I can tell as much by her bravery to face down a monster like me, her courage outweighing any fear she may have. I inhale hard, I don’t smell any at all. No, something else. Something sweet. It wraps around me, drifting from her body, and settles into my bones. Its roots spreading through my veins, pulling an echoing call from deep within my soul.
It isn’t her who steps away or cowers, it is me.
“What magic are you pulling?” I roar, moving until my back hits the cell wall. Never again will I be trapped, not even by the woman who is to be my mate. No magic will force me to servitude, not again. Whatever she is doing, it won’t work.
“Magic?” she echoes, tilting her head and watching me as she strolls closer, uncaring that more and more smoke drifts from my snout as my anxiety spirals. I can almost feel the magical chains dragging me back to my pit. How much of a fool was I, thinking I could trust another being? She will betray me, they always do.
“Witch,” I hiss. Surprisingly enough, my animal is...calm. Settled almost, wanting to curl up around her and purr. It is my human half which is suspicious, always is and always will be. Mate or not.
“No, try again.” She laughs like we are playing a game, finding amusement in seeing me scared of her.
“I can feel it,” I snap, and my hooves clank against the floor in agitation.
“Can you?” she purrs, stepping closer and laying her head on my chest. Her eyes widen. “I can taste the racing of your heart, is it you who fears me?”
“I fear no one,” I snarl at her. “I do not want to be trapped by a pretty face again.”
Her expression softens then as she searches my eyes, an understanding entering them, but how could anyone understand what I have been through? “Me either,” she whispers. “I promise you, minotaur, I’m not doing magic. I don’t think I even have any, not like that,” she vows, and it echoes around—truth.
“Dume,” I rush out. “My name is Dume.”
“Dume.” She rolls it around on her tongue before a smile curves her lips. “What are you feeling that has you spooked?”
“My heart is racing, head fuzzy...I, erm, my cock is hard. I want you, so badly with an inhuman need,” I admit.
“It isn’t magic, minotaur.” She laughs, her eyes bright with amusement, lips stretched in a grin.
“No?” I rasp.
“No, it’s lust, Dume. Good, old-fashioned lust. You want to fuck me. No magic here.” She winks.
The dragon swoops right for us. A motherfucking dragon. With solid black scales, spikes running down its back, and bright purple irises. Rolling my eyes, I look at Nos. “We don’t have time for this shit, we need to find her.”
Panic flutters through me, fuck, only I get to touch her—well, Nos and I. She’s ours, I might not have always liked it, but she had grown on me...more than that. She had grown to be my everything, an unexpected, perfect storm rocking my world and tearing it apart.
And now she’s gone. They took her.
When we had woken up from whatever spell the witches hit us with, she was gone, as were they. I took to the sky immediately, ignoring the aftereffects of the magic, and followed their trail, except it went cold. But I know who they are.
At least one of them is on the council.
Our own leaders took Dawn...why?
I don’t have time for questions, I need to get her back. I know better than anyone what they are capable of and I refuse to let them hurt another woman I love. Refuse to watch another die while I’m unable to help.
I use that weakness, I channel it with my panic and turn it into hate. Rage. I aim it at the dragon and take to the air to meet him. I hear Nos sigh, and then suddenly, the world freezes.
My eyes widen as I’m stuck mid-air, locked in place. I see Nos stroll between us on the ground, his hands held out on either side and eyes bright white. Is this him? What else is the forest god capable of?
He holds us in place effortlessly, anger on his face. “This is not helping,” he screams, and birds take flight and a howl of wolves goes up, the wildlife echoing his pain. He was with Dawn longer than I was and I could see their love, even