Chapter 6

Cam

Ilay back on the hard mattress, and as soon as I was sure the guard was gone, I held the scarf to my nose and took a deep sniff. Cerys" smell flooded my nose, and after a few breaths it felt like I was drunk on her. Like nothing else mattered. She was all-consuming. My cock was hardening under my loincloth. I angled myself away from the door so no one could see me, and stroked myself while breathing in her scent. I thought of those wide eyes closing with pleasure as I thrust into her. Imagined her voice calling my name. I took the scarf and wrapped it around my cock and thrust into it furiously, my mind full of her. Her smell was imprinted into my brain now. I was lost to her, and I"d do anything to make her mine. I grunted as I came, imagining how she would feel around me.

The next morning, I was exhausted. I hadn"t been able to get her out of my head since yesterday. The smell on her scarf was driving me wild. I needed her. I'd used that scarf until I was sure my cock had nothing left to give.

The day passed torturously slowly. I hadn"t spoken to anyone else here apart from her and that dick of a guard. I ate alone and walked around the yard by myself. No one bothered me. As the only monster here with any minotaur in them, I was the biggest prisoner by far. But eventually someone would fancy their chances at making a name for themselves by taking me down. I avoided growling at anyone, but I kept a mask of aggression on for anyone who might look my way. No sense in making them think it would be easy. When the obnoxious guard turned up to take me to my next therapy session, I didn"t even react to his attitude towards me. All I could think of was Cerys. As promised, he didn"t take me through the maze of the prison as he had yesterday. We went to a room just off the side of the cell block.

She was already there when I walked in. As soon as the guard opened the door, her vibration washed over me. My body relaxed in her presence.

"Hi, Cam, how are you doing today?"

"Good. How are you?"

She smiled at me, seeming pleased with my politeness. It wasn"t an act. I didn"t really care about much in this world, but I cared about her and her feelings towards me.

"I'm good, thank you. Please sit."

I squeezed myself into the chair. It was a big chair, but I still had to wiggle to fit my bulk into it. I waited to see what she said next. She could take the lead on this therapy thing. I wasn"t really interested in baring my soul. But I would for her if that"s what she wanted.

"How are you settling in, Cam?"

"Fine. It"s much the same as any other prison. You do what you are told when you are told. You walk where you are told, you have all your doors opened and closed for you."

"That sounds… frustrating."

"That"s the punishment. I did what I did, and I accept the consequences."

"Do you?"

The question wasn"t what I had expected. She was watching me intently. I met her eyes. There was steel in them that hadn't been there yesterday. Her vibration sounded more erratic too. It put me on edge. Did she have any idea how connected we were?

"Yes."

"You initially tried to avoid the authorities after the killings."

"Yes. There"s no point in going to prison if you don"t have to."

"Is that accepting the consequences of your actions?"

Annoyance flared in my stomach. This wasn"t what I thought therapy was. Wasn"t it supposed to be all feelings and wishy-washy stuff?

"Why does this matter?"

I shifted in the small chair. She flinched ever so slightly. All the air left me. Her fear was like a punch in the gut.

"I"m just trying to figure out what sort of man you are."

I turned this over in my head for a moment. Maybe this wasn"t entirely therapy. She wanted to know who I was. And she called me a man, not a monster. A tiny glimmer of hope blossomed in my chest.

"I"m a monster whose ideals don"t always match up with the laws of this world. Perhaps they are old-fashioned now. But I live by those ideals, and I act in the best interests of the people I care for. But if the laws of wherever I am catch up with me, then I'll accept the consequences that they deem suitable."

She nodded, and her eyes never left mine.

"Do you think that the consequences for what you did were fair?"

"Decades in prison? Then at best a hybrid camp, kept away from society? No. I think what I did was bring justice for my family when the authorities failed to." The words fell out of me with an intensity that I hadn't planned on.

Cerys leaned back in her chair, her eyes still on me. After a moment, she looked away, that nose scrunching up again, before turning back to me.

"It"s hard when justice doesn"t work. Having to live with that is… a burden. I think every society needs laws, but they are never a hundred percent effective."

This surprised me. I sat up straighter in my seat. She understood why I had done what I had done. And she wasn't judging me for it.

"I would do anything for those that I love."

I held her gaze as I spoke. She needed to know that I would do anything for her. I wanted to tell her she was my priority now. I was certain she was my mate. I would burn the world down for her. Or save it. Anything she asked. But I didn"t want to scare her. Having a human for a mate wasn"t typical for a monster. But it happened. It was more complicated, though. Monsters understood the concept of mates and how it worked. I"d heard tales of humans running away from their monster mates and trying to avoid it. I needed to tread carefully to win her human heart. As a big clumsy monster, I wasn"t good at the delicate stuff. It was more important to be in control than ever.

"I can believe that. I can see how much you care, your passion when you talk about it. About your family."

Passion. I certainly felt a lot of that. And certainly, right now. She looked beautiful. I had never thought humans beautiful before. But here she was. Her curves pulled me in. She tried to tidy a strand of hair behind her ear, but the hair bounced straight back out. I wanted to grab that hair in my hands. My cock twitched.

Control yourself.

I needed a few moments to pull myself together. I was only wearing a traditional loincloth and it wouldn't hide much. While this wouldn"t matter in monster company, humans were more restrained.

"Tell me about your family, Cerys."

"Oh. Well, there isn"t much to tell, really. I grew up with two sisters. Fairly standard family situation…"

Her voice fell off, and I saw her swallow before continuing.

"And then I was offered a place on a training course to become a therapist. So, I left them behind as soon as I was sixteen. I don't really see them now…"

She trailed off and fiddled with her hair.

"Is that normal? To leave home at that age?"

It seemed young to me from what I knew about humans.

"Not really. There was a woman who came to the school when I was fourteen. Some sort of seer. She said that I was…"

That pause and swallow again. I waited. I could see her warring with herself. I stayed quiet and tried to be patient. For her.

"Well, that I was fated to have a monster as a mate. And this is the path I should follow. It was all set in place for me."

She blushed as she said this, and turned her face away. My stomach flipped and a lightning bolt of excitement ran up my spine. She knew. She knew about mates. I leaned forward in my chair now.

"They explained to you about mates?"

"Yes. It is quite rare in humans to have a monster mate, apparently."

"Are you excited to meet your mate, Cerys?"

"I… I"ve never wanted a mate. It was terrifying for a young girl. To be mated to a monster. It made me an outcast. It changed everything."

I could see the pain in her eyes. She probably wasn't meant to be telling me this. But she wasn"t just my therapist, and she couldn't change that. I never wanted her to feel pain though. The thought of her hurting was like a wound deep inside me. An ache that propelled me forward. I had to make her see that this was good. It was right. We were right. I was sure that if I could claim her, she would feel at peace. I stood and slowly moved towards her like I was trying not to spook a scared animal.