Page 3 of The Minotaur's Motivation

"Enjoying the walk? Yeah, the prison has lots of little twists and turns, it's almost like a maze in here."

The guard was being a dick, but there was no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me lose control. Humans seemed to value control. I needed to show that I was trustworthy and calm. My minotaur side was edging closer towards raging bull than friendly sleepy cow though. My muscles twitched uncontrollably as I fought off the sensations that were building.

Deep breaths. Don’t snort.

Step after step, I walked behind the guard, my hooves clomping on the floor.

Did they build this place specifically to drive every minotaur wild? How had they not had an incident yet?

It was then that I realized I hadn’t seen another minotaur. Not one, and we weren't uncommon in prisons, sadly. This place was minotaur kryptonite. A memory of the monster-hating warden at my last prison flashed through my mind.

“Your punishment isn’t done yet,” he’d sneered as I was bundled into the van.

He’d done this on purpose.

I didn’t have time to dwell on that before we arrived at the first pleasant room I had seen since arriving.

"Wait here."

The guard slammed the door behind me while I looked around. Walls painted a pastel green. Cozy chairs with bright cushions. Nice furniture and bookcases full of books. It had even higher ceilings. I stretched my arms over my head and still didn't touch the ceiling. It felt good, and being in a single room with no corridors grounded my inner minotaur a bit. But not much. The slightest thing would still send me into a wild charge. I looked around but couldn't see any cameras anywhere. Privacy. I’d heard about this. Prisons that did therapy. Part of some rehabilitation scheme that some politician had come up with. Monsters talking about their feelings. I’d never heard of anything so ridiculous. If this therapist thought they could get me to open up about my past, they were in for a shock. My body was still tense and twitching with the maze madness that had threatened me. I wanted to roar my frustration, not chat.

The door opened behind me as I struggled to push the wildness inside me away. I spun around. After many years in prison, I react quickly and aggressively to someone appearing behind me. Got to let them know not to mess with you. A low growl erupted from my lips before I registered the small woman in front of me. Her vibration hit me like a truck, and I staggered backwards, staring at her. Dark curls fell around her shoulders in a chaotic way. She was all softness. A hunger rose in me as my inner minotaur responded to her. A smart lavender dress hugged her curves, and a matching silk scarf was tied around her neck. My ears twitched up of their own accord, and her vibration washed through me even clearer. It sounded like birdsong, beautiful but strong and somehow perfectly in harmony with mine. My vibration seemed to take hers in and grow stronger and somehow more complex. Like our sounds were dancing a symphony around each other. I’d never felt more myself, and I bathed in the feeling for a few seconds, watching her intently. Taking the vision in of her wild hair and pale skin, a word echoed in my mind over and over again.

Mate.

The bright green eyes that gazed back up at me looked terrified. It was like a punch to the gut. I'd scared her, and it was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Maybe I should give her some space, but it felt wrong. I wanted to scoop her up into my arms and run my fingers through her hair. Frustration and confusion twisted my throat, mixing with the madness I was already feeling, erupting as a rough grunt. She shrank back even more towards the door.

"Fuck."

I couldn't manage any more words after that. The smell of her fear pheromones overwhelmed me, and a primal need to protect her sent me rushing forward. I had to hold her and make it better.

Chapter 3

Cerys

Fear grabbed me, and all the air rushed out of me like I’d been squeezed by an icy hand. The largest monster I had even seen was dashing towards me. His eyes fixated on me with an intensity that made my heart race. I knew that somewhere deep in my brain were protocols for de-escalating situations and self-defense. But I couldn’t pluck out a single one of them from the panic. My primitive lizard brain took over, and screams tore from my throat. Large black hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me into the air until we were face to face. Instinctively I kicked at him and even managed a good hit to the abdomen, but he didn’t even notice. Somewhere outside the room I could hear voices shouting.

Please get in here before I become monster food.

The monster spun around and leaned against the door so no one could get in. My heart sank, and I screamed again as he pulled me against him. I thought he was going to squeeze me to death, but the grip never tightened. I could breathe. Just about. One of his hands stroked my hair.

Wait, what?

"It's okay, I'm going to protect you," he whispered into my ear. His voice was so deep and resonant it felt like it vibrated all over me, leaving my skin tingling.

All the tension in my body flooded away, replaced by confusion. I hung limply in his arms, feeling his warmth envelop me. It was almost cozy. My stomach flipped. I'd been in some weird situations since coming here, but nothing in my training had prepared me for this. The weirdness of the moment jolted the cogs in my brain to turn again. I put on my best therapist voice.

"This seems like a really difficult moment for you. Would you like to put me down so we can talk about it?"

Somehow my voice wasn't shaking with the fear still threatening to consume me. He stiffened up, and the next thing I knew I was hitting the floor with a thud, right on my ass. That was going to leave a bruise. I looked up at him ruefully and met eyes which were wide with horror.

"Oh fuck, I'm so sorry," he muttered, an embarrassed growl tinging his words.

He was pressing back against the door so hard that it looked like he was trying to melt through it.

"Errr, that's okay."

It wasn't, but there didn't seem any other appropriate response.

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