8. Laramie

CHAPTER EIGHT

LARAMIE

M y back slammed against cold stone as I stumbled, desperately trying to get my bearings. Stone walls stretched as high as I could see. Patches of moss clung to the craggy surface. The air hung heavy with the scent of dampness and something else—something ancient that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

A scraping sound echoed behind me. I whirled, heart leaping into my throat.

Kotos. Thank god.

Relief flooded through me at the sight of him, but it was short-lived. His horns—massive, now, far longer and thicker than in our world—scraped against the stone walls as he struggled in place, clawing at the tie constricting his thick neck. With a snarl of frustration, he tore at his clothes. Buttons flew as he ripped his shirt open, revealing rippling muscles that seemed... bigger somehow. Bulkier.

“Kotos?” I took a hesitant step forward. “Are you okay?”

His head snapped up at the sound of my voice, and I froze. The Kotos I knew—bossy, sarcastic, secretly romantic—was gone. In his place stood something... other. His ears had elongated to delicate points. His nose flattened, nostrils flaring as he scented the air. Thick, coarse hair spread across his chest and arms.

But it was his eyes that truly terrified me. Gone was the warmth, the intelligence, the spark of desire that had set my body aflame mere hours ago. Now they burned with rage.

He took a step toward me, and I instinctively retreated. “Kotos, it’s me. It’s Laramie. Don’t you recognize me?”

A low growl rumbled from his chest. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I raised my hands in what I hoped was a placating gesture. “I know, I know. This is all just a big misunderstanding. If we can just?—”

“You weren’t invited.” Another step. Another growl, deeper this time, turning his words nearly inhuman. “No one enters the labyrinth without permission.”

Fuck. What the hell had Devlin’s powder done to him? And more importantly, how did I undo it?

“Listen to me,” I tried again, forcing steel into my voice. “We’re trapped in here. Devlin did this to us. She’s the one you should be angry with, not me.”

For a moment, something flickered in those alien eyes. A spark of recognition, maybe? But then it was gone, replaced by a snarl that sent ice shooting through my veins.

He lunged for me, massive hands outstretched. I ducked under his grasp and bolted down the nearest corridor, heart pounding in my ears. Adrenaline fueled my steps as I careened around corners, desperately searching for some sign of an exit.

I darted down another corridor, lungs burning. The labyrinth twisted and turned around me, stone walls shifting like a living thing. One moment a path stretched ahead, the next it dead-ended, forcing me to change direction.

The sound of hooves on stone clattered behind me, closer than before. My thighs ached as I sprinted down yet another identical passage. But something wasn’t adding up. By all rights, Kotos should have caught me by now. He was faster, stronger…

Kotos’ snarl echoed off the stone, sending shivers down my spine. He was close—too close. I darted around another corner, my heart leaping into my throat as I nearly collided with a dead end that materialized out of nowhere.

“Shit,” I hissed, whirling back the way I’d come. But the path had changed again, offering three new options where there had only been one before.

I hesitated a fraction too long. A massive shadow fell over me as Kotos rounded the corner. My stomach dropped, but I threw myself to the side just in time to avoid his grasping fingers.

His frustrated roar shook rubble from the walls.

Heat pooled between my thighs at the sound. What the fuck was wrong with me? The man—beast—whatever he was now wanted to tear me apart. And here I was, getting turned on by his growls.

I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life, my body moving on pure instinct as I navigated the ever-changing maze. It was almost as if the labyrinth itself was toying with us—keeping me just ahead of Kotos’ grasp, but never letting me truly escape.

My thighs clenched at the frustrated growl that chased me down corridors or hunted me on the other side of a stone wall. Part of me—a growing, insistent part—wanted to stop running. To let him catch me. To pin me against the stone walls, and take his pleasure from me however he wanted.

To claim me as his mate.

Another roar broke through my thoughts, this one almost feral in its intensity. I pressed myself against the wall, hands slapped over my mouth to cover my breathing. The drag of a horn on stone raised goosebumps up and down my body.

Then everything went quiet.

Against my better judgment, I peeked around the corner. My breath caught in my throat.

Kotos stood at an intersection twenty feet away, head tilted back as he scented the air. His clothes hung in tatters from his massive frame. One hand gripped the wall, claws leaving gouges in the ancient stone. The other…

Holy hell.

