The Mates of Monsters

Chapter 18

"Lindsey? When did you and Timothy, you know, go all the way? Like, how long did you wait?"

She looks up from her plate and says, "How long? I don't know, maybe around two weeks."

"Two weeks? Really?"

"It's not like I'm unsure about my feelings for him. The mate bond is for life—there won't be anyone else. Why wait when you're with your soulmate?"

I poke around at the breakfast Helena sent. It arrived just as I did, so Lindsey and I decided to eat together at her guest house. The windows are open and a near-summer breeze passes through, blowing softly against my skin before drifting throughout the rooms. She has everything bright and open and the morning has never felt more welcomed.

"Why do you ask?" She questions, "Have you not—"

"I was thinking that we could help in the community gardens after we eat. Helena is always telling me about it, and she wanted me to pick some berries. She said there's a ton of blueberries and blackberries, and if we get them, she'll make us some jams. Maybe if there's enough strawberries we can dip them in chocolate—"

"I'd love to pick berries," Lindsey says. "But I wouldn't guess it's something you'd be interested in."

I shrug. "Jeremy wants me to have a selfless, handy reputation. He said it's beneficial for Lunas to appear as a very giving person to the pack. So I figured helping grow food fits the image."

"I would say so."

"Besides, from what we saw yesterday on your tour, the gardens look kinda pretty with all those big, green leaves everywhere."

After breakfast, we head over to the garden. The sky is cluttered with dense, white clouds, and they float in front of the sun, drawing giant shadows over and past us. I think about asking Lindsey if she would like to go for a run later. I'm sure it will only confuse her more—I rarely went for runs unless prompted to by my mother—but ever since I did with David, I've been wanting to let my wolf out again.

Lindsey talks about Timothy and his possible promotion at the community center. She says he could likely be calling the shots in a few years, so I say, "That would be great. No one puts in more work there than him. How old is Perry anyway? He has to retire sometime."

I respond and grasp the essential parts of the conversation, but my mind drifts elsewhere. I think about this morning and feel an immediate impatience to go to sleep tonight. Will he want to be close again, or was it just last night? Should I be less consumed by cuddling and more worried about his past—the painful truths about other girls who are utter mysteries; girls from mysterious places and who may very well remain nameless? Am I stupid for pushing it to the back of my mind?

I notice Lindsey has stopped talking. Her eyes squint as she looks ahead; she's always been a little more near-sighted. I look in the same direction and see a few people standing in the gardens, speaking to one another. A young woman around our age shoves the man across from her and shouts at him. He backs off, and the other man there tries to reason with the woman.

"What's going on?" Lindsey asks.

I slowly continue toward them, wondering if it's a Luna's duty to insert herself in such a situation. "Maybe they're just arguing," I consider.

The woman pushes the other man off and continues towards her victim. He insists on backing off, but she's determined. She's breathing so heavy that I can see her whole chest open and stretch. Lindsey grabs my arm. I peer back and she gives me a look. She wants to leave.

I open my mouth to tell her to wait a second, but the other man yells. My head snaps back just as the woman shifts. She's so fast—it's the one thing I can comprehend before she's pouncing on the back of her victim—unshifted himself. Lindsey screams when her teeth dig into his skin, when her jaw clamps down and refuses to let go. The man, bitten into, tries to shift to defend himself or attempt an escape, but before he can finish, she snaps at his partially-transformed throat, and I squeeze my eyes shut—flinching.