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I didn't get any further than that before Typhon was up and moving, his talons digging into the wooden deck. I couldn't stop the instinctive jolt of fear at seeing a predator moving toward me so quickly, and Rom growled low in his chest, but Typhon ignored both of us. He was at my side in an instant, his body pressed against my side. His eyes had gone flat, the human-like intelligence I usually saw there gone, replaced by something wild and feral.

Romulus growled again, his hackles standing on end, and the creature hissed back, his scorpion tail coiling up behind him like he meant to swing it at my dog.

"No! Typhon, it's okay!" I was probably going to get myself attacked for this, but I put my hands on either side of his head, forcing him to focus on me. "It's okay," I repeated, gentler this time. "You scared him, and he's trying to protect me. We're all safe here. It's okay."

It took me repeating that a few times before his tail finally lowered and the fury bled out of his golden eyes. He shook himself, wings rustling, and finally I saw the feral edge fade. He didn't move away, though. He sat down right beside me, still facing me, and made no effort to shake off my hands.

"We can skip the history if it's going to upset you. I just wanted to explain why I trust Lain so much."

He seemed to consider it, eyes going oddly distant, before he nodded just once.

"Trust me, I don't mind skipping the details." His fur was thicker than I'd expected, at least around his head. It made sense, though. Thicker fur would protect his vulnerable throat from attack. I hadn't seen any marks there when I'd checked him over before, and his face, while still alien and strange, was unscathed. His injuries were limited to his body, which was more than enough.

Typhon huffed softly, and I winced when I realized I'd started spiraling, letting my mind get lost in the mystery of this strange creature rather than think about the reality of my past.

"Sorry. I do that sometimes." Out of habit, I rubbed the sides of his head like I would if it were Romulus. It seemed to have the same effect on Typhon as it did on my dog, his eyes drooping to half-mast, his head tilting into the gentle massage.

How could something so completely terrifying also be strangely cute?

"I won't go into details, but a while back, Lain saved my life," I murmured, keeping up the gentle petting in hopes of tempering Typhon's reaction. "He helped me out of a really bad situation, stayed with me while I got back on my feet, and supported me every step of the way. Most importantly, he didn't tell a single soul what happened. When I say I trust him with my life, I mean it."

A low rumble started up in Typhon's chest, but faded away toward the end of my heavily edited story. Memories battered against the defensive wall in my mind, trying to break through and drown me, but keeping my sole focus on Typhon helped beat them back.

I let him sit with my words for as long as he needed. I didn't know anything about his history or what he was or why he was here, only that he was running from something. It was a feeling I knew all too well, and I knew how scary it was to allow someone in. Sometimes, the people who were supposed to help were the ones who made everything worse and napalmed your entire life. Typhon only had my word to go on, and I didn't know if that would be enough.

He didn't rush his decision, and I didn't hurry him, just kept his big face in my hands while he thought. Whatever he was running from, the idea of getting caught by them obviously scared him, which terrified me. Anything that could hurt a creature like Typhon would break me like a twig without a second thought.

I saw a hint of that fear in him when he finally met my gaze. A hesitation, an unease, dulled the faint glow of his golden eyes, his vertical pupils narrowed down to tight slits. There was a new tension in his body, his muscles coiled so tight he seemed ready to snap, but still, he looked at me and nodded.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I promise it's going to be all right."

It had to be. Somehow, for some reason, Typhon had put his trust in me, and in that moment, I knew I would rather die than break that trust, a thought that hit me like a bolt out of the blue.

How long had it been since I felt so strongly about anything? Had I ever felt this overwhelming need to protect someone else?

If so, I couldn't remember, which made this moment even more important to me. For the last few year, I'd been drifting through life. Hell, longer than that. I'd let myself get lost, barely skimming the surface of life, going through the motions required of me without ever actually connecting to anything. Lain had been the first person to break through, back before I'd even realized I had walls up, and now Typhon.

"I'm going to keep you safe," I vowed. "No matter what it takes."

Chapter 12

Typhon

This was a mistake.

Why did we agree to this?

They're going to find us now.

We should run while we still can.

He had ignored me since we agreed to Quinn's suggestion, but that last thought made the beast rumble with displeasure.

No. Quinn is ours. He will keep us safe. He promised.

To the beast, it was a simple as that. Quinn had held us, his calloused hands cradling our face. He'd looked deep into our eyes and promised he would protect us. No fear, no disgust, nothing but pure determination in his eyes, and that was all it took for me to surrender. The beast had fallen the moment Quinn touched us, but fear held me back longer and tried to force me to change my mind now.

I trusted Quinn or I wouldn't have let us come out of hiding. He fed us, cleaned our wounds, touched us without flinching away, and the beast within me had claimed him as ours.