His huge fingers wrapped around his cock, stroking slowly as he tracked my scent. The size of him made my mouth water even as my rational mind begged to run. His nostrils flared, and he growled—a sound of pure hunger that sent shivers down my spine.

He wanted me. Even in this state, driven mad by Devlin’s powder and whatever ancient magic permeated this place, he wanted me.

And fuck me, I wanted him too.

Shame and arousal warred within me as I watched him. This was insane. He wasn’t himself. He’d already chased me to hell and back. I should be terrified. Not... not...

A low growl rumbled from Kotos’ chest. His head snapped in my direction, eyes burning with predatory hunger.

I bolted.

My feet pounded against the ancient stones as I raced through the twisting passages. Every turn led to another dead end. Every corridor circled back on itself.

Behind me, his growls echoed off the stone. The sound vibrated through my bones, sending bolts of desire straight to my core. Fuck, how did he still manage to turn me on like this?

I pressed my back against a wall, chest heaving. This was insane. I couldn’t outrun him forever. Couldn’t outsmart a creature born to rule these passages.

A memory flashed—Kotos’ voice from the Shadow Daddies party, explaining minotaur mating. The pure desire in his eyes. The words of praise he slathered over the recommendation letter still sitting in my inbox. He’d offered me that shield of protection, along with his promise of a future.

I wanted that future. I wanted him to touch me again and again. Day and night. Wanted to hear those whispered praises in my ear when he filled me to the brim. Wanted to be the only one able to ease his stresses at work and at home.

I wanted to be his mate.

The stones beneath my fingers grew warm. A deep rumble shook the corridor, and I stumbled back as the wall before me rippled like water, folding in on itself. The grinding of rock against rock filled the air as a new passage emerged.

I hesitated a split second before slipping down the corridor. The space was narrow, barely wide enough for my shoulders, but the faint light at the end gave me hope. Maybe this was finally my chance to escape. Or, if not that, perhaps my chance to make Kotos realize who I was.

I spilled out into an enormous circular chamber, easily a hundred feet across. Flickering torches cast shadows over faded carvings depicting scenes of... Heat flooded my cheeks as I realized what they depicted. The positions. Lust and pleasure. The size differences. Holy shit.

Geometric patterns separated out the carvings, then flowed down the floor. The lines marched to an altar in the center of the chamber, carved from black marble veined with gold.

I flicked a glance back to the carvings. Legend said a minotaur guarded a king’s treasure at the center of the labyrinth, but the only treasure I saw were mates.

A slow scrape on stone flooded my system with adrenaline. I spun, realizing my mistake. There was only one way in or out of this chamber.

Sparks rained down in the wake of horns dragging along stone. Hooves rang out with the steadiness of nails driven into a casket.

Then Kotos filled the entire archway.

He’d shed the last remnants of his tattered clothing, leaving him gloriously, terrifyingly naked. Muscles rippled beneath his skin as he stalked toward me, nostrils flaring as he drank in my scent. His massive cock jutted proudly before him, his hand lazily stroking its impressive length.

I scrambled backward until my ass hit the edge of the altar. Trapped. Nowhere left to run.

But I didn’t want to run. Not really. The frantic energy that had sent me tearing through the labyrinth with a giant minotaur on my heels drained away, leaving behind a different kind of heat. Something wild and desperate to be devoured like the women in the carvings.

I was still prey, yes. But I could be so much more than that.

I could be the prize for him to claim.

I licked my lips, trying to ignore the heat pooling between my thighs. “Kotos?” My voice came out as barely more than a whisper. “Can you hear me?”

He cocked his head, something flickering in those alien eyes. A low growl rumbled from his chest, but he didn’t charge. Didn’t attack.

Progress, right?

“I know you’re in there.” I took a deep breath, willing my voice to stay steady. “Remember last night? How you made me feel? How perfectly we fit together?”

Another growl, but softer this time. Almost... curious?

“Please,” I tried again. “You have to remember. I’m Laramie. Your...” I hesitated, the word catching in my throat. “Your mate.”

Kotos lunged, closing the distance between us in a heartbeat. His massive hands gripped my waist, effortlessly lifting me onto the altar.

