Gods & Monsters: The Gods & Monsters Trilogy Book 1 Read online

  David nodded as his mind wandered to what had happened with him and Jane. He could barely concentrate on Lancelot’s association with the plague after everything he’d just gone through with Jane.

  Arthur obviously picked up on the frantic thoughts racing through his mind. “What did she do?”

  He breathed out. “She has been acting strange. There have been moments where she does not seem to be herself. I’ve seen her eyes change. I thought I imagined it at first, but I wasn’t mistaken. They turn black, even the whites of her eyes.

  “The first time, she seemed aroused but quickly snapped out of it. Her normal eye color returned, and she looked confused. I did not want to alarm her, so I didn’t say anything. But she had a bigger episode. Whatever is happening to her is wrong. She doesn’t seem aware of her actions. It’s like a total personality switch. She’s aggressive and has no problem expressing her sexual desires.”

  Arthur frowned and looked at the others. They only shook their heads, unsure of what to make of it.

  “She was able to overpower me,” David added, mentally recalling everything she’d done to him.

  Arthur chuckled. “I bet that was exciting.”

  David scowled while the others raised eyebrows trying to understand. “Can we get back to the problem here?”

  “Yes,” Arthur said. “Now, you say she overpowered you, what did it feel like?”

  “Like a force was pulling me to her. It was all around me. Her eyes went black again, and her face—” He sighed, remembering her beautiful face wearing such an evil smile. “It wasn’t her. I tried to make her stop, but she would not. No matter how hard I tried to pull away from her, it only pulled me harder. Everything in the room was being pulled in, as well. When I mentioned her family, it was like she woke up. She was devastated and scared. She seemed to know what physically happened between us but only because she could feel it.”

  “The power she used seems like some form of telekinesis,” said Arthur. “But that doesn’t explain her behavior. This could also be why so much is drawn to her.”

  “What about her eyes turning black? I know that’s not normal.” David was desperate for some helpful news.

  “I’m not sure,” Arthur said. “It may be that someone dark has attached themselves to her.”

  David looked at Arthur, horrified. “What do you mean?”

  Arthur gave him a sympathetic look as he explained. “What you are describing is similar to someone under the influence or possession of a demon. However, Jane is much more powerful than a normal human or immortal; the result is going to be more severe. I have been thinking about it since first meeting her. She’s had so many awful things happening to her. But she was always being attacked. Now it’s as though she’s being used as a vessel. I fear if my suspicions are correct, something or someone powerful is behind this.”

  David was devastated; he couldn’t even respond.

  “What should he do, Arthur?” Kay asked.

  “We all need to be careful, but David, you need to be cautious. I think she would be better controlled if you keep her satisfied all the time. If she wants something, give it to her before she gets upset or wants more.”

  “I am not going to take advantage of her,” he said. “She’s clearly not thinking properly when this is happening. I will not let her be unfaithful to her husband.”

  An angry look crossed Arthur’s face at the mention of Jane’s husband, but it quickly faded. “Calm down,” Arthur said. “I only meant that you should give enough to keep her from becoming upset. If she’s upset, there is a higher chance that whatever has a hold over her will come forward. If she becomes too angry, she could be completely taken over by it. Think about it, she displayed this power under stressed conditions.

  “She’s powerful. When someone has this kind of power, it can easily take over, and instead of using her abilities for good, they shift and become dark. So be careful. Make sure she is fed and continue showing your affection for her; it soothes her. She still needs to learn how to control her hunger as well. With everything that’s been happening, she hasn’t had to consciously deal with it.”

  An awful feeling of dread came over David.

  Bedivere sighed. “You haven’t fed her, have you?”

  David was about to respond when suddenly Gawain’s voice roared for help through Arthur’s communication piece.

  “Dammit, David,” Arthur snapped, but he was already rushing back to camp.

