Chapter 5

After the door was shut I turned back to Ruth’s father. He’d cracked an eye open and was looking at me.

“I have nothing to say to you,” he grunted.

“Fair enough, but I’ve got some things to say that you might want to hear.”

“I doubt it.”

“Need to hear then?” I amended questioningly. Bruce opened his other eye and gave me his full attention letting out another low growl.

“Tell me why I don’t crush you right now.” A few minutes earlier I would have taken his threat seriously, but from his tone I could tell there wasn’t any conviction behind it, not anymore.

“Because you love your daughter and it would crush her too.” I said quietly and he slumped back into his chair with a groan. I walked over to the mantle above the fireplace. Earlier, I’d noticed that amidst the dust and grime there were two picture frames that looked like there was an attempt to keep clean. In one was an old grainy picture what looked like a much younger Bruce with a female minotaur that looked remarkably like Ruth, but with blue eyes. From the way they were dressed it looked like they were at some sort of party or celebration. They both looked so happy, very different from how he was now. When we undertook the trip I had no idea that he would be so ... broken, though considering what all he’d been through I couldn’t blame him. The picture in the other frame looked like Ruth when she was very young, wearing a simple beige dress and holding a bouquet of wildflowers in both hands. She was looking directly into the camera with a big, wide-eyed smile on her face. It was adorable and made my heart melt a little. That picture, and it’s place of prominence said a lot about what Ruth meant to Bruce. I glanced back at him and felt bad for all he’d lost.

“This her mother?” I asked, pointing at the first picture with my left hand because I could barely lift my right arm from getting hit earlier. He grunted an acknowledgment. “And I take it this was Ruth when she was little.” I pointed at the other picture and he grunted again. “She was really cute. Looks a lot like her mother now.”

“Yes, she does. She grew up so fast. I don’t know where the years went.” In his defeated state he was a bit less hostile. It might not have been a good time to have a heart-to-heart, but I didn’t know when I would get another opportunity.

“My parents say the same thing,” I added quietly.

“Just before she passed I promised that I’d always look after our little girl ... and then she left ... no, I drove her away.”

“I’m really sorry,” I said sincerely. “If it’s any consolation, she came back to reconnect with you. That’s something.”

“It is. Considering why she left, I always hoped she would come back if she found a mate. However, this,” he gestured to me, “is not what I had in mind.”

“Yeah, I believe that. I don’t know if it helps, but I love your daughter completely.”

“And when a pretty young human woman catches your eye? What then?”

“Not gonna happen,” I said, shaking my head. “Ruth is amazing, and it’s not like we took this lightly either. To be honest we both fought against our feelings for a while because of the whole ‘different species’ thing. Do you want to know what made me decide to stop fighting and go for it?”

“Let me guess, when it didn’t matter to you that she isn’t human,” he grunted dismissively.

“No. It was when I realized that I didn’t want her to be.” Bruce cocked his head curiously. “I think Ruth is stunningly gorgeous. If I could wish for her to be human, I wouldn’t.”

“So you are a deviant with a fetish...” he said with a wry chuckle. He was talking a more openly, and I hoped that with a little more coaxing I just might be able to start on what it really wanted to talk to him about!

“No. It’s more that as I was falling for her personality, I started appreciating her ... form. I’ll spare you the details.”

“Good. I don’t want them,” he replied with a low growl. I took the picture frames off of the mantle one by one and cleaned them with my shirt. They left a dirty, greasy stain, but when I turned back I knew it had been worth it. Bruce was sitting up attentively in his chair. I showed him the one of Ruth, which I was still holding.

“I think that’s a little better.” From the look in his eyes I could tell that he agreed. It was probably as good a time as any to drop the bombs, so to speak. “I know that in your culture taking Ruth as my mate is done deal, but to humans, she’s just my girlfriend.” Bruce nostrils flared as he snorted, and he glared at me darkly.

“What are you saying...? choose your next words carefully,” he said with a throaty rumble that I felt in my chest. I gulped before continuing, hoping to avoid pissing him off too much.

“I’m just saying that to any humans, what we have could be written off as curiosity, or some sort of fetish fulfillment like you suggested earlier. But it’s so much more than that, and I want to show that,” I explained, putting the picture back on the mantle.

“How so?” He asked, still glaring

“I want to marry your daughter.” Bruce’s expression changed to one of surprise. “I want what we have to be official and permanent. I want to be able to say that Ruth is my wife.” Bruce snorted derisively.

“Permanent? Humans cheat and get divorced all the time.”

