Chapter 10

Charis

"In the middle of nowhere, despite the barriers keeping me from her, I've found my future waiting to be claimed." ~ Charis

I arrived outside the labyrinth, holding my mate prisoner. Eleven days. Eleven long, agonizing days since I heard my mate's call.

I left my herd and rushed to claim her with the first tick. When I approached the labyrinth, my mind raced with optimism for the future. Until I ran into a barrier, I couldn't cross.

Each moment without her feels like an eternity. The longing for my mate grows more unbearable.

Countless times, I've beaten my fists against the invisible wall until my knuckles bled. I'd shift to heal each time and start again. The pain from pounding the hidden barrier mirrors the ache in my heart. Each failed attempt to reach her is a reminder of my helplessness. At least until Isaak arrived two days later.

Isaak's arrival brought a glimmer of hope, but even his strength couldn't break the barrier. I grow weary, wondering if this torment will ever end.

When Isaak first arrived, his frustration hung heavy in the air. He hurled boulders at the barrier, his muscles straining with effort.

Despite our mutual goal, we barely spoke, each lost in our own desperation.

The arrival of others brought a sense of solidarity, but also tension. Our need to reach our mates united us, yet each of us dealt with the situation differently. Some were calm, others angry, but all of us were determined.

What manner of Minotaur built this labyrinth in the heart of the mountains without access to the outside world? The portal looms before us, a dark and foreboding structure hidden within the forest.

The moonlight barely penetrates the dense canopy of trees and mountains.

The scent of pine and damp earth never ends. The occasional rustle of leaves or snap of a twig reminds us we're not alone.

The only comfort is the campfire's glow. The flames dance with anticipation.

The latest arrival of newcomers confirms my suspicions—magic. It makes sense, as my herd also has a covenant with a witch. It never occurred to me to petition our witch for help.

My need to watch the witch, the new arrivals brought, open the entrance disappeared as the pain in Emjay's tone gripped my heart, demanding my full attention.

The angry chuffs from the men around me mirrored my own when she told us of the enslaved witch who severed her mating call as Damian raced to claim her.

The rapes, the forced pregnancies, the beatings—sometimes to the death. Blood fills my mouth from biting the inside of my cheeks with rage.

My mate. Possibly her children—now my children. Can she accept me? After everything she's suffered.

Clearly, Emjay and Damian are working things out. Their scents haven't merged from mating. However, they stand together holding hands, so she hasn't rejected him either.

Had witchcraft kept all of us from hearing our mates' call until now? What changed?

"The herd found my daughters. Their mates kept them safe, but their lives were now in danger as those monsters promised to claim what they believed belonged to them—my girls.

"The only plan my mate's herd formulated to stop them was to issue Helios' mating ceremony."

I stifled my gasp. We did away with that barbaric ritual decades ago.

Emjay turns to one of the girls she called daughter and her mate.

"I'm Jayce, and this is my mate, Shay. I tried to stop the ceremony. I told Shay all about the ritual. The horrors and degradation of it all.

"We were wrong. All of us. Every Minotaur and herd that has walked away from Helios' blessing. After we said the prayer inviting our maker, each pair of mates chosen by the Fates stood before one another.

"Helios showed up next to each of us with a message. Mostly, the messages belonged to the mated pair and no one else. Why he chose us to deliver this decree—I cannot fathom.

‘My children. Remind your siblings of the blessing this ceremony is to mates. We are not as humans, and to call what I have ordained barbaric is to shun my gift. Please bring them back to me.'

"It's true." Damian and Emjay pull the collar of their shirts aside, revealing the kiss of Helios. Jayce and Shay follow the demonstration, along with the other couple and the young girl here without her mate.

"They killed all but three when they refused to accept the outcome of the Fates. Helios appeared and granted me the power to condemn them any way I chose. I'm not a monster like them, so I asked for banishment,

"Who these Minotaur were, how they formed this herd is a mystery to all of us. They weren't blood relations. The best guess is they were all rejected by their mates or death took her from them," Emjay adds.

