Monsterland Mayhem (Fairy Tales With A Monstrous Twist)

11. Ailsa

11

AILSA

I listen as Master Pillar and Krolic fill Craze in, talking about minions and the Crimson King and how he sent said minions into the caves earlier than expected.

“There wasn’t time to properly secure the lair,” Krolic goes on. “So we spread various pieces of her clothing throughout the caverns to keep them busy.”

“Once Brandt and the others wake up, though, they’ll say where she really was,” Craze points out.

“We’re counting on that,” Master Pillar drawls around his glowing pipe. “It’ll force Crimson’s minions to scatter, sending them in various directions while we remain here.”

“Plan B it is,” Craze drawls.

“Plan B indeed,” Krolic echoes, lifting his drink. “May we not need to engage plan C.”

“Or D or Z,” Craze murmurs, knocking the contents of his tea back into his throat before fixing his dark eyes on me. “What questions do you have, Ailsa? Because I’m certain there are dozens of them.”

“What are you going to want to know in exchange?” I ask him, unable to hold back the bite of sarcasm in my voice. “My favorite vegetable, perhaps?”

He chuckles. “How about your favorite position?”

I frown. “My favorite position for what?”

He merely smiles. “I guess we’ll determine that together, hmm?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Which makes this even more fun, gorgeous,” he muses. “But go ahead and ask your questions. No games. No requirements. Just… ask.”

I’m tempted to point out that I did just ask him something, and he sidestepped it completely.

But I really don’t care about his positions . I care a lot more about everything else they were just discussing with their plans and the Crimson King.

“I don’t understand how he took over,” I blurt out. “Or why I should… believe… it.” That last part is more stuttered, my frown deepening with the words.

I… I’m not wrong to question what to believe here.

Yet it feels wrong to do so.

Especially when I see Krolic’s nostrils flare.

“I-I’m sorry,” I say, swallowing. “It’s just?—”

“You don’t need to apologize, Ailsa,” he interjects, catching my chin and keeping my focus on him. “You have every right to question us.”

His thumb traces my lower lip, his gaze intense.

“How about a story?” he offers. “I’ll tell you what happened, and then I’ll clarify anything you need afterward.”

“I… I think that might help,” I admit, a little transfixed by his touch. Because he hasn’t released my chin. He’s just… stroking me. All while his gaze tracks the movement, like he’s mesmerized by my mouth.

I feel pretty similarly about his features.

Those alluring eyes. Long silver lashes. Thick hair. The subtle age lines decorating his handsome face. He doesn’t look old. Just sophisticated. Masculine. Powerful .

“Once upon a time,” he starts, the phrasing drawing a laugh from Craze and a huff from Master Pillar. But all I can do is watch his mouth while he speaks.

Because the more he says, the more drawn into his story I become.

It begins with him as a younger ruler. “I didn’t exactly inherit the title,” he’s telling me. “That’s not how things work in Monsterland. But my birthright certainly set me up for the position.”

“It’s all about being the strongest Alpha,” Craze draws. “Who has the biggest knot.”

Master Pillar snorts. “If that were the case, I would be king.”

Krolic ignores both of them. “It’s about power, Ailsa. Alphas are all strong by nature. However, one of us will always be the strongest. My father was part of the royal mate-circle, but he wasn’t the king. My mother, though, was the queen. Hence the reason my birthright set me up for the role.”

I nod, understanding so far.

“But I wasn’t the only child,” he goes on. “I have two brothers and a sister. All of us are powerful in our own right, as is expected with our parental lines. However, I’ve always been the more dominant of my siblings. And everyone else, too. Which is how the kingdom became mine to rule.”

“He met us later,” Craze inserts, causing Krolic to glance at him. Craze puts his hands up. “Sorry. I’m just trying to get to the interesting part.”

Krolic’s expression doesn’t change. “Would you like to tell the story?”

“Of how Catum handed you your ass in a fight?” Craze asks. “Yes. Yes, I really would.”

“I wouldn’t say I handed him his ass,” Master Pillar murmurs. “Just… proved a point.”

“By kicking his ass,” Craze says. “Catum wanted our king to know that just because he hadn’t been challenged didn’t necessarily mean he was the strongest.”

“That’s not why I fought him, de Hatte.”

Craze rolls his eyes. “Yes, it was, Pillar. You wanted to take that stick out of his ass and beat him with it. Those were your words.”

“A poor summarization of them,” Master Pillar mutters. “I just wanted some respect. That’s all.”

“And you earned it,” Krolic cut in. “Unlike other Alphas at the table.”

Craze snorts. “I earned my respect when I returned your precious stones.”

