“Don’t be foolish, Em,” she muttered to herself, as she tried to push the memory of meeting the Monstrum leader aside. There was no way she ought to be having such thoughts about him. It was irritating that they had crept into her brain at all.
Though it was difficult to judge the lion-like Monstrum’s age, she was certain he was younger than herself—probably by a good deal. It was completely improper for her to want to touch him, or to feel drawn to his warm, spicy, animalistic scent which reminded her somehow of the jungle even though lions didn’t live in the jungle at all—they lived on the African planes, didn’t they?
Anyway, wherever they lived, it was dangerous to pet one. Not that the Monstrum leader really was a lion—he just happened to look rather like one. But still, he exuded a sense of danger that was almost palpable, Em thought. A sense of dominance. Which only made it all the stranger that she had felt herself drawn to him.
“It’s just your hormones acting up, Em,” she muttered to herself. “The doctor warned you it might happen. Some women lose their sex drive during menopause but some…”
Some, apparently, got fearfully horny. In addition to the night sweats she’d been experiencing lately, Em had been practically wearing out her vibrator. In fact, she couldn’t remember feeling so sexually restless since her early twenties, which were far behind her now.
Her overactive sex drive was just another trick of menopause, she knew, but it was ridiculous to be so preoccupied with such things at her age. It was irritating and distracting at a time when she needed to concentrate on holding the nation together, especially when said nation seemed intent on ripping itself apart over the subject of the Monstrum calling Earth brides.
Even her ex, Nigel, had gotten involved. He was a high-end barrister specializing in soulless corporate law and he had called her the other day, demanding to know what she thought she was doing.
“How would you like it if one of our daughters was called as a bride by one of those…those beasts?” he’d demanded of her, practically shouting down the phone line.
“I very much doubt that would happen,” Em had told him coolly. “Rebecca is engaged, which means she’s out of the Bride Draft because she’s already spoken for.”
“And what about Emily?” Nigel had demanded. “She’s not married or engaged, which means her name is still in that damned Draft! She might be called by any kind of creature now—thanks to you! Some beast with ram’s horns and goat’s legs or a thing that looks like a bloody great lion or tiger at the fucking zoo! It would certainly maul her to death and it would be all your fault!”
“The Monstrum aren’t wild beasts, Nigel,” Em had explained, when she could get a word in edgewise. “They are not here because they want to eat up the women of our world—they want to find their soul-mate, just like any other Kindred.”
“As if the ‘other Kindred’ weren’t bad enough,” Nigel had snarled. “How can you defend them, Emilia? How can you have voted to let them take young women like your own daughters and defile them like beasts? How—”
But at that point Em had hung up on him. Nigel had never raised a hand to her, but she’d taken enough and plenty of verbal abuse from him when they were still married—she didn’t see any reason why she ought to take it now, that she was finally away from him.
Of course, it had hurt her deeply when he had first run off with a much younger woman, but now she considered that the other woman had done her a favor. She wished her well with Nigel—may she have the joy of him—such as it was. She—
But her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coming in the back door of her flat.
2
There was supposed to be a security detail both in front and in back and they always announced themselves when coming in. But no one had shouted, “Security, Ma’am!” as they usually did, so it couldn’t be them.
It must be one or more of the angry mob of men shouting about how she was a “beast lover,” Em thought, her heart pounding hard in her chest.
But they’re not supposed to be able to get round that way! a panicked voice screamed in her head. There’s a bloody great wall—how have they gotten over it?
Well, never mind how—they were here now—though whoever the intruders were, they were being strangely silent. Doubtless they would be here any moment.
Em considered her options—should she run and hide? But no—the idea of cowering in her bedroom or crouching behind the couch praying they didn’t find her while the bloodthirsty mob went rampaging through her flat didn’t appeal. She would stand her ground, she decided. If they ripped her to pieces, at least she’d go down fighting.