Page 71 of First Kiss with a Mothman

“Wha-what?” I sputter. There’s no way my cousin did some…violent scheme? To my Mort?

“The hell you talkin’ about?” Tanner asks with about one-eighth of the rage in my bones.

“Arie, monsters aren’t natural! They’re crimes against nature, abominations, all of them. And most importantly, you’re not supposed to be like them! You’re supposed to grow old with me and repopulate the Earth so that we, normal, good humans, aren’t replaced! How could you not see the plan?”

My whole world is spinning at her words. Every moment of tonight has been shock after shock, but this takes the cake. My cousin…betrayed me?

“What plan?” I ask softly.

“The plan to not be a monster anymore. Once we get rid of your mothboy, you can stay away from all the freaks and be a normal, good human, like me. And then you and I can one day make babies to add to the declining human population. Like, come on, Arie! Don’t tell me you want our kind to be replaced by monster freaks all over the world!”

I seethe with fury at her ridiculous diatribe. “I…am a monster,” I say through gritted teeth.

“And no monsters are abominations!” Owen says.

“And aren’t you two cousins?” Seth asks.

“Only by marriage!” Selena barks. “Now, come with me, Arie. We can―” She puts her hands on me again, but I promptly shove her away.

Seething, I sense the birds of the forest. “I’ll show you how much of an abomination I can be,” I murmur.

“What?” she yelps.

I take a deep breath and tap into something deep within me. In moments, the consciousnesses of hundreds of birds get closer to me. The feathers sprout out of my face and arms, and I put my hands out. Reginald lands on my palms, and I use his consciousness to gaze at my cousin.

While she appears to be moderately afraid, that’s not enough. “What…happened…to Mort?” I ask in a deep voice.

Selena steps back and clutches her purse. She switches her gaze from the birds swarming right above her to me. “We…we just didn’t want you to be a monster anymore. So we’re removing your monster boyfriend from the equation.”

“Removing?” Tanner yelps.

“Where is he?” My voice is amplified through the hundreds of birds above, echoing my words in unison.

“Your mom and my dad al-al-already got rid of him!” Selena yelps.

“How?”

“They tied him to some warehouse by the dock and staged a fire. But Arie, we’re doing this for you! For all humans!”

“Tell us where!” Seth says, shifting into his mummy form.

“Oh, that’s enough of this!” Selena reaches into her bag and pulls out a pistol. With a shaky hand, she aims at Seth. He pauses and seems genuinely startled, but I’m not backing down.

“All monsters are abominations! All of you! And Arie and I won’t capitulate to your kind!” Selena shrieks.

“Girl, that ain’t gonna work on me,” Seth says, grinning through his wrapped face.

“How dare you pull a gun on my friends?” All of the birds echo my words, and she looks up.

Before anyone else can react, a vine reaches down and pulls on Selena’s wrist. She drops the gun as she’s gently lifted. She screams and reaches for the branch as she dangles a foot off the ground. I grin at Kovi―he’s majestic in his dryad form, and he’s handily stopped my cousin from hurting us.

“Let me go, you monster bastards!”

“Tell us where he is!” I bark.

“Better hurry up. My arm is getting tired.” Kovi smirks and raises her up even further.

“The South Lin dock! Now let me go!” Kovi drops her down, but not before binding her arms and legs.