Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
For a single heartbeat, there was silence. Then the immense presence surrounding him seemed to deepen until he felt almost crushed beneath it.
“The children of the mate I chose for you are in grave danger,” the Goddess told him.
Taurex nearly stopped breathing.
“The children…” His heart began hammering. “You mean Cody and Lisa?” He knew the answer before the Goddess spoke again.
“I do.”
Taurex’s hands clenched around the steering yoke as images of the two human younglings flashed through his mind. Cody reaching up eagerly to touch one of his horns…Lisa announcing without the slightest hesitation that she wanted to see the Bull-man. Their delight over the gifts he had bought them at the Market and Terra hugging both of them when he brought her home.
“What has happened?” he demanded, forgetting for a moment whom he was addressing. “Are they hurt? Where are they?”
“They live, but they have been taken by a male who intends to use them to force their mother into submission.”
The Goddess’s voice was grim.
A growl rolled out of Taurex before he could contain it.
Orlov—it had to be.
Terra had mentioned enough about the human male during their time together for Taurex to know exactly what kind of creature he was—a wealthy predator who believed his desire for a female entitled him to possess her. Taurex had already disliked the male without ever meeting him, but now a murderous fury unlike anything he had felt in years began building inside him.
Then another thought struck him.
“Terra,” he breathed. “Is she safe?”
“For now. But she will put herself in danger to save them.”
Safe only for now. Relief lasted less than a second before fear replaced it.
“Tell me where they are. I will go at once,” Taurex said.
But to his surprise, the Goddess remained silent.
Taurex frowned and looked around, though there was nothing to see—only Her presence.
“My Lady?” he asked.
“Terra made it clear that she did not wish to accept you as her mate and yet you would go to her aid?” the Goddess asked.
Taurex hesitated, confused by the question.
“Of course.”
The Goddess’s presence seemed to shift around him, not withdrawing but becoming almost contemplative.
“I mean…” Taurex swallowed. “Terra does not want me anymore. She made that very clear, and I will not force myself into her life. But her younglings, they are dear to me, though I only knew them briefly.”
“Does her rejection mean you will refuse to help her children?” the Goddess demanded.
Taurex stared into the empty air in shock.
“No! No, Goddess, of course not. That is not what I meant.”
The pressure of Her presence increased.
“Because if your devotion depends upon Terra giving you what you desire, then you do not deserve the woman I chose for you.”
The rebuke struck deeply and Taurex bowed his head at once.
“You are right, My Lady,” he said. “I would protect Cody and Lisa whether Terra ever speaks to me again or not,” he added earnestly. “They are innocent younglings. More than that, they are her younglings. I care for them because they belong to the woman I love, even if she never chooses to belong with me. I did not mean that I would refuse them aid. I only meant…” His voice grew rough. “I only meant that I know I have no right to expect anything from Terra anymore.”
For several seconds, there was no answer.
Then the crushing weight of the Goddess’s presence seemed to soften.
“Good. You have passed the test, Warrior, and been found worthy.”
Taurex felt a rush of relief.
“Thank you, Goddess. Now will you tell me where they are?”
“I will. Listen carefully, warrior. I will tell you where to go.”
“Yes.” He immediately activated the navigation system. “Tell me.”
Coordinates appeared inside his mind with impossible clarity—not numbers he had to struggle to remember but a complete spatial location, as though someone had placed a glowing marker on the surface of Earth itself.
Taurex watched as the glowing dot zeroed in North America…then Florida…then downtown Tampa. He entered the coordinates as quickly as his hands could move.
“The children are frightened, but they are unharmed at this moment.”
“At this moment?” Taurex repeated grimly.
“The male who took them is dangerous. He has other males with him, and some carry human projectile weapons,” the Goddess informed him.
Taurex’s jaw tightened.
“How many?”
“Enough that you should not go unarmed.”
His hand immediately went to the weapons compartment beneath the shuttle console.
“I will be armed.”
“You must protect the younglings at all costs. Children are sacred to me.”
“I will protect them with my life.”
There was no hesitation. Taurex meant every word. If saving Cody and Lisa required him to die, then he would die. He could think of no better use for a life that had felt empty ever since Terra left it.
But the Goddess wasn’t finished.
“Do not be reckless simply because your heart is wounded, warrior. I asked you to protect them, not to throw your life away.”