Chapter 9

Cerys

Ipeered at Cam as his eyes opened and blinked at the sudden intrusion of light. Relief nearly made my legs give way. He"d been given an extended collar shock that would have killed most other monsters. His eyes darted around and then settled on me.

"Cerys."

The sound of my name sent a shiver down my spine.

"You"re okay, Cam. You just need to rest."

Despite me saying that, he instantly attempted to sit up. I suspected there was no point trying to convince him not to, so I helped him as best I could. I plumped pillows behind him and got him comfortable. He was shackled to the bed with thick metal cuffs for security. The long gash on his chest had been stitched. If he was bruised, I couldn't tell through the black fur.

"Is he awake now?"

The gruff voice of the orc that I now hated with a passion was at the other end of the small hospital ward. A guard sat halfway down the room, apparently to stop any more fights breaking out. I was ignored when I said having them both on the same ward was a terrible idea. I'd thought about hitting the orc with a bedpan while he was cuffed to his bed.

"I"m awake," Cam said, eyeing the orc with a weary sigh.

"Great fight. Thanks, pal."

I blinked a few times and felt my nose screwing up as I tried to process this. The orc"s green skin was covered in huge purple bruises. I couldn"t contain all the feelings inside me anymore. The fear that I might have lost Cam had left me raw and frayed. I tried to push the feelings away, but they just kept crowding back in. Nausea roiled around my stomach.

"Are you insane? Good fight? Look at the state of you both! Why did you do this?"

My voice was getting increasingly high pitched.

When the troll said he was coming for the new minotaur… bat… err, batotaur guy, I knew he"d get flattened. But also, maybe since he was already fighting, then he"d fight me! And we"d have a good ruck. Ah, I really needed that. My muscles get so tense when I haven"t had a good go at it for a while. And I needed to prove to Serena that I am strong. So getting through a fight with the biggest guy here made sense."

The orc lay back on his bed, grinning. I turned to Cam, my mouth hanging open. My body prickled with hot anger.

"Serena? MADE SENSE?."

It came out as nearly a shriek. Cam placed a large but gentle hand on my shoulder. I was ready to let loose all my anger on this orc, but I stopped as guards came in to take him away. He waved cheerily to Cam, and Cam gave an awkward wave back as he shook his head. The door to the ward closed, and we were alone.

I threw out my arms in frustration.

"Orcs are strange creatures. Don"t think too much about it, my love."

A wave of warmth flowed over me when he said my love. Our eyes met and the need that burned in his was almost overwhelming. I took some deep breaths to calm myself. I had something to say.

"You stole my scarf."

For the first time since we met, I saw him flinch.

"You gave it to me to blindfold me. It was your idea."

"You didn"t give it back."

"You didn"t ask, and honestly my love, I forgot until you had already left."

"You could have returned it later."

He hesitated.

"I could have. But it smelled of you."

A long moment of silence drew out between us. I felt vulnerable, and I suspected he did too. The urge to run away flitted through my mind.

"So, you"ve been… smelling my scarf."

He looked guilty, and it took me a moment to realize why.

"Oh! You"ve been… Oh. Okay…"

"You are my mate, Cerys. I"ve known it since we first met. It"s hard to be away from you. The scarf helps."

"Well… I. Well."

I was flustered now. Warring emotions battled inside me. I should be offended. Insulted, surely. It was incredibly inappropriate. I'd never wanted a monster mate. But my body was responding with desire and need. It was kind of hot. I was confused.

"That is an inappropriate way to behave, Cam."

I tried to sound stern, but it came out weirdly high pitched.

"My apologies. Don"t you want me, Cerys?"

I took a step away from him and ran my hands through my hair. I didn"t want to have this conversation. But part of me wanted to tell him everything. My mind fought with itself for long minutes before I gave in. I couldn't keep pretending that this wasn"t happening. He needed to understand. The words started before I could stop them.

"My parents were killed. Because of me."

Tears filled my eyes, and I knew there would be no way of stopping them from falling freely, so I didn"t even try. Cam sat forward as though to reach for me, but one hand was cuffed to the bed with a large, heavy shackle. He growled faintly at being held back. I didn"t move closer to him though. I didn"t even look at him. My body was jittery and cold. I needed to move about as I talked. I needed to pace and not feel constrained as I faced the story I always hid away from. That I never told anyone.

"My hometown was very… purist. It"s a designated monster-free town. There are a lot of people there who fear what they don"t understand. I was raised to believe that monsters are dangerous and to be avoided. When the seer came and declared that I had a monster fated mate, I was shunned. It was the worst thing that could have happened. Everyone looked at me suspiciously. My parents were devastated. It was horrible. And honestly, I hated myself. Something had to be wrong with me to be fated to a monster."

I was talking fast now, too fast as all the pent-up feelings caught up with me. I was suddenly desperate to get it out.

"All the other girls got told that they were free to choose their partner or, for a few, that they had human fated mates. So, they started calling me a monster. Just teasing at first. Then a rumor started. Someone said that you could only have a monster fated mate if you were part monster yourself. My parents tried their best to prove their human ancestry. They wanted to stay, for things to go back to normal. But I'd ruined it."

I stopped to take a few breaths. To gulp down air and wipe my face.

"Well, some in the town refused to believe it and… well… one night a group broke into our home and attacked us. My parents fought them while me and my sisters escaped. They paid for that with their lives."

I sucked in air desperately and tried to breathe it back out slowly. Images crowded my mind. Blood. Screaming.

"One of them caught me while the fighting was going on and… but I got a good kick in the balls at some point and got away. That's why I can't do this. I can't do us. It's the thing that destroyed my life."

Cam leaned forward, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"What did he do to you?"

I turned away and unzipped my dress to show the scars from whip marks on my back, before breaking down into sobs.

