Captured by the Monsters

by R. L. Caulder

  Axton came over to rub a soothing hand up and down my arm. “Don’t worry, we won’t leave your side. We’ll protect you and be your eyes. We can also get you a torch with the crystal. It’ll have light as long as we feed it energy.”

  His words simultaneously overjoyed and annoyed me. I tried not to think about how a small piece of me questioned why I wanted to escape.

  “The light is a privilege,” Rowen added. “Not everyone can have one—only the Trifectas who have found a mate are allowed to keep one—and the Chosen may keep it only if she has proven herself worthy.”

  I swore I heard an undercurrent of accusation in his voice. The insinuation pissed me off.

  “Am I worthy of it?” I snapped in a peeved tone, but then reminded myself that I had no right to feel that way. My emotions felt tumultuous and I was struggling to wade through them.

  A wicked smile tipped Rowen’s lips, “We have yet to see,” was all he said, and I decided it was best that Rowen was currently mostly smoke and shadow because I wanted to punch him in the gut for being a dick. But could I blame him? It was like he sensed my unease skittering beneath the surface, like he was just waiting for me to bolt and prove him right.

  My stomach rumbled at the thought, reminding me that I was now hangry.

  Sylan led me over to the table to sit and brought over a platter of food for me to sample. I dove in before any of the guys could feed me again. I desperately needed to establish some boundaries even though I secretly loved it when they pushed them last night.

  I sensed my three monsters watching me hungrily—but not for the food. I wondered if they ate things like this too, but I was too busy stuffing my face to ask. They floated nearby, as if mesmerized, as I lifted the unknown but succulent morsels of whatever to my mouth.

  Despite myself and my intentions, I over-exaggeratedly licked my lips and fingers clean, my tongue enticing and beckoning them. Low growls sounded from the three like they were feral beasts who’d come upon their prey.

  I wanted to be their prey.

  A small part of me feared that I looked like a fool, but I could feel Axton’s, Sylan’s, and Rowen’s desire like it was a tangible item. I tried to not think with my mind. It seemed that my body knew what it wanted and what to do. For the time being, I let it take charge.

  “Careful, Sera,” Rowen cautioned, almost mocking. “You’re playing with fire. Don’t let your body make a decision your heart’s not into.”

  I sensed a hidden message in his words, but couldn’t figure out what he was really getting at. Sometimes I wondered if Rowen could read my mind; it’s like he knew what I was thinking, right down to me wanting to run away.

  Maybe the two of us were more alike than I wanted to acknowledge.

  Rowen was baiting me, but I rose to the challenge, thrusting my breasts out as I licked my lips slowly of the juice that was dripping from them.

  “I’m not afraid of fire,” I taunted with all the sass I could muster. It was like my body and my mind were at war over how I was supposed to act with these monsters.

  My body undeniably wanted to give in to the urges they inspired within me, yet my mind told me to throw up as many mental blockades as I could muster.

  A guttural sound came from the amused monster as if I’d just granted him his most secret wish. “Then prepare to get burned, my little gem,” Rowen purred.

  The pet name from him had a heating unfurling within me. It insinuated I was precious and beautiful to him. That couldn’t be true, right?

  In a blurred motion, he surged forward at lightning speed, pushing me back atop the table. The food and platters went clattering to the ground as I found myself pinned beneath the hulking brute.

  Axton came around to the head of the table, helping to hold my arms down as he leered at me from above my head. My breathing came in short pants, my pulse skyrocketing at how much I found myself enjoying this.

  Sylan stood off to the side, watching, and I bit my lip at how much the whole thing turned me on. I sensed his eyes locking with mine, and I wondered whose side he’d pick.

  For the most part, Sylan seemed on my side, but something told me he was happy to watch me go up in flames this way, not that I blamed him.

  I sensed Rowen’s fiery gaze flicker over my face. He was right—playing with fire might get me burned, but I was taking them down with me. Spreading my legs wide, I let Rowen’s shadowy form slip between them. Even though he wasn’t fully solid, I felt the presence of his weight bearing down on me and I needed more.

