The Minotaur's Kiss

by Erin St. Charles

  In the main area of Styx, chaos reigned as half-naked bodies streamed toward the exits. The security team shut down the bum rush, guarding the exits and not allowing the panicked party-goers to trample one another. The concubines were full humans, but their handmaidens and boy toys were a mix of human and shifter, and many would have detected the disturbance and alerted their mistresses, who would not know how to assess the level of danger. The detonation continued in a series of pulses.

  Six pulses. Seven. Eight. Nine.

  Then nothing. Mac's instincts told him the bomb wasn't meant to harm anyone--just to disrupt the proceedings. He saw Jaslene on the stage, erect and taking in the scene like a prairie dog emerging from its burrow, on bended knees as the bed continued to rotate. The concubine's earlier bravado had evaporated into befuddlement. The big blue man and the priestess in piercings and chains were nowhere in sight. Jaslene was shoeless, but the skirt that had been bunched up around her waist had fallen back into place.

  Diana must have spotted Jaslene at the same moment, and she tugged Mac toward the stage. If Diana still felt the effects of the sonic bomb, she put her discomfort aside to help their charge. Diana glanced around the room, yanked free the fabric draping one of the now-abandoned booths, and quickly covered the concubine. Mac ushered the women to an exit behind the stage where Blake, one of his security team, guarded the back exit. He gave Diana's hand a reassuring squeeze. Their eyes met, and he saw both uncertainty and determination in her dark gaze. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

  "Go with Blake. Stay with Jaslene and wait for me."

  As Diana nodded at him, Mac turned back to the chaos.

  Chapter 35

  If Blake's huge, hulking body didn't give away his Minotaur heritage, his white eyeshine would have. Not to mention his gruff, brooding expression, his quiet, protective demeanor. He seemed so similar to Mac, even though with Blake's platinum blond hair and bright blue eyes, the two men shared no physical features beyond being...big. And of course, he smelled faintly of burning wood.

  She reckoned that the gods had made Minotaurs that way to intimidate others. Blake, for instance, scowled at the two women, and Diana was at first hesitant to follow when he indicated the back door with a nod of his head. The big man Mac had entrusted to protect Diana and Jaslene looked as if he hadn't smiled in a year. But obviously, Mac knew Blake, and Diana knew her man would never hand her over to someone who would let harm come to her.

  So she snaked an arm around Jaslene, whose face now registered fear and confusion, and held the other woman close to her.

  Have to show Jaslene we're in charge, Diana thought. She couldn't let the concubine feel her own hesitation and reluctance to follow their protector.

  "You okay?" Diana leaned over and whispered into Jaslene's ear.

  The concubine nodded.

  They made their way down a dark staircase, Blake in the lead, then Jaslene, then Diana, her arm still awkwardly propping the other woman up.

  On the ground floor, Blake pushed open the heavy security door, and they stumbled out into the back alley.

  Diana was immediately assailed with the scent of dank air and rotting garbage. Weird, because the warehouse was located in an industrial section of the city, largely deserted at this time of night.

  Jaslene pulled away from Diana and leaned against a brick wall, sucking in lungfuls of the stale air. Her breaths came out like a series of hiccups. She put up a hand when Diana made to prop her up again.

  "I'm okay...I just need a moment."

  Blake stood a discreet distance away, keeping a watchful eye on the women while talking into his Omni. Jaslene was taking slower breaths while Diana rubbed her trembling shoulders. The concubine seemed to be calming down. The smell of rotting food got stronger though, and Diana wrinkled her nose with distaste. A shudder vibrated through her body, and she shook her head to clear it.

  Diana felt eyes on her and when she looked away from Jaslene, Blake's hooded gaze. He looked alert, his eyes held the same expression she had seen on Mac's face before, when they were attacked by the changeling. Something akin to alarm, but heavily muted because Minotaurs never looked freaked out, even when they were.

  His head cocked to one side, and he started to say something to Diana.

  The scent became stronger. Her eyes began to water at a smell that made her think of food rotting in a Dumpster behind a Chinese restaurant. Her skin prickled as a heat flush traveled over her body, and then it was as if she smelled and felt a presence at the same time. It smelled like some kind of burning garbage demon.

  The changeling.

  She whipped her head around and scanned her surroundings. She saw nothing, just a darkened alley, with sickly yellow streetlights casting harsh shadows from either end of the backstreet. Blake looked at her quizzically, on high alert, his hand going for his sidearm. Jaslene, oblivious to everything except her inability to breathe, continued to suck in air. The corridor was completely empty. The movable feast that was Styx took up an entire side of the alley, with another hulking edifice taking up the other side, creating a canyon effect, with the three of them down in the valley. It suddenly seemed to Diana that they were sitting ducks. Anything could swoop down and...

  The changeling.

  Part of her wanted to stand her ground, to confront the unseen creature who had taken Julie Wheeler and done God knew what to her. The creature that had thrashed and clawed at the strongest man she knew, to its dying breath, and had somehow managed to survive a crushed windpipe. Her mind skittered crazily to the idea of chasing it, capturing it, demanding that it tell them where Julie Wheeler was.

  But Diana's more rational mind knew that if she confronted the creature, she'd be lucky to get away alive. And she'd probably risk Blake and Jaslene's lives in the process. Julie Wheeler might already be dead. She had to focus on protecting Jaslene. She had to get back to Mac.

  So, she put away her fight response in favor of flight. She grabbed Jaslene's hand and didn't spare Blake, who could probably take care of himself, a second thought.

  "Move!" Diana said, dragging the barefoot Jaslene toward the light at the end of the alley. "We have to get out of here!"

  Blake had unholstered his weapon and was looking around, his expression alert and vigilant.

  Diana's mind switched to autopilot as she hurried toward the light on shaking limbs with Jaslene in tow. She heard the other woman's yelp of surprise, felt her resistance, her confusion, and her reluctance to walk much further without her shoes. She heard Blake's heavy footsteps behind her. But they were close to the streetlights. They just needed to get to the lights, to the others. There would be strength in numbers, and perhaps the changeling would be frightened away.

  Her heart rose painfully in her throat as her feet hit the pavement. She recalled her panicked struggles with the changeling in Julie Wheeler's closet. Now, as then, fear threatened to take over, to freeze her in her tracks. Revulsion had her stomach churning, but she pressed on, the yellowed light of the street light beckoning.

  They were almost there when Diana felt a booming displacement of air just above her. She kept going, even though she knew what was about to happen. She held her breath, gritted her teeth, and continued to drag Jaslene along.

  "Diana!" Blake alerted Diana to what she already knew was about to happen. She kept moving, even when the changeling landed on her shoulders, its talons tearing at her hair and into her scalp, disrupting her neat bun. Irrationally, nothing irritated her more at that moment than the creature ruining her hair.

  She began swatting at her head and shoulders to grab the changeling but failed to make contact. Jaslene, freed from Diana's insistent dragging, sprinted for the end of the alley. Diana whirled quickly in an attempt to shake the creature off, but it held on for dear life, letting out a vicious scream as it curled its talons into Diana's scalp, making her yell in pain.

  Don't panic, don't panic, she thought, refusing to give into the pain, even as she teetered on the edge of
desperation. She tried to orient herself, tried to remember which way she was facing, which side the warehouse she must be on at that moment. But she had no idea how far she was from the end of the alley, how far she was from the brick wall the warehouse, had no idea where she was, really. She gritted her teeth, picked a direction, and hurled herself that way, knowing she would eventually hit something solid and dislodge the creature with brute force.

  She did hit something solid, but it wasn't the brick wall she expected. Instead, she ran into a wall of muscled flesh. The changeling's burning garbage scent mingled with the smoky wood scent of the shifter Mac had charged with protecting her.

  Blake let out an "Ooof! As Diana rammed herself into him. The creature still held onto her. She felt damp, scaly fingers wrap around her neck. Something snaked around her waist and began to squeeze. It made her feel as if someone had placed the world's largest leather belt around her middle and was steadily tightening every time she tried to take a breath. The suffocating pain stifled her attempts to yell, to breathe. She kept trying to shake it off, and it matched her desperate thrashings with its ever-tightening hold. Black spots appeared before her eyes, and she became pissed off when she realized she would soon pass out, which only made her struggle more.