“Yeah, that does happen,” I admitted. “But I’m serious about this. When I asked her if she would be mated to me I knew full well that it’s for life. She told me that on our first date.” He eyed me curiously. “Besides, if we’re being completely honest, minotaurs aren’t always faithful either,” I added quietly. The pain in eyes before he looked away indicated that he knew what I was talking about, and that he’d learned the truth about Ruth’s ex.

“Why even bother coming to me with this? You’ll do whatever you want no matter what I say.”

“Because I know that it would mean a lot to Ruth if I could tell her that we had your consent when I propose.” He closed his eyes and his brow furled as it looked like he was actually considering it.

“Anything else, while you’re making requests?” He grumbled. I took a deep breath in preparation for the harder sell.

“Well, there is one thing...” He opened his eyes and glared again. He didn’t say anything though so I took a breath and continued. “Traditionally, a bride is walked down the aisle ... by her father.”

“So now have to actually participate in this ... monstrosity?” He sat forward in his chair, suddenly a little more animated, but not quite angry.

“You don’t have to do anything. I just know it would mean a lot to Ruth, and I think you do too.”

Suddenly there was shouting from outside.

“ISAAC, LET GO OF ME!”

Bruce was up faster than his size would suggest him capable of moving, but I still beat him to the door.

“What’s a runt like you gonna do?” He muttered under his breath as I grabbed the doorknob. I had The Beast, but considering I was having trouble even lifting my dominant arm, I had serious concerns about my ability to use it. Regardless, there wasn’t time to waste on arguing and I rushed into the cold winter twilight without responding.

Rebecca was on the ground, presumably pushed out of the way by the brown and white splotched bull minotaur who I assumed was Issac. My blood started to boil when I saw that he had hold of Ruth’s wrists!

“HEY! HANDS OFF!” I bellowed as I approached! The bull looked my way, and the distraction gave Ruth enough time to give him a painful looking kick to the shins, weakening his grip enough to where she could slip away. She rushed toward me as quickly as she could and I directed her behind me. After Isaac stopped rubbing his leg he turned toward us and started approaching with an angry glint in his eyes that was obvious, even in the dim light. I drew The Beast, gritting my teeth at the strain the heavy steel put on my outstretched arm, and he stopped in his tracks.

“Who are you!?” He demanded.

“The name’s David, and if you touch my mate again I’ll blow your damn head off,” I growled with as much grit in my voice as I could manage. Ruth’s two friends that came with Rebecca gasped and started whispering to each other. Isaac’s eyes shot open and the fury in his face increased tenfold. He roared and took another step forward, but stopped again when I pulled back the hammer of my gun with an audible click. My heart pounded in my ears and keeping my breathing under control was a struggle. I was already seeing stars from the pain in my shoulder, and adrenaline alone was the only thing keeping me from dropping the gun. I knew that if he started charging, my inability to handle the ferocious recoil would mean I’d have only one shot...

“Bruce!” He shouted, and I was suddenly aware of the looming presence of Ruth’s father standing next to me and I gulped, desperately hoping that he wouldn’t take the young bull’s side. “This is unthinkable! Your daughter, defiled by a human!”

“I know exactly what he’s done.” Bruce said, just loud enough to be heard. I spared a glance at him and even in the near darkness it wasn’t hard to tell he was furious ... but it didn’t look like it was at me. His tail flicked back and forth and his posture looked like he was ready to charge! He inhaled with the force of a bellows through his nose and looked at Ruth. “Get in the truck,” he growled at her through gritted teeth.

“But...”

“Now!” Ruth quickly did as he said without another word.

“I never dreamed that my daughter might choose as a mate like you, but if you mean what you say, then I seem to be reminded that she could have done much worse,” Bruce said quietly enough that I didn’t think Isaac could hear. “Take Ruth home. If you want consent to marry, you have it. If she wants, I’ll even walk her down that damn aisle.” My head snapped around to look at him fully. “Now go.”

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

“I’m not doing this for you, but I won’t lose my daughter again.” It wasn’t everything I could have hoped for, but it was good enough for now!

“I understand. Rebecca has Ruth’s number. Thought you should know.” I offered and he grunted an acknowledgment. I lowered my arms and let out a small gasp as the strain was relieved from my shoulder. However, Isaac immediately started lunging forward and when I scrambled to raise my gun, a searing pain shot through my arm keeping me from lifting it again! Before I could try to figure something else out, Bruce stepped up and delivered a vicious backhanded blow to his face. It was almost the same as the one he gave me, but whereas I managed to weather the strike, albeit barely, Isaac staggered backwards! In no way did I think for a second that I was actually tougher than what was probably a six to seven hundred pound minotaur, but I couldn’t quite keep a smug grin from sprouting across my face.