  From below, I arched into the infuriating man, but a sudden cramp in my stomach made me quickly collapse back down. A grimace of pain painted my face, and my monsters immediately jumped into action.

  Gently lifting me from behind, Axton released my hands to support my back, rubbing soothing circles on my skin as Rowen pulled me forward.

  Sylan drifted over silently, concern tinting his voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, a little cramp,” I admitted, trying not to pout that our sexy time was halted. “It’s gone now. Where were we? Oh, yes, I was about to get burned—”

  My words were cut off as another spasm of pain rocked my body, causing me to groan in agony and my eyes fluttered shut.

  “Sera!” all three men shouted at the same time.

  Curling into the fetal position, I rocked in an attempt to relieve the twisting in my stomach.

  Around me, my monsters whispered back and forth in their raspy language. Even though I didn’t know a thing they were saying, I understood the tone—worry.

  “It’s nothing. I had some pains last night, too. I mean, not this bad!” I gasped when they stared at me in accusation for not mentioning anything, like I was the bad guy in this situation. “It’s just indigestion, I’m sure.”

  Logically I knew it couldn’t just be that, but I wanted my calm tone to soothe them for one reason only: their clear worry and need to help me was making my heart do somersaults.

  Sylan shook his head, rejecting my idea. “No, Sera, your body is rejecting our food. We’ve heard about this before, but thought it a myth,” he confessed quietly. “It’s been reported by Trifecta in the past that they’ve found their mate can’t process the food, but we’ve never seen it for ourselves and when you said you were hungry…”

  His tone suggested he felt bad that I was in pain now for him providing what I had asked for. I didn’t blame them, though. My mind was set on figuring out how to live in this strange land moving forward if I couldn’t eat their food.

  “So how do they live?” I asked fearfully with wide eyes.

  What happened to someone who couldn’t eat? They died.

  What Axton murmured in my ear nearly had me choking on my spit. “Off their mates’…cum.”

  Holy shit.

  No wonder the stuff tasted like decadent desserts—it was meant to sustain me.

  Chapter Eleven

  SERA

  My mouth was hanging open at the realization that just rocked my world. I quickly snapped it shut as I processed the revelation.

  “There must be another way!” I objected and surged to my feet, unable to accept this change. Desperately, I grabbed at the food and shoved it in my mouth before anyone could stop me. This had to be a mistake. If this was true, that would mean there really was no hope of me surviving without them now.

  That couldn’t be my reality.

  Gizmo needed me. My parents. Hell, the entire Above needed the information I gathered down here.

  “Sera, wait!” Axton commanded, but I ignored him, gobbling down the food in desperation, wanting my body to have a sudden change of heart.

  No sooner had I swallowed than my stomach cramped in protest, revolting violently. Hot tears of anger and frustration welled up in my eyes as Sylan shifted over. I could smell his slightly cinnamon and smoky scent, alerting me that it was him.

  “It’ll be alright, Sera. We’ll get through this together,” he reassured in his calming manner, instantly relieving s
ome of the fear that was clenching my chest. A part of me loathed how much I trusted him and how badly I wanted to fall into his embrace.

  Sucking in a shuddering breath, I clung to the hope that he was right. That everything would be alright. I wasn’t used to relying on anyone else to take care of me—I took care of me, always—but down here in Paratiisi, I was incapable of such a feat.

  It was an alien world that was making me rely on these three monsters, forcing me to place my trust in them whether I wanted to or not. I didn’t like being vulnerable and exposed, as I was now—that was how people got hurt.

  I especially disliked the thought of them feeding me their cum to sustain my life. Not because it was cum—honestly, the stuff tasted delicious—the problem was that it came from Axton, Sylan, and Rowen. Three monsters who had already set my mind and heart at war so quickly. Being reliant upon them for such a basic need would open up the door for us to deepen the bonds I already felt forming.

