by Frey Ortega
The driver guffawed as he pulled out the pair of big trunks Hayden had. “That’s the thing, though, innit? Council doesn’t really say what they want from you even if it says that there ain’t nothing to their invite. My advice? Don’t worry about it and enjoy yourself, lad.” He tipped his hat just as he went back into the taxi. “As for me, I think I’m going to head back to the town nearby and get some rest.”
Hayden bid the taxi driver farewell and the taxi drove off into the distance. Already he could hear the sounds of clinking glass and merrymaking even from outside. Getting a look at the Caer from this vantage point, it still looked daunting, with a large tower topped with what he could only assume was some form of glass dome at the top. He sighed and took his first steps toward one of the staircases leading up to the main floor, both bags clacking against the ground.
The rabbit shifter was a small man, after all. He couldn’t really lug his luggage about as he wanted to.
When he reached the top of the stairs, Hayden gawked as he finally saw just how large the grounds were. There were large hallways on either side of him, leading up to different wings of the palatial Caer. Despite the stone used in the building all around him, the floor of the main receiving hall was definitely marble in material. He adjusted his glasses onto the top of his nose and smiled.
If the outside of Caer Tarw was already majestic and beautiful, this just emphasized that point.
“Ticket, please?” Hayden blinked when he heard someone speak beside him. What caught his gaze was a giant of a man, perhaps seven feet in height and burlier than anything he’d ever seen. He was a handsome fellow, too, though he looked a bit comical with his oversized body standing behind an undersized receptionist’s table. Hayden’s eyes went wide in surprise.
“O-oh! Oh, right, here. I have my ticket.” Hayden smiled sheepishly as he felt around his jacket and fished out the ticket and gave it to the man, who immediately peered at it and smiled, nodding.
“Welcome, Hayden. We’ll take your bags to your room. You’ll be staying at the Minos Wing, which is the left over here. But if you’d like, we can have you moved to the Taurus Wing,” the man explained, pointing to the left, and then to the right as he spoke.
Hayden’s head tilted in curiosity. “Why would I want to have my room changed?”
The man merely smiled and shook his head. “You can have your room changed for any reason, really. We have an excess of space here in Caer Tarw and we’d like to make sure our guests are as comfortable as possible for their three-week stay. If that means moving them to a different wing of the Caer, then so be it.”
Hayden shrugged. “I suppose it’s nice to know the option is there.” He smiled. The receptionist nodded as he motioned for another burly gentleman nearby who gave a small smile as he hoisted the pair of Hayden’s luggage—both of them—with one hand.
“Well, we’ll get you situated in Room 138 over there. In the meantime, you should head on over into the main hall. Councilwoman Xiang is already here and about to address all the guests. The festivities will begin soon.”
Hayden felt a little twinge of panic inside. “Already? I haven’t even prepared. Can’t I go freshen up first?” he asked, to which the receptionist merely shrugged.
“That’s up to you. I think you’d at least like to hear the Councilwoman’s words since she’ll be leaving soon after.” The receptionist smiled. “At least, it’ll shed some light as to why you’re here celebrating with us, as well.”
Hayden blinked. Well, it was true. He did want a clearer answer than what was laid out in the letter given to him. A little part of him was a little flustered at how fast things were going. The receptionist gave him a keycard, which he immediately put inside of his jacket pocket, and then Hayden began to fuss with his looks.
He adjusted his glasses, and started to at least try to push his hair into a proper place. He couldn’t help how he looked now, but then again, the others probably looked just as bad as he did at that moment, right? Hayden tried to calm down. He looked okay. A pair of comfortable jeans, some comfortable rubber-soled shoes, a plain white shirt, and a cardigan did not a bad-looking bunny shifter make.
But he felt ridiculously underdressed considering he was facing a receptionist who, despite his big, burly frame and the fact that his body strained the very fabric on his chest, was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and perfectly tailored black slacks.