I look Damian up and down. "You didn't turn feral like these others."

"It wasn't easy."

"I know how to get in, but I have some conditions," the witch interrupts. Growls erupt from all, dying to get to their mates.

She waves her hands as if swatting at a gnat. " Tace."

This could only mean one thing when all our mouths clamp shut.

"That's better," she states. "My trust has not been earned by those of you I don't know. I'm Willow Wardwell, seer and protector of the Drakos herd. In addition, I have named myself defender of all who reside inside of this labyrinth. Any who wish entry will agree to a covenant with me and this herd. You will abide by my terms, or you will never get inside to find your one and only. That includes you, Peter." Willow looks hardest at the one from Damian's herd whose mate is calling to him.

Peter nods.

Isaak steps closer to Willow and motions his hand over his sealed mouth.

"Loqui," she speaks only to him.

He lets out a breath as if the seal kept him from breathing. "What are your terms, Willow?" he inquires more respectfully than I would have.

"I suspect some of these women will run out here into your arms the second they learn of their freedom. Yet there are others whose terror will rule them. We cannot risk immediate rejection before they've had time to heal and process. Last thing we need is another group of feral monsters because their mate didn't want them. The heifers and Damian will enter."

Jayce and the other mate rush to object.

Willow holds her hand up. "Don't make me seal your mouths shut too. Damian will call for help if he needs you. These women and children don't know what a good, decent man is. If I knew with a hundred percent certainty that the place was empty of men, Damian would remain out here as well."

The two men bowed their heads in respect toward Willow, but clearly weren't happy with her decision.

"As I was saying before these two interrupted."

I laugh internally at the witch's bravery. We outnumber her, yet she's confident in her powers to stand against all of us.

"You may enter, only with your mate's permission."

"How will we know whose mate is giving consent?" Isaak wonders aloud what we're all thinking.

"Give me some credit. Do I look like I was born yesterday?" She didn't answer his question.

Her husband hands her his pocketknife, which she slices across her palm. "Peter, you first."

He kneels before her and opens his palm, accepting the knife she offers. "I accept your terms, Willow Wardwell, defender of my mate."

Isaak sinks to his knees after Peter.

The witch releases the spell holding our mouths shut as we follow, one after the other.

"Frank." Willow calls to the one who resembles Peter. Being siblings means their father must be human.

The older sibling stands before her. "Enter with the group. Emjay will show you where to find the bones. I need only one from the body. If there's more than one body, one bone from each."

He nods.

My anxiety doesn't care about whose bones they might be.

I pace outside for hours. My bull won't rest any more than my human side could.

I stop the moment I feel my mate drawing near. Three women emerge from the portal. I pay no mind to which man runs to the woman with a baby on her hip and holding the hand of a toddler.

Nor do I care about the one with a screaming infant strapped to her back.

I only have my sights on the woman swollen with child. My child. Her eyes scan the group until they lock with mine. In that moment, everything else fades away.

I resist the urge to run and gather her in my arms. She stares at me cautiously. My heart pounds and I tremble, waiting for a signal, any signal that I'm welcome to approach.

Sapphire irises look deep into my soul, followed by a grin that could melt a heart of stone. That's my signal.

With caution, I move toward her. "Charis." I awkwardly introduce myself.

"I'm Vasia," she tells me while rubbing her belly with our child inside.

Seeing my mate with child, my child, fills me with a sense of purpose that I've never known. The rage and frustration that has fueled me for days melts away, replaced by a profound sense of love and responsibility. As I kneel before her, I vow to protect and cherish her and our unborn child for the rest of my life. This was our new beginning, and I would not squander it.

I hold my hands over her belly. "May I?"

She nods, then I fall to my knees and kiss her womb. I look up into her beautiful eyes. "I will treasure you both all of my days, if you will let me."

Vasia's smile deepens. "Take me far from here."

I stand, take her by the hand, and lead her home.