  A hand swam into view and brushed away the tears that were falling down my cheeks. I should have pulled away, but instead I found myself leaning into it. “Please, let us help you.” Axton’s soft words were the gentlest that he’d spoken to me yet, a plea for my safety and health.

  My stomach twisted at the thought, reminding me that I needed sustenance stat, regardless of what it was. As long as it provided me with nutrients to carry on, I had very little choice at the moment.

  Taking a deep breath, I sank to my knees before the three smoky Specters. My monsters told me that with every sexual encounter, they would gain more strength and physicality. I wondered what our encounter would bring forth this time, hoping to see more of them. Underneath their shadows lurked a mystery I wished to solve, even if a part of me still wanted to run.

  Sylan and Axton crowded in close around me on my knees, saying nothing, silently understanding that I was submitting to this need. But Rowen floated just out of reach, as if still holding himself back. His distance hurt, and I wondered once more what he was running from. Was it the situation in general, or specifically something about me?

  Turning my attention back to Axton and Sylan, I felt the whisper of their cocks against my lips. My tummy rumbled in anticipation, as if it understood this would be its only source of food—or maybe it just recalled the mouthwatering taste of their cum.

  Opening my mouth, I ran my tongue against both their heads at once. With my hands, I gripped their impressive lengths to the best of my ability, rubbing them together slightly as I struggled to give them both attention at the same time. They groaned, and I briefly wondered if it was a new sensation for them or something they’d enjoyed before I became their mate.

  An unreasonable jealousy exploded in my head before quickly rushing down to my arms and legs, creating a sizzling path of fiery resentment inside of me. I didn’t want to share these men—not even with one another. For some illogical reason, I desired them only for myself.

  I hummed in disgust at my ridiculous thoughts. These men weren’t beholden to me, and I certainly didn’t want to be bound to them… Right? A gasp escaped my mouth, muffled against the large, flared heads of their cocks. My eyes flew open, and Rowen’s floating form had stilled a mere few feet away.

  Even though I couldn’t see him, I felt his stare—as if his gaze could pierce inside of me and know my thoughts.

  “Keep going,” he commanded in a soft growl. “You can take more in your mouth.”

  Oh, shit.

  I doubled down on my task at hand, hoping that if I put on a good enough show, he would give in and join. It felt wrong to have him so distant.

  Alternating between Sylan’s and Axton’s dicks, I licked them from top to base and back up. My tongue traced along the grooves on the underside of their cocks, and I loved the bumpy pattern it created. I stifled the moan that threatened to sound at the thought of what these bumps would feel like inside of me, but Rowen’s smirk told me he knew exactly where my mind was.

  A rush of heat pulsed at the apex of my legs, making me clench them together in an attempt to relieve the pressure. My eyes snapped to Rowen once more—whose smirk had grown. Dammit. I wasn’t hiding anything from this particular monster.

  Huffing in irritation, I focused my attention on Axton, the only one of the three whose cum I hadn’t tasted. Wrapping both hands around his cock, I pumped my fists up and down, rubbing the head along my cheek. I loved the velvety smooth feel against my skin.

  A bead of precum pooled at the top of Axton’s dick, and I swooped in to lick it up, curious at the flavor. A groan echoed around the dining room area, and I realized it was me.

  Chocolate.

  I was officially screwed. The three of them tasted like marshmallows, cinnamon rolls, and chocolate. Like a woman possessed, I went down on Axton like his jizz would be my last meal. I needed more. That little drop had set off a primal urge to take more of their cum into me.

  Hollowing my cheeks, I sucked his length deeper into my mouth, scraping my teeth along the distinctive grooves. His feral hiss told me he liked this and I tucked it away into my memory bank. His hand—the only corporeal part of him—clamped at the back of my head as he fisted my hair, hard.

  In seconds, he was fucking my throat hard enough for tears to spill out the sides of my eyes and trace down my cheeks, but he didn’t stop—and I loved every second of his rough control. It was the perfect way for me to get out of my head and just live in the moment, because I had no other choice.

  Cum and oxygen: my two priorities right now.