The receptionist gestured to the large glass doors reminiscent of old gothic windows. In fact, the entire door was a part of the window that opened up into a grand mezzanine floor overlooking a large ballroom. The frosted, crystal glass had lots of different hues and colors in them, looking almost as though the entirety of the window should have been straight from a church. Then again, Hayden was a bit of an art nerd like that, noticing all the tiniest little details as he stepped into opened glass doors.
Two winding staircases on either side of him curved down to the ballroom just a floor below. Hayden saw the opulence of the main hall, almost as though it was a ballroom straight from the pages of some Victorian romance. But with opulence came just a little bit of ostentatiousness. Why not just have doors that led into the ballroom from the courtyard? Hayden wondered.
He supposed that was part of the architecture of the old meeting the new. Once upon a time, a staircase leading down into the ballroom was all the rage, so that nobility could announce their presence among other nobles, and Hayden saw some of the romance in that, even though he was just a rabbit shifter staying with a herd of Minotaur men.
Caer Tarw was much like a castle fit for royalty, though there were no raised platforms and thrones anywhere in sight. A crystal chandelier hung above them, illuminating the many happy, yet confused faces of the young men there.
Hayden walked down the steps just in time for the sole woman in the entire large room to walk from the side of the room and towards the front of it. Councilmember Xiang’s presence was unmistakable, because despite all the testosterone in the room and the volatile energy passing through, her presence was like a dampener on everyone’s system. She immediately cleared her throat.
That, of course, was a compliment of the highest caliber. Hayden didn’t know if he could survive listening to men talking about how hot another man was, or how they wanted to mate so badly, and he’d only been in the room less than a minute. Being this close to mating season meant that a lot of heads were unmistakably veering towards a very singular direction: south of their pants.
With her hair in a tight chignon bun at the top of her head and her body covered from head to toe in a long-sleeved shirt that was tucked into a pristine floor-length skirt, even Linda Xiang seemed to be in the mood for a celebration. Whenever Hayden saw her in front of people, she’d always been in the robes allocated for members of the Council, after all. Today was definitely a special occasion.
“Good evening and welcome to Caer Tarw, everyone,” Councilmember Xiang began. She tapped a finger against her throat, and for a moment her voice modulated into something that echoed across the entire ballroom without even using a microphone. “Let me cut to the chase, because I’m sure you all know who I am and I’d rather get back to doing my work than disrupting your festivities.”
Well, there was the Councilmember Xiang they all knew and loved, Hayden thought, a small grin appearing on his face. She always did seem a little bit too cold.
“Now, what you’re all here for is finding out why exactly you’ve been brought to Caer Tarw on such short notice. For all of you who trusted in the letters, I thank you. Getting you all here was well worth the effort.” Councilmember Xiang cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
Hayden’s attention was immediately on the woman once more.
“As you may or may not have noticed, we called you here very close to mating season. In fact, it’s only a few days off. You’re all single and eligible, and predisposed towards mating with each other rather than the opposite sex, which is exactly why you’ve all been brought here.�
�� Xiang looked at the crowd, pausing for a moment as she made eye contact with a select few gentlemen. “The Council has called you all here because this mating season, it is wholly possible that a few of you may find yourself mated for life.”
A few shocked murmurs burst through the crowd. Some of them were happy. Hayden could even hear the sound of a soft “Yes!” uttered, and the sound of nervous laughter among the people.
The Councilmember let them all settle themselves down before she continued. Hayden was merely intrigued, his head tilted to the side as he leaned against the pillar and crossed his arms, generally avoiding the way some of the men gazed at him—waggling their eyebrows and grinning—in lieu of gently pushing up his glasses and focusing his attention on Councilmember Xiang.
Flirting was nice and all, but it was better to listen to the woman speaking, considering the information she was spouting was crucial. Why else would she be around, after all?
