Hate by K.A Knight

Iwatch them both go with a sigh on my lips. How I wish my little monster was here, but we will get her back soon and this infighting will stop. They wouldn’t dare bicker with her here. I lock up behind them and leave the key before walking into the forest, shedding my clothes as I change, my hands catching on the trees as I pass by, absorbing their knowledge and strength.

I feel the change wash through me, like letting out a breath as I move through the forest. I am to collect allies and wait near the council in case anything goes wrong, which tests my patience. I can feel my little monster, and to not be with her is a torture unto itself.

As I amble, I let out a call to the animals and creatures that linger in the forest under my protection. I hear their howls and songs of answer, and the stirring of the dark creatures that slumber here undisturbed under my protection, awakening as they feel my need. I called a few of my friends before I left and spoke to them. They were suspicious at first, not believing the council was behind it, but we all know the council has its own agenda, and these beings will stand with me if it turns out to be true. I also spoke to Victoria, who is scouring the city for any sign of The Others, as they called them, and she will report back to me. Additionally, she put the city on lockdown, so nothing moves without her knowing. Her last words were a warning—get Dawn back or she would. It seems my little mate is collecting friends as she goes.

Powerful friends.

I reach across the vast forest and send a whisper to the fae, knowing they want their people back too. If the council did this, they are going to face an army of angry supernaturals, all mixed and united because of them. All I care about, however, is getting my little monster back. She needs me and I need her.

Being apart from her after all my years of searching is painful, but she is strong, and if anyone can make it through, it is her. They do not know who they have taken or they would have let her be. It is very much like shaking a hornet’s nest, they will get stuck and not know what to expect from her. Even I don’t as her mate.

She is powerful, that is for sure, and unpredictable like the fallen, but there is something more there, waiting, like a hunting wolf. And I will be there when it is unleashed, standing at her side as I was always meant to. Until then, I will rally an army for her.

Wolves join my sides, eagles and owls float in the air, the rabbits hop closer, and snakes and bugs assemble us as I go, until I look back and I see the forest moving with the force of the animals. An army trails after me, ready to follow my call. I protect them, they protect me, everything is a balance in this world. I am the God of the Forest and they have taken my mate, they will see my wrath before this is through.

They will taste my power and bow before it, huddled in their thrones as they realise their mistake. I have stayed out of politics and wars, but no longer, they have taken the one thing I will always fight for and they don’t even comprehend it…

I can feel our bond, our souls linked across the miles. She smiles at me, waiting patiently for me to come and get her, but my mate doesn’t need rescuing, I can feel it. She has a plan, a purpose. I will have to wait and be ready, because now I can see it all. She needs me to ground her, to keep her safe as she fulfils her goal.

For now she needs her fallen…and a minotaur? Interesting. I send my birds forward, cooing in their mind to get into the compound and watch her and keep me updated. Ravens, eagles, and so many more rush forward in a flap of wings that sounds like gunshots through the forest.

Far across the world I feel a darkness coming, reaching for her, and I know. I just know, my mate has called something old, even older than me and more wild...untamed. I have to have faith in her and fate, that she will never call what she can’t control.

I put my hope into that, otherwise I will have to try and kill him. It’s a good job we have a fallen and a dragon on our side to help, because mate or not, if he hurts her, we will watch him scream in agony as we rip him to pieces in front of her. This world doesn’t even realise that monsters are uniting around them, that the darkest and strongest of us all follow one tiny woman, called by my mate’s power and purpose.

A natural disaster, that’s what she is. Strong, powerful, untrained, and wild, and we are just swept along with her. My little monster, determined to right the wrongs and save or damn us all, it’s in her hands…

I’m here, Little Monster, feel me. I am always here with you, just look inside.