Monsterland Mayhem (Fairy Tales With A Monstrous Twist)

22. Ailsa

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

AILSA

Master Pillar— Catum —pulls the shirt over my head and drops it, his heated gaze roaming over me in a sweeping caress while the shower runs beside us. There wasn’t a knob or a handle to turn it on. Instead, all he did was wave his hand beneath the head, and water began to pour down over the blue marble floor.

I have no idea where we are or why we’re here. Or how these men have so many homes. I realize Krolic is royalty, but I’ve gathered that they’ve been hiding. “Are all of these places yours?”

For whatever reason, that’s the first question I ask.

Maybe because I’m just so lost and confused that I have no sense of organization when it comes to how to proceed with any sort of conversation.

“We have homes all over Monsterland,” he murmurs before pulling me beneath the warm water.

All I hear is the shower raining down on me for a long moment, the repetitive noise almost comforting.

“They’re like safe houses,” he adds after guiding me back toward him. “We’ve enchanted them to hide our presence, which has worked for hundreds of years. But your scent is apparently too powerful to mask.”

“Yet you wanted everyone to know about me…?” I hedge, recalling some of what they’ve said to me about needing Monsterland to know I’m an Omega.

He nods. “It’s part of the mating ritual.” He pulls a bottle of shampoo off a shelf and squirts some into his hand, then starts massaging it into my hair. “But it’s also a way to ensure the kingdom knows you’re real, making your choice incredibly important.”

“My choice,” I echo.

“On whom you mate,” he replies before gently pushing me beneath the water again. His fingers comb through my hair, washing the soapy suds from my long strands while continuing to massage my scalp.

It feels good.

Relaxing, even.

Yet his words play through my mind, everything these men have told me looping through random strings of logical and illogical twists.

They brought me here to spread my scent. To ensure all of Monsterland kind knew I existed.

However, we continue to run every time someone finds me, because the Alphas either want to fuck me… or take me to the Imposter King.

I shiver. What am I missing? What are they not telling me?

“What’s the mating ritual?” I blurt out, stepping back from the shower and away from Catum.

He stares down at me, a hint of darkness lurking in his brown eyes. “It’s a hunt.”

“A hunt?” I echo.

He nods. “Where the Omega in heat runs and the Alphas… hunt.”

I swallow. “And how…? How is that my choice?”

“Because an Omega only submits to the strongest Alpha-circle, and the strongest Alpha-circle is typically the one the Omega chooses.”

I slowly shake my head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

He drags his fingers through his thick hair and blows out a breath. “The elixir awakens an energy inside the Omega that drives her heat. But with that comes a magical element. Omegas are quite literally the diamond of the Monsterland world. Inside you rests a power unlike any other.”

“Except I’m human,” I remind him.

“A human can’t take a knot, Ailsa,” he returns, grabbing my chin and forcing me to hold his intense stare. “I saw Krolic’s knot shoot into that pretty pussy between your thighs, confirming who and what you are. Embrace it, Ailsa. You’re not human. You’re an Omega. Which makes you utterly remarkable.”

He grabs me between the legs in the next breath, his fingers sliding into my slick channel and stroking me deep inside.

I groan in response, his movements unexpected and harsh, yet arousing at the same time.

But all too soon, his touch is gone and his fingers are at my lips. “Open,” he demands, pressing inside without waiting, and forcing me to taste myself.

No, not just myself.

Krolic .

Because his essence is still inside me, the warm substance exactly why I didn’t want to sit down earlier.

“You taste that, Ailsa?” he asks, his fingers in my mouth preventing me from responding. “ That is our king’s seed dripping from between your thighs. Seed that is only released when an Alpha knots a potential Omega mate. You’re not human, sweet one. You’re something else entirely. Now suck .”

Oh, Gods… Why does this man’s dominance make me so weak in the knees? And why am I so eager to obey him?

“Good girl,” he murmurs as I do exactly what he says.

That , I think in the next breath. That is why I obey him.

His praise makes me feel warm.

Cherished.

Important .

“Now tell me you’re an Omega,” he says as he removes his fingers from my mouth.

I swallow, loving the taste he’s left behind. It’s me and Krolic, with a little bit of Catum mixed in. Decadent , I decide, my throat working once more.

“Miss Marvel.” The authority in his voice makes me shiver.

“Craze told me Omegas can be any type of being, including humans,” I whisper, remembering what he said. “So I’m still human, and also… an Omega.”

Master Pillar narrows his gaze, considering me for a moment. “Craze is right—Omegas can be any type of being. But what he apparently didn’t elaborate on is when the elixir is imbibed, it awakens the Omega soul inside that being. And that soul takes over, Ailsa. Whatever weaknesses you may perceive you have no longer apply.”

