he’d been thinking that he’d done that, but the sound of the approaching helicopter made a quiet conversation impossible.

  By the time the chopper set down, Ben had wrenched open the destroyed car’s trunk and they’d gotten the rest of their gear out. Professor Arron looked between them and the chopper, still holding her shotgun—which she took gently from him because his gaze was glassy and he didn’t appear very steady.

  “Help?” he asked, nodding to the chopper and straightening his glasses.

  “Friends,” she assured.

  “Family,” Ben said.

  From the passenger side of the helicopter, a woman jumped out, running low under the still whirling blades, and then straightening as she jogged up to them. She was a smallish woman, slim, with dark hair and eyes, pale skin, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. With two swords strapped along her thighs like she was some kind of sword gunslinger. The dual swords made Elle blink.

  “Hey, Ben,” the woman said with a grin. “What sort of fun have you been up to?”

  “Andrea Logan, this is Elle Barker. Elle, my youngest sister, Rea.” Ben’s voice was still gravely and low as he made the introductions.

  Rea swung her grin to Elle and pumped Elle’s hand in a firm shake that nearly knocked Elle off her feet. “Looking forward to getting to know you. I have all the good gossip on Ben. We’ll talk.”

  Ben’s groan made Elle smile, though she was too wiped out now for the effort to hold.

  Rea’s grin dropped too as she faced her brother again. “What happened?”

  Ben gave her a brief run down. “The building is still intact. A lot of what they’ve been doing is there.” He glanced at Arron, who was staring at Rea. “And I think he’ll be willing to talk with us.”

  Arron startled. “Talk? With you? Who are you?” His shoulders shook and then he said, “Wait, Logan? Are you…? Are you one of those Logans? The ones the grinluk talked about?”

  “Probably,” Rea answered. “And I think we have a lot to talk about, Professor Arron. If you’re willing.”

  “Willing. Ashamed. But willing.”

  “We need to get him back to his family,” Elle murmured to Ben. “Sooner rather than later. They’ve been worried about him for a year.”

  “Mansion first to clean up and get our questions answered,” Ben said. “Then we’ll fly him directly home. Or we can bring his family to the mansion for the reunion. They’ll be safe there.”

  “Mansion?”

  Rea grinned. “Our home in New York. You’ll love it.” She patted Ben on the arm, hard enough he winced. Which Elle found interesting. Then the young woman walked into the woods.

  “Where’s she going?” Elle asked.

  “To scout the house and ensure it and the area are clear of monsters.”

  “Alone?”

  Ben didn’t get a chance to answer her question before the second person in the chopper leaned out the door. Between the darkness and the lights on the front of the helicopter, Elle couldn’t see the person at all. But their shout was clear enough. “Are you coming?”

  “Who’s that?” Elle asked, leaning in to Ben.

  “One of my brothers,” Ben said. “Richard. And he’s impatient.” Ben ushered her and the professor toward the helicopter, carrying most of the luggage in one hand and his sword in the other.

  “Wait.” Elle glanced back toward the woods where Rea had disappeared. “We’re not leaving your sister here, right?”

  “She’ll be fine,” he said. “She can get home on her own. That’s why she’s here.”

  “What?”

  “Long story.” He looked at her then glanced at the professor briefly and she got the hint. Something they weren’t going to talk about in front of him. Got it.

  Though the minute they were alone…

  Except, as she stared at him while he tossed their luggage into the back of the helicopter and then gently helped the professor inside, she realized when she got him alone, the very first thing she wanted to do was not talk about any of this. The very first thing she wanted when she got Ben alone again was to wrap herself around that big body and get him inside her fast.

  Maybe it was their bond or maybe it was the adrenaline of the night, or maybe it was just a joy at being alive. Whatever it was, she didn’t really care.

  So long as she got Ben alone. Soon.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  The flight took them a few hours, and to Elle’s surprise, she fell asleep. It was her first time in a helicopter, and the experience was a little terrifying—hard not to feel like this kind of machine should not be able to stay in the air. The ground seemed a really long way down and there wasn’t nearly enough metal around her. But her exhaustion and emotional overwhelm were stronger than her fear.

