Where Monsters Lie (The Monster Within 2)

“Sawyer, look,” I breathe, pointing. The festival and Munich itself are spread out before us, lights twinkling in the night.

“Beautiful,” he slurs, and I look at him here at my side. He’s gazing at me with a smile, his cheeks flushed from drinking. The gondolas are so small that we have to sit close together, hips touching, since I didn’t think ahead to sit opposite him on the other bench. Warmth emanates from where our bodies touch.

“Hey … what were you talking about with Piers earlier?” I ask, forgetting that I’d thought better of asking. “And why come—how come—why isn’t he in our room with us?” I hiccup. I’ve had too much beer and not enough sausages. “Thought you guys were s’posed to be friends now.”

He shrugs, his smile slipping away. “It’s complicated.”

Ha. What in our line of work isn’t?

Drunk me waits surprisingly patiently for him to explain further, and after a minute of looking out over the lights of the city, he does.

“After the fight last year—we thought it was all over. All the stupid rivalry, you know,” he says, lolling his head toward me. His eyes shine in the light, and without thinking, I brush some hair away from his forehead. “But now things are different … once we realized you weren’t going to forgive us, and now that Owen is …”

He trails off again and looks out the window of the gondola.

I can think what he can’t say.

Owen’s a werewolf now. He’s not on this trip with us, and neither is Bennett. I close my eyes and lean my head back. How could I be so stupid? Owen’s probably going through his transformation now, that’s why he’s not here.

And Bennett—big, strong, muscular Bennett—is probably guarding him. Or rather, guarding other students from him. I make a mental note to check on them next month. I’m not sure what I could do, but I could at least try to help.

“We miss you,” Sawyer blurts out suddenly, pulling me into the present. The gondola’s stopped at the very top of the wheel. He leans over on the bench to look out my window and his leg presses harder against mine. “All of us. Me, Piers, Bennett, Owen.”

I don’t reply as I turn toward him. His face is very close to mine, and I feel that pull in my chest, that ache in my stomach … and also a feeling a little more south. I’m drunk. He’s drunk. We’re on a Ferris wheel at nighttime, with the festival lights glowing below us—it’s like our own little world.

And just like that, the world outside—the real world—melts away.

I lean in and kiss him, my hand sliding up his thigh. He returns it hungrily, wrapping his arms around me to pull me close. My thoughts briefly flash back to last year, when he and I fucked in my parents’ cabin … and I feel myself explode.

I push closer to him, finding myself straddling his lap. I tangle my fingers into his hair, breaking the kiss to lean my head back while he brushes his lips down my neck to kiss the tops of my breasts, and I feel his tongue against them. I let out an involuntary moan.

I grab his face and tip it up to mine to kiss him full on the lips again, touching my tongue to his lips. His mouth opens too and he matches my sigh.

And then, with a jerk, the Ferris wheel starts moving again. Startled, I yank myself away from Sawyer and fall onto the bench across from him. We stare at each other, panting.

The moment’s gone. The ride ends and we stumble out of the gondola a little differently from how we stumbled in.

“More beer?” I ask weakly.

He nods.

I’ve started to sober

up by the time I arrive at the hostel to go to sleep. It’s late and everyone else is already sleeping. Erin is passed out in our bed, mouth hanging open. To my surprise, Piers is there too; the only one awake. He’s sitting on the edge of Sawyer’s bed, staring vacantly into a little box, which he sets aside when he sees us.

“Hey,” I say in a whisper as Sawyer and I enter. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t stand being with my group anymore,” he says. “So I traded rooms with one of the others.”

I stare blankly for a second. “You okay?” I ask him. Maybe it’s the beer, but I feel genuine concern for him right now. His eyes are puffy, with dark circles beneath them.

He shrugs. “Just wanted to hang out with people I know, I guess.” It makes sense. He looks so lost without Owen and Bennett.

Sawyer starts changing out of his lederhosen, so I grab my pajamas and head to the bathroom for some privacy.

I hear Sawyer whisper something to Piers, but I don’t make it out. I gently close the door to the bathroom and start to change out of my dirndl. I can hear Sawyer and Piers whispering to each other still; Piers in sad, slow tones, and Sawyer in gentle, reassuring ones. My resolve wavers. Away from school, revenge doesn’t seem so important anymore.

They’re quiet and lying down when I come back out in my pajamas. I slide into bed beside Erin and am asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.