He walks me back under the water to continue rinsing out my hair, then pulls me close again to work on the conditioner.

I shiver, my nipples beading as they brush his hard chest.

He’s naked.

And colorful , I think, sneaking a glance down at his impressive manhood. He’s bigger than the other men, his knot even more impactful.

I’m a little afraid to take him, especially after how much Krolic’s initial thrust hurt.

But oh, the pleasure afterward… the way his knot attached to me and held me in a downward spiral of oblivion… I liked that. I liked that a lot .

“The ritual requires you to be presented in front of the kingdom,” Catum tells me. “That’s the purpose of having you take the elixir, and for bringing you here. Monsterland needs to know an Omega has been found. The oldest of our kind will demand that the ritual be honored.”

“The ritual that requires me to run,” I translate before he dips me back beneath the water.

His fingers massage my scalp again, his touch hypnotic and nearly making me forget what I asked. But he remembers and responds the moment he tugs me free of the showerhead.

“Yes, the ritual that requires you to run and Alphas to hunt. We don’t trust the Crimson King to follow protocol. We believe he’ll lock you in a cage and breed you, thus claiming you as his because of the heir inside you.”

I swallow. “That’s what the voice said after the ceremony—that I would be bred.”

Catum grunts. “That voice was Craze being a lunatic and trying to scare you.”

My lips curl down. “That was Craze?”

Catum nods. “Yeah, he likes to perform. But he also wasn’t wrong. The Crimson King won’t play by the rules. Impregnating you will solidify his rule.”

“Why?” I ask, not understanding that part. Unless… “Is that the outcome of the ritual? Me… being pregnant?”

He grabs a bar of soap and begins lathering it between his hands. Then very quietly, he says, “Yes. That’s how the claim is solidified.”

My eyes widen. “By impregnating me.” I can’t help the shrill quality of my voice. “What if I don’t want to be pregnant?”

“Then it’s your choice to refuse all suitors,” he murmurs, his eyes meeting mine. “If that’s your decision, we will respect it. And the rest of Monsterland kind should, too.”

“Given what I’ve experienced so far, I have a hard time believing that,” I tell him.

“Because Monsterland is not what it used to be.” He sounds almost sad as he says it, his gaze drifting to my upper body as he begins spreading the soap along my shoulder and arm. “We want to restore it, but to do that, we need an Omega. Everything is upside down here, and it’s been that way since Heart started fucking with the hierarchy.”

Heart. Krolic’s sister. “But it’s the Crimson King you keep insinuating that I should fear.”

He focuses on switching arms before replying, “Both of them are equally villainous. But Crimson is the only one who can impregnate you. Heart has a lock, not a knot.”

“A… lock?” My brow furrows, confusion swirling through my mind.

“You know how Krolic’s knot secured you together, making it impossible for you to move away from him?”

His words evoke a pleasant memory, one that has my thighs tingling—a sensation that increases as he begins soaping my breasts. “Y-yes,” I manage to stammer out.

“A lock is the opposite. It’s when an Alpha female traps a male’s cock inside her,” he tells me matter-of-factly. “But more than that, an Alpha female has no seed. And you, my sweet Omega, need Alpha seed to create a baby.” His palm moves to my belly while he speaks, a wistful glimmer entering his gaze.

“And you want that,” I whisper, my throat going dry.

“Yes,” he admits without missing a beat. “We all do, Ailsa.”

“But we just met.”

“Did we, though?” he asks, his gaze returning to mine. “Perhaps you and Craze, yes, but can you truly deny how things feel between us?”

I… I can’t.

However…

“How much of what I feel is… real? Is the elixir…?” I trail off, unable to finish asking that question. Because somewhere deep down, it feels wrong to even think this way.

These men have been courting me for two years. Perhaps strangely, but this is where our definitions of normal differ.

They approached me the way they felt was right.

Can I punish them for that? Can I deny how I feel because of that?

“The elixir inspires your heat, which, yes, can alter your frame of mind,” he replies. “In a few days, you will be begging for our knots. But that instinct hasn’t arisen yet.”

I say nothing, simply thinking through what he’s said.

I have felt a little out of sorts, making irrational decisions—like playing with their knots—but I… I feel alive as a result of those choices.

While I’ve absolutely embraced the insanity of this realm, that doesn’t mean I’ve lost my mind, does it?

“I diluted the elixir, Ailsa,” he goes on. “Well, kind of.”

I frown. “What do you mean, ‘kind of’?”