  He picked up the pace, and I struggled to keep my mouth wrapped around him as his thickness grew with his impending orgasm. My pussy was throbbing with need, and I felt my slickness gathering.

  His roar was the only warning that he was tipping over the edge. Suddenly, my mouth was flooded with hot spurts of his cum. I swallowed it greedily, moaning at what tasted like melted chocolate—sweet with a hint of salty. His grip on my hair loosened, but I didn’t stop sucking the head of his dick, aggressively milking every last drop of him as he praised me. “That’s right, precious. Lick up every drop.”

  Moaning, I did as he said until there was without a doubt nothing left.

  Collapsing back onto my heels, I assessed how I felt now. Not full, but at least the hunger pains had stopped. Truthfully, I was more horny than hungry now; something I must have conveyed to the guys because Axton swooped in to work my soaking core with his only physical body part as my knees widened, allowing him further access in my position.

  His monstrously large finger curled deep inside of my pussy, making me squirm in anticipation. My breathing turned into pants of need as he hit a spot deep within me.

  “More,” I ordered greedily as my hips began to set their own pace, fucking his hand the way I wanted it.

  Axton snarled in warning before he truly finger fucked me into oblivion.

  Sylan floated over, plastering himself to my back. I looked up to see Rowen still just watching, his lips forever curled into a look of amusement that pissed me off.

  Narrowing my eyes, I opened my mouth to tell him off, but Sylan chose that moment to raise his shadowy tendrils to encircle my breast. My eyes rolled back as the shadows tightened around my nipples, tweaking them. The two monsters worked in tandem as Axton added another finger into my wet heat, my scream of surprise and fulfillment shattering around us as I came hard.

  It took me a few minutes to regulate my breathing, wondering what the hell just happened—that orgasm came out of nowhere.

  Blinking through the lust filled haze that was my brain, I focused on Rowen, intending on setting whatever this issue was between us straight, but I faltered as I took in the sight before me.

  I could see his eyes—and not just his, but Axton’s and Sylan’s as well. They weren’t eyes in the human sense, more like eye sockets, deep pits of black with small sparks of color nestled within them.

  Rowen’s were bronze, while Sylan’s were silver, and Axton’s were gold. Three of the most preci
ous metals known to mankind resided in their ocular depths. It seemed everywhere I turned in this land, I found some hidden treasure.

  “Your eyes!” I breathed in wonder, a ball of excitement gathering within me at being one step closer to seeing their true forms.

  All three men stared at me with identical expressions of awe, as if they were seeing the sun for the first time. I realized I was their sun—their light—which is what they’d been trying to explain to me. Human women were Specters’ mates, the light to their dark. We were the most important thing in their lives.

  “You’re even more beautiful than before,” Sylan murmured, and I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion.

  “Could you not see me clearly before?”

  “Yes, but it was muted,” Axton explained. “All the colors before were dulled. Seeing you now in full color… There are no words. You’re the most stunning creature I’ve ever seen.”

  The sincerity of his words made me blush, and I looked away, not used to compliments. Men from The Above weren’t allowed to flirt, compliment, or hit on women under twenty-five. It was against the law since we could be Selected. I didn’t know if human men found me attractive or not, but it was gratifying to know that I was to my monsters.

  I peeked at Rowen, who still hadn’t said anything. The wicked amusement in his smile now reached to the bronzed sparks of his eyes. Nibbling my lip, I decided it was best not to confront him as I had planned. I suddenly felt exposed and didn’t want to address my emotions—it was healthier to box that shit up, right?

  But Rowen wasn’t having any of that.

  “Sera,” he called when I refused to make eye contact again.

  “Yes?” I offered while looking at the ceiling, attempting to respond as nonchalantly as possible.

  “It’s time to talk.”

  A ball of dread formed in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t want to argue, but it seemed we naturally butted heads, and I was feeling too emotionally raw right now for that type of confrontation.

  “About what?” I feigned ignorance—which is supposed to be bliss, but felt uncomfortable as fuck instead.