The Midpoint #3: Monster House Chapter 3

In which the vampire really wants to bite a handsome stranger

Welcome back to The Midpoint, my serial fiction section here on Substack! Thank you so much to my lovely new subscribers. If you’re new, and it’s okay if you are, I started writing a story about a house of monstrous girls living together in a retrofitted manor in the middle of nowhere, New Hampshire. It’s called Monster House. This is how it’s going to work:

• There are 5 monster girls. Each one gets a novella. Part I will be written in sections for this newsletter. Unsure about the rest and not making any decisions on it since this is really an outlet for me to try a bonkers story for me, with the hopes there are others who would be drawn to the same summoning circle.

  • Part I - The Vampire « « « You are here « « «

  • Part II - The Mermaid

  • Part III - The Werewolf

  • Part IV - The Succubus

  • Part V - The Gorgon

• I’m going to post a chapter every few weeks, though I hope to make it weekly when I’m done with my Rebel Angels deadline.

• As you read, keep in mind this is very lightly edited and proofread. There’s something about this font that I can’t pick up typos after several reads.

• Tell your friends! Tell your mom—but only if she’s into (sometimes weird) monster romance.

• Don’t be shy with the comments. It won’t hurt my feelings, and I’d love constructive feedback on what you’d love to see from the characters. Like, choose-your-own adventure, though really more of a “suggest”-your-own adventure.

• I’m writing this as Zoey Castile.

Happy reading. If you’re having fun, please share! If you haven’t started, well this is your invitation to Foxwood Manor.

What’s Monster House about?

Welcome to Foxwood Manor, a home built in the 19th century to one of the richest families in the region. After the bloody scandal that befell the original owners, it fell into the hands of Athena Hall, a real estate agent—and immortal Gorgon. She repaired the house, and accrued four roommates over the years. Each girl is a monster. A Miami vampire frozen at the edge before turning twenty one. A cursed mermaid who loves to cook. A Brooklyn werewolf living her cottage-core dreams. A succubus trying to get her groove back. And a glamorous Gorgon waiting for her past to come and get its revenge.

They say good fences make good neighbors. Every month, three of the girls go on a trip called the Fever Hunt. They stock up on supplies, run and swim in the wild, and then return to the safety of the manor. But this trip brings a surprise—their meticulously planned hunt is interrupted by a blizzard, and a bachelor party stranded on their hillside road.

Karli Perreira has been a vampire for thirty one years, and a vegetarian vampire for twenty five of them. The sordid details are not important. Turned in the 90s, she’s perpetually a day short of twenty-one. Like, total bummer. She’s made the most of it living in a decked out manor with her monstrous besties. Karli’s always been afraid of losing control again. Her recent cravings and the group of handsome strangers who seek shelter in the storm is about to test that self-control. Especially the charming Ryder Vega, a budding singer and disarming flirt. Somehow Karli feels like she’s known him all her life.

But as the blizzard snows them in, and delays their leaving, the monster girls of Foxwood Manor struggle to reign in their hunger. For Karli, it’s been so long since she’s fed on a human, but she’s on the brink of breaking every rule that keeps them safe. As Ryder pursues her through the halls of the manor, and she allows herself to open her heart, and her bedroom door, she’s starting to wonder—who is really the hunter, and who is the prey?

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PROLOGUE: In which we learn the bloody history of Foxwood Manor

Chapter 1: In which we meet the monster girls getting ready for a hunt

Chapter 2: In which a group of very handsome strangers seek shelter from the snowstorm.

Chapter 3: In which playful drinking games take a terrible, violent turn …

The last time I played “Never Have I Ever” I was in my freshman year of college, and I found out way more than I ever wanted to know about my then-roommates. It feels childish and pervy and eager. Maybe it is. An excuse to confess things you might never speak out loud other wise. Back then I didn’t have much to confess except for a handful of awkward kisses and sex that was over almost as soon as it started.

I’m definitely aware that everyone is staring at me, waiting for me to say something shocking, say anything. Ryder’s steady gaze holds me in place. He offers me a crooked grin.

And I totally, utterly choke.

“Never have I ever gone skiing.”

My poor horny succubus groans. Mari and Raya snort. Athena suppresses a smile, but takes a pitying drink.

“I see what you’re trying to do,” Ben, the goth Latino librarian says, wagging his finger at me. “You’re trying to get us drunk because we’ve just come from the slopes. Drink up, boys.”

Ryder knocks back his drink, then refills everyone’s glasses.

Alia raises her hand and squeaks out, “my turn!” It isn’t since she’s on the other side of the circle, but we let her slide. “Okay, never have I ever been a voyeur.”

Ben starts to explain “voyeur” to Hans, and the Viking of a man threatens to leave him out in the blizzard for the night.

Alia’s face is devilishly sweet in the firelight as she watches everyone drink. Everyone except for Ryder. Heat skitters up along my spine, my neck. I remember the den of vampires I ran with in my wild days. There were nights I only remember in flashes—naked limbs, the sweet elixir of sweat and the wetness between thighs, open mouths dripping with blood. Sometimes I liked to watch our victims as they came, a vampire latched at the vein in their groin like a a greedy little leech. Perhaps I read too many Anne Rice books before I became undead, and it was a fantasy I’d always wanted to play act. There was this moment when pleasure and pain blurred, when each man would flutter his eyes open, realizing too late that I was drinking too much, too quickly. Then they’d fall, close their eyes. Never wake.

Now I take my shot, because I might be a lot of things, but I’m not a liar. The succubus releases a delighted yelp, and the torch passes on. I’m only half listening as Raya says, “Never have I ever fucked underwater” because Ryder leans in close.

“I can’t quite figure you out,” he says.

“You only just met me, why would you have me figured out?”

Ryder turns his body towards me, causing the couch to dip between us. Without meaning to, I slide into him. I can feel him shiver.

“Are you cold?”

I start to say no, but he’s already removing his sweater, leaving him in a tight white tank, and hands it over. And because I’m pretending to be a normal human girl, I put it on. The moment I do, I am overcome with the smell of him. The salt and delirious warmth of his skin. I want to bury my face against the broad muscles of his chest. Maybe if I have one bite. Just a tiny bite.

“Thank you,” I eke out.

It goes on for a while. Never have I ever been unfaithful. A few drinks. Never have I ever had sex for money. All of the guys drink, and I don’t know why I find that so surprising. Never have I ever taken part of an orgy. Been arrested, then been arrested for indecent exposure. Licked someone’s toes (Jesus Alia). When it feels like we’ve exhausted the locations and body parts we’ve fucked in, or had fucked, Thomas knocks over an empty bottle of whiskey and sets it to spin.

It lands on Raya. The mermaid climbs over Ben and leans in for a kiss. Thomas meets her halfway, his marbled hazel eyes are aflame, like he can’t believe she is real. Their lips touch, brushing in a soft exploration.

Alia makes a pleasant moan, while Ben watches on in almost studious delight. Or perhaps is considering joining in as he’s caught in the middle. But then Raya leaps back for a moment, shock widening her mermaid eyes.

“That’s impossible,” she says.

Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash