Page 13 of Bound to the Minotaur
His mate, Rosy, was sitting cross-legged on one of his massive front paws, not even huddled into her coat, as the dragon’s heat was all she needed to keep away the late fall cold. Grandma Liz was right across from them, seated on the porch steps, wrapped in one of her knit blankets, a mug cradled in her weathered hands. She didn’t look surprised to see me, her wild gray curls bouncing around her face like a silver halo.
“Gregory,” she greeted, her voice still rough from the full moon a few days ago. “I was wondering when you’d show.” The mayor rose with a warm smile and a welcoming hug, tugging me intoher dragon-filled garden as if I were one of her pack members. She barely came up to mid-chest, a tiny lady who appeared grandmotherly but had lived through more than just a handful of generations.
Chardum rumbled deep in his throat, low but with a hint of pleasure, wild like the beast he was.“The bull comes bearing news,”he said, his voice like a landslide wrapped in silk. It rumbled in my mind rather than through the air. His massive maw never moved. I didn’t know if this was the way for all dragons, as Chardum was the only one I knew, but it always unsettled me when he spoke in my mind.
“I do,” I said, glancing back toward town. “And it ain’t good.” Grandma Liz pulled me to the porch, inviting me to sit on the step beside her. I didn’t. My hands flexed at my sides, like I could keep the weight of my worries from sinking in if I kept moving.
“That weretiger,” the mayor said before I could speak. “Kiran. He’s back. Booked two nights at Halvers’. Came up from that corporate mess down south.” I remembered the weretiger they were talking about from last summer. He’d been part of the group that had tried to take Rosy’s land from her, all to get at the ancient evil Chardum had been tasked to guard, hidden in the ground. We’d chased him and the others off, and the evil in its prison was gone—either gone forever or escaped; we didn’t know.
I snorted. “Let me guess. He told Halvers he was just ‘passing through.’” My tone made it obvious I didn’t believe that, not for a minute. This was probably why Grandma Liz, our resident nymph, and her guardian were having a meeting, and anotherbig, fat worry to pack onto my already heavy shoulders. This wasn’t good.
Chardum chuckled, smoke rising from his nostrils.“A predator doesn’t pass through. He circles.”The way the dragon said it made it clear he spoke from experience. The biggest predator of all, he knew exactly how to lie in wait and strike at the best moment.
I nodded, then lifted my chin toward them both. “That’s not what brought me.” My gut churned with the pull Kess had on me. Herneedfor protection was so heavy and large that it felt like it would swallow me. It felt like a time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Her father was on his way here right now—I knew it—and when he got here, he would try to kill her and me. I wouldn’t let him succeed.
Rosy tilted her head. “Then what did?” Her green eyes glowed like emeralds, like newly unfurling ferns in spring, and like the haze of fresh grass. She tilted her head at me, a smile flirting with her mouth, and I knew she was remembering Kess and me in the diner that morning.
“My soulmate,” I said, the word thick in my throat but solid, like stone. It felt good to finally admit that out loud. It was the first step toward keeping her, toward changing. Now I had to convince her she wanted to stay; with a minotaur, to boot. “I found her. But her father—Romano, from New York—tried to kill her.”
Rosy stiffened. Chardum lifted his head, neck rising slowly, a ripple of golden muscle catching the moonlight. “Romano?” Rosy repeated, brows knitting. “The Romano?” I had forgottenthat she’d come from New York, too. That she’d been born and raised there, never knowing about her heritage until her father died and left his estate to her.
“Yeah.” I let out a breath that fogged in the cold. “Head of the Romano family. Kess—she’s his daughter. She’s running from him; her whole life is in her car. He cut her brakes, tried to kill her—the bastard—and he’s coming. Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but he’s coming. And we need to be ready.”
A new voice joined us from the treeline, sharp and slick as shadow. “Well, damn,” Luther said, stepping out from beneath the pines as if he’d grown there. He wore black, as always, and the moon caught on his sharp eyes and amused face. “Really got yourself a mess, didn’t you, Minotaur?”
I turned toward him, lips twitching. “You could say that.” I was glad to see the vampire here, that saved me another trip, while my mate sat alone in my home with only Avis as her guard. Though Avis would warn me in a heartbeat if there was danger, he was as attuned to that kind of thing as I was. Luther was a good male to have on my side, and probably one of the more social inhabitants of the town.
