Chapter 2 THE MONSTER'S HOUSE

I didn't sleep. Obviously.

The bed was too big. Too soft. And it smelled like him even though he said it was a guest room. That clean laundry sharp smell again. I kept turning over and the sheets were cold on one side and hot on the other. I couldn't get it right.

First room on the left. Shower's hot. Yeah.

I did shower. I stood under it until my skin went red. Watched the mud swirl off my ankles and go down the drain. It was brown then grey then clear. My shampoo was still in my bag. My cheap one from the drugstore. His shower had this big black bottle that said something like CEDAR + SMOKE and I didn't use it. I used mine. Petty. Whatever.

When I came out, my bags were still by the stairs. Exactly where I left them. He didn't touch them. He could have. But he didn't.

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Monster's house should be loud, right? Growling and chains or something. But it was just quiet and the fridge humming.

I went downstairs barefoot. My socks were still wet. I left them by the shower.

He was in the kitchen. At 2 AM. Just sitting at the island in that same dark grey t-shirt. With a mug. Not drinking. Just holding it. His hands are huge. I noticed that again. Knuckles all scarred up.

He didn't jump when I came in. He just looked up.

"You didn't sleep," he said.

"You didn't either," I said back. My voice still sounded wrecked. Like I had a cold.

He almost smiled. Almost. "I don't sleep much."

Great. Same.

I stood in the doorway because I didn't know where else to stand. My hair was dripping on his floor. Drip. Drip. I should have toweled it more.

"There's food," he said, nodding to the fridge. "If you want."

I wasn't hungry. Then my stomach growled really loud. Like embarrassingly loud. Like it echoed.

He didn't laugh. He just got up and opened the fridge.

He moves... quiet. For a big guy. No stomping.

He put bread and cheese and some kind of meat on the counter. And an apple. He sliced the apple with a knife that looked way too sharp for apples. Four slices. Even. Perfect.

"My name is Kael," he said while slicing. Like he remembered he hadn't told me. "Just Kael."

"I know," I said. "They told me. On the way over. The guards kept saying - they kept saying don't make the monster mad."

His hand stopped for half a second. On the apple.

"And are you mad?" I asked. I don't know why I asked that. My brain was not filtering.

He pushed the plate toward me. Not too close. He left space.

"Not at you," he said.

I sat. Because my legs were shaking again. That teeth-clicking thing was coming back.

I ate a piece of cheese. It tasted like nothing. Then like everything. Salty.

"Why did you take me?" I said with my mouth half full. Rude. But I didn't care. "You didn't have to. You could have said no. To the alliance. To... to me."

He was watching me eat. That heavy look again. Too heavy. Like he was trying to memorize my face but didn't want me to notice he was staring.

"My pack doesn't trade people," he said. Simple. Flat. "Your ex. He offered. I said no. He left you anyway. In my mud. So what was I supposed to do? Leave you there?"

He said your ex like it was a bad word. Like it tasted bad.

"Yes," I said. "A lot of people would."

"I'm not a lot of people," he said.

No kidding. Monster.

We sat there. 2 AM. Cheese and apple between us. My hair dripping.

Then his phone buzzed. On the counter. He glanced at it. His jaw did that tight thing again.

"Is it him?" I said before I could stop myself.

He didn't answer right away. He turned the phone face down.

"Go finish your apple," he said. "And then go back upstairs. Lock the door if you want. I have the key but I won't use it."

He got up. Took his mug. Still full. Cold now probably.

"Kael," I said.

He stopped.

"Thank you. For the... for the bag. Carrying it."

Stupid. Thank you for carrying my bag. Like he was a bellhop.

He looked at me over his shoulder. Same as last night in the shed. Same look.

"Don't thank me yet," he said. "You haven't seen what it costs to stay here."

And then he walked out of the kitchen, leaving me with the apple slices and the too-sharp knife and my cold bare feet on his warm floor.

I ate all four slices. Even though I wasn't hungry.

Let him watch the cameras, I thought again. Let my ex see me eating in this monster's kitchen at 2 AM like I belong here.

I don't belong here. Not yet.

But I'm not in the mud anymore either.