  NEARLY RIPPING THE BACK DOOR OFF ITS HINGES, David rushed toward the kitchen where Gawain was yelling. The others were right behind David, but they all came to an abrupt stop once they finally caught sight of Gawain’s distress.

  His best friend was punching at what appeared to be an invisible barrier between him, Jane, and Gareth. Gawain was panicked, desperate to save his brother as he yelled for her to stop. Jane didn’t acknowledge him in the slightest. Her back was to all of them, but he could see Gareth’s frightened eyes peering over her shoulder. She was feeding on him, and David knew his comrade was losing too much blood. She was killing him, and she didn’t care at all.

  Arthur stood beside him and held his hand up to the faintly shimmering wall that Gawain continued to beat at. “It’s a force field,” Arthur whispered. “David, you need to stop her or she’s going to kill him. Do whatever you have to.”

  David walked up to the wall. “Jane.” She tensed but did not turn. He tried again. “Jane, my love, please look at me.”

  Without removing her mouth, she slowly turned in his direction and looked into David’s eyes. The others all gasped at the wild sight of her, and even though her black eyes seemed to glint with a devilish hate for him, David remained calm.

  He didn’t react to Gareth’s blood dripping down her chin and onto their shirts. “Sweetheart, come to me. I will give you what you want. Just come here.” His plea was a broken one. This was not the woman he loved.

  To all their relief, she removed her mouth from Gareth and looked back at him. David almost didn’t believe he’d seen the change when her eyes returned to their hazel color, but he knew it happened because of the frightened expression she wore.

  “David,” Jane cried.

  “I’m here, baby.”

  Tears rolled down her face. “Help me,” she sobbed, but blackness quickly filled her eyes again. She dropped Gareth to the ground with a sickening thud.

  Gareth didn’t move, and blood continued to slowly seep from the vicious wounds she’d left behind. She had not been gentle, and it was unclear if she had ripped his friend’s jugular. David could only hope Gareth’s healing abilities would save him.

  The sudden loss of the force field almost made him fall forward.

  Gawain hesitated but rushed to Gareth’s side. Jane ignored him and made her way toward David. Arthur and the others stood by silent.

  When she stood in front of him, she reached up to touch the side of his face and smeared it with his friend’s precious blood. She stood on her the tips of her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek with her ruby-stained lips. “David,” she said with a sickly, sweet voice against his cheek. “We’ve missed you.”

  He shut his eyes as his fears were confirmed. This was not his Jane.

  She slid her arms around the back of his neck as she trailed her nose along his skin. “You smell delicious,” she said before placing a kiss to his jaw. “Do you want me now, David?”

  David opened his eyes and stared into her onyx pair before he glanced at Arthur who nodded. He knew what that meant: do what you must. His gaze slid over to where Gareth still lay unconscious, and he took in how badly she had hurt him. She was too powerful. If he fought her, she’d win.

  He let out a defeated breath and slowly wrapped his arms around her back. The evil creature grinned up at him, and he hated that he could not find her any less beautiful than his Jane. “Yes, Jane. I want you now. Come on, sweetheart—let’s finish your feeding.”

  She smiled excitedly and jumped into his arms. Withou
t hesitating, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He caught her with one hand under her butt while the other held the small of her back.

  David looked to Arthur one last time. His brother-in-law had been staring at the ground, and David wished Arthur could tell him there was another way. There wasn’t, and he knew Arthur could not find a solution when he turned away from him.

  “Don’t keep me waiting,” she whispered, tracing his earlobe with her tongue.

  David didn’t respond to her and quickly took her upstairs, away from the others. When he arrived at the bedroom, he hesitated, hovering his hand over the doorknob while she licked the blood she’d smeared along his neck and jaw from kissing him downstairs. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to lose himself to lust and opened the door.

  The soft click of him shutting the door gained her attention. She pulled away and looked around the room before turning back to him. The sticky blood had begun to dry on her snowy skin. It made her silver glow more bewitching to watch as it flickered, lighting up the room.

