Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) by Amelia Hutchins

“When you took my entire dick down your throat,” he stated with a straight face. My mouth opened and closed, and he snorted. “The first moment I met you, Lena. Your soul shone so fucking brightly that it blinded me. You left me awestruck, and there was a familiarity to you I couldn’t explain. You felt like someone had turned on the heat, and for the first time since my creation, I felt warmth sinking into my frozen tundra of existence. I wanted to kill you to stop it from spreading, but I had to know where it would lead. I had to know you and taste what shouldn’t ever belong to something as dark and cancerous as myself.”

“You think you shouldn’t be loved, but you’re wrong. You’re an asshole, but you’re my asshole.”

“You say the sweetest shit.” He smiled, leaning forward as he looked through the windshield at the dark clouds gathering above us.

“Looks like a storm is coming,” I stated softly, nodding up at the sky.

“That’s not a storm. That’s what happens when demons congregate in one location, causing an imbalance of the normal atmosphere with their unearthly presence. Lucifer senses you’re no longer hidden and are here. This is a bad idea.”

“So was leaving me home alone,” I pointed out, which didn’t seem to ease the tension inside the car. “I can’t hide forever, Lucian. You’re here with me, and Spyder is literally clinging to the roof as your backup. I’m safe.”

“You’re not safe, Lena. You won’t be safe until he can no longer reach for you,” he snapped, anger and power rushing through the vehicle. Thunder clapped loudly above us, and Lucian jerked the car to the left, as lightning stuck where it had been. “Put your seatbelt back on, now.”

I didn’t question it or point out that I was immortal. Instead, I fastened the belt and scooted closer to him. Lucian’s hand on my thigh tightened as shadows slithered into the backseat from the open window.

“Our presence has been noticed, and the scent of demon stench is insufferable outside,” Spyder announced, leaning between us. “Nightshade should appear in front of us within the next few moments. The others are taking defensive positions around us now. I’d hold on to your panties, Kitty.”

“She’s not wearing any.” Lucian turned the wheel abruptly, jerking the car hard right. I yelped, surprised by the quick motion.

“What in the… Left!” I screamed, right as a demon fell onto the pavement in front of us. Lucian turned the wheel to the right, and we all ducked as he slammed directly into the bastard, spraying the windshield of the Humvee in blood.

We rose in silence as Lucian switched on the wipers, which screeched as they smeared the blood over the tempered glass. Another demon hit the hood, and the Hummer drove over the body, jostling us as if it had been more than just one we’d hit. It was possible, considering it was hard to determine through the bloodied windshield. Lucian pressed a button on the steering wheel that sprayed Rain-X on it, and I turned to look at the calmness he displayed.

I was still staring at Lucian as he put the Humvee into park and opened the door. Spyder placed his hand on me reassuringly before Lucian yanked open the door and pulled me out.

No sooner had he ripped me from the car, Nightshade appeared before us, with Ryder, Vlad, and Adam standing silent sentinel and a pile of dead demons on the ground at their feet.

“It’s raining demons,” Vlad stated. “I never thought the weather would need to include a chance of demons during the day and brimstone by night. But, to state the obvious, it should. Let’s get inside, shall we?” he asked, sweeping his arm toward the glowing door, which was covered in eerie blue runes.

“I don’t think the weatherman is reporting the truth anymore,” Spyder snorted. “He’s probably given up trying to decide what to say in explanation for this shitty weather.”

I was escorted inside, where friendly faces turned to offer their welcome. Smiling, I took in Synthia’s swollen midsection. She glowed with her pregnancy, and even though I could tell that worry for Alden plagued her mind, she still offered a friendly smile.

Ristan sat beside her, his hands folded in his lap while he spoke quietly to a man next to him. Not a man, Asher, whose dark hair was pulled back, and his iridescent eyes lifted, locking with mine in open curiosity.

“About time you guys got here.” Synthia stood, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me tightly.

I didn’t need to tell her how worried I was about Alden. I didn’t need to say it because she was terrified of losing the old man. He was like a father to her, having raised Synthia after her adoptive father was murdered.

“Sorry, it was a long drive through the country. The weather lately has been terrible and only seems to be getting worse with the guild’s silence.”

“He’s okay, Lena.”

“How do you know that, Syn?” I countered softly, allowing her to pull back just enough to stare down at me.

“Because he has to be.” She swallowed past the thickening of her words. “Because he has to be, and no other answer will do.”





Chapter Thirty




A fae, a demon, and a monster walked into the guild—it’s not a punchline. It’s our reality. ~Lena



We stared down at a map that sat on a large round table in the middle of the club. Drinks were distributed while Synthia and Ristan explained the layout of the guild to everyone inside the room. Ristan had played an intricate part in rebuilding the guild, which he’d pointed out when Lucian had asked why he was barking out orders instead of Ryder.