  She woke as they were landing, the surroundings so dark she couldn’t make out anything about their location. Her stomach dropped and a spike of adrenaline shot through her blood as the helicopter descended, the whomp whomp whomp of the blades above blocking most other sound. When the helicopter set down gently, she let out a breath and glanced over at Professor Arron. He looked as nervous about helicopter landings as she’d been. He gave her a hesitant smile, that she returned in an attempt to reassure them both.

  Given what he’d been through, Gabe Arron was handling all this with a lot of grace. She hoped she could get him back to Sherry and his kids soon. But at least they were somewhere safe now.

  At least, she hoped they were safe.

  They climbed carefully out of the helicopter as the blades slowly stopped spinning. Ben gathered all the gear again, and they all followed the pilot brother—Richard, right?—across an expanse of tarmac that turned out to be on top of a building. A single steel door leading inside opened before they reached it. From her place trailing behind Ben and his brother, keeping Professor Arron at her side, she didn’t at first see who’d opened the door. Then an older man in a very formal-looking black and gray butler’s suit stepped out.

  “It’s good to have you all back,” the man said. “Eric is in the front library when you’re ready. I’ve prepared rooms for our two guests.”

  As Elle and Professor Arron reached the door, the older man said, “You’re very welcome. I’m Gregory. If you need anything, please let me know.”

  “Elle Barker,” she introduced herself, blinking at the man. She was still half asleep. “This is Professor Gabe Arron.”

  Gregory gave them both a stiff nod and then led everyone down a set of concrete stairs into what turned out to be a mansion.

  Elle gaped as they stepped into a long, elegant corridor. White and cream walls with polished hardwood floors and fancy crown molding. Might have passed for a fancy hotel corridor but for the statuary art tucked into wall insets, the impressive paintings hanging between those insets, and the row of crystal chandeliers illuminating the hallway.

  Could still be a very fancy hotel, she supposed. But Ben had said they were going to the family home. This was someone’s actual house. She scanned the place, a little dumbfounded. People lived here? Actually lived in a place like this? Ben lived in a place like this?

  She knew the Logan’s were loaded, billionaires and all that, but she supposed she hadn’t stopped to think about what that meant in the real world. In his life when he wasn’t hunting monsters. It meant his family had mansions and butlers and landing pads for helicopters on the roofs of their houses, and a life that was so far removed from her existence it was shocking.

  And she was supposed to be meant for Ben? Old gods had determined she was his destiny? Her? When he lived in the middle of all this?

  If they hadn’t already performed a ritual that wouldn’t have been possible with anyone but his Nam-tar, she’d be convinced he’d gotten something wrong.

  As if he sensed the spike in her worry, he fell back from his position beside his brother to join her. “You okay?” he asked, leaning in close to speak in her ear.

  “Keep forgetting your loaded and I’m a little overwhelmed by all this. Including the helicopter pad on top of your house.”

  He shrugged. “It’s useful. That’s all. You’ll get used to it.”

  That almost made her trip. Get used to all this? She was supposed to…be part of this?

  And she’d thought a lifetime of knowing monsters existed was going to be weird.

  The butler, Gregory, led them through twists and turns with corridors ever more impressive, until they reached a huge foyer with marble floors, columns bracketing a giant oak door, and a grand, curved staircase leading down to the lower levels. She glanced up to see an arched roof with an elaborate painting on it, which reminded her of pictures she’d seen of the Sistine Chapel. Except this picture seemed to be filled with wolves running around different settings—in woods, deserts, even city streets. But she wasn’t given much time to study the mural. They went down the first set of split stairs to the second-floor landing, where Gregory took all the gear from Richard and Ben, carrying everything remarkably easily, and disappeared down a side corridor.

  Richard turned to face her, Ben, and the professor, and it was the first time Elle got a good look at the pilot. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Ben, but was still above average height, broad shouldered and handsome. His buzz cut hair and the solid green fatigues gave him a military baring that was what her father and his friends had always aspired to without ever quite reaching. The familial resemblance with Ben was obvious, but Richard’s short hair was a few shades darker, he had blue eyes instead of brown, and his features were more angular.

 

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