We Are Monsters 🌕 Book 1 || gxg

Up the Wolves

A knock at the door charged the room. Sam rose and gave Ada's shoulder a squeeze as she passed; she was rigid. Aidan stepped in from the sleet and let his hood down, splashing Sam in the process. He apologized and hung up his coat.

"Sorry I'm late, it's hell out there."

"It's all right."

The three of them were dressed head to toe in shades of black, none overly fancy. Aidan had only a dress shirt and trousers, packed for just such an occasion. He still had worn his battered black Converse, but the toes appeared to have been scrubbed. Ada's hair was fully up, pins and all, a rare occasion. She wore trousers with a high waist and a fitted fine-knit shirt. And Sam threw together a thick knit cardigan and a tee-shirt dress, barely different than she would have worn to work.

Honestly, she was just glad to seem put together. She couldn't go to pieces at the funeral or she'd be conspicuous. After all, she was "the survivor." She heard people say it about her a few times. Her secret, at least that one, was out. Today was supposed to be about Amalie and her family, not Sam and her survivor's guilt.

Naming her issue did little to help her. The guilt was as strong as ever. No matter how many times Aidan had told her it wasn't her fault, she still couldn't accept it. She could have done more research. She could have held on tighter. It didn't have to be like this.

Ada's expectant eyes danced between them. Despite the looming memorial service, she was somewhat eager for what was about to happen. Guilt ate at her, and she tried to suppress it. Sam couldn't change the past, and it wasn't wrong for her to live her life. The afternoon was for processing those demons. She settled into one corner of the couch and angled to see both Ada beside her, and Aidan in the armchair.

There was a gleam in his eye she couldn't quite read. He poured a cup of coffee from the carafe on the coffee table, then leaned back and took a long swig. Over the teal porcelain he caught Sam's eye and she swore he was grinning, but when he brought the mug down his face was stoic, and he focused on Ada.

"So, right to business, then?" He paused. "Well, I promised to tell you something about what we've been doing. I shouldn't have made that promise. If my father was to ask for details, I wouldn't be able to lie about breaking our laws."

Ada cut him off. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Sam started to protest, too, but he held up a placating palm and spoke over the both of them. "I am not kidding you. When I get back to my home my father will ask for every detail and I will have to tell him the absolute truth. So I can't tell you our secrets.

"You see, it wouldn't be fair to the other families just like us all around the world, who rely on secrecy to stay alive. For over two hundred years our kind has lived on the outskirts of society, keeping to ourselves for your protection as much as our own."

Sam squinted at Aidan; this sounded remarkably like the speech he gave her about not telling Ada the truth. Of course she had her suspicions about his motive, but she had a feeling she knew what he was doing. The question that followed was why? Ada's expression she was sure matched her own in that moment: absolute bewilderment.

"We're civilized people, all of us. Many live integrated in human society, my uncle for example. It's very uncommon for one of us to reveal our true self to a human, and even more so for them to interact. Sam unfortunately was one of the few."

Ada glanced to her; Sam could see the gears turning in her head. "Where are you going with this?"

"You'll see ... I hope." He murmured the last bit. "My brother, Noah, has been on the run for three years from our family for breaking one of these laws, and I've been searching for him ever since he ran away from our uncle's place. He's put himself, complete strangers, and his entire people at risk every single day. Sam had a run-in with him in December."