“The Minotaurs of Caer Tarw are your hosts for these next few weeks. Some of you may find yourselves being courted by them. It’s natural. I don’t have to talk to you all about how sex works. I assume you’re all adults here. Many of you are handsome young gentlemen—”
Some of the men preened at this compliment, wolf-whistling and causing laughter to erupt among the crowd and the Councilwoman to roll her eyes. “And all of you are eligible. Tonight, perhaps you will meet someone among the Minotaurs. It might be a fling. It might be forever. There are plenty of tales and legends regarding mating with a Minotaur. Many of you may be familiar with them, but all I can say is that those legends are things you might need to find out for yourself.” She smirked. The sound of soft chuckling filled the air, along with a few hushed whispers of intrigue. “Maybe by talking to someone will you find out what it is I really mean.”
Hayden didn’t know much about Minotaurs, but he really didn’t know much about the supernatural world in general. He’d stayed mostly among humans, attending human schools, along with being a part of his warren. His knowledge of the supernatural world only included the very barebones basic, which was why he was so intrigued at seeing all the men around him.
Xiang continued. “Perhaps you will remain in your room and never talk to anyone, or perhaps you shall become the very life of the party itself. That is for you to decide. Considering there are about a hundred of you and only about thirty-five in the herd, I expect that some of you might come home empty-handed and without mating.”
Xiang waved a hand in the air. “But it’s not all for naught. This is basically an all-expense-paid trip for three weeks to a dream destination where you’re staying in a castle and you’re being catered to your every whim. No one comes home a loser, unless you make yourself one.”
She looked about as silence fell over the room. “If you need anything, the Council has provided everything but the venue. Your servers, your servants, the people who are working at Caer Tarw while this festivity is ongoing are doing so for all your benefits, but mostly for the Minotaurs. I encourage you all to please find yourself a mate among the Minotaur men. Mating season is soon upon us, after all.” Xiang grinned as she began to walk forward. As she did, the men all around her started to part as though she was Moses and they were the Red Sea.
Hayden smiled. Now, that was what he called presence. Someone with that much power in her body was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
“Now, let the celebrations begin! I will not be taking any questions. If you have any, seek out any of the Minotaurs as they may have the answers you’re looking for. Have a good evening,” Xiang’s voice boomed, just as she walked up the stairs and out of the celebration hall. When the door finally clicked shut, people began to talk once more. Music filled the halls, and the Minotaurs started to walk out.
Hayden finally paid more attention to the hall all around him rather than the people, eyeing the architecture and the many exits and entrances all about the sides. He realized that there were sets of doors on either side of the hall. Not to mention the fact that the second floor, where the Councilwoman went and where all of the guests came from, were all joined by corridors on either side that had open doorways leading elsewhere. The men started to pour in.
The crowded main hall began to fill with the presence of those large, burly giants. Thirty-five of them or so of them were around, but with how imposing and large they were, the Minotaurs were easily filling the main hall of Caer Tarw with their presence.
At that very moment, all Hayden could feel was this immense feeling of awkwardness as he stood there, feeling dowdy and unresponsive while men flirted with one another. Maybe he could beat a hasty exit just like the Councilwoman?
It was beginning to feel unlikelier and unlikelier by the millisecond.
Chapter Two
Brian watched as the party went into full swing. Within a matter of minutes, the music turned into a danceable beat, and shirts started flying off.
The strobe lights that Elder Jennings had installed were getting some good use, because now they were flashing brightly. Gone was the gothic and immemorial elegance of the main hall, with the crystal chandelier twinkling above them. Now, the main hall housed a giant rave where bodies started to grind against each other.
With his hands intertwined with Ronan’s, the two stood against the bannister overlooking the party. The beat of the music was infectious. Even Brian was forced to sway a bit to the music, while Ronan stared at him and smirked.
“What?” Brian asked, as he continued to bounce a bit, up and down, with a happy grin on his face.
Looking at Ronan like this, with the light hitting the man just right, Brian saw how handsome his mate was. True, they were both goliaths of men at a little bit taller than seven feet in height, and built like brick houses, but then again, what Minotaur wasn’t? Brian looked at his lover’s amber-colored eyes sparkling, and immediately the happiness coursing inside of Brian continued to brim and bubble up like it was nothing.
