Page 150 of Monsters in Love

It wasn’t like she had never seen some of the monsters that had migrated into her world following the Ravening, but usually from a distance, and nothing quite like this. Every inch of lethal muscle was twisted into a monstrous form more beast than man.

A tufted tail flicked, and she stared at it for a moment, putting her briefly at eye level with the intimidating bulge between his thighs.

Moving on!

She jerked her eyes up, back up past his chest again, the fur thickening into a long mane of dark hair that spilled around his shoulders. She caught sight of more than one braid peeking out from within the thick mass. A long black ear flicked, and the firelight bounced off of the powerful ebony horns sprouting from the broad brow of a face that was bullish and yet not in its shape.

It was more like a demonic bull creature than anything as natural as a bull, an illusion that was reinforced by the wicked fangs she caught a glimpse of as his mouth parted.

His warning forgotten, Vicky stumbled back. She turned as to flee when his powerful hand snapped out, capturing her arm in his grip so that he could swing her back around with an incredible force that offered no room for denial or escape. He towered over her, his expression stark and terrible. He glanced down at her arm, and with a grimace he released her, allowing her to sink to the floor with a pitiful moan.

She was trapped in a labyrinth with the monster of all ancient monsters—the terrible beast of Minos, the minotaur!

He crouched, lowering himself toward the floor so that he didn’t tower over her, his tail swishing around his legs. He was like a demon, waiting, biding his time to kill her if she made even one wrong move. Panting nervously, she turned her head away. From her periphery, she watched him stride over to a wall and hang a giant double-headed ax he was carrying on it, the hiss of metal on stone loud. Then he stretched his arms out from his side, palms up, his claw-tipped fingers splayed in a universal gesture of being unarmed.

Except he was armed. Those claws alone and massive hands could easily kill her in one strike.

A weak hysterical laugh escaped as she gripped her pendant tight. This eater of men and women was what promised to keep her safe? What was coming to keep her safe from his appetite?

Asterion eyed the female in front of him with concern. Tears of terror shone in her eyes, and her entire body trembled where she sprawled on the floor. All things considered, she was handling the sight of him better than most and that gave him hope.

“Do not be afraid, little female,” he reiterated, projecting what he hoped was some small amount of gentleness into his tone.

Not that he knew anything of gentleness. The only tenderness he had ever experienced was the little that he received from Ariadne, and that was so long ago that it was nothing more than a dim memory swathed in the pain of her betrayal. Gnashing his teeth with the anger that the memory of his sister brought, he shoved that thought away. He winced when the female in front of him scurried back as if he had just threatened violence upon her.

He lifted his hand to reassure her, and she ducked, drawing out a frustrated growl.

“Be still. I have no interest in harming you. You are safe here as long as the rules are heeded.”

When she made no move to acknowledge him, he blew out an angry sigh and backed away from her. Clearly this was getting him nowhere. Perhaps with some space, she would become more comfortable with his presence. If only she did not run.

He prayed to the merciless gods who warded his prison that she did not run.

Turning away, he strode toward the spit, pulling his recent kill from the sack tied at his belt. Three rabbits dangled by the ears from his fist. Fat burrowing creatures such as these were at least plentiful in the labyrinth. Not that he had many qualms over what he ate anymore. Even the satyrs made a meal when he had the occasion to kill one. The creatures were quick and smart, and he had no interest in feeding on them unless they were foolish enough to attack him or attract his predatory instinct.

When they had first made an appearance, he had hoped that they might be companions against his loneliness and even had slaked his lust with some of their number until he realized a terrible thing about those who found their way into his prison. The satyrs did not distinguish between their hungers. Sex and food were one and the same, and they were quick to attempt to consume those that ignited their passionate hungers.

Asterion growled, tearing the hide from the rabbits’ flesh. It was why he had been drawn to investigate when he heard their frenzied, gleeful hunt. There were few things that could excite them so. Being slain by him would have been far more merciful than a death at their hands.

He tipped his head in consideration and rubbed at the base of one horn.

Why had he not attempted to consume the female? She was running and acting in all the ways prey behaved, inciting his hungers… and yet, when he reached her, he hadn’t been able to bear the thought of removing the light of life from her eyes. Not when she had bravely faced death and accepted it.

Not that his hunger had abated any.

His cock twitched beneath the double-belted chiton falling from his waist. He still hungered for her. He wanted to taste her flesh and blood; he wanted to indulge his every carnal lust. But he did not want her to die. He hungered for a companion as much as he did to indulge his bestial appetites.

Though those appetites were nothing if not considerable. Just holding her in his arms had been a test of his will. Every shift of her body against his made him want to devour her.

He slanted a look in her direction, noting that she still had not moved from where she had dropped. She watched him though. Her eyes tracked every movement of his claws, hands, and arms. He bit back a frustrated snarl. She was staring at him as if she expected him to strike at any moment.

Had he not proven that he would not harm her? He carried her through the dangerous corridors of the labyrinth, sheltering her with his own body. He opened the heart of the maze to her so that she could enter his abode.

Grunting, he spitted the rabbits and rubbed fresh herbs into their flesh with a practiced hand. His sister had brought in the herbs when he was still young and planted them in the smaller antechamber where they received a bit more light from the carved grating. That small gift and the chitons she offered to him, bespelled to never decay and refresh themselves over night for as long as they remained in his possession, were the only trappings that he possessed that reminded him that he was not just a beast, but a man as well.

In a matter of speaking.

Laying them over the bed of hot coals, Asterion turned his attention to stirring up the fire once more until it kissed the meat hanging over it. It didn’t take long for the sizzle of hot grease hitting the coals and the scent of cooking meat to fill the room. It was only then that he heard a shuffle of movement.

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