  “I’m still hungry,” she said.

  Nodding, he carried her to the bed. He took a deep breath and sat down with her straddling him since she had already wrapped herself around him.

  She leaned down to his ear and whispered, “You have no idea how much she wants you.”

  An explosion of sadness and rage consumed him, and the creature leaned back laughing.

  He grabbed the back of her neck. “Drink.”

  She had no fear of his wrath and merely pouted her lips before leaning down to sink her fangs into his neck. Her moan of ecstasy as his blood poured down her throat, stirred all the desire he had for Jane. He knew this was not really her, but she felt and smelled like the woman he loved.

  David clenched his jaw to contain the groan wanting to come out of his mouth. The pleasure he felt made him hate himself. He never wanted to be with Jane like this. No matter how long or how badly he desired her, this was not what he wanted. This wasn’t his Jane. Still, he could not stop the thought of flipping her over and ripping off her clothes.

  He fisted his hand in her hair while she continued to drink from him. Her moaning increased, and she began to roll her hips against him. With all his pent up desire, he could not stop himself from growing hard and knew she felt it. He remembered how distraught Jane was at realizing she’d had an orgasm before, and he didn’t want to hurt her again. No matter how good it felt for her, he needed to make her stop.

  He squeezed her waist to keep her still and growled. It angered him to have his body react to her so easily. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. It took all his control to keep himself from taking her. Jane withdrew her fangs and slid her tongue over the small trail of blood that was left on his neck.

  She tugged at his hair and whispered, “Mmm… Thank you, David.” She then began kissing along his jaw toward his chin, nipping his skin there before inching her lips closer to his.

  With a force he would not normally expend on Jane, he grabbed the sides of her face and looked into her dark eyes.

  She was not at all concerned with his roughness. “Take me, David.”

  He shook his head, gripping her face harder. “Come back to me, Jane. Please, baby, you need to fight it.”

  A hateful glare formed on her face. “She’s weak. She’s nothing without me.”

  “She’s not weak,” he snapped. “Whoever the fuck you are—let her go.”

  Shaking her head, she leaned back and laughed. “You’ll never get to have her without me, Sir Knight. No matter how badly she wants you, she’s too pathetic to take what she wants. She’s more likely to let that wife-beater of a husband fuck her again, than ever kiss you.”

  His glare dropped as he tried to process her words.

  She smiled at his confusion. “She didn’t tell you?” She tilted her head. “Aw, don’t worry. He only gave her a little smack. It was only once—just a slip of the hand, really. I guarantee she doesn’t even think of it.” She grinned evilly. “The weakling forgave him quickly.” She giggled. “I promise she’s had far worse. She’d take a thousand hits over the memories she can’t seem to forget. Poor thing panics now whenever he touches her, and the dumb bastard never realized she’s been reliving the nasty things those boys did to her when he’s on top of her.”

  David’s chest hurt. “You’re lying.”

  “Am I? I know her better than you. She’s a broken girl. She gave up trying to be happy all because he told her he wasn’t in love with her.” She cackled, and his heart ached. “How pathetic. It’s really all her fault—she should have already known she wouldn’t be good enough. She’s just a real-life fuck-doll. She should be put out of her misery. You know what she wishes for at night?”

  “Shut up!”

  She ignored him, grinning more madly. “She wishes she never existed. All her happy memories with him—all her pictures of them smiling—she thought she’d been a great mom and wife. She thought she was happy. She’d given Jason everything she could, but she wasn’t enough. All she sees when she looks at those pictures now, is the day he said, “I’m not in love with you. You’re just my wife,” and she realizes all her happiness was a lie. She thinks peace will be found with her death.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “If only she knew what the devil would do with her.” She laughed again and played with his hair, smiling at the heartbreak in his eyes.

  Fury and sorrow. He didn’t know which emotion to focus on. This possessed Jane might not have been telling the truth, but his instincts told him she was; his baby was dying inside.

