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ChapterOne
When I woke up this morning in my mates’ arms, fighting a giant minotaur was not what I thought the day had planned for me.
Now is not the time to wonder what in the goddess’s name I’ve gotten myself into. I need to focus on making sure my mates are okay and not dying or being dismembered bythatthing. It bellows, the ground shaking with its fury, and my limbs feel weak with fear.
The minotaur easily stands as tall as three full-grown males, with the face of a bull and long, sharp horns that curl up and around its head, and its muscular body makes Joel look small in comparison. It snorts and stamps its huge back legs, getting ready to charge at my mates. The points of its horns look sharp, and I have no doubt that if one of them gets stabbed, they will die. Just that very thought has me steeling myself and pushing my uncertainties away, the fear of losing my mates far greater than my worries about myself.
The dark presence that resides within me rises, reminding me of what I learned before I stepped into this chaotic scene.
The archway of truths.
I’m sure it was designed to tear me apart and make me question myself, and it did, leaving me feeling raw and vulnerable. However, as always, my mates are my priority, so for them, I accepted all of my faults. At some point, I have no doubt that everything I’ve learned will come crashing down on me, but that time is not now. A vision was gifted to me when I passed the test within the arch—a vision of my mother and the goddess before I was born—and I learned something very important, something that’s going to change everything. Goddess blood runs through my veins.
At my side, Star, my wolf made of starlight, glimmers in the artificial light, her hackles raised. Her low snarl is aimed at the minotaur, but she doesn’t stray from my side, waiting for my instruction. Glancing around the room, I take stock of our situation, quickly noting that Scott and all four of my mates are here. Other than the minotaur, we’re alone and have no weapons, but my skin tingles with my power. I’m not powerless here, I have magic.
“This challenge is simple. Find and defeat your opponent.”
The queen’s voice floats through my mind, reminding me why I’m here. Thanks to the prophecies that have recently come to light, the witches seem to believe I am the key to ending the war between the werewolves and witches. I will either succeed in uniting them, or I will bring doom upon us all. No pressure.
To prove that I am this chosen one from the prophecy, I’ve been given a series of challenges, each testing a certain aspect of my character. This is the first of those challenges. Defeat your opponent. Simple, yes. Easy, no. Of course, it couldn’t have been another witch, oh no, it was a creature I didn’t know existed outside of mythology. Do they really think I’ll be fighting creatures like this in my task to bring about peace? Most likely this is the queen exerting her power over me and hoping I’ll fail in the process.
At the moment, the minotaur is between my mates and me, so my first task will be reaching them. They don’t look too exhausted, which makes me think they’ve not been here the whole time and probably had to work their way through the maze like I did. Allowing my eyes to pass over each of them, I give myself half a second to check them for injuries.
The only one who seems to be injured is Syn. He’s clutching at his arm, and it hangs in a strange position that makes me think he dislocated his shoulder. However, as soon as I stepped through the archway of truths, his gaze locked straight on me, a hint of madness gleaming in his eyes.
“Mate,” he calls, and somehow, I’m able to hear him despite the distance between us. My bond tingles in my chest, and I realise I’m not truly hearing him, butfeelinghim. In fact, all of my bonds seem to be restored, even the strange, unexplained connection with Scott.
The others have all noticed me and are calling out, but they keep their primary focus on the threat standing before them. Everyone except for Syn, that is. He continues to stare at me, seemingly oblivious to the danger around him, and slowly begins to walk my way, right into the path of the charging minotaur.
“Syn!” I shout, my voice cracking with emotion as I reach out. My magic flares inside me, but I don’t know what to do or how to protect him as the stampeding beast barrels towards him. Everything seems to move in slow motion, and I watch as Star races across the space to try and reach our mate, knowing she won’t get to him in time. My palms buzz with magic, but without direction, it just sits there uselessly.
All of a sudden, time seems to return to normal, and a body slams into Syn, pulling him back and narrowly avoiding being trampled by the minotaur.
Tilting its head back, the creature bellows its anger at the loss of its prey. My breathing is ragged as Star throws herself at the minotaur. On instinct, I run forward, trying to get to my mate, and I have to force myself to stop and plan how I’m going to do this.
Joel has his arms wrapped around Syn, holding him in a bearhug to stop him from doing something stupid. Syn doesn’t see it that way though. He’s lost to his madness, his eyes locked on me. Right now, Joel isn’t his friend, he’s an obstacle stopping him from getting to me. Snarling, he fights against the larger alpha, trying to get out of his impossibly strong arms. I can see Joel talking to Syn in a low voice, trying to get through to him, but he’s too far gone, not even caring about his injured arm as he thrashes about. My bond is practically weeping in my chest, and I find myself slowly skirting the edges of the space, desperate to get to my mates.
Scott, Atlas, and Nicolai have been attempting to distract the creature. Its eyesight doesn’t seem to be very good, relying on sound and movement to direct it. The three of them have spread out and are shouting, making as much noise as they can to confuse it, giving Joel more time to drag a struggling Syn back. It seems to be working, because the creature’s ears flick back and forth as it picks up on the many different sounds.
Making the most of the distraction, I pick up the pace and cross the space. My movement must catch its attention, though, because its huge head swivels around, and the minotaur narrows its squinty eyes on me. I know I’ve fucked up. It charges towards me, not giving me time to think. Breath caught in my chest, I stare at my death. A surge of magic flows through me, and acting on instinct, I raise my hands, palms extended as power rips out of me. Surrounded in a glittering ball of starlight, I pray it will hold as the creature lowers its head.
The impact causes both myself and the minotaur to fall back.I’m still alive, I think dumbly, lying on the ground and staring up at the ball of stars I’m encased in. However, they flicker before my eyes, and I feel my power waning. I won’t survive another hit. The minotaur is slowly getting back to its feet, shaking its head, and it won’t be long until it’s charging again.
“Laelia!”
There’s a lot of noise, but one of my mates’ voices is louder than everything else—Atlas.
“Laelia, get up and fucking run!”
His order snaps me out of my daze, and I force myself to stand. My body is still in shock from the force of the minotaur’s blow, and it takes a moment for me to find my balance. The shield flickers around me again, and Star is doing her best to keep the creature away, but she’s so small in comparison that she’s unable to actually cause any damage. If anything, it just seems to enrage the creature more.
Magic pulses around us, and my eyes lock on Atlas. His face is twisted in concentration, both hands extended as he stares at the minotaur. The ground beneath the creature’s feet is glistening with a sheet of ice, causing it to slip and fall. It won’t keep it down long, but it’s the opening I need.
Stumbling forward, I force my uncooperative legs to move. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m scared, glancing at the huge, enraged creature as he sees me hurrying past. Its efforts to free itself only double, forcing Atlas to concentrate harder on maintaining the spell.
Seeing my struggle, Scott and Nicolai rush towards me, meeting me halfway and practically dragging me over to their half of the space. It’s only when I reach that point when I feel a faint tingle over my skin—a barrier. They separated usagain. Somehow, I’m able to pass through easily, but I don’t miss how Scott pauses for a millisecond before I cross over that invisible threshold. They must have learned the hard way about the shield cutting them off from this side of the room.
I have no doubt that the minotaur has free rein of the room though. Images of the minotaur impaling me while my mates watch on play across my mind. Part of me wonders if this is exactly what the queen was hoping for.