“It’s nothing. You just haven’t bounced like this since we came here,” Ronan said, lifting his glass and taking a deep sip of his drink.
When Brian truly thought about it, it was true. Caer Tarw was in the middle of beautiful, lush Ireland, the Minotaurs’ home ever since moving from the Mediterranean hundreds of years ago, but he hadn’t really been quite as happy as he was at this moment. There had been too many things to fix with the Caer, too many repairs and things to do ever since they’d gotten here last mating season.
Truth be told, Brian had actually disliked being there. Caer Tarw had been an old ruin filled with overgrowth when the Minotaurs first got there. It was miserable, dank, and cold, and only in the following year of renovation, when the Minotaurs decided they wanted their home to be as comfortable and beautiful as possible, did that smile slowly come back on Brian’s face.
Now, the main hall was bustling and alive. The Minotaurs had a wonderful home to stay in that was as sturdy as it was aesthetically pleasing, and Brian could finally consider Caer Tarw a home.
The only thing left to make Brian truly feel like Caer Tarw was a home was to find the third of their relationship, the man he and Ronan could be with forever.
“Can you blame me? It finally feels like home.” He grinned. Ronan rolled his eyes.
“Don’t forget the actual house we have just in the village. The castle is only supposed to be for grand occasions, like this one,” Ronan drawled, but he had a smile on his face, too. “Still, that doesn’t stop us from actually staying in it from time to time, on Elder Jennings’s permission, of course. So do you think we’ll find our third tonight?”
Brian looked pensive. He’d wanted a third for their relationship for a long time, and so did Ronan. It wasn’t that they loved each other less, but they both wanted a family, and that meant finding someone else to be with them. Not to mention the fact that their sex life had taken a hit because both of them were more of givers than receivers in bed, which made for awkward but uncomfortable moments that ended up in rubbing a
gainst one another and torrid kissing rather than the lovemaking they truly wanted.
Still, Brian did love Ronan within the deepest recesses of his heart, and that he knew. The two of them were like fire and ice, completely opposite, yet somehow, they were two things in perfect balance.
“I swear to God if we don’t find him tonight, we’ll hunt for him these next few weeks. We will,” Brian vowed. Ronan chuckled.
“We just need to keep a look out. We have a good near month to do so. Besides, I have a feeling it’ll be tonight. If anything, I just want someone who we can cuddle up and love on, and someone who isn’t as big as us. We barely fit in our bed as it is.” Ronan shrugged.
It was Brian’s turn to laugh. “Are you looking for a mate, or are you looking for a pet, love? Because it sounds like you want a kitten.”
Ronan grinned. “Nah, though I suppose I wouldn’t be averse to a bit of a twink rather than someone big and muscular like us.”
“That’s easily doable. There’s a whole sea of them down there. Take your pick.” Brian chuckled. He then turned to look at the party, watching the men, rapidly becoming more and more naked, undulate against each other as the music continued to blare through the hall.
“Don’t tempt me. You know I do love a good dance, but what I love more is if you’d dance with me.” Ronan shrugged.
Brian shook his head. “Oh, no way, love, you’re the better dancer of the two of us. I have two left feet.”
Ronan chuckled and finished his drink. “I know. It’s why I’m staying here with you.” Then Ronan aimed a big grin at Brian just as he smacked Ronan on the shoulder, and the two of them laughed.
A comfortable silence fell over them as Brian turned and looked down at the throng of people. The party was getting wild. Then again, the Council had basically thrown a bunch of eligible young men on the cusp of mating season inside a castle. Of course things were about to get very raunchy.
It was then that Brian caught sight of a bespectacled young man on the other side, sipping a glass of champagne and seemingly avoiding the sea of sweat and nude flesh. Something about the young man made Brian hone in on him, watching his every movement.