  He was pulled out of his growing rage when she reached for the hem of her shirt. She lifted it, but David quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her from pulling it all the way off. It didn’t restrain her for long, though, as an unseen force pinned his arms to his sides.

  She waved her finger at him. “Now, David, you said you wanted me.”

  “I said I wanted Jane.” He glared with hate he never thought possible. “And you’re not her. You have had your fun. Let her come back.”

  She ignored him and pulled off the shirt but the bandages were still in place. She frowned at the binding for a moment before looking back at him. “Why would you want to hurt her?”

  “What?”

  “Touch her. Take her.”

  David watched as the bandages covering her chest disintegrated. His eyes widened farther at the sight of her bare breasts.

  “This won’t do.” She snapped her fingers, and the wounds there healed before his eyes.

  Her sadistic laugh pulled his attention away from her naked body. “No,” he said to her previous demand.

  She grinned back at him. “No?”

  “Bring her back. I’m tired of your games.”

  “I am her, though. The better Jane.”

  He snarled. “You’re not my Jane.”

  “Be careful, David,” she warned. “I can break her mind to the point you won’t even recognize her anymore.” David tensed, and she added in a deadly voice. “Or I can bury her so deep down that none of you will ever see her again. But she will. I’ll let her see every cruel act I carry out while she cries inside me. She will never be more powerful than me. I will destroy her. The question is, do you want any part of your precious Jane to exist?”

  He felt hopeless and his anger turned to fear. “Please don’t hurt her. I will give you anything you want.”

  “That’s a good boy,” she whispered and kissed his cheek. Leaning back, her victorious smile stomped on his heart. “Don’t worry.” She grabbed his hands, sliding them up her sides. “I’ll use her voice when you make me come. I’ll be nice and even let her feel you inside us.”

  “Please stop,” he said. “I can’t do this to her.”

  “Shh… You’ll enjoy this and forget all about her. Now fuck me, and I promise I’ll keep her safe and clueless in the dark.”

  “Forgive me, Jane,” he whispered, closing his eyes just as his hands cupped her breasts.

  “ENOUG
H!” boomed a deep voice.

  David’s eyes flew open, and he yanked his hands out of Jane’s as they both looked in the direction of the voice.

  A dark figure suddenly appeared, and David pulled Jane to him, momentarily forgetting she was half naked and completely evil at the moment.

  “I’m not going to hurt her,” the figure promised.

  Jane shivered and peered over her shoulder to get a look at the intruder. The man stayed in the shadows, but David knew it was a male, and this male outmatched him in both power and physical strength.

  There was something about this shadowed person that seemed familiar, too. David tried to make out the man’s face, but all he could see was a pair of glowing green eyes.

  Those eyes slowly drifted over to Jane. If the stranger was surprised to see her dark eyes, he didn’t react to them.

  David looked at Jane and watched with fire burning through his veins as an impure quirk of her lips caused the mysterious man to smirk. He had to tighten his grip on her when she tried to turn toward the intruder. “Stop, Jane.” David turned his focus to the unknown man. “Who are you?”

  The green-eyed man’s gaze narrowed at David. “I think David is done playing with you, beautiful.” He glanced back at her. “Why don’t you come play with me?”

  She immediately began to pull herself from him.

  David tightened his hold. “No, Jane.”

  The glare she shot him should have burned him alive. She ripped herself from his hold and opened her mouth, but the man interrupted her before she could spew any harsh words at him.

  “Jane,” the man said, a firmness that could not go ignored. She closed her mouth and looked back at him. “Come here, beautiful girl.” The smoothness returned to his voice now.

  The wrathful look fell from her face, and she smiled at the green-eyed man as David sat speechless.

  Still half naked, she stood and walked up to the newcomer. David tried to stand. He had not made a sound, but she still sent him an angry hiss, and without seeing anything, a force knocked him on the bed, pinning him down.