“What are you doing!?” Exclaimed Isaac, clearly surprised by the sudden attack.

“Something I should have done years ago!” Roared Bruce. The younger bull was much larger than Ruth, but the Ruth’s father was monstrous! He reached out and snatched Isaac’s horns and wrestled his head to the ground, heedless of the the younger bull’s struggling. “Did you really think that I never found out the real reason my daughter left!” He bellowed.

“But the human...” protested Isaac.

“That human has impressed me more in the last hour than you ever did!” Shouted the massive black minotaur, and I felt a swell of pride within me. I glanced at Ruth in the truck and her mouth fell open, clearly having heard her father. I looked back at Bruce who was wrenching at Isaac’s horns. With a yell, and a sickening crack, one of them broke off at the base. I was surprised to see a dark trickle of blood seep out of the jagged stump. As he reeled from the sudden snap, Bruce looked up and saw me still standing there.

“LEEEEAVE!!!!” He bellowed. Without any further hesitation I frantically got in the truck without even holstering my gun and started it up! Kicking in the four-wheel-drive we took off like a shot!

Neither of us said anything until we were past the town and back on the highway.

“Hey, are you alright?” I asked.

“Yes,” Ruth answered shortly, staring out the window into the approaching night. I sighed.

“He’ll be alright.”

“I know. My father is very strong.” I reached out to take her hand, but the second my fingered brushed against her fur she shuddered and pulled it away. My heart sank. Suddenly it dawned on me what could be making her so upset.

“You know I would have never pulled my gun on your father,” I said, remembering how much she hated them.

“I never thought you would.” She just kept staring out the window. Her response confused me as I was sure that was the issue. Figuring it might be best give her some time to cool down, I prepared myself for a tense, quiet ride to the hotel we booked for the return trip.

About an hour later we were pulling in and Ruth still hadn’t so much as looked at me since we’d left. I sighed and pulled our overnight bags from behind the seats.

Once inside I walked up to the front desk to where a receptionist was on duty. Her name tag identified her as ‘Judy.’

“Good evening, how may I help you?” Asked the Judy, who glanced curiously between me and Ruth.

“Just checking in under Durran, David.” She glanced at Ruth. “She’s with me,” I said and she punched in a few things on her computer and looked at the screen as if confused. I saw where this was going, and normally I would have thought her getting flustered was funny, but between the evening, the pain in my shoulder, and Ruth’s attitude, I really wasn’t in the mood.

“I’m sorry, sir. There must be some mistake,” she said, still typing away on her computer. “We have you booked for one room with one extra large bed. If you like I can see if I have either an extra room available, or one with two beds.”

“There’s no mistake,” I said shortly, handing over my credit card. “One room with one extra large bed.” Judy’s mouth dropped open and she stared for a few seconds before regaining her composure.

“Very well, sir.” She made up a couple of keycards and handed them over, along with my credit card. “Room 104. Fourth door on the right.”

When we made it to the room I dropped our bags and prepared to ask Ruth what was going on. However, as soon as I turned toward her, Ruth’s hands were on my head, pulling my face to hers! Before I knew it, she was nipping and licking at my lips with abandon! Reeling from emotional whiplash I pulled away.

“Ok, I’m confused! I thought you were pissed at me!” Ruth let out a sheepish giggle.

“I’m so sorry I made you think that, but that’s not it at all,” she said, pulling me close. I still had no idea what was going on, but I was relieved that she wasn’t mad. “I was impressed at how you stood up to my father in the house, and I have no idea how you managed to get his approval, but when you stopped Isaac from charging ... well...” she trailed off and lowered her mouth to my ear. “Let’s just say you’re getting lucky tonight...” she added in a sultry a whisper. As Ruth pulled my left hand under her skirt, I laughed as I finally understood and my mood lifted almost instantly! While her groin wasn’t anywhere near as hot as when she was in heat, it was still pretty warm from arousal and her panties were soaked! “It was everything I could do to not jump you right in front of my f-AH-ther...” Ruth said, her words devolving into a series of moans as I rubbed the wet material between her legs. It was hard to tell exactly where I was rubbing through the fabric, but I must of hit a particularly sensitive spot because she flinched and grabbed onto my right shoulder.

“GYAAH!” I cried out as pain shot down my arm! Ruth let go and backed up, concern instantly overriding her arousal.

“I’m so sorry! Are you alright!” She exclaimed.

“I’ll be fine,” I said as I started unbuttoning my shirt. “But your dad really packs a wallop!” Finishing the last button, I let my shirt slide off, revealing an ugly black and purple bruise the the size of my fist.