Page 49 of Minotaur's Secret Baby

Ican’t believe I’ve finally said it. It took us so long to get to this point but I finally told her how I feel. Dozens of papillion erupt inside me, making me feel lighter than air.

I’ve known for a while now that I feel this way. Realizing that I can’t let Kyra go was freeing for me. It’s just terrible that it took until she was in mortal danger before it got to this point, before I found the courage to do something about it.

When I told Kyra I had fallen in love with her long before I knew about the baby, I was telling the truth. It wasn’t until months and months later, after I had found out what she did and had her move in that I was able to acknowledge it to myself.

Her actions hurt. It destroyed the developing feelings I’d had for her. She had used me so callously and I thought she was like any other common human who was only looking out for themselves.

It was like I was little more than her ticket to freedom. I felt as though all those nights between us meant nothing. Even after getting to know her extensively I still didn’t understand why she would choose to betray me like that. We could have had so much more if she’d been honest from the start. I’m an honorable man, I would have understood why she chose to pick pregnancy as a course for freedom.

I would have helped her. I think. Maybe. I’m not sure now what I would have done, if I’m honest. All I know is that I wouldn’t have tossed her aside so easily if she’d just told me from the start what was going on.

Instead we went through months of hardship and turmoil dancing around each other as we tried to find a new normal together. And my feelings for her came back with a vengeance.

But I knew that deep down I was scared to tell her how I felt. After what she did, it wasn’t easy to be honest with her. And maybe part of me kept her at arm's length because of that. I don’t like to think of myself as cruel or vengeful but it stung so deeply that I think maybe I didn’t want to feel the way I felt. I think I thought that if I waited it out, my feelings would simply go away, or maybe lessen to a manageable extent.

Instead, the opposite happened. Everything I felt for her deepened, grew stronger, grew more pronounced. I couldn’t imagine life without her. Still, I held my tongue. Maybe she didn’t want me back. I wasn’t going to put myself out there to have her reject me again.

But when I saw her there, covered in blood after her encounter with Mosar, something inside of me snapped. Kyra wasmymate and the mother ofmyson and no one was allowed to lay a hand on her. I saw red.

Going after Mosar was probably a bad idea, in hindsight. I could have gotten in trouble with my captain easily for attacking a civilian. But everyone perfectly understood why I did what I did and I was very lucky in that regard.

If I had stopped to think, I might have gotten the guard involved from the start but it was all pure instinct for me at that point. I had to teach that rodan-bastard that he was never to come near Kyra again. My body moved on its own when I went there to see him and as soon as I saw his smarmy face, I lost it. I managed to keep my cool as long as possible but in the end, that rodan-bastard had it coming.

And he’ll never bother me or my family ever again now. That’s what matters. And it gave me the push I needed. I found a new sense of purpose.

Still…there was so much miscommunication between us. Kyra still assumed I would kick her out but I couldn’t ever let her go. She was so injured and so helpless. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her ever again. I had to tell her.

There was so much inside of me, so many emotions that bubbled up and clawed at my throat to escape. I wanted to smother her in kisses, protect her with my body. But I had to be careful. She was fragile right now. If she hadn’t said what she said about leaving, I don’t know if I would have been able to speak at all yet.

I couldn’t let her leave without knowing the truth though. So I spilled my guts to her, hoping she could understand. Hoping she might feel the same way. Now that it’s out there, I feel better. But she’s silent. She’s been quiet for a long moment. Is she upset? Does she not feel the same way?

I don’t know what to do. Where do we go from here? Did I mess everything up by waiting so long? My stomach churns. Did I make a mistake? Kyra is quiet, her teeth worrying her lower lip but I don’t know if that’s because she’s trying to find a way to let me down gently or if she doesn’t know how to respond at all.

Bile rises in the back of my throat. I can’t believe I read everything all wrong once again. Every time I think I’ve got things figured out between us, I rush ahead and find out that I misread the entire situation. Is this the end for us? Was Kyra just being polite about leaving or is that how she really feels?

There’s a part of me that is certain that I’ve ruined everything by speaking up. I could have had more if only I’d kept quiet. Kyra probably isn’t interested in more with me and I pushed too hard by opening my big mouth.

On the other hand, as I gaze into her deep brown eyes I know that I could have never held it back from her forever. Even if she doesn’t want me back, I’m glad I found the courage to speak up.

Ever since I was young I knew the path I would follow. I was going to go to the big city to work and find a mate. We’d get mated, have children and everything would fall neatly into place. But life never quite works out the way you expect, does it?

Instead I found a human woman who stole my heart and took my breath away in a whirlwind courtship that turned out to be the desperate seduction of a trapped person. I was furious at being used like that. Especially when I found out she was pregnant with my child.

But the more time we spent around each other, the more I realized why she did what she did. It doesn’t make it alright but I can understand why she chose this path. She’s smart, a survivor, something I could relate to. It was hard after my family all but disowned me for leaving and I had to muddle through all on my own as well.

So I realized that even though my life was turning out nothing like I expected, that I’d done everything quite backwards, that I was pleased nonetheless. Kyra is an incredible woman. She’s strong, smart, brave, funny, kind, and she makes a fantastic partner.

I had to tell her how I feel. It was the only thing left to do. Speak now or forever hold your peace as it were.

Not that it wasn’t still maddening to watch the silence stretch out between us. So I open my mouth to speak.

“I’m...”

“I...”

We speak at the same time. My eyes widen and I snap my jaw shut. Kyra pushes onward, speaking almost too quickly for me to keep up.

“I used you and that wasn’t okay,” she blurts out. “I wanted my freedom and it overrode every other thought, including how you might feel if you find out you were used. But then we spent all that time together and I thought maybe you could come to understand why I did it. I hoped you would. Because I think that for a long time I was falling for you.”