Page 25 of Horns for the Holidays

Kotos. Thank god.

Relief flooded through me at the sight of him, but it was short-lived. His horns—massive, now, far longer and thicker than in our world—scraped against the stone walls as he struggled in place, clawing at the tie constricting his thick neck. With a snarl of frustration, he tore at his clothes. Buttons flew as he ripped his shirt open, revealing rippling muscles that seemed... bigger somehow. Bulkier.

“Kotos?” I took a hesitant step forward. “Are you okay?”

His head snapped up at the sound of my voice, and I froze. The Kotos I knew—bossy, sarcastic, secretly romantic—was gone. In his place stood something... other. His ears had elongated to delicate points. His nose flattened, nostrils flaringas he scented the air. Thick, coarse hair spread across his chest and arms.

But it was his eyes that truly terrified me. Gone was the warmth, the intelligence, the spark of desire that had set my body aflame mere hours ago. Now they burned with rage.

He took a step toward me, and I instinctively retreated. “Kotos, it’s me. It’s Laramie. Don’t you recognize me?”

A low growl rumbled from his chest. “You shouldn’t be here.”

I raised my hands in what I hoped was a placating gesture. “I know, I know. This is all just a big misunderstanding. If we can just?—”

“You weren’t invited.” Another step. Another growl, deeper this time, turning his words nearly inhuman. “No one enters the labyrinth without permission.”

Fuck. What the hell had Devlin’s powder done to him? And more importantly, how did I undo it?

“Listen to me,” I tried again, forcing steel into my voice. “We’re trapped in here. Devlin did this to us. She’s the one you should be angry with, not me.”

For a moment, something flickered in those alien eyes. A spark of recognition, maybe? But then it was gone, replaced by a snarl that sent ice shooting through my veins.

He lunged for me, massive hands outstretched. I ducked under his grasp and bolted down the nearest corridor, heart pounding in my ears. Adrenaline fueled my steps as I careened around corners, desperately searching for some sign of an exit.

I darted down another corridor, lungs burning. The labyrinth twisted and turned around me, stone walls shifting like a living thing. One moment a path stretched ahead, the next it dead-ended, forcing me to change direction.

The sound of hooves on stone clattered behind me, closer than before. My thighs ached as I sprinted down yet anotheridentical passage. But something wasn’t adding up. By all rights, Kotos should have caught me by now. He was faster, stronger…

Kotos’ snarl echoed off the stone, sending shivers down my spine. He was close—too close. I darted around another corner, my heart leaping into my throat as I nearly collided with a dead end that materialized out of nowhere.

“Shit,” I hissed, whirling back the way I’d come. But the path had changed again, offering three new options where there had only been one before.

I hesitated a fraction too long. A massive shadow fell over me as Kotos rounded the corner. My stomach dropped, but I threw myself to the side just in time to avoid his grasping fingers.

His frustrated roar shook rubble from the walls.

Heat pooled between my thighs at the sound. What the fuck was wrong with me? The man—beast—whatever he was now wanted to tear me apart. And here I was, getting turned on by his growls.

I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life, my body moving on pure instinct as I navigated the ever-changing maze. It was almost as if the labyrinth itself was toying with us—keeping me just ahead of Kotos’ grasp, but never letting me truly escape.

My thighs clenched at the frustrated growl that chased me down corridors or hunted me on the other side of a stone wall. Part of me—a growing, insistent part—wanted to stop running. To let him catch me. To pin me against the stone walls, and take his pleasure from me however he wanted.

To claim me as his mate.

Another roar broke through my thoughts, this one almost feral in its intensity. I pressed myself against the wall, hands slapped over my mouth to cover my breathing. The drag of a horn on stone raised goosebumps up and down my body.

Then everything went quiet.

Against my better judgment, I peeked around the corner. My breath caught in my throat.

Kotos stood at an intersection twenty feet away, head tilted back as he scented the air. His clothes hung in tatters from his massive frame. One hand gripped the wall, claws leaving gouges in the ancient stone. The other…

Holy hell.

His huge fingers wrapped around his cock, stroking slowly as he tracked my scent. The size of him made my mouth water even as my rational mind begged to run. His nostrils flared, and he growled—a sound of pure hunger that sent shivers down my spine.

He wanted me. Even in this state, driven mad by Devlin’s powder and whatever ancient magic permeated this place, he wanted me.

---