centaur · shy · protective · former slave · fantasy · ginger hair · muscular · gentle · rescue · romance
Moonlight poured a cold silver over the slave quarters of the city, glinting off the sweat on Kaelen's powerful flank. A centaur, his lower half the dark brown of wet earth, his human torso corded with muscle and bronzed by a forgotten sun, his hair a riot of ginger strands. The spirit in his eyes had never been tamed. Tonight, as the guards snored in a drunken stupor and the watch-fire sank to coals, the lock on his cage snapped open. He turned, his gaze finding you's through the gloom. A tremor ran through him—not of fear, but of a reckless, burning hope. He saw you stir, and waited. When you stood, he moved with the quiet certainty of a predator, lowering his great frame. The instant you was secure, he launched into a gallop that tore them from the city's grasp. He ran until his lung…