  Shit. Shit!

  Her determination gave way to the inevitability of her attacker subduing her. She was frustrated and annoyed that she was yet again a victim to this creature, that she couldn't protect Julie, nor could she protect Jaslene. Her father would have said that Millers don't give up, which would normally be true, but she could not fight for much longer. Nothing at social work school, nor the five years working for the Bureau, had prepared her to fight off this creature. It was simply too strong for her, too vicious, too determined.

  I'm blacking out.

  She resisted, gasping for breath as the creature's limbs tightened around her. As her strength began to ebb, she was struck by the unfairness of it. She was a social worker, damnit. She was supposed to be conducting health inspections, not tussling with an underworldly creature in the alley behind a sex orgy.

  The creature continued to squeeze the breath out of her. The futility of her struggles really pissed her off. But she just couldn't fight anymore. She could feel someone tugging at the creature, jerking her body this way in what could only be a futile attempt to dislodge it. Excited voices, muffled sounds that seemed so far away now as she felt her connection to the world slip away.

  The spots before her eyes converged and her vision began to go black.

  Chapter 36

  It took only a few moments for Mac's team to locate and disable the device and usher the partygoers down the long front staircase to the ground level of the warehouse. With Styx secured, Mac went after Diana, Bubba trailing behind him.

  When he reached the edge of the alley, Jaslene, barefoot and looking like the dog's breakfast, stumbled out of the darkness and collapsed against Mac's chest, sobbing. Before he could say anything, the sounds of desperate struggles sounded from the darkness.

  Diana was in danger.

  Mac brushed past Jaslene and hurried toward the alley. Bubba seemed to sense the danger as well because, in a flash, the wolf had shifted completely, his black clothing flinging in all directions as he sped toward the confrontation. For once, Mac was grateful--not jealous--that his friend was a wolf shifter. He followed his friend, allowed his bull to emerge, and he was grateful for that too.

  Seconds later, he found a sight that made his blood run cold. Diana struggled with what appeared to be a creature that was part gargoyle, part snake. It had landed on her shoulders, claws dug into her hair, its tail wrapped around her waist. Squeezing the life out of her. Crushing their baby. She thrashed helplessly, her eyes bugging with fear and determination as she tried to free herself.

  "Hey!" yelled Mac. The changeling turned its strange yellow eyes on him in cold curiosity but didn't let go of Diana. Blake attempted to grab it and wrench it off Diana, but it just held on. Then Mac saw Bubba take a flying leap, the big black wolf landing squarely on the changeling's shoulders, his teeth sinking into the green flesh. Bubba, Diana, and the changeling all hit the ground in a tangled mess. Mac caught up with the snarling, keening trio as they rolled around, looking for an opportunity to free Diana.

  Bubba unclenched his jaws, then sank his fangs into the back of the creature's neck. This produced a sickening wet, crunching sound and the changeling shrieked in pain. It began to claw at Bubba, who was doing his best to break the changeling's neck. Green talons thrashed at the big, black wolf. Bubba, in turn, continued to snarl and chomp on his prey. Diana rolled away from the tussle and Mac scooped her up in his arms. Blake had been knocked away and stumbled back against the warehouse wall.

  Bubba pinned the changeling under his front paws and loosened his jaws to gain better purchase. The changeling used the opportunity to break free and stagger away. Bubba leaped at it again, snarling, jaws snapping, but the creature jumped unto a ledge a few feet above them. As Mac watched in amazement, the changeling clung to the brick wall, scaling it like a gecko. It scampered toward the roof and Mac could only make out its long, scaly tail disappearing over the roof line.

  Heart beating in his throat, Mac held Diana close. Her eyes were big and glazed, and she was taking in deep shuddering breaths. She wasn't crying, but she trembled as she gasped for air. He held her close and rubbed her shoulders to calm her down.

