18. Asterion

Bones snap. Blood flows.

I am lost in my Minotaur rage. This is a side of me I have repressed all my life as king, but to protect my mate, I must let it all out. I must become the rampaging bull.

And then I hear Isabella's voice over the speakers. It takes me a moment to register it, for her voice to cut through the adrenaline coursing through my veins, but her panicked voice finally reaches me.

"Asterion! Stop, please! They have Eden! They have my sister!"

In an instant, my rage is gone. The pure pain in her voice stops me dead in my tracks; my fist just about to snap another neck.

They have her little sister. These people are truly, truly evil.

I raise my bloody fists high into the air.

"ENOUGH!"

My booming voice shakes the very foundations of Minos. The surviving soldiers look surprised as I stop attacking, as the whirlwind of death comes to a sudden stop. I look at them, breathing heavily, my fur dripping with blood.

"Bring me Darius Blackthorn," I say. "Send him here."

The soldiers talk into their ear-piece for a moment, and then back off a couple of yards, weapons still raised.

We wait.

I hear the patter of feet in the distance. Isabella and Emma come running towards me. Even though my fur is stained with blood, Isabella throws her arms around me.

"Asterion, I'm so sorry," she stammers, but I silence her.

"No, it's okay," I say.

"It's not, this is all because of me?—"

"Silence, little one. I will not hear it."

I kneel down so we are face-to-face, and I give her a soft kiss. "If I must sacrifice myself for Eden's life… then I will gladly do so," I tell her. "This is my way of making amends for my failings as a Minotaur King."

Several minutes later a well-dressed man strides across the courtyard towards us, holding a struggling girl by the scruff of her neck.

"Eden!" Isabella cries out.

"Sis!" The girl answers.

So this is the cur. The man who terrifies my mate. The man who deserves nothing but death.

Darius Blackthorn has a cruel smile on his face. He locks eyes with me, and grins.

"I didn't think you were real, but here you are," he says. "A real life fucking Minotaur. Amazing."

I snort derisively.

"Hand over the girl," I growl.

"Surrender your life and your city to me, and I won't harm her. And if you don't…"

He pulls out a pistol and presses it against Eden's back. Emma gasps, Isabella yelps, and my blood runs cold. Threatening the life of a young, innocent girl? Not even the most savage Minotaur could be so cruel.

"That won't be necessary," I say, palms raised. "I surrender. Let her go."

Isabella lets out a heart-wrenching scream.

Darius smiles victoriously as he throws Eden onto the pavement. This man is a coward, a bully, and a brute. I want to rip him limb from limb…

But instead, I walk towards him, slowly. He motions for his men to spring into action, and two of his thugs cautiously approach me and place handcuffs on me.

"You're going to make me so fucking rich," Blackthorn brags. "No one in the galaxy has their own pet Minotaur."

Isabella runs towards her sister and the two of them hug tightly, tears streaming down their faces. It warms my heart. My sacrifice will not have been in vain. Nothing this thug could do to me could erase the love I feel for Isabella.

My love looks up at me, her eyes puffy. I can see her heart is breaking, and I hope with all my soul she will be happy one day. She deserves that.

"Take the women, too," Darius casually says to one of his thugs. "The boys deserve a little reward after this shit-show."

Instantly the thugs descend upon Isabella, Eden and Emma, wrestle them to the ground and snap cuffs on them.

"What?!" I growl, my voice booming with anger. "No! That wasn't the deal?!"

"What deal, you stupid beast?" Darius Blackthorn says, smirking victoriously at me. "I won't harm her. That was my promise to you. Now, I can't say the same for my men. You just killed some of their best friends, and they are angry, hungry, and horny. Whatever happens next… well, it's your fault, isn't it?"

Darius laughs cruelly as the thugs pick the three women up and carry them off. "What are you going to do about it? Those cuffs are titanium. Not even you are getting them off, big boy. You're all mine!"

That's it.

With a roar I snap the handcuffs right in half. Darius Blackthorn looks shocked.

"W-what?" He stammers. "H-how?!"

Those are his last words.

I cross the distance between us with a single stride. Before any of his soldiers have a moment to respond I grab the cruel brute's skull in my firm grasp.

"What am I going to do?" I grunt. "This."

His skull shatters as I close my fist. I drop his lifeless body on the marble floor, and turn towards his trembling soldiers.

"Let. Them. Go."

The Guild members look at their dead boss, then at each other, and a second later they scatter like startled rats. They even drop their weapons as they flee, wanting to get as far away from me as possible — leaving Isabella, Eden and Ember behind.

I rush towards my mate. With a flick of my wrist I snap all of their cuffs, and Isabella throws her arms around me and instantly kisses me. I hold her trembling body as she sinks into me, showering me with kisses.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeats over again. "I love you so much, Asterion, I love you I love you I love you,"

I return her kiss, as my drones already start their cleaning duties; carrying away the bodies of the invaders, mopping up all the blood, washing away the gore.

Eden looks at us in shock.

"Oh yeah, your sister is marrying a Minotaur," Emma says. "Don't worry, he's a pretty cool guy."

"Uh, o-okay," the little girl stammers.

I lower Isabella back to the ground, and she rushes towards her sister and hugs her with the same intensity.

"I'm so sorry you got dragged into this, Eden," Isabella says. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Are you kidding me? There's nothing to forgive, sis," Eden says, wise beyond her years. "Those guys were pure evil, that's not your fault."

Eden looks at me, and holds out her small, dainty hand for me. "I suppose I've got to thank you for saving my life. So, uhm, thank you, mister Minotaur."

I kneel down so she doesn't have to crane her neck up, and accept her handshake. "You are more than welcome, Eden Starlight. Come, let us retire to my palace. We could all use a good wash, and some dinner."

"Oh, dinner sounds nice," Eden pipes up. "I'm pretty hungry."

"Then you're going to love it here," Emma says. "They've got everything you could ever ask for."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

Isabella and I walk hand-in-hand towards my palace as Emma tells Eden all about life in Minos. For one terrifying moment, all of it was ripped from my hands…

But now I have it all.

Life is good.