AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Such unending loneliness.
He closed his eyes as he ran. Barely noticing when the dirt and pebbles turned to fields of grass. He didn’t know and didn’t care where he was. He simply had to get away.
It hurt too much.
He felt it like a thousand blades in his very soul. And no matter how fast he raced, he could never escape it. The pain was with him always.
He didn’t even know why.
“Aaaaaaannnnnnnnnddddddrrrrrooooooosssss!”
At first he thought it was a droning in his ears, perhaps the cacophony of distant birds. He tossed his head to clear it and instinctively broke out of the gallop into a lope, slowing down.
A sharp bark sounded over the hill ahead.
Andros perked his ears and slowed even further.
Why was it so familiar? That bark?
The only dogs he’d ever encountered lived with humans in their villages. Centaurs didn’t keep domesticated animals. It wasn’t their way. Raising colts and fillies was more than enough chaotic, rewarding responsibility for parents and the entire tribe.
“Aaaaaaannnnnnnnnddddddrrrrrooooooosssss!”
The screeching noise that made him wince and his ears flatten back to hide from the sound reached him again.
Closer this time.
His gaze rivetted on the top of the hill, and he squinted his eyes with concentration, willing whatever was barreling toward him to make its appearance.
Suddenly, a gigantic golden furball rolled down the hill. That was the way it looked, at least. Andros could barely make out a black nose, paws, and a furiously wagging bush of a tail.
It was some sort of dog (because it barked) that looked like a lion (given the overgrown mane that covered not just its head but its entire body).
And Andros’ heart kicked like a maddened mule.
Because he recognized that dog. Even though he was certain he’d never seen it before.
He shifted to centaur instinctively, just before the creature reached him, his hands out in front of him, palms down, trying to calm the excited pup. Who jumped and danced all around Andros in dizzying circles, woofing and panting, its deep voice at odds with its playful puppy demeanor.
“Where did you come from?” he murmured, eyeing the largest dog he’d ever seen. As large as a small horse.
“Who do you belong to?”
“Baaaaabbbbbbyyyyyy!”
His gaze shot back up to the hill just as a small female scrambled down the grassy side, slipping and sliding in her haste to get to him. He couldn’t tell whether she was calling for the dog or for him.
Baby?
Of their own volition, his legs moved him closer in her direction without his mind realizing what he did.
Before he knew it, he was face to face with a strange human woman with thick, wavy, multi-colored hair and honeyed skin.
Well, face to stallion chest.
She was about half his height as a centaur. Tiny and curvy. Soft and feminine.Sofeminine, that she called out to the fundamental maleness within him.
Made him want to roar:MINE.
