Page 19 of Monstrous Lies


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“Bad cat!” she admonishes, pointing the bat at him.

His head lowers, and her eyes narrow.

“Aria, very slowly move behind me,” I demand, sagging from blood loss. The only thing keeping me standing is the sight of her and the burning need to protect her.

“No, bad kitty, here.” She pulls out some meat from behind her. I’m unsure where she got it from, but she tosses it at the creature’s feet.

He glares at her before slowly sniffing it. That’s when I spot its ribs sticking from its skin. It’s desperate and hungry. She recognized that before I did.

Clever little human.

“Good kitty, eat up,” she murmurs softly, almost cooing at the creature.

“Aria, move away. It will eat you,” I snap, exasperated and weakening from the blood loss. I feel my muscle and skin knitting back together, but it’s too slow. The leg is bum for now, and if the tiger decides to leap at her, I won’t be able to get between them in time. That worry has me reaching for her.

“He won’t kill you. You’re just hungry, aren’t you, little fella?” she coos and drops the bat before pulling out more meat and tossing it between them. He happily eats it up, eyeing me almost disdainfully before moving towards her.

I rush closer but freeze when he just rubs along her front with a purr, back and forth, almost knocking her over.

“See, good boy, you were just hungry, weren’t you? I bet there isn’t a lot here to eat. I know the feeling, baby. It’s okay now.”

Unbelievable. “Aria, it’s time to leave the tiger,” I say slowly.

At my voice, it turns and bares his fangs, sitting in front of her as if to protect her. This is why you don’t feed wildlife or monsters, they might just follow you home.

She huffs. “No.”

“No?” I repeat in confusion. Maybe it’s the blood loss making me muddled.

“No. You want to kill me, so I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m finding my friend and getting the fuck back over the wall. Screw you monsters,” she spits angrily.

“I would never let them hurt you,” I tell her patiently.

“Yeah, still no, buddy. I’m not trusting anyone with horns,” she snaps, crossing her arms, and the tiger huffs as if to back her up.

My anger winds through me. “You dare question me? You think I cannot protect you?”

“From all the monsters in the city?” She laughs, her eyebrow arched. “Yeah, no.”

“Aria,” I warn.

“Don’t get all hissy at me, Red. I’m going home after finding Talia. You can either come along and help me and kill any big bad monsters that come for me, or you can stand there sulking and bleeding.” She points, and then with a determined glare, pats the tiger and leaves.

She climbs out of the window with a devil-may-care attitude, unafraid of the dark streets beyond where my people roam, screaming for her blood.

The tiger flicks its tail at me.

“I guess it’s just you and me,” I mutter.

Turning, he follows Aria.

“Traitor,” I mutter before deciding I’m going to have to go after her. She’ll get hurt out there alone, and it’s obvious she isn’t giving up on her friend.

I admire her loyalty, not to mention the warmth flowing through me at her help. She risked her life to save mine. She could have left, could have done nothing, but instead, she put herself in danger to save me. That foolish, incredible human. No one has ever done that before. The shock of it still moves through me as I follow dutifully after her like the hungry tiger she has befriended.

I spot her walking down the street with the tiger at her side, storming right into the heart of my lands and the people hunting her. She is ready to risk it all for the other human. Either my little Aria is very smart or very brave, maybe both.

I continue to follow her, moving from shadow to shadow, and when we come across my people, I either scare them away or knock them out if they seem insistent. I cannot blame them for their hatred of humans. I don’t understand my fascination with this one either. All they have known is pain and suffering at their hands, so they have every right to want to kill them.

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