  Bubba shifted, shaking off the effects of the confrontation. As naked as the day he was born, and with blood dripping from his chin, he nonchalantly walked around the side of the building and retrieved his clothes, muttering, "That thing tasted like shit."

  Diana, too, looked remarkably calm, considering she'd again been attacked by a creature that wasn't supposed to exist. He tilted her face up to get a good look at her. He ran his thumb over her chin. Other than her mussed hair, she really looked none the worse for wear.

  "You okay? Did it hurt you?"

  "Jaslene--?"

  "Blake has her." He nodded at the bodyguard, who was leading Jaslene away from the scene.

  Bubba returned, pulling his black skin-shirt over his head, looking none the worse for wear. Mac noted with horror that Bubba was wearing only his shirt, and from the waist down, he was bare-assed naked, his junk exposed for all to see.

  "Bubba--"

  "I'm gonna have to gargle with bleach," Bubba drawled, shuddering with disgust. Then he smiled at Diana, his face still covered in blood. "How's your sister?"

  Diana blinked at him in confusion. Mac glared.

  "Now is not the time, Bubba." Mac wanted Bubba to go away now. The man had no sense of boundaries.

  Bubba looked puzzled. He frowned.

  "You okay?" Bubba asked Diana.

  "Just a little shaken up," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, this is more excitement than I'm used to having as a social worker." She let out a shaky laugh and brushed her fingers over her hair. Mac wondered when the man planned to find and put on the rest of his clothes.

  But Diana seemed to be okay, and Mac was relieved to see her coming back to herself. This feeling of contentment evaporated when he saw Bubba open his mouth and begin to speak again. Mac didn't think they had time for pleasantries. He wanted to deliver Jaslene to Pantheon and get Diana home.

  He was ready to make his relationship with Diana permanent. It was time to suck it up and have the conversation with her that he had been dreading. He had to tell her about the baby. He had to come clean and beg her to forgive him for not telling her sooner. If he had his way, he would spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

  Chapter 37

  "Good!" Bubba exclaimed. "Now that you've got a bun in the oven, you'll need to take it easy. Can't have anything happening to the baby." Bubba grinned broadly at Diana, apparently pleased with himself for finding an appropriate topic of conversation.

  Mac felt Diana stiffen in his arms, and he cringed inwardly. He turned cautiously to look at her. She was
blinking and shaking her head.

  "Wha--what did you say?" she asked. Bubba looked confused, then appalled, realizing he had let slip something Mac had not yet told Diana.

  "Ah, um, we should get going," said Mac, steering Diana away from Bubba. She planted her feet and crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing on Mac.

  "What is he talking about?" she hissed.

  "Let's talk about it later. We need to take Jaslene to Pantheon."

  He was right to bring up her work. Diana would never let her personal life get in the way of her duty to her clients. She let herself be led away from the scene, her mind whirring with this revelation.

  Pregnant? Really?

  She didn't feel pregnant. Other than the fact that the smell of coffee made her want to hurl, and lately she struggled with her overactive emotions, no, she did not feel pregnant at all. She wasn't sure she'd even missed her period. She fingered the site of the wafer-thin birth control implant that she should be able to feel on her upper arm. The thing was lightweight and tiny, and she scarcely gave it any thought anymore, but now she realized it wasn’t there. Had she not been so distracted by Mac, work, her mom and everything else going on in her life.

  She was quiet and pensive when he bundled her into his truck. She said nothing when he steered the truck away from the warehouse, nor when they drove to the Pantheon building. Jaslene, who had been semi-hysterical when Mac had found her, was now as cool as a cucumber and was repairing her smeared makeup with the aid of a tiny mirror. The concubine seemed to be ready for her next adventure.

  Pregnant? Was that why he asked her to marry him?

  They pulled into the basement garage at the Pantheon headquarters, took the elevator up to Helen Castellano's suite, and were greeted by Helen herself, as well as her personal assistant. Helen looked well-scrubbed and alert, as if it were 9 AM, not 2 AM. Stella looked less alert, as if she’d been dragged out of bed.