24. Cain

CHAPTER 24

CAIN

A few moments earlier…

Two compatible monsters.

They're here.

I stare at the blood diamond that glows with a pattern of two steady pulses. It reminds me of a heartbeat.

"Helia," I whisper, immediately trying to summon her because I'm going to need her help with this. She doesn't answer, but I imagine she's busy since the portals just opened. I'm not the kind of monster who needs an appointment, but in retrospect, I should have warned her I might need her.

Because I actually fucking found them.

Every time I've ever performed this location spell, it has always broken the blood diamond and turned it black. Thousands of years of seeking have taught me that there aren't any monsters, or humans, compatible with me.

Yet now I've found not one but three beings who are.

I know it's no coincidence. Scarlett herself likely called them here. She's a beacon of light in the darkness.

As Earl Rinhold aptly said, she's the key to everything.

But these monsters… they are like me.

They are dangerous, depraved, and hungry .

Now, it bleeds with literal blood, sending the thick red liquid oozing over my fingers onto the table and dripping onto the floor.

My head shoots up when a scream rips through the dream plane, interrupting my stunned fascination.

Scarlett.

I know her screams well, even if they have usually been screams of pleasure in my presence. I've left her be since I crossed a line.

Since my beast took her with his tongue, nourished by the memory of what he did to her.

What we did to her.

Now, she's alone and afraid.

She's hurting .

Cursing, I shoot to my feet and wince when my head hits the ceiling and my horns drag through the coffered design.

I've transformed into my monster form.

And I'm chained to the floor, precisely because I predicted my beast would attempt to take control. The spell allows me to think for myself, but the second I leave this tower, he will be in charge.

Scarlett's screams make my chest tighten and my fangs extend. A low, threatening growl rumbles in my chest as my beast urges me to tend to our mate.

Not ours yet, I try to reason with him, but even I don't believe that anymore.

I flex against the dark chains made of shadow that are anchored into the tower itself. They wrap around my calves, my forearms, and strain against my neck. The prongs on each one dig into my skin, making me bleed.

This is the safest place for me to be. Not for my safety, but for the safety of my people from me. I knew if I found compatible monsters, I might lose control. I'm not the kind of beast who can prowl the streets for a mate. I'd wind up maiming anyone in my path and devouring any dream they have ever had until they're nothing but withered husks.

But now Scarlett needs me, and I'm bound for the rest of the night.

That's how long I made the spell last, and I do it every year. If compatible monsters ever did come through a portal, I knew it would set off my beast.

"I'm here, Cain," Bernard says from the doorway to my office.

He's either very brave or very stupid to try to speak to me when my beast has come out.

Or stupidly loyal.

"Helia isn't answering my summons," I growl, surprised I'm able to form words while in this form. My thick tongue makes it hard to speak, as do my massive canines, but I manage it.

It takes more of my strength than I care to admit to prepare the chains that can keep my beast restrained like this, but I work all year on it. A portion of my feed goes directly into this tower and into my city.

My protections line the Immortality Sector, especially, and connect me to my most dedicated worshippers. Their prayers ensure I stay in power.

And they keep my beast at bay.

I might be in control now, but I'm not going to let myself be deceived. The second I'm untangled from the suppressing magic of my tower that's protecting my sanity, my beast will take over my mind.

And then the bloodshed will begin.

Bernard clicks on one of the feeds to Monsters Night I probably should have been watching instead of scrying. I immediately look for the compatible monsters I had sensed, but I'm confused when I see Helia slinking through a dark alley.

"It seems she's participating in this year's Monsters Night."

Helia is hunting a mate? Well, that explains why she's ignoring me. I fully expect her to be hunting for fun because it's just as likely that she's found a compatible mate as I have.

And yet, here we are.

Whatever the fates hold for Helia, I can't bring myself to care if she'll be successful or not. In fact, I'm irritated. Like a fool, I prioritized the safety of my people over a potential mate.

And now I'm the one paying for it.

"Get to Scarlett," I growl as my voice echoes through the Dream Realm. My world fluctuates, and my grip on reality slips as blood drizzles down the walls. I have no idea if it's real or just my fears coming to life as a living nightmare.

"You told me to stay away from her," Bernard reminds me. He doesn't like conflicting orders, so I know he's just trying to clarify what it is I actually want.

Snarling, my beast takes over for a second, but it's enough to have snapped one of the chains and left me growling in my Raven's face.

He doesn't move. He doesn't even flinch as my fangs linger just inches away from him. I could tear him to shreds, but he keeps to his post.

My stupid, faithful Raven.

"What would you have me do when I reach her?" he asks. His tone is calm, but his dark eyes are wide enough to reflect my fearsome image back at me.

I know the order is wrong. It's one I've never asked of anyone, but this is the only way I can get to Scarlett while chained to my tower. This is the only way to keep her safe.

I lean into my chains, ignoring the blood that trails down my chest at the movement. "I need her to let me in, Bernard. It's the only way to help her."

He goes stiff as I give the one command I said I'd never do.

"Make her pray to me."