He strolled forward, glancing toward Chardum and Rosy with a nod before dipping into a polite bow for the mayor. Grandma Liz took that as her due, her eyes steely as she shared a look of understanding with him. Then all eyes were back on me. “Romano’s bad news. But I’ve dealt with worse,” Luther added with a smirk.
I raised an eyebrow. “You volunteering?” A vampire on the loose against a horde of mobsters with guns, probably not a fairmatch. I’d almost feel pity for Kess’s father, if not for the fact that he’d tried to kill his daughter. I was very glad that she’d ended up taking a detour past my town and into my territory.
“I didn’t say that,” Luther said dryly. “But I’ll help—especially if it keeps you from stomping holes through the middle of town with those hooves of yours.” He gestured with his hand in an elegant manner at my workboots, as if I were already shifted into my beastly form. Some vampires tended to be elitists, disliking any other supernatural creature. While Luther had never appeared to follow that line of thinking, he did seem to take great pleasure in pointing out my more beastly traits, offset against his cultured elegance. It was a good thing I didn’t give a shit about that sort of thing.
Chardum snorted smoke at the taunt, which made Rosy grin, and Grandma Liz cautioned Luther to follow the rules. I just shook my head, the knot in my chest easing a fraction. They’d help. We’d handle it. But I still had a beautiful woman at home—afraid for her life, and aching in ways that had nothing to do with fear. I needed to get back to her.
Chapter 9
Kess
The silence in Gregory’s cabin was starting to get to me. The kind of silence that doesn’t soothe, doesn’t let you settle. It claws at your nerves, makes your skin itch with the weight of what’s left unsaid.
I shut the laptop with more force than necessary and shoved it onto the coffee table. Another hour wasted pretending I was still looking for a job my dad would never allow me to take. How could I care about cover letters or part-time barista work when all I could think about was the feel of Gregory’s mouth on mine? That kiss… it hadn’t just curled my toes; it had rewired something inside me. Short-circuited my sense of logic. There was no going back from that.
And now he was gone. He’d left without a word moments ago, stalking out his door as if he would rather be anywhere other than here. Like the awkward silence after that kiss, after the truths I’d been forced to reveal, was too much for him, too. I sank deeper into the couch cushions, staring into the half-dead embers in the stove. Cold. Just like the cobbler he left in the kitchen. Just like the space he’d made for me here, in his home, only to walk out of it.
“I don’t know what we’re doing,” I muttered to Avis, who blinked up at me from where he lay sprawled belly-up on the rug. “He kissed me like I meant something, then stormed off without a word.” Avis flicked his tail in judgment. I glared at him. “Oh, please, like you’re not obsessed with him too.” His blue eyesseemed to pierce me with a look that said, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”
I stood and wandered toward the window, arms crossed tight against my chest. The night outside pressed close to the panes; black and thick, like velvet soaked in ink. No curtains. No blinds. I could see everything.
Including him.
I caught sight of Gregory just as he moved past the shed, across the dirt road, and into the dense treeline. I froze, breath caught mid-lung. I should’ve looked away, but I didn’t. He looked so purposeful, so sure of himself and his place in the world. Wearing those coveralls from his shop like a second skin, like being the sleepy town’s mechanic was exactly what he wanted to be.
He glanced back once, and I wondered if he could see me. But he shrugged, his black hair gleaming blue as a beam of moonlight struck him. Then he ducked behind the thick trunk of an oak, and I lost sight of him. No, not quite. There—something shimmered in the air, like heat over pavement. And then the light—sharp and sudden, like a falling star had touched down right there in those woods. His whole body was briefly visible, just to the left of the tree, glowing, bigger than life...then unraveled into something else entirely.
I gasped, fingers digging into the window frame. A shape stood where he’d been—massive, horned, almost man but not. Silhouetted by the moon, backlit in silver: two legs, a tail, hooves, and horns that curved from his skull like a crowned predator.
“What the hell…” I whispered, stumbling back from the window, my heart hammering in my chest like it wanted to rip through bone and flee. Impossible. I must’ve imagined it. Lack of sleep, too much stress. Or maybe that tasty vegetarian dinner he’d made was laced with something more potent than fresh herbs.