Everything suddenly shook, including me, as the loudest roar I had ever heard rocked through the infirmary.. The sound of metal bending and then tearing echoed through the room. Before I could turn around to see what was happening, he was there, and his arms were around me. I spun and buried my head into his chest, sobbing hard. Cam squeezed me tight and whispered soothing noises into my ear.

"You are safe, my love. I will keep you safe. And I will kill them all. No one will hurt you now. Not while I breathe."

I felt myself relax in his arms and let the tears flow. Tears for my parents, the sisters who wouldn't speak to me and myself. I cried for all the fear I had lived with. Finally, I felt safe, here in this monster's arms. Safer than I had ever been. Despite everything I'd said, I'd never been safer than here with him. The very thing I'd been avoiding. After a few moments a door opened behind us, and a nurse dashed in. Cam growled, and she ran back out. I had to pull myself together. Quickly.

"I think we are about to have an influx of guards. You should get back into bed, Cam."

I peered around him at the bed laying on its side, twisted metal where the side bars had been and a dip where it had broken in the middle.

"I won't let you go."

"You have to. For now. For me, please, Cam."

I gently eased myself out of his arms and pushed him into a chair which looked comically small with him perched on it. He didn't resist, but his eyes never left me. I could see his muscles twitching as he held himself in check. For me. Wiping my face, I took a couple of steps away and brushed myself down. My eyes would be red, but there was nothing I could do about that now.

Several guards appeared as I expected, looking ready for a big fight, electric batons drawn. A couple of them looked disappointed to find a calm scene and a calm minotaur perched politely on a small chair. Officer Daylen looked the situation over and frowned.

It took some quick talking, but I convinced the guards that the bed had been an accident because of Cam's injuries and the pain. The nurse returned, shaking, and gave him an unnecessary shot of pain medication. Two of the younger officers came with me as I took Cam back to his cell. When we arrived, I ordered them to leave us alone. They grumbled about it, but as his therapist I outranked them all, so they left. My brain was whirring. I thought of being held in Cam"s arms in the ward, and I wanted it again. I needed it in a way that made no logical sense.

I pulled the scarf out of my pocket. Cam held out a hand and for reasons I couldn"t explain, I handed it over to him. He sniffed it deeply and immediately his huge cock poked out from his loincloth. I really needed to get him some proper prison clothes.

"Show me."

He moved to the back corner of his cell where he was out of sight of the other cells. He reached down and wrapped the scarf and his hand around his hard cock. Our eyes locked as he slowly stroked himself. I felt hot all over, and I knew I should leave. But I couldn"t help myself. I looked down at him pleasuring himself, and a small whimper escaped my mouth. He growled.

"Cerys." My name left his mouth like a desperate prayer.

He was pumping harder and faster now, the scarf still wrapped around his cock. His eyes never left me, although they roamed freely up and down my body. Needy tension filled me, and I stepped towards him, within touching distance. He was breathing hard, and I reached out to place a hand on his chest. I wanted him so badly. I had promised myself I would never do this. Be with a monster. But I needed him. I was ready to lose the old me and become the person who belonged to him. Cam reached out to me and ran his fingers down my neck. I shivered.

"Undress," he ordered.

I knew I should say no. This was ridiculous, I was in a prison cell. With a monster prisoner, and there were hundreds of prisoners everywhere around us. And guards who could walk in at any moment. But I slowly pulled my clothes off in what I hoped was a sensuous way.

"I had no idea that human bodies could be so attractive until I met you."

I moved closer, and his hand wandered down to my breasts. He cupped and squeezed them, fascinated. When one of his fingers grazed my nipple, I gasped. A wicked grin crossed his face, and he returned to the nipple and began playing with it. I couldn"t help myself and moaned quietly as the sensation sent tingles shooting down my body to my core.

Cam took my hand and placed it on his long, wide shaft. My fingers and thumb did not come anywhere near to being able to wrap around the entire thing. The smell of caramelized oranges grew stronger and muskier as Cam moved my hand up and down his shaft. He let go of me, his head fell back, and a deep growl of pleasure left his mouth. My insides tightened as I realized I had done that to him. I had caused that pleasure in him. I continued stroking his huge cock as I watched him rock his hips into my movement. It was the hottest thing I'd ever seen.

Without another word he lifted me up into the air and pulled me against him so that the end of his cock was pressed against my clit. I felt weightless in his arms, mind and body.

Electric tendrils of pleasure shot through me. He growled again and continued rocking his hips. The motion against my clit sent all thought and sense out of my brain. I was nothing but sensation and need. A gnawing ache in my core screamed out to be filled. I needed him inside me. Cam grunted and my eyes flickered open.

Another wave of arousal flooded my body as I looked at this huge monster. He wanted me and only me. I moaned with pleasure. I was already close to coming, and Cam"s eyes met mine in mutual understanding and need. He moved me effortlessly, positioning me above his cock, and then lowered me down. I felt the huge cock press against my entrance. I rocked my hips against it, feeling it push me apart.

Voices rang loud from down the corridor, and I jumped. I was desperate for him, but I couldn"t be caught like this. The competing emotions warred inside me.

Fuck it, I wanted him.

Louder voices echoed from outside.

"So, she wanted to be alone in the cellblock of a fucking monster prison?"

Officer Daylen was nearby and talking loudly with someone. It was like an instant cold shower. I wiggled out of Cam's grasp and dropped to the floor. He growled but didn"t stop me from moving away and sorting my clothing out. He sat down on the tiny, grimy mattress, his eyes still burning and boring into me. Yet again, restraining himself for me.

"I have to go. We"ll talk later."

I fled from his cell, not trusting myself to stay a moment longer. I had to calm down Daylen.