Page 19 of Seducing Scylla (Mated Myths #1)

Morgan

T alking to Scylla is nice. Comforting. It’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after telling her about my ex.

She has not judged me. Her reaction to IVF was a little alarming, but I understand how wild it must sound to her.

I play over her story in my head and sympathy for her nips at me.

She’s lived with this feeling of being unwanted and a monster for thousands of years, with no friends or relationships to lean on.

It must be so lonely. I’m curious as to how many other creatures like her exist on this island and why they haven’t built a community together.

Surely, there are others who are just as lonely.

My dress is fully dry now after our little rendezvous in the orange grove and I am thankful as the chill beneath the ground would be unbearable.

Instead, it is quite pleasant on my sun-warmed skin, and I make a mental note to head to the surface frequently to bask in the light and warmth.

I mentally shake myself. Making notes to go to the surface, as if I intend on being here permanently.

I mean, currently, I don’t have much choice.

I’m not sure I could get off the island if I wanted to, but if an opportunity presented itself, would I take it?

Scylla’s hand is wrapped around mine, the mate fire fizzing beneath my skin. We’ve done well to ignore it so far. I can only imagine the intensity if we were to give in to our desires. I shiver at the thought, lust pooling heavily in my abdomen.

“You are cold?” Scylla mistakes my want for discomfort, effortlessly scooping me up in her arms to tuck me against her chest. Ignoring the heat between us every time we touch, I surprisingly don’t mind being carried.

Or maybe, I just don’t mind being carried by her.

There is something incredibly hot about being picked up as if you are no heavier than a cushion.

I sigh, content to nestle my head against the crook of her neck and shoulder.

“Thank you,” I whisper into her neck.

“What for?” I can feel the vibration in her chest when she speaks.

“For keeping me safe. For making me feel safe. I haven’t felt scared since I woke up in your cave. I know we’re mated, and we still really need to discuss what that means for us and the future. But I’m glad it was your cave I stumbled into and not someone else’s.”

I can feel sleep tugging at my eyelids, the swaying motion of Scylla’s movements soothing me to sleep.

“I am glad it was my cave you crawled into as well. I do not want to fail you as your mate. I feel I keep getting it wrong. I forget you need to eat more frequently, or that you are more sensitive to the cold than I. There is so much for me to learn, but I want to. I want to keep you.”

My eyes drift close. There’s a growing part of me that wants to be kept.

“Morgan.” A hushed whisper in my ear stirs me, and I jolt awake, yelping as I realize I am a few feet off the ground. Scylla’s arms hold me tight, so I don’t tumble out of her grip.

“Shh. I have you,” Scylla whispers.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Not long. We are almost home, but look.”

Scylla gestures in front of us with one of her tentacles. There’s a burnt-out fire pit tucked in a crevice of the tunnel.

“It’s a fire?” I’m confused. Should this mean something to me?

“There is no reason for anyone to be down this way.”

I look up at her, not quite understanding what she is saying.

“We have passed the hot spring and the entrance to the beach. The only other place down this way is my cave. No one comes here.”

“You don’t get the occasional visitor?” I sit up in her arms, my sleep-fogged brain is slowly figuring out what she is saying. She shakes her head.

My excitement spikes. “It could be one of the women!”

“Hush.”

I huff, annoyed at Scylla silencing me.

“I apologize. It may be one of your friends.”

Again, not friends. But I still don’t correct her.

“But?”

“I have a bad feeling. This fire still feels warm. Someone left in a hurry, as if they did not want us to stumble upon them.”

“They might be scared. I ran from the Drakons, so they might be hiding until they know we are friendly. ”

“Perhaps, but if they ran, we would have passed them.”

“Which means?”

“The only place they could have run to is my home.”

“Oh, okay. Well, let’s go and see if they’re there.”

Scylla nods, not putting me down. Instead, she holds me even tighter, and I can feel the tension radiating throughout her body.

If it’s just one of the women, she has no need to worry.

Like she said, no one visits, so it’s unlikely to be another creature.

Unless it is another creature and that is precisely why she’s worried.

The thought makes me tense. What if it is another creature? Would we be in danger?

Scylla carries me through the tunnel and around the twists and turns before we reach the entrance to her home. We pause at the threshold.

Scylla sets me down. “I will enter first. Just in case.”

“Just in case what?” I hiss.

“In case I need to protect you.” She looks at me as if that’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“If it’s one of the women, shouldn’t I go in first?”

“What if it is one of my kind?” Scylla retorts. Good point.

I wave her forward with my arm. “Fine, be my guest. ”

She cocks her eyebrow at me over her shoulder. “I am your mate.”

I groan and shake my head, rolling my eyes. “Go on.”