“They were lava rocks,” Krolic says through his teeth. “And we’ve entirely derailed this conversation.”

Craze leans forward, his gaze on me. “I broke into his royal chambers and took some of his prized possessions. I, too, was making a point.”

“That he wanted a place in the king’s bed,” Master Pillar drawls.

Krolic shakes his head as Craze grins. “That’s not exactly what I wanted.” He looks at me again. “I wanted a mate. A female mate. As nice as I’m sure Krolic’s knot is, I’ve never been all that interested in experiencing it. I have my own to play with, and it’ll fit nicely in an Omega’s?—”

“Enough,” Krolic interjects. “She needs to know the history of our kingdom before we discuss our mate-circle and what it means.”

Craze gives him a look. “Then get to the part about Heart.”

The name makes Krolic flinch and Master Pillar curse. “Flames, Craze,” Master Pillar mutters.

“Heart is my sister,” Krolic says through his teeth, his gaze on me once more. He stopped touching my chin a while ago, which I think is a good thing since both his hands are fisted on the table now. “She’s an Alpha, too. But not as strong physically as me or our brothers. Therefore, she always felt… neglected. Like a lesser.”

“Now you’re just giving her excuses for becoming a psychotic bitch,” Craze tells him. A flicker of fire travels across the table, causing Craze to bat it away as he glares at Master Pillar. “Careful or our shield will go up in smoke.”

“Stop being an ass and let Krolic finish his tale.”

Krolic ignores them both and continues his story by telling me how his sister orchestrated several violent events, including the one that killed his parents and their mate-circle.

“She was imprisoned,” he says, swallowing. “Or so we thought.”

He goes on to tell me how he became king after the the loss of the existing monarchy, how he met Craze and Catum—a name that’s hard for me to think, let alone say, since I’ve spent two years calling him Master Pillar —and how they became a mate-circle.

“What is a mate-circle?” I interject, wanting to make sure I understand. They keep tossing that term around, along with several others, and I’m not sure I understand it.

“Alphas form a mate-circle to best protect their mate,” he explains. “There are a lot more Alphas than there are Omegas.”

“An understatement,” Craze inserts.

Krolic doesn’t acknowledge him and continues with, “Most Alphas band together with others who have similar skill sets or power levels. The stronger the mate-circle, the better. Especially for a king. Which is why Catum is often referred to as my Second, while Craze is my Enforcer.”

“Or that used to be the case before everyone assumed we died,” Master Pillar murmurs. “K, we need to make this a little more interesting. A few too many crows are glancing our way.”

My brow furrows at the word crows , but Krolic seems to understand because his jaw tightens. “Damn vultures. Suggestions?”

Master Pillar leans forward, finally allowing me to see his face outside of the shadows. His handsome features are etched into harsh lines, his thick hair elegantly tousled. But it’s his eyes that captivate me. Those warm brown irises swirl with dark intensity. Focus. Promise .

“I need you to straddle me, Ailsa,” he says.

I blink at him. “What?”

“Get in my lap and straddle me. I’m going to pretend to kiss you while Krolic continues his story.”

“Oh, I like where this is going,” Craze drawls.

Master Pillar stretches his hand out toward me. “Now, Miss Marvel.”

I shiver, his command rumbling through me in a purr of sound. “Why?” I ask in a whisper as I take his palm.

He helps me to my feet and draws me closer to him but doesn’t respond until he’s pulled me between his sprawled thighs. “Because I created the barrier to mask our conversation. Typically, that’s only done here when certain arrangements are being made—arrangements that one doesn’t wish for anyone else to overhear.”

His palms go to my hips as he lifts me in the air.

“Part your legs, Miss Marvel,” he says, sending another tremble through my body.

I do what he asks and jolt when cool air touches my skin, the smoky fabric of my dress seeming to part all around my lower limbs.

He settles me against him in an intimate position that has my thighs automatically clenching in response, sending a wave of warmth through my veins. If he notices, he doesn’t show it, just continues explaining his bizarre actions.

“We’ve been too casual for too long, and the patrons are starting to notice.” His voice is soft, very unlike his demanding hands that are pulling me impossibly closer. “So you and I are going to give them something else to focus on while Krolic finishes his tale.”

His palm slides from my hip to my spine and up to my nape, where he tangles his fingers in my hair.

I grab his shoulders, mostly to hold on, as his opposite arm encircles my waist.

“From their view, it looks like I’m kissing you now,” he says, tilting my head ever so slightly to the side. “We’ll do this for ten or so minutes, then venture up to our room to continue the charade.”

His grip tightens, his breath fanning across my now-parted lips.

