KLOVE7_7

NOTE: IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE TO GORE STORIES PLEASE, DON'T READ:

In the beast-world of Burmurlerk, Queen Yrmeta, a powerful, dragon-like monarch blessed with primal elemental magic, once ruled in peace. But her reign shattered when members of her own court, nobles, governors, even distant kin, accused her of consorting with the forbidden forces of the Ancienty Seven of Deadly Beings, ancient entities tied to corruption and apocalyptic power.

Betrayed from within, war erupted. Yrmeta’s realm burned. Many of her bloodline, cousins, nieces, nephews, siblings, and older children, were killed. With her kingdom crumbling, she fled through a rift to Earth with only her husband Lord Velkan, her sister Aunt Tyrraline, and four of her surviving children (ages 25, 23, 21, and 19).

On Earth, Yrmeta entered a conscious stasis, a living crystal cocoon, to heal. During her slumber, she magically bore eleven more children, all gifted, monstrous, or strange. Among them is the youngest: Elian, now 14 years old, seemingly human, but only Tyrraline and Velkan know the truth of his origins.

The family, now living undercover in the human world, poses as eccentric and homeschooled while navigating schools, jobs, and the modern world. Aunt Tyrraline acts as the sharp-tongued matriarch, enforcing secrecy and stability within the chaos of their monstrous household.

Yrmeta, even in slumber, can communicate telepathically,  but only with Elian. Despite appearing fully human, Elian is loved deeply by his siblings. He alone can hear their mother’s voice in dreams, where cryptic warnings and impossible memories hint at a deeper destiny, one possibly tied to The Seventh, an unnamed and sealed entity from the Ancienty.

While the family tries to live peacefully, strange phenomena escalate. Elian’s dreams grow darker. A new substitute teacher, Mr. Cane, appears with unnatural timing and eerie knowledge. His gaze pierces Elian’s disguise. And then, nightmares begin manifesting physically.

Behind the veil of human life, Yrmeta’s enemies, and the true power of the Ancienty Seven, begin to stir again. And Elian, whether he likes it or not, may be the key that unlocks both the past’s truth and the future’s destruction.

MONSTER HOUSE: MY MONSTROUSITY FAMILY

Mr. Cane circled the classroom like a shadow cast by a memory. Silent, steady, oddly fluid. His footsteps made no sound, and not in the smooth, elegant way like Willow. This was different. It felt like the floor didn't know he was there.

"Elian," he said suddenly, without looking up from a stack of papers. "What do you know about betrayal?"

"In history," Cane clarified, smiling just slightly. "You come from royalty, don't you? Your file says your family once held noble status overseas. What's your take on ruling houses that fall from power?"

Elian could feel the room watching him now. The kind of watching that didn't come from eyes, but from pressure in the air.

"I think..." Elian began carefully, "it depends on who wrote the history."

Mr. Cane raised a brow. "So you believe the victors twist the story?"

"Don't they always?" Elian replied, forcing his voice to stay level.

"Do you ever dream of being betrayed?"

Elian's pencil snapped in his hand.

Across the room, Rava let out a high-frequency hum that made the projector flicker. Thing leaned halfway out of the wall, blurry and humanoid, its expression unreadable.

Mr. Cane stepped closer. "You seem uncomfortable. Are you unwell?"

"No," Elian said quickly. His hands trembled. "Just-"

Then his vision blurred. For half a second, the classroom dimmed, the walls melted like wax, and Mr. Cane's shadow stretched impossibly long across the floor, reaching not just toward Elian, but into him, like it wanted to peel something out.

In that moment, Elian's eyes flickered.

Instead> Ancient gold. A slit-pupil shimmer like something draconic trying to wake up.

"Elian," Rava hissed, barely audible, "drop it. You're showing."

Elian blinked, once, hard. The shimmer vanished.

Cane smiled politely, as if nothing had happened. But Elian saw it, the tension in his hands, the flicker of a curse mark hidden beneath his cuff, pulsing once before retreating.

"Thank you, Elian," Cane said. "You're very… Insightful."

He returned to his desk. The air stayed heavy.

The class ended without warning, the bell sounding more like a gong in Elian's ears. Students filtered out in a blur of backpacks and mumbled chatter.

They rushed through the hallway. Willow was already waiting in the stairwell.

"That man's not right," Elian said breathlessly.

"He's worse than that," Rava snapped. "He's watching you. Like you're… Like you're prey."

Elian turned toward the glass doors at the school's front.

Mr. Cane was still inside the classroom.

But his reflection in the window was looking directly at Elian, even though the real man wasn't.

CHAPTER 5: HUNTER'S GAZE