“Mine,” he snarled, burying his face in the crook of my neck. His tongue, hot and rough, dragged along my skin. Tasting me. Claiming me.

I moaned, head falling back to give him better access. “Yours,” I agreed, my voice breathy and desperate. “All yours.”

One of his hands found my breast, kneading roughly through the fabric of my shirt. I arched into his touch, desperate for more. With a grunt of frustration, Kotos tore at my clothes. Buttons scattered across the stone floor as he ripped my blouse open.

“Kotos,” I gasped as he latched onto my newly exposed skin. His mouth was everywhere at once, licking and sucking and nipping. Marking me as his.

He ground his hips against me, his cock hot and hard against my stomach. I reached between us, wrapping my hand around his shaft. Kotos let out a strangled moan, his hips bucking into my grip. Fuck, I could barely get my fingers around him. The thought of taking all of him made me clench with need.

I gasped as he roughly shoved my skirt up around my hips. A gust of cool air kissed my skin before his hand returned to cup my pussy.

“Please,” I whimpered. “I need?—”

His response was a deep, rumbling growl that vibrated through my entire body. One large hand splayed across my stomach, holding me in place as the other tore my panties away with frightening ease.

I should have been terrified. Should have fought, screamed, done anything to stop this. But as his fingers ghosted over my exposed flesh, all I could think about was how desperately I wanted him to touch me.

Kotos’ nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, drinking in the scent of my arousal. A pleased rumble emanated from his chest. Without warning, he buried his face between my thighs.

I cried out at the first swipe of his tongue, my hips bucking against his mouth. He growled again, the vibrations sending shockwaves of pleasure through me. His tongue—longer and more dexterous than I remembered—lapped at my folds before plunging inside.

“Oh fuck,” I gasped, fisting my hands in his hair. My nails scraped against the base of his horns, earning another growl that had me seeing stars.

He devoured me, alternating between fucking me with his tongue and sucking on my clit. I writhed beneath him, lost in a haze of pleasure. His name fell from my lips again and again, punctuated by gasps and moans.

Just as I teetered on the edge of orgasm, Kotos pulled back. I whined at the loss, only to gasp as he roughly flipped me onto my stomach. His massive hands gripped my hips, pulling me to the edge of the altar.

Kotos leaned over me, covering my body with his. His breath was hot against my ear as he growled, “Mine.”

Then he slammed home.

I screamed as he filled me, stretching me to my limits and beyond. Fuck, he was huge. It was too much. Not enough. Perfect.

Kotos didn’t give me time to adjust. He withdrew almost completely before slamming back in, setting a punishing pace that drove the air from my lungs. His hands gripped my hips hard enough to bruise, holding me in place as he pounded into me.

“Fuck,” I managed between ragged breaths. “Don’t stop. So good.”

He responded with a snarl, one hand fisting in my hair and yanking my head back. The new angle allowed him to drive even deeper, hitting spots inside me I didn’t know existed. Pleasure coiled tighter in my core with each brutal thrust.

My world narrowed to the feeling of him pounding into me, claiming me. The chamber filled with the obscene sounds of flesh slapping against flesh, punctuated by my cries and Kotos’ animalistic grunts.

I felt my orgasm building, a tidal wave of sensation threatening to sweep me away. “I’m close,” I gasped. “Kotos, I’m gonna?—”

Kotos’ pace became frantic, driving into me with a desperation that matched my own. One hand snaked around to rub furious circles against my clit as he pounded into me. Bliss bubbled right at the edge of awareness. I braced my hands against the altar, pushing back against him, seeking that elusive last bit I needed from him.

Hot breath fanned across my neck. His tongue traced the sensitive spot where shoulder met neck.

“Do it,” I heard myself say. “Make me yours.”

Kotos’ hips stuttered, his rhythm faltering for just a moment. Then he slammed into me one final time, burying himself to the hilt as his teeth sank into the junction of my neck and shoulder.

Pain and pleasure exploded through me in equal measure. I screamed, my body convulsing as the most intense orgasm of my life crashed over me. Kotos’ cock pulsed inside me, flooding me with his release even as his bite marked me as his.

Wave after wave of ecstasy washed over me, each pulse of his cock setting off another aftershock. I lost all sense of time, drifting in the overwhelming sensations of being filled, claimed, completed .

I was his, and he was mine. Forever.