“When I tell you to move your hips a little, do it,” he adds, his nose bumping mine. “Otherwise, be a good girl and listen to Krolic.”

I’m not sure how he expects me to concentrate like this.

I’m in his lap.

Clutching his muscular shoulders.

With my mouth half an inch from his.

And he wants me to move my hips soon, too?

This… this is… Oh my Gods… It’s like my dreams. Only somehow hotter because there are other people watching.

Including Krolic and Craze.

The former clears his throat, or I assume it’s Krolic who does because suddenly he’s speaking, picking up where Master Pillar left off regarding the perceived death of their circle.

“It became clear something was going on around the time my eldest brother died,” Krolic says. “It was too coincidental. But by the time I realized who the culprit was, it was too late. My sister had escaped her imprisonment, or was perhaps never completely imprisoned, and was creating all sorts of problems around the kingdom.”

Master Pillar’s mouth brushes mine as he moves his touch to my cheek, his lips trailing a hot path to my ear. “Focus on our king, Miss Marvel.”

I really want to tell him how difficult it is to obey that demand. Especially when I can feel his body heat seeping into mine.

“Heart created her own mate-circle of a sort, just with one other Alpha. One from a rival bloodline. A monster known as Crimson.” I can hear Krolic grating his teeth over that name but can’t quite see him since Master Pillar has my face angled toward his.

And his mouth is… trailing kisses down my neck.

Gods, why does that feel so good?

“But I wasn’t aware of any of this because we were out hunting for an Omega,” Krolic continues. “I was only called back after my eldest brother, Spaten, died. Which, as I said, is when I realized something was going on. It quickly became apparent that our family was under attack, something my sister punctuated by killing our other brother. Leaving me as her last mark.”

I still, listening intently now.

Only for Master Pillar’s mouth to return to mine and actually kiss me this time.

Softly.

A brush of lips.

But with just enough pressure to leave me breathless against him.

“Relax, Miss Marvel,” he whispers, his thumb tracing my nape as his hold in my hair loosens a little. “You need to be seen as enjoying this.”

“I don’t know—she looks pretty into it from where I’m sitting,” Craze says, his voice lower than usual. “But perhaps that’s because I can smell her.”

Krolic doesn’t respond to either comment, instead saying, “After realizing my sister was responsible, we feigned a retreat to regroup and observe.”

He falls quiet for a moment, something Master Pillar seems to take advantage of by saying, “I need you to move against me, Miss Marvel.”

“Move against you?” I repeat, swallowing.

His arm tightens around my lower half, then he shifts his hold to lower his hand to my ass. “Ride me.”

I start, nearly pushing away, but his grip on me resembles steel as he easily holds me against him.

“Do what he says, Ailsa,” Krolic murmurs, his voice lowering an octave.

I have no idea what these men are trying to do to me or what they want to accomplish, yet I feel my body obeying.

Which is… terrifying . Yet it feels so good. Too good. Like I’m trying to achieve something, only I don’t exactly know what I need.

“Good girl,” Krolic praises me, stirring goose bumps along my neck.

Because he’s watching.

Everyone is watching.

And Master Pillar’s mouth is ghosting across mine again, a grin forming on his full lips. “You feel amazing like this, Miss Marvel.”

I shudder, unable to respond. Unable to think .

And then Krolic is talking again.

Something about his sister.

The kingdom.

When Heart made her move.

“We waited her out to see what she would do because I suspected there was someone else involved, and I was right,” Krolic is saying, his words swirling around me.

I can hear him.

Understand him.

But focusing is… is a challenge.

Especially as Master Pillar pulls my bottom lip into his mouth to gently bite down with his teeth.

“Her partner revealed himself when he stole the throne. That’s when I found out about her new mate-circle with Crimson.” Krolic sounds gruffer than before, and I can’t tell if he’s angry or feeling something else entirely.

“Crimson assumed the throne under the guise of being the true Silver King,” Master Pillar says against my mouth. “And Monsterland simply accepted his claim.”

I start to shake my head, confused by what he’s saying.

But his grip tightened, holding me against him as he forced my hips to move once more.

Craze groans. “ Blades , with her billowing skirt, it looks like you’re fucking her.”

“Maybe I am,” Master Pillar returns, his lips curling. “How jealous would you be?”

“So fucking jealous,” Craze says, sounding pained. “I’m already fucking jealous, you asshole.”

“Good,” Master Pillar replies before sucking my lip into his mouth again. “We need to move upstairs.”

“Yes,” Krolic agrees. “We’ll continue this in our room.”

Our room, I think dizzily. Why is that singular?