“The ritual elixir is meant to take three days to kick in. That’s part of the hunt timeline.” His lips twist. “But Crimson altered the formula centuries ago to make it more potent, because he’s desperate to send an Omega into heat immediately. The only part of the ritual he’s kept the same is the twenty-first birthday requirement, and I think he only did that to ensure the elixir worked properly.”

I can’t help but notice he’s no longer referring to him as the Crimson King but Crimson , suggesting that’s the mysterious imposter’s real name.

But I table that thought and focus on what he’s saying regarding the elixir. “So you… reverted the elixir?”

“Yes.” He resumes soaping my torso before adding, “But I made it even less potent to give you time. We also wanted to ensure that others in our world discovered your existence. If Crimson takes you now, there will be a riot. He has to play by the rules and let the Alphas hunt. Or it’s possible his claim will be contested.”

“Except he’s already not the rightful king…” I let that sentence hang as he gently rotates me to start soaping up my back.

“Correct. He’s pretending to be the Silver King.”

“Yet you call him the Crimson King because Crimson is his real name…?” I phrase it as a question.

“Crimson is his last name,” he murmurs. “Like Silver is Krolic’s last name. They’re rival wolf packs.”

“My mother chose the Silver mate-circle,” a deep voice adds as Krolic enters the bathroom with a tray. “And the Crimson mate-circle never forgave her for it.”

Catum kneels before me as he begins lathering suds along my legs. I shudder when his touch moves inward over my inner thighs and up to my sensitive flesh. “Are you sore, Miss Marvel?” he asks softly.

I swallow and shake my head. “No.” That was evident when he shoved his fingers inside me a bit ago. I wasn’t sore at all.

“Another sign of your changing genetics,” he murmurs, leaning forward to kiss me right on the clit. “You’re no longer an ordinary human, sweet one.”

I nearly fall backward when he kisses me again.

Only, he doesn’t continue, just simply leans back on his heels and resumes soaping up every inch of me.

“Is she questioning her Omega status?” Krolic asks, one eyebrow arching high. “Because I am more than happy to prove her wrong again.”

“She’s conflicted on what it means to be human and an Omega,” Catum tells him before reaching around to my backside. “She’s learning, though. Right, Miss Marvel?”

“Yes, Master Pillar,” I reply on an exhale.

He smiles up at me and winks. Then stands and helps me rinse.

“Next time we shower, I’m going to help you shave,” he says against my ear. “While I appreciate your groomed pussy, I really want to see you bare.”

My cheeks flame in response to his unexpected words, then heat even more as he presses a kiss to my pulse.

He’s behind me with his chest to my back, allowing me to feel his hardness against my ass. His heat is reminiscent of a brand, his touch filled with promise.

Yet he merely walks around me to wash himself off, giving me a glorious display of all his muscles while he cleans himself off and washes his hair.

Part of me wants to offer to help, but he’s a good foot taller than me, and there doesn’t appear to be a bench or a stepping stool in the shower.

By the time he turns off the water, I’m panting. But all he does is wrap me up in a towel and pass me over to Krolic, who is waiting with the food.

He brings something red to my mouth that I accept without studying it. Flavor bursts on my tongue, the savory bite reminding me of tomato soup. Except it’s chilled.

Catum finishes drying himself off, his white towel low across his hips as he saunters toward me to feed me the next bite.

Grilled cheese , I think, moaning in delight. It’s one of my favorite meals from back home, a meal I rarely made because the kitchen wasn’t mine to use. But sometimes I snuck in to fry up a cheese sandwich and steal leftover soup.

Krolic would know this since I often brought it with me outside to eat in private.

It’s a simple thing, but an important one. Because it drives home what Catum has been saying—these men know me.

Not in the conventional sense.

But that’s okay.

I like unconventional.

I like them —Catum, Krolic, and Craze.

“So what’s the plan?” I ask Catum and Krolic. “What’s next?”

Because I want to understand everything. Understand them. Understand my choices. Understand the future, the present… the ritual .

“We’re safe here for the time being,” Krolic says. “But it won’t last long. Which means we need to discuss plan Z.”

“And what’s plan Z?” I wonder aloud.

“We take you back to your realm,” he replies, sounding unhappy with that idea. “It’s not ideal, but if Monsterland isn’t going to respect your choice—which I’m starting to question, given all these recent attacks—then we need to remove you from the situation.”

My lips curl down. “But what about your throne?”

He lifts a shoulder. “We’ll win it back in a different way.”

“A different way,” I echo.

His green eyes flash as he looks down at me, his expression exuding a sadness that hurts my heart. “Yes. By turning Monsterland on its head.”