Page 100 of Moody as a Minotaur

“No,” Levi said.

“Then that’s why,” Gage said, again like it was obvious.

“We owe him so much,” I said. “Please take care of him.”

“Always,” Gage said. Then he scowled at us. A massive demon shooting his angry look our way was almost enough to make me piss my pants. “And don’t tell anyone about this. Not a hint or a whisper or an allusion.” Theor elsewas implied.

“Of course not,” I assured him quickly.

“Never,” Levi agreed.

“If anyone asks about your mating marks, tell them the Eternal Magic blessed you and leave it at that. It’s the truth, and not even the hellhounds would question that answer.”

“But Parker is human…”

Gage shrugged. “And so was Jeremy.”

Of course, the difference was that Jeremy had magic now, and I didn’t. But Gage might be right. Levi had said the Eternal Magic had been doing a lot of unusual things lately. Maybe no one would question this one more thing.

Teague stirred in Gage’s arms. He blinked up at the demon and furrowed his forehead. His eyes were back to normal. The black was gone. “Gage? What are you doing here?”

“You promised you wouldn’t do that ritual anymore,” Gage said.

Teague twisted so he could look at Levi and me. “But look at them. Their bond is beautiful. More beautiful now than before. And… Oh…”

Well, that didn’t sound good. “What? What’s wrong?”

“She didn’t… Parker, your life has been extended to match Levi’s. I can see your life span stretching into infinity. She didn’t take anything away. What a gift.” Tears welled in Teague’s eyes. “And I bet I know why. That moment when you were both more concerned about what was happening to the other… That was beautiful. I’m sure that’s what clinched it.”

Levi dropped to one knee before them. He dipped his head. “We are forever indebted to you. Call on us and we’ll be there. You have my promise.”

“That’s not necessary,” Teague said as he pressed his hand softly to Levi’s head. “But thank you. I accept your pledge.”

Then Gage carried Teague through the portal, leaving us alone in the frozen forest.

I turned to Levi. “It worked. The ritual actually worked.”

“It did,” he agreed with a wide smile. “Mate. You’re my mate.”

He picked me up and swung me around in a circle, in a move so unlike my moody minotaur, it made me realize there was still a lot I needed to discover about Levi. I couldn’t wait. Levi lowered me so I was standing on my own again, then he brushed a small section of my hair by my temple.

“Do I really have blue in my hair?” I asked.

“Yes. It’s gorgeous. It’s hard to tell in this light, but I think it is a little lighter than the color of your eyes.”

I squinted at his hair. It was harder for me to see in the dark, but a lock of his hair looked lighter. “I can’t wait to see it in the sunlight,” I whispered as I slid my fingers over it. “I bet it’s beautiful.”

“Are you ready to go home?” Levi grinned at me.

“With you? Always.” But happiness couldn’t stave off the cold. I shivered and fished my gloves out of my pocket.

“Good. Let’s go so we can get you warmed up.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. It was such a strange thing to see Levi do that I laughed and slipped my hand in his.

“You have the best